Page 54 of Taking A Chance

Cora

Every nightfor the past two weeks has been the same. I get off work. Declan and I either go out for dinner or stay in and cook together. Sometimes we watch a movie or Declan paints while I work on my laptop. And then we go to bed together. Sometimes we actually sleep. Sometimes, we worship each other.

I haven’t slept alone since the first night in his apartment. He sleeps in my bed on the mornings I need to go to work early, because it makes more sense rather than hauling everything I need over to his place. On days I can sleep in, we’re usually at his place.

When he paints, he prefers to be alone. So sometimes we spend a few hours in our separate apartments then reconvene after. It’s quite the little routine. I’m telling this to Lyla via text while at work, when it hits me.

Me:OMG. Maybe this is what he meant by it being too easy to live so close.

Lyla:What do you mean?

Me:I mean, it’s only been a couple of weeks and we’re already slipping into a routine like we’ve been together for years.

Lyla:And that’s bad?

Me:It just feels a little fast. Don’t you think?

Lyla:I don’t think I can be the judge of that. After Gentry and I decided to be together, we moved in with each other. It had only been a couple of months. So…

Me:You’re right. You’re bad for this conversation.

Lyla:Does he make you happy? Are you satisfied? Content?

Me:Yes.

Lyla:Then stop focusing on what’s right or appropriate and just feel it.

I nod at my phone, because she’s right. I shouldn’t be concerned about some imaginary set of rules and what’s right or wrong. I’m happy. I’m sated. Nothing else matters. I try to think back to the last time I was this happy in the dating department. Before my two-year spree of bad dates, I dated a guy named Todd for a little while. Claire had set us up, Todd being a friend of Claire’s husband. And he was really nice. He really was. But after a few months in, I knew it didn’t feel right. The sex was…okay. Not bad. Not mind-blowing, but not bad. I mean, I had an orgasmmostof the times we slept together. Eventually, I broke it off, eager and hopeful to find something truly magical.

Boy, was I mistaken.

Then again, the last two years of suffering have made me more than grateful for what I have now. Sure, it’s still very new. Sure, it could end before it even gets that deep, but what I’ve been feeling recently is nothing short of worth it.

My phone buzzes again, and I absentmindedly pick it up, thinking it’s Lyla again.

Declan:You should’ve played hooky today.

Me:And lose my ability to pay bills?

Declan:You’re the boss. Long way away from not being able to pay bills.

Me:I have to set a good example for my employees.

Declan:You went out celebrating with them and I had to carry you home.

Me:This is such a bad time to bring up such a good point.

Declan:Can I bring you lunch?

Me:Yes, please.

It beats the other plan I had for lunch. The frozen dinner I left in the freezer last week will just have to wait a little longer.

Declan:Can I be your boyfriend?

If I had liquid in my mouth, I would have spit it out. Instead, I choke on oxygen, which is to say I choke on nothing at all. Or I’m just bad at being a human. My fingers hesitate over my phone screen for a full ten seconds.Be Declan Walsh’s girlfriend?

Me:Yes. Please.

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