Page 53 of That First Flight

His words of encouragement are everything I’ve ever wanted in life. Only further confirming the tightness in my chest filled with feelings I might have for my roommate. It’s only been three damn weeks and he has a complete chokehold on my life.

“Mom,” Mackenzie cuts through my thoughts. “How many pieces do you want?”

I’ve been in my own little texting bubble, I forgot she was even making dinner.

I’m lucky she didn’t burn the place down while I wasn’t paying attention.

“I’ll have two.” I smile up at her.

She gapes at me as she places a plate of French toast in front of me. “What’s with that weird look on your face?”

“I don’t have a weird look on my face.”

“You do. You’re all… smiley and giddy. Is Ollie texting you?”

“What? No. I mean. Yes. No,” I stutter, because this is new territory for us. I’ve never been in a relationship since having her. I’ve never had a situation like this arise around her.

“I hope it was.” She winks and she takes the seat next to me at the counter to eat her dinner.

My freakin’eight-year-olddaughter just winked at me.

“Do you like living here with him?” I ask reluctantly.

“I love it,” she says without an ounce of hesitation. “I really like Ollie too. He’s so funny to be around. I hope we get to stay here for good.”

“We can’t stay in his apartment for good.”

“Why not?”

“Because he’s being really nice by helping us get situated and our feet on the ground until I get a job. I’m sure he’ll want his space back.”

“Doubt it.” She shrugs before putting another massive bite of food in her mouth.

I don’t ask her what she means by that because I don’t want her confirming more feelings I already have for him, feelings I’ve been dodging left and right because I shouldn’t be feeling them.

Instead I just focus on finishing the dinner she made for us. After a few minutes of silence and the two of us finishing dinner, she goes to put her dishes in the sink and retreat to her room.

“Hey, Mackenzie?” I call out.

“Yeah?”

“I just want to tell you that I love you.”

She offers me a beaming smile. “I love you more, Mom.” And then she’s off to her room to do her own thing.

I find my place on the couch and watch reruns ofGrey’s Anatomy, my guilty pleasure, and pull out my laptop to research some questions.

I must have fallen asleep about two episodes in because I’m woken up by my laptop being removed from my lap and a thick warm blanket being draped on top of me. My eyes never fully open to see who it is, but a smile spreads across my lips anyway.

“Sweet dreams,” Oliver whispers.

I snuggle into the blanket, and then feel his lips on my forehead.

Something tells me that nothing I do can stop me from falling for my roommate.

Peyton

Good luck on your interview today, Macey!

---