Bennett (On the Line 2)

“Yeah.” His shoulders sank a bit as he relaxed. “That would be good. I’ve missed having you in my arms at night, Char.”

“Me too.” I leaned forward and kissed him softly, my baby bump brushing the edge of the table as I did.

I’d never wanted to put my arms around him as much as I did right now. All I wanted was to ease the ache in him and reassure him that he’d done everything he could for Kelly. He’d been enough then and he was enough for me now. So much more than enough. I needed to help him see that, but that would mean letting some of my own walls crumble the same way he had just now.

Three months later

Charlotte

Bennett picked up the last box with “James” scrawled across it in black marker and headed out the apartment door, leaving just James and me in the living room.

“So this is it,” I said.

“This is it.” He smiled and opened his arms for a hug. But my very pregnant belly made it hard to give him more than an awkward side-hug.

“I’m going to miss you,” I said. “Not that I see much of you anymore.”

“I bet we’ll see each other more now that I’m moving in with Brian.”

I gave him a playful eye roll. “I love how you work that into every sentence.”

“It just fits,” he said with a grin. “I made scrambled eggs, I’m moving in with Brian. Let’s watch some Netflix, I’m moving in with Brian. The garbage disposal is broken, I’m moving in with Brian.”

“I’m happy for you guys. But . . . it all happened so fast, don’t you think? I mean, this whole thing has been kind of . . . fast. Are you sure this moving in together thing is right?”

He shrugged. “Maybe that’s why it’s called ‘falling in love’ instead of ‘slowly and carefully stepping into an amorous relationship.’”

I punched his shoulder playfully.

“Hey, now,” he said. “I might rescind my gift if you keep that up.”

“What gift is that?”

“Brian and I want you to choose a color and we’re going to paint my old room for you. Figured we’d give you a jump start on decorating it for the baby.”

“Really? That’s the best gift ever. Thank you.”

Bennett came back through the front door, his gray T-shirt soaked with sweat. He pulled off his backward baseball cap, wiped his forearm across his brow, and put the hat back on.

“Anything else?” he asked James.

“I think that’s it.”

Brian came in and everyone said one more good-bye. I knew it was time for James to go, but there was still something sad about it. Saying good-bye to my roommate and planning a nursery for my son made me feel like I was moving on to the next stage of my life.

James and Brian left and Bennett and I sat down on the couch. James had taken his recliner and end table, so the couch and TV were all I had in the room now.

“You gonna be lonely now?” Bennett asked.

“Not with my unofficial roommate keeping my bed warm,” I said playfully.

“Maybe we should make it official.”

I felt a flutter of panic in my chest. We’d settled into such a happy, blissfully perfect routine. Bennett spent pretty much every night with me when he wasn’t traveling, but there were still occasional nights when he stayed at his apartment.

“You mean move in together?”

His wry smile was a mix of amused and aggravated. “I can see the idea scares you.”