Page 79 of All Her Broken Pieces

The past fewweeks have been amazing. I’ve never been happier. Bridget and I have spent almost every night together, and it feels like I’m finally making progress with her. Ever since she met my mom, something has shifted, and she’s more open to the idea of us.

Most nights, we order in, or I cook at her place, and we watch movies or read together. I love our quiet nights and the quality time we spend together. But I’m starting to feel like her dirty little secret, because other than her apartment, the only place we go out in public together is Mangia Bene.

When I suggest other places to try or that we go out to a movie, she always has an excuse for why we can’t go. We’ve encountered a few awkward interactions over the past few months, but nothing as bad as that nurse thinking I was her son while she was prepping for surgery.

There are the occasional stares from people the few times we’re out, and I know Bridget notices them, but I’m proud to be seen with such a strong, beautiful woman, and I’m convinced those stares have more to do with how fucking hot she is.

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Dinner rush is finally over, and I toss my apron in the linen hamper at the back of the kitchen.

“Fuck, bro, if I never see another black truffle risotto, I’ll die a happy man.” Alyx complains.

Laughing, I ask, “What did you do to piss off Dre? She knows you hate that station.”

“I told her Nyomi couldn’t move in with me,” he admits, and guilt washes over me like cold rain soaking through my clothes.

“Shit, that because of me?”

“Yes and no. She knows you’re spending a lot of time at Bridget’s, but they don’t know you’ve all but moved out. If she moves in and sees you’re never there, she’s gonna be pissed sleeping on the couch. Plus, I kind of like having the place to myself. I don’t wanna be cockblocked by my sister.”

“That makes me feel a little better. It’s nice having a place to crash if Bridget needs her space, but I can’t bring up moving in. It might spook her. But I feel bad putting Nyomi out.”

“Don’t. Honestly, I think it’s my moms that don’t want Nyomi pussy-blocking them. You coming by anytime soon to grab more clothes? Or are you still living out of that duffle bag? She let you have some closet space yet?”

“Mostly out of the bag. I’ve got a drawer, and a few things hung up in her closet, and all my shit was on her bathroom counter before she organized it in a neat little tote for me. I don’t want to rush her.”

“I get that. You work tomorrow?” he asks as he heads for the door.

I take a step closer to him. “Actually, I wanted to ask you about something. I kind of need your advice.”

“If you use two fingers, they usually come faster,” he jokes.

“Jesus fuck,” I groan, dropping my head in my hands.

“Look, if you don’t know how to make her come by now?—”

“I know how to make her come. Fucking hell, keep your voice down,” I warn, glancing around us to make sure no one is listening. “This isn’t about that.”

“Only fucking with you, bro. What’s up?”

“Things are really good between us right now, but Bridget is still stressing about the difference in our ages.”

“For real? She’s hot, what’s she worried about?”

“Some nurse mistook me for her son back when she had her surgery. It’s still fucking with her to the point that we spend most of our nights in. I don’t want to push her to go out somewhere if she’s not ready, but I need her to see that she’s the only one hung up on our ages. Plus, I want to go out for my birthday somewhere other than my place of employment.”

“You could take her to a Cobras game,” he suggests. “She is a fan, right? If she’s a Pythons fan, you may need to dump her.”

Our local hockey team, the Columbus Cobras, have a long-standing rivalry with the Pittsburgh Pythons. You can’t go anywhere in this city without hearing jokes about which city has the bigger snake.

“She likes the Cobras,” I assure him. “But that’s way too public. She’d never be okay with that.”

“I have an idea. You know about Pulse?”

“The sex club?”

“Yeah, it might be the perfect place to take her. Ain’t no one there giving a fuck about how old either of you are. In fact, that might be a turn-on if you want to add to your party of two. Think she might be down?”

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