Page 123 of Break My Heart
‘Lexi, can you take over?’ Gina asks as Lexi cleans off a table.
‘I got it,’ Aria says, appearing from the back. ‘Hey, Sawyer.’
‘Hey.’ I smile at her. ‘I like what you did with the place.’
‘Thanks! I’m really into Christmas.’
Aria hung colored lights along the back of the bar and the ceiling and put a Christmas tree in the corner.
‘I’m going to head out,’ Gina tells her. ‘But call if you need anything.’
‘I will.’ Aria goes over to a guy who just sat down at the end of the bar.
‘I just need to grab my stuff,’ Gina says to me. ‘Then we can leave.’
Gina and I are going to the town Christmas tree lighting, thento my parents’ house for the annual Kanfield Orchard chili dinner. It’s a tradition my parents started before I was even born. Every year after the tree lighting, people come to the orchard for chili, cornbread, and cookies. It’s to raise money for charity. The charity changes every year. This year we’re raising money to get a new wheelchair for Angie, my friend Eric’s little sister. She needs a new one, but the kind she uses costs $15,000, which her parents can’t afford and insurance won’t cover.
‘Before you run off,’ I say, ‘I’ve got something for you.’ I slide an envelope over to Gina across the bar.
‘What’s this?’
‘Open it and find out.’
She looks in the envelope. ‘A key?’
‘It’s for my apartment.’
She holds it up. ‘Why do I need a key? You’re always there when I come over.’
‘But if I’m not, you need to be able to get in.’
‘Okay.’ She slips the key in her pocket, not getting the significance. ‘I’ll be right back.’
She’s gone before I can explain. Moments later, she returns and we go outside to the street.
‘Gina, it’s more than that.’ I take her hand, stopping her.
She turns to me. ‘What are you talking about?’
‘The key. I gave it to you because .?.?.’ I take a breath. This is a huge deal for me. After Kendall moved out, I didn’t think I’d be ready for a girl to live with me again for a very long time. ‘I’m asking you to live with me.’
Gina’s eyes widen. ‘You’re what?’
‘I want you to move in with me. I know my place is small, but we don’t have to stay there. We can get a different place, maybe even rent a house.’
She slowly smiles. ‘You really want me to live with you?’
‘You’re there all the time anyway, and I like it better when you’re there. And this way, I’ll have a place to eat. You can bring over that table I made you so we don’t have to eat on the couch.’
‘Is that the real reason you want me to move in? To get extra furniture?’
I pull her into my arms. ‘I want you to move in because I love you and want us to be together.’ I kiss her. ‘So what do you say?’
She smiles. ‘How soon can I move in?’
We talk about it and decide she’ll move in tonight. A lot of her stuff is already at my place. We can get the rest of her things later. The lease on her apartment ends this month. She’s been looking for a new place but hasn’t found one. I think she was secretly hoping I’d ask her to move in.
‘Sawyer, look!’ Gina points to a church on our way to the tree lighting. We left early so we could walk around the downtown and see all the shops decorated for Christmas.
