Page 86 of Crashing into Love

“No, I’m good for now, I think.”

“Okay. Well, can I know about you?”

“What do you want to know?”

“You had that ex-boyfriend you mentioned.”

“No one since him. I will admit that I didn’t get tested after we broke up right away, but there was this woman… She’s a parent at Gia’s school, and she’s gay. I met her last year. I thought that maybe she was interested in me or something, and I realized that I’d never gotten tested after my ex, only before. As far as I know, he never cheated, but I wanted to be careful. So, I went, and everything was good, but she wasn’t interested in me, so it was a moot point.”

“She wasn’t, huh?”

“No, she had a girlfriend I knew nothing about. So, that was the end of that. And now, here we are.”

Drew smiled at her right when their waiter arrived to take their drink order, and after he left, having poured water into their glasses, Drew couldn’t help but stare across the table at her date, thinking about how three years ago, she’d had a hard time meeting Selma’s eye because of what had happened between them, and now, she was on a date with her and worried about what happened tomorrow when they had to say goodbye at the airport.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” she asked later as she cut into her steak.

“Yes. That’s what this whole first date thing is, right? Basically, a bunch of questions and answers to find out whether or not we’re right for each other,” Selma replied.

“When we go back to the hotel, can I maybe bring my stuff into your room?”

“What stuff?” Selma asked before she took a bite of her chicken.

“All my stuff.”

Selma looked up from her plate then and seemed to need a little more help.

“Can I sleep over, Selma?”

“In my room?”

“In your bed, hopefully. I don’t really want to sleep on the floor.”

“Oh.”

“It’s our last night here. I’ve wanted to fall asleep next to you all week, but I kept leaving your room, or you kept leaving mine, and I just want one night where I can hold you, and we can wake up next to each other. Nothing has to happen. I just know I’m going to miss you like crazy, so I want as much time as possible with you before we have to leave. You can say no, if it’s not okay. Honestly, when you stayed at my place, it took everything in me that last night not to go into my room and slide into bed with you after that night at the park. You had your head on my shoulder, and I wanted to ask you then if it meant more than just a friend sitting next to a friend on a bumpy log trying to stay warm and comfortable, but I was too much of a coward. So, can I maybe just–”

“Drew?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re rambling.”

“I know. Sorry.” She laughed nervously and shook her head at herself.

“Don’t apologize. It’s adorable. Now, you’re being adorable.”

“Am I still hot?”

“You’re always hot. And yes, you can stay with me tonight. Get all your stuff and sleep in my room.”

“Your bed, though, right? Not on the floor?”

“I wanted you to slide into bed with me that night, too. If it makes you feel any better, we were both cowards.”

“Why would that make me feel better? We could’ve been doing this for longer, Selma.” Drew laughed again. “Do you want to get dessert? We could split something.”

“No, I want to finish this and go back to the hotel so you can put all your stuff in my room.”

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