Page 91 of When Morning Comes Around

“No! Don’t apologize. I appreciate it, Nina, but Terry’s right. I want to get back to the way things were between us. I don’t want to put distance between us just because I’ve been away all this time or because we’re older now.”

“Good,” said Terry. “So, back to my question…”

Sadie laughed as Nina shook her head. “No, sadly, I haven’t had him for dessert yet, but I’m hoping that will change very soon.”

“What’s taking you so long?”

She rolled her eyes. “Think about it. I’m staying with Dad, and he’s sharing Damon’s house with Jake.”

“Oh, of course.” Nina gave her a sympathetic look.

“I still don’t get it,” said Terry. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

Sadie laughed. “Maybe it’s just me then – but no, he feels the same way.”

“About what?” Terry asked. “Seriously, you’re going to have to tell me, because I don’t understand what you mean.”

“I don’t feel comfortable inviting him to spend the night with me at Dad’s place. He doesn’t feel comfortable – or maybe that’s not true, maybe he just thinks that I wouldn’t be comfortable spending the night at his place with Jake on the other side of a thin bedroom wall.”

“Oh! Crap. It didn’t even register with me what you were talking about.”

“That’s okay. Maybe it’s just me. Maybe you didn’t understand what I meant because it wouldn’t bother you.”

“No, I get it.” Terry smiled. “When Cal and I first started seeing each other, I felt like a kid again at first. Elle and Skye were staying with me, so I couldn’t bring him home. Our first few dates ended with kisses on my doorstep. So yeah, I get it. But he had his own place. It didn’t take long for me to start staying over there. What are you going to do?”

She wasn’t sure that she wanted to tell them. Not because she didn’t want to share with them like they used to, but because she didn’t want to share Dom’s business.

Nina smiled at her. “You’ll figure it out in your own time, won’t you?”

“We will, I think we already have, but…”

“But the two of you need time to get used to things, and used to each other, before you go sharing with anyone else,” said Terry. “So, I’ll shut up for now, shall I?”

“No, you don’t need to shut up. Let’s just change the subject.”

“Okay, but it’s not a total change. Are you guys going to come to The Boathouse with everyone on Friday night?”

Sadie shrugged. “I don’t know. What’s going on?”

“Just a regular get together,” said Nina. “We don’t do it every weekend but more often than not, Friday night is when we all have dinner together. Sometimes we come over to Taryn’srestaurant. Sometimes we go to The Boathouse. This week, it’s The Boathouse. You guys should come.”

“I’ll ask if he wants to.”

“Good,” said Terry. “I’m excited to see the two of you together.”

Sadie smiled. She was excited by the idea of going out with Dom with everyone else.

“You need to start building your social life back up,” said Nina. “You used to be the life and soul of the party.”

She nodded. She didn’t want to explain that she hadn’t even been to a party in years. She shifted in her seat. From what she’d seen, Dom didn’t seem like a social animal. So far, their relationship had been kind of domestic. She just hoped that he’d be up for going out sometimes. She enjoyed his company, but…

Terry grinned at her. “You and Dom are a good match.”

She gave her a puzzled look. “What do you mean? In what way?”

“You know – life and soul of the party.”

She gave her friend a puzzled smile. She wouldn’t have described him that way, but then again, she doubted that he thought of her that way, either. They were still getting to know each other, but from Terry’s comment, it seemed that she still had more to learn than she’d realized.

---