Page 26 of Harboring Secrets
Brodie let out a shaky breath. “I’m not ready to give you the grand tour, Liam.”
The closed bedroom door sat at the other end of the room. Maybe one day I’d earn the right to be invited in there, but until then, I wouldn’t give up trying.
“I can get the pizza if you want to have a picnic in your living room with me,” I said. “And maybe next time I could come pick you up and take you out somewhere. I’m not ready to give up on us.”
Brodie paused, and then he licked his lips and gave me a tight nod. “I’d like that. The picnic, I mean. And maybe the date.”
I reached for him and brushed a strand of hair off his forehead. The gesture felt almost too forward after days and days of not touching him, but I couldn’t resist. “I’ll be right back.”
The walk to my car and back gave me time to get my dick under control. I grabbed a blanket and the cooler from the back and the pizza from the front and carried everything into the living room. Brodie took the pizza from me and I set the blanket out in the middle of the empty room.
I took one side of the blanket and he took the other, sticking the pizza in the middle as though it were a chaperone. From the cooler, I grabbed a couple drinks, just pop tonight.
“I figured we’d work our way up to wine dates,” I told him as I passed him an orange soda, his favorite.
“You’re really going to date me?” Brodie cracked the can open and it echoed in the empty space like a gunshot. A laugh bubbled out of him and he took a sip. “That was louder than I expected.”
“Of course I’m going to date you. I fucked up, and you deserve better. The way we met was magical, and our time together was something I’ll cherish, no matter what. But out there wasn’t the real world. I want to know the real world Brodie and I want you to know me that way too.”
He nudged the pizza box closer to me, prompting me to take a slice.
“I’d like that. I’d also like it if you used my phone number. You can text me and stuff, you know. You don’t have to just pop up every few days like the world’s slowest whack-a-mole.”
“Okay. I’ll text you.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes, both enraptured by the way the light moved through the room. Whoever painted the inside of the house was a magician. The colors and the light blended together and created this soft, glowing atmosphere.
“I think you have the most romantic living room I've ever seen. The realtor should have shown this house at sunset only.”
“Well, it was my luck that they didn’t. This was the second place I looked at. The first was this massive, modern monstrosity. Everything was very in style. Very white and gray. I hated it. Besides, what do I need with two and a half bathrooms?”
My own apartment was much larger than I needed, but it wasn’t something I’d thought about. Having money meant having space. An abundance of it. Houses were status and my parents had loved status. And their parents before them and so on for generations.
My apartment was one of their properties. Not that they’d ever lived in it. I doubt they ever saw the inside. They likely bought it to say they had a unit in the building because everyone wanted to live there. They’d rattle off lines about how it was a good investment, of course.
“Maybe there’s a place for sale nearby. We can be neighbors,” I said, only half joking.
“If you want the number of my agent, I’m sure he’d be glad to land another sale.”
“I’ll text you for it later. I’d love to not sleep in a hotel for a while.”
“God, I know. I can’t wait to get my shit out of storage. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing time. A once-in-a-lifetime kind of adventure, but I’m looking forward to having my own space again. The lack of room service is the only downside.”
“There’s always Door Dash. Or you can call me.” I took a slice of pizza. My excitement finally curbed enough for my appetite to make an appearance.
“My very own delivery driver?” Brodie laughed. “You’d do that too, wouldn’t you?”
“There’s not a lot I wouldn’t do for you,” I repeated. Maybe it was a bit too honest, but not being honest with him had got us in this position in the first place.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, his voice rough and deep. Then he turned his attention back to his house and the way it seemed to glow as the sun crawled down the sky to tuck itself into bed. He watched the sunset and I watched him, and I was certain I had the better view.
Chapter 13
Brodie
Thegoodthingabouthaving two brothers with boyfriends was that it took only a single afternoon to get all my stuff out of storage and piled into my new place. Archer and Clay, both artists, were impressed by the inside and I promised they could come back one night when I was settled in and watch the sunset.
I think Shane was preparing to let Archer redecorate the inside of his house, which was now their house. Liam had offered his help, but I’d declined. He’d made good on my instructions to text me and had sent me sporadic texts all day long. While I’d spent the morning grocery shopping and stocking my pantry, Liam had been exploring the area. He sent pictures of himself at Bennett’s asking if I’d eaten there before, as if I’d never heard of it. There had been mention of a breakfast date in our future.
