Page 42 of Fall of Us
Andrew took another small sip; only half his shot glass emptied as he set it back down on the table in front of him. “I went home to my lease renewal notice.”
“And...” He paused so long that I worried if he’d even elaborate, but I didn’t want to rushhim, either.
“My rent is going up. I was already struggling with paying it, but while I can still pay, you can forget about me doing anything remotely fun.”
Yikes. Rent prices were insane. I knew the cost of my place was pretty steep as well, but I didn’t pay for it by myself. I paid maybe a third of it while my parents handled the rest.
“But you wouldn’t be this upset only about your rent. What else happened today?”
Andrew let out a humorless laugh before picking up the remainder of his drink and shooting it back. “Murphy’s Law. Anything that could go wrong at work went wrong. I’m here an hour before I’m supposed to be off.”
Now that he mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed what time he’d shown up. That wasn’t a good sign. “They let you go?”
“Thank fuck, no. Just sent me home for the rest of the day to calm down. I yelled at a patient.”
I wrapped an arm around Andrew’s shoulder and pulled him to my side. I kissed his dark hair and simply held him. We didn’t need more than that in moments like this. The simple comfort of being in each other’s presence was enough. We’d been doing it for years.
The idea hit me suddenly. Andrew didn’t need to worry about rent if he was here with me. I wouldn’t ask him to contribute, but if he wanted to, he could pay part of what was owed on this place.
“Move in with me.”
“What?”
Andrew pulled away from me, eyes wide like I’d lost my mind.
“It’s not that crazy. It wouldn’t be any different from when we were still only friends. Best friends live together all the time.”
Something flashed behind his eyes, like I’d messed up by saying something about us only being friends.
“I’m not—”
“Just say yes. It solves so many of your issues. And then we never have to worry about being apart anymore.” I wasn’t about to let him tell me he thought it was a bad idea. It was a terrible idea, considering that I was still trying to hide us. There’d be no denying what was happening between us.
I gave him my best pleading puppy dog eyes. His smile came back, though small and watery.
“Why is it impossible to tell you no?”
I laughed, wrapping my arms around him more completely and crawling into his lap. Andrew’s hands rested on my hips as he looked up at me. “Because it’s not something you really want to say no to. Live with me, Andrew. Make it so I never have to be without you.”
He pulled me down for a soft kiss that tasted of salt from his tears. I hated that he’d been so sad, but I was happy to make him feel even a little better.
When Andrew pulled back, that same half-smile was across his lips. “Okay.”
“Yes? That’s a yes?” My heart beat wildly, my body vibrating with excitement at his answer.
The chuckle he released was happy and genuine. It made those happy little butterflies flutter to life in my stomach.
“It’s a yes.”
Icouldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face as I continued to stock books on the shelf. This was real.
“You’re unusually happy. What’s up?”
I hadn’t noticed my mom coming around the corner, startling me, which wasn’t typical. My chest squeezed in panic as I tried to formulate a way to tell her the good news without giving everything away. Maybe she’d just be happy to hear that Andrew and I would live together as friends.
I was overthinking it. Mom wouldn’t care, but I still wanted to keep what was happening sacred. It still felt fragile. I’d already almost messed things up once. What if I got overly clingy and Andrew decided I wasn’t worth the effort?
“Andrew’s rent is going up, and I offered to let him move in with me... that’s okay? Right?”
