Page 56 of Love Takes Home

I laugh, patting his chest. “No worries, big guy. I don’t want to be any closer to him than I have to be. But I have to get out of my parents’.”

“Is it really that bad?”

“It’s suffocating. I can’t take a shower that’s longer than ten minutes without Mom banging on the door asking if I’m alright. What the fuck am I going to do? Silently fall? And any noise out of my room after ten at night ends with her knocking to ask if I’m okay. I don’t even know how she hears anything!”

“She hears everything?”

“Yes, everything. And yes, that includes my…uh…things that use batteries. Which I can’t use because she hears them and wants to yell at me through the door.”

“Are you telling me you haven’t—”

“Gotten off before this morning since I moved home because my mother keeps interrupting me and I’ve decided it’s just not fucking worth it?”

He nods, silently conveying his apologies.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“We’ve got to get you out of there.”

“Agreed. But to where? All of my friends are shacked up or already have roomies.”

“I’m not.”

I sit up, looking at him. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“I think I might be?”

“You think, or you know?”

“I think when you’re ready, my home is your home.”

That he knows I’m nowhere near ready to jump into another living situation relaxes me and I settle back in his arms.

“I’ll never force you into something you aren’t ready for, Beautiful. But I do want you to know that when you decide you are ready, and you deem me worthy enough, I’ll make sure you never regret it.”

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“I feel I also need to point out that there’s a key under the planter on the back porch and anytime you need to get off, my bed is at your service.”

“Joker!” I laugh, smacking his chest.

“What? I need you relaxed, babe. Holding all that tension in with no outlet isn’t healthy. I’m just thinking about you and your health!”

“Keep telling yourself that, bud.”

We end the night laughing, and when he drops me off at home, well before ten o’clock, even my mom can’t annoy me. It was a good day.

Chapter 18

Friend Group Chat

Trish: Hey, Elle, Owen asked what SDE means. Can you come on over and explain it to him? Cause I can’t without laughing and, well, it’s your fault.

Elle: You want me to come talk to your little brother about small dicks?

Trish: No! I want you to tell him you’re sorry you posted that in a public group and then make something up.

Elle: I will not apologize for calling some asshole out for trying to throw our girl under the bus. Any man who does that has SDE. Super small. Dick. Energy.

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