AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“How are you feeling?” I asked.
“Better,” she said. “I’m sorry if I was rude yesterday. I got some news, and I didn’t know what to do with it.”
I put my keys down and joined her in the kitchen. “What kind of news?”
She shook her head. “I’ll tell you later.”
“Is it serious?”
She grabbed two plates and split the chicken in half. “It is serious, but not bad.”
“Oh.” I mulled that over. Serious but not bad. Could be about money, or maybe about her family. Whatever it was, I had to let it go. She’d promised to tell later, and I had to accept that. God knew I had my own secret that I was hesitating to share.
“Do you have anything you want to tell me?” she asked, as if she could read my thoughts.
Since we were being so honest, and since I had come in here with the intention of having a difficult conversation, I took a play from her book. “I do. But I’m waiting for the right time.”
“Okay.” She seemed to accept my logic, and just like that, we were good again. She grabbed a beer from the fridge and handed it to me.
“You’re not drinking?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I’m gonna have juice.”
We sat at the table and ate our chicken, and it was back to being wonderful.
“Did you get sick at work?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I managed. How about you, how was your day?”
“Oh.” I remembered lunch. “My mom wants to meet you.”
“Okay,” she agreed.
I held up a hand to indicate caution. “She’s extremely critical, so we don’t get along that well.” Tammy nodded her understanding. “But she threatened to ambush you if I didn’t bring you over.”
Tammy giggled, wrapping one hand around her mouth like an embarrassed teen. I fell into those deep hazel eyes and wanted to wrap myself around her. Sitting at the kitchen table in her pajamas, she looked so innocent, like a unicorn that had wandered out of the forest and into my home. As I watched, she straightened and sobered.
“What are we, Mike?”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Are we friends? Roommates? Or is there something more?”
“I thought we were dating.” I looked into her eyes, imagining the softness of her lips. “I’m not seeing anyone else. I accidentally called you my girlfriend when I was talking to the owner of this cabin.”
“Really?” She fawned, batting her eyelashes. It was adorable.
“Really. I mean, do you wanna be my girlfriend?”
She presented her hand to me in mock ceremony, and I kissed it. “I accept.”
I let our hands fall, still entwined, to the surface of the table. “I’ve never had a serious relationship before.”
“I know,” she said.
“So, I might make some mistakes, and I’ll need you to be honest and understanding.” I hoped to encourage her to be more open in the future. I wanted to be with her, but I didn’t want to feel the way I had felt all day. It had been torture not knowing if she was angry at me, feeling worried and helpless at the same time.
“I will. But you’re doing a great job.” She got up from her chair and came to sit on my lap.
