Page 57 of Nonverbal

He lets out a loud, “Ha!” before realizing I’m serious. Then he presses a fist against his mouth and his eyes go wide. “Bro. Sex with her was that amazing?”

“We haven’t gotten that far.”

He stares a moment, baffled. “What have you been doing since Amber left?”

“Domestic shit, but I haven’t been home much because of work. I come home late and she has dinner ready. We hang out and watch TV for a few hours. Talk. She’s been insisting that I need comfort, so she holds me on the couch and pets my head.”

Miguel stifles a laugh. “She holds you on the couch and pets you like a cat? That’s cute.”

Sounds lame when I say it out loud, but I like it. It’s sweet. Caring. I knew I was feeling something before, but now she’s giving me all this affection and we’re living alone like a couple. My insides are going nuts. It’s definitely more than lust.

“Yeah, well, I don’t mind being her cat.”

“You sure it’s love and not just, I don’t know, relief?” Miguel offers. “With your sister getting help, that has to be a load off.”

“I don’t know. You fall in love every five minutes, so what’s it like for you?” Miguel is a serial dater. He falls way too hard, too fast, and it freaks women out. The ones who stay become toxic.

He smirks. “Yeah, guess I am familiar with that emotion, huh? Let’s go through the checklist.”

“Checklist?” I run my hand through my hair. I’m glad I have Miguel because sometimes I’m clueless. He’s a bit more in touch and open with his feelings.

He wiggles his eyes brows again. “Signs you’re in love. First, you think about her a lot?”

“Obsessively.”

“Feel like you’re on a roller coaster?”

I nod. “From the moment she walked in.”

“Want to do anything and everything for her? Daydream about the future? Act possessive?”

“Yes to everything.”

He holds up a finger. “Here’s a good one. Do you think sex is the most thing important between you?”

“Fuck.” I hang my head. My answer is no.

Neither of us has tried to have sex since Amber left. We’re both satisfied with cuddling and kissing. Life has been interesting. I never know what to expect. One day, I come home and she’s in the middle of a rave. Another, she’s watching hardcore porn on the couch while eating chips and salsa. Yesterday, I came home to find Bamsy on the kitchen table propped up to look like he was reading comics and drinking one of my beers. It was fucking hilarious.

I can’t imagine life ever getting boring with her, sex or no sex.

“Shit. You got it bad,” Miguel says.

“I know.”

“So, what’s the issue?”

“Paige doesn’t want a relationship.”

“She told you?”

“No, Amber did. She basically said Paige wants random hookups. Then I had to promise not to touch Paige because of ‘how I am’.”

Miguel holds his stomach and laughs. “I feel so sorry for you, man. This is karma for all the women you told ‘it’s not you, it’s me’. I love it.”

“It was me. Anyway, what should I do? Amber is going to flip when she finds out, but I’m already in too deep. Paige doesn’t want anything serious, and this is the one time I can’t do casual.”

Miguel scratches his chin and takes a moment to think. “Amber will forgive you. Eventually. As for your feelings, be honest and tell Paige.”

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