Page 105 of No One Else

“Natalie and I are back together.” I can’t keep the shit-eating grin off my face as I say the words, my heart overflowing with happiness. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever be this happy again.

“Make-up sex?” he grins back, eyebrows raised.

Oh, God. I scrub my hand down my face, just wanting this next part to be over already. “Yeah, actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.” I walk over to the couch and sit, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. “You know I love you, and Natalie does too, but I’m twenty-one now, an adult, and I want to bring her over here sometimes for... alone time.” I hope he catches my drift. I really don’t want to spell it out for him.

“Well, why didn’t you say so? I won’t bother you two.”

I scratch the side of my neck, not eager to elaborate, but I need to make it clear. “I tried one time, but you kept asking if we wanted dessert-”

“I thought y’all were working on a project then.”

“Yeah, well, we weren’t.” I roll my eyes, a little worked up about it again. “And then you turned on the TV super loud and were yelling at the players. I couldn’t concentrate-”

“Performance issues?” he asks sympathetically.

“No!” Jesus. “I just- I know I’m your son, but I pay rent here too, and I’d like for me and her to have some privacy. Is that cool with you?”

“Of course it is. I want you to be happy. And I know that girl damn sure makes you happy. The way you’ve been the past few weeks, moping around here-”

“All right, all right, I don’t need you to relive it.”

He gives a small smile. “How about if you two are out here in the living room I can take that as a sign it’s okay to be part of the conversation, but if you go into your room, I’ll know to make myself scarce and keep the noise down out here. Sound good?”

A weight drops from my shoulders. “That sounds perfect.”

“Reminds me of my college days,” he muses. “This was before I met your mom, mind you. Paul and I would put a tie on the door when one of us was busy. Do they still do that nowadays? What do Natalie and her roommate do?”

“Morgan never leaves the room,” I grumble.

“So where do you two-”

“We don’t, okay? Other than the hotel room in Orlando. And then just now in the Bronco, but damn was that uncomfortable.”

He scratches his jaw, surprised. “With the way you two look at each other, I thought you’d be fucking like rabbits.”

I grimace at his analogy. Just shoot me now. Please.

He looks more pointedly at me. “Do I need to have a safe sex talk with you?”

“Dad-” I choke. “No, we’re fine.”

“How about you invite her over tomorrow night for dinner?”

“We both work tomorrow.” Not that I’ve still been keeping track of her schedule or anything. “But the night after I will.”

“Be good to see her again. I’ve missed her.”

“I’ve missed her too,” I murmur. More than I could bear.

But that’s over now. The future is bright.

She’s mine again.

Forever.

---