I moisten my lips and look at him.
“Can I see the rest of it?”
Reed must take that to understand I’m not telling him no, because he bends down and kisses me quickly on the lips. Then, he eagerly takes me and shows me the bedroom. It’s a normal bedroom I suppose. There’s an oak bed with a mattress and box springs. I guess it’s up to us to supply the covering. The walls in here, at least, are painted gray—even if the paint is over the same dark wallpaper. It gives me the idea to see if I can paint the rest of the apartment. I make a note to ask Mr. Johnson. There’s a dresser in the room also, but that’s it. I step back outside into the living area, and I frown.
“What do you think?” Reed asks.
“Isn’t there a bathroom?” I finally ask, afraid his answer is going to be no, and tell me we’re expected to run downstairs to the outside bathroom the garage has.
“Oh! Hah, yeah there’s a bathroom.”
There’s a door in the kitchen, that’s like half the size of a normal door. I just assumed it was a pantry—it’s not. It’s a tiny bathroom. There’s a sink, a toilet, and a shower. I mean, it’s okay. I can turn around in it… mostly.
“It’s kind of small,” he says and now I’m feeling really guilty.
Reed wants to live with me. He found this place for me. He took money he’d been saving up and put down on it—for me. Yeah, sure, I wish he had asked me before just going ahead and renting a place. Still, I’m being super critical because I’m nervous about moving in with him. I force myself to relax.
“I really like it, Reed.”
“You’re sure?” he asks, and I nod my head.
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“There’s no laundry,” he says regretfully. “Still, we can use the laundromat out by the diner. I’m sure that Mr. Johnson would let me put a small apartment size one in here if I hired someone to—”
I cover his lips with my fingers.
“It’s fine the way it is. There’s just the two of us, Reed. It’s not like there can be that many clothes to wash.”
“Yeah,” he murmurs against my fingers, his warm breath teasing my skin. “I love you, Callie.”
“I love you, too.”
I take a deep breath and I let go of my doubts. This is going to be okay. As long as I have Reed, everything is going to be okay. It will fall into place.
“So, we’re doing this?” he asks.
I nod. “We’re so doing this,” I respond, letting myself relax and smile.
“We’re doing this!” he yells, making my mouth open in surprise, before I laugh outright. Reed picks me up, his arms going behind me to hold onto my ass. I wrap my legs around him and my good arm, holding the one with my cast out in an awkward position to keep from accidentally hurting him or me.
“My woman is going to move in with me,” he says, looking into my eyes, not ashamed to show me how much that means to him.
“My man rented us an apartment so we could be together,” I counter.
“I’m never going to let you go, Callie,” he vows, and I let the words fill up the tiny cracks and doubts that have been forming the last week.
“That’s good because remember your promise, Reed Lane.”
“What promise, Bluebird?” he asks, backing me up against the wall, his head dropping down, while his liquid chocolate eyes stare hungrily at my lips.
“You and me, Reed. Forever and ever.”
He does smile then, but it blurs because his face gets even closer.
“Forever and ever,” he says so quietly that I strain to hear. Then, his tongue slides inside my mouth, seeking mine.
This kiss is different from any other we’ve shared… and I lose myself in it.
35 Callie
“Let me go in there with you, Bluebird.”
“It will make him worse,” I murmur to Reed while staring at my front door.
“So? I’ll be there to protect you and that’s all that matters.”
“But—”
“No buts, besides, you need me to help carry the boxes we left yesterday, right?” he says, and I know he’s right. My heart beats crazily. I know that, in all likelihood, Reed will probably hear exactly how Niles feels about me if we do this.
The sun is setting. I know Reed is worn out because he worked all day. He took off early to wash up and come with me. He didn’t want me to be alone. He doesn’t even know everything that has gone on, but he’s worried about me enough to take off work and come here with me—even when he’s been up since five this morning and worked like a dog. I look at him and feel my heart swell with love, even while I’m worried about how bad it’s going to be when I go inside.