Page 72 of Home With You

"You'll be off the streets by winter. You won't have to deal with the cold."

"Maybe, or I might still be here," I say, knowing I probably will. The past six months I've had no luck finding a job. I don't even know where to start looking.

"We need to work on that," Miles says. "For now, you're coming with me." He walks to the tent. "You can have my bed. I'll take the couch."

"Wait, what are you doing?" I ask as he goes in the tent.

"What do you want in here?"

I join him in the tent. "I'll get it myself. You need to get out. You're not supposed to be in here."

"Why not?" He lies on his side, smiling at me. "I like it in here. It's like camping when I was a kid."

"Believe me, it's not the same." I lie down and stare up at the tent. "I never thought I'd be living like this."

"Hey." He moves over until he's right beside me, propped up on his side, looking down at me. "It'll get better. This is only temporary."

"You keep saying that but what if it's not?"

"I'll help you. I know you don't want my help but you at least need to consider it."

"Even if I wanted you to help me, you couldn't. I need a job, and that's something I need to find myself."

"Yeah, but you're more likely to get a job if you have a place to shower and sleep and wash your clothes."

"I'm not living with you, Miles."

"It would only be temporary. Until you can save up enough for your own place."

"That could take forever."

"It'll take even longer if you're living on the streets. All I'm saying is to think about it."

I look into his eyes, feeling his body beside mine, and a heat surges through me. The kind that makes me want him to kiss him, or do more than that. His face is right above me. If he lowered it by just a few inches, he could kiss me. But he won't because he doesn't think I Iike him that way. Or maybe he does, but he doesn't think he should make a move. I really can't tell what he's thinking. I just want him to kiss me.

"I'll let you pack your stuff," he says, backing away and crawling out of the tent.

I pack a few things in my backpack and we walk to his building.

"You care if I take a short nap?" he asks as we go in his apartment. "I only got like three hours sleep. I can barely stay awake."

"Go ahead," I say, dropping my backpack on the floor.

"Help yourself to anything in the kitchen. Or if you want to take a shower, there's extra towels in the bathroom."

"Where's the bathroom?"

"Over there." He points to a door that's partially closed, just below his lofted bedroom.

"Your bedroom's up but the bathroom's down?" I glance around the open room. "This is an odd setup. I mean, I like it but the layout is a little strange."

"It's supposed to be hip and cool, but I agree, the layout could be better. Need anything before I go upstairs?"

"No. I'll just hang out down here. I promise I'll be quiet."

"Don't worry about it. Watch TV if you want. I can sleep through the noise."

He goes up to his bedroom. He hasn't put a curtain up yet so I can see the entire room, which is just a bed, dresser, and nightstand. He collapses down on the bed. He's exhausted. I am too. I wish I could go up and join him, and I would if we were a couple. A dating couple. But we're not, so I stay downstairs and go sit on the couch.

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