Page 41 of To Love the Stars too Fondly

Every part of me yearned to say yes, though one hesitation stilled me. “I do work tomorrow, but let me see if I can swap shifts with Liam.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble over it.”

“I won’t.” I placed a kiss onto Alex’s bare back, then grabbed my phone from the table, still in my straddled position.

Hey can we swap tomorrow and Saturday morning?

Already, he was typing back. You’re not seeing Cliff, right?

Every nerve bristled in offense, but it was, unfortunately, a valid question. No.

I watched the three little dots dance as he typed. Swallowing my pride, I sent a follow-up: I’m seeing Alex.

The little dots ceased their bouncing. I could practically see frantic fingers typing away when they resumed. Prove it.

From anyone else, it might’ve been creepy. Liam was just a protective idiot. “Alex, Liam wants proof. Can we selfie together?”

Alex’s eyes opened. “Sure?”

I turned away while Alex put her robe back on, brought back by a kiss to the back of my neck. “What is this? Liability insurance?” she asked.

“Essentially, yeah.” I brought the camera uncannily close as I beckoned Alex in, giving it my best fish-eyed look. Alex followed but mimed a kiss to my cheek.

Send.

Buzz.

TERRA.

Buzz. Buzz.

WHAT IS HAPPENING.

A final message completed the trio: Yes, I’ll take your shift. Have fun bby.

“So we’ll be the hottest gossip at the coffee shop now?” Alex asked, her amusement clearly in her grin.

“Oh, we’ve been the hottest gossip. It just has weight now.”

Alex rose, stretching as she muttered. “I’ll start dinner then. You’re a vegetarian, right?”

The statement gave me pause. “Yes. How did you know that?”

“You made a joke to Liam, must’ve been months ago, about not wanting beef with someone ‘cause you’re a vegetarian. I thought it was clever. Stuck with me.”

I blushed as she left for the kitchen, surprised to be remembered at all.

While Alex assembled ingredients for cooking, I sent a text to my mom as well.

Hey, I won’t be home tonight. Got a date. She’s pretty special ❤️

It probably wasn’t typical to imply to your mom that you had a sex life, but when your mom was your roommate, certain boundaries had to be different, lest she worry.

And, well, El had lived with us for three years. Surely she’d known we’d started having sex at some point. ‘Don’t ask; don’t tell’ was easy when there was no risk of pregnancy or STIs.

Mom and mine’s relationship could never quite be typical.

Dinner was some sort of stuffed noodle with risotto. I struggled to pay attention, enamored whenever Alex said the names of ingredients with any sort of foreign accent—which she did quite a bit. Casual evidence of her cultured upbringing was plainly apparent the more she spoke about cooking.