Page 44 of Finding My Forever

No, that’s too aggressive.

He held my hand on the bench.

We were talking. That’s different.

If he crossed the line the so can I.

Don’t! It’s not worth the rejection.

It doesn’t have to be awkward. Just do it.

No!

I squeezed my eyes shut and silenced the argument in my mind.

I bit my lip and looked down. When our arms were near our sides, I gently slid my hand into his.

He looked down at me and I smiled. Fake it ‘til you make it, right?

Finally, his lips broke into a grin, and my stomach released itself from the death grip it had on my heart.

We walked in comfortable silence for a few blocks before he began pointing out buildings.

I heard his words, hung on them even, but he could have been talking about advanced origami for all I knew. The sound of his voice was hypnotic. It wasn’t a surprise he was an actor or singer. His smooth voice coaxed me into a cozy lull while he gestured around. Hopefully, he wouldn’t quiz me later because my comprehension level was dismal.

The park from yesterday was just across the street when Elijah and Sophia stopped walking.

“Here we are.”

I looked at Liam, who was looking at the building behind me. I turned and realized we were standing in front of an apartment building. A very nice apartment building with a doorman dressed in a navy uniform with gold buttons. An apartment building that I imagined cost a lot more than I could ever affording according to Sophia’s lessons about the city.

Sophia had one eyebrow raised and smirked at me before walking to the doors, which were swiftly opened for her by the doorman.

“Good Afternoon, Mr. Liam.” The older man nodded in greeting once in Liam’s direction then to Elijah. “And to you, Mr. Eli.”

I followed them in while repeating to myself to keep my mouth closed. Do not walk around with my jaw on the ground.

I smiled and thanked the man as I walked in then tightened my grip on Liam’s hand. Holy Crap.

This place looked like a department store mixed with a luxury hotel. Every fabric, tile, and lamp was made of gold, or something equally expensive.

Elijah led us to the elevators and pressed the button.

“I’m assuming these aren’t the dorms.”

Liam chuckled. “No, April. These are not.”

Moments later we entered their apartment. It felt like such a cheap word to describe their home.

Floor to ceiling windows revealed an amazing view overlooking Washington Square.

I dropped Liam’s hand and ran to the windows. “This is amazing!”

We were behind the arch, just high enough to see the fountain beyond.

“I’m glad you like it. I’m pretty bad at taking it for granted.” He was standing next to me, so close our arms were touching.

“I’d never.”