Page 90 of Resistance Training
“Oh.”
“My mom was actually pretty upset that I didn’t want her talking to you or your mom at all.”
“Oh. Well, that is nice to hear. So can our parents be friends again now?”
“Yeah. I look forward to giving mine the good news.”
I’m about to mention how happy my mom will be to have two more people to talk about Aubrey’s wedding to, when I realize I still haven’t got a date to that wedding yet…
He slowly reaches down to touch Hairy’s neck and Hairy doesn’t move, so he strokes his fur, as sweetly as he stroked my cheek just now. And I know I need to lock this guy down, like, yesterday. I clear my throat and say, “So, I have this event on Orcas Island in June…”
“Aubrey’s wedding?” he asks without looking up.
“Yeah. How are your weekends looking that month?”
“If you want me to go as your date, Vivian, I am available to go as your date.”
“Yeah? That was easy.”
“Yeah, well. I’m easy.”
We both laugh at that, because it was sonoteasy to get to this place with him. “Okay. Well, I’ll tell Aubrey I’m bringing you as my date, then.” I roll over onto my back and look up at the ceiling. “Brad Mitchell is my date…”
He sighs, stops touching Hairy Styles, and strokes my arm. “Hey. I meant what I said—I do want you in all the ways a man wants a woman, Vivi. I have no idea if I’ll be good at this. But I want to be good at it.”
And because I would like to think thatI’mthe one training and challenginghimnow, I look him in the eyes and whisper, “Be good at what? Exactly?”
“Relationship-type stuff.”
“Serious-relationship-type stuff?”
He smirks. “Boyfriend-type stuff. Too soon?”
Grinning, I say, “Bradley, you are right on time.” I sit up, because it feels like I should sit up to say this. “If we do this, I can’t promise that I won’t hurt you again—I can only promise that I want to learn how to love you in a way that you will always know I never want to hurt you.”
He sits up too, very carefully, checking to make sure he’s not disturbing Hairy. “Okay. Same.”
“Okay.” I lean in to kiss him.
He kisses me softly, touches my face. “I should go home and check on Bella.”
I nod. “Yeah. We can stay at your place next time.”
He nods, kisses my forehead. “Let’s do that tomorrow. I had fun tonight.”
Laughing, I ask, “What should I call that sex position we did when I text Aubrey about it as soon as you leave? Lazy doggy style?”
“Excuse me? That was called Captain Peen: Brave New Dog. Between the two of us, I was definitely not the lazy one.”
We’re so cute.
Beaming at him, I wrap my hands around his bicep and say, “I love us.”
I only feel him tense up a little bit. I want to tell him I love him, because I know I do. But love is a muscle. We’ve already worked our love muscles pretty hard the past few days. And I’ve learned that we need to take rests, so our torn love-muscle fibers can repair themselves and grow stronger.
What I do say to him is “In case it wasn’t obvious, I forgive you for being a dick and ghosting me. I forgive us for being young and scared of what other people think.”
“I forgive you too,” he says, nudging my shoulder with his. “I don’t forgive Other Brad and his shithead friends, though.”
