Page 24 of Something Forever

I know what I have to do.

I need to convince my new roommate that I’m husband material. Unfortunately, my schedule never lines up with Whitney’s long enough for me to talk to her. Every time I get home, she’s gone. I’d almost think she were avoiding me if I thought she cared about me even slightly.

If I go out there now, she’ll know that I know that Abbi is gone. And if she knows I know that, then she knows I can hear from my bedroom. And if she knows that, she’ll know I’m a nosy bastard.

I’ll deal with this tomorrow.

I wait until things go quiet and then make my way to the bathroom, ready for a shower instead, towel in hand.

“Hey.”

I turn, startled despite my embarrassing eavesdropping. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to disrupt, just heading for a shower.”

Her brow furrows and she smirks — a tipsy smirk. “You don’t have to apologize for showering.”

“Right.”

“Just letting you know Abbi left.” She offers a small smile, then turns around to resume tidying up. Chore Wheel Girl in action.

Chore Wheel Girl.

“You know what,” I say before I have time to talk myself out of it. “I thought about your chore rotation thing, and it’s a great idea. We should do it.”

Her head snaps towards mine, her face clouded in skepticism. “Really?”

Really, Liam?

“Absolutely, yeah.”

Absolutely, yeah?

She narrows her eyes further. “I thought you hated it.”

I shrug. “Well, I changed my mind, didn’t I?”

She glances away from me, still seeming unsure. “Okay,” she says finally. “If you really want to.”

“I really do,” I say, trying to inject as little sarcasm into my voice as possible.

“Well…” She perks up, smiling now. “If you want, we could make the wheel together? Like a craft project?”

I force a smile to match hers. “I love crafts.”

Who am I?

“Great, let’s do it tomorrow night!” She claps, an even wider smile spreading across her face. It’s like her face comes alive when she smiles. She should do that all the time. “We can drink wine! And I’ll make a charcuterie board!”

“Yay!” I flash a thumbs up.

Now I just have to figure out how to propose.

9

LIAM

The following evening, I walk into the kitchen to find Whitney sitting at the counter with an unopened bottle of rosé.

“You want some?” she asks.

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