Page 71 of Only You

“But last night was great. It was just what I needed. Of course you showed up yesterday just when I needed you most. Like magic.”

“Does it sound strange that I’m glad we went to Bobby’s?”

“Not strange at all. I needed the closure.”

“Yeah.”

We hadn’t spent a lot of time outside of the bedroom, but just being in his home, feeling his presence and, weirdly, his blessing had helped me accept that he was gone. A strange memorial, maybe, having sex in his guest room. But it’d helped me lay Bobby to rest and crown his memory with something I knew would make him happy: me and Daniel together.

“So…” I was sitting on the kitchen floor with my back to the wall, twisting the cord around my fingers. I wondered where he was and what he was doing. “What happens now?”

“I guess I have no choice but to wait it out here. Babysit her for a few more weeks. At least I’ve already set up a project for us to tackle together so we won’t be sitting around making each other angry. The house will go up for sale soon, and I’ve got a list of things I need her to pack up for me to put into storage or decide how to otherwise handle. Even if I have to deal with the legalities of the sale all alone, at least I won’t have to worry that she’ll accuse me of thoughtlessly giving away or selling one of her prize bath mats or something.”

“That’s good.” But that hadn’t been what I meant. I was selfish, maybe, but I’d wanted to know what was next for us. “You’ll be handling the sale? Alone?”

“I have an attorney on retainer and a real estate agent he recommended, but otherwise yes. She’s given me her power of attorney.”

“Wow.” It was all so complicated.

“Enough about her. How are you doing? Really?”

“I’m good. Really.”

“No regrets?”

“About what?”

He laughed, and the sound made my insides tingle. “About last night. How fast we moved. The things we did.”

“No. Do you?”

“Not even one.”

“Whew.” I brought my knees up to my chest and hugged them with one arm. Twirling butterflies came to life in and around the vicinity of my heart. “I was worried since you asked.”

“No. I was just checking in. I loved what we did.”

“Me too.”

“And that’s one reason I think we should slow things down a little.”

I blinked. “Slow down?” But we’d been wanting each other all summer. Did we need to go slower now that we could be together?

“I just mean that last night was the best. Being alone with you like that made me feel the happiest I have in a long time. And given everything—my mom, Bobby’s death—that’s precious to me. Sex with you is something I don’t want to rush or ruin.”

Could sex be ruined by rushing it? I remember Adam resisting moving on to full-on fucking, too. Was there something about me that made a guy want to slow down after he got a taste?

“But last night when I let things escalate—when I escalated them myself—I’d been thinking my mom would be gone this afternoon, and that, aside from dealing with the house, I’d have all the time in the world to focus on us, and on building something great together.”

“Okay…” Everything he was saying sounded amazing, but there was something about his tone that gave me pause.

“But with my mom still here, and without even the kids to keep us away from each other, I just… I need us to slow things down.”

I frowned. “All right. I don’t want to rush you.” I could hear the tension in my voice. “But I don’t understand. If being with me makes you happy, why do you want to deny yourself a break from the situation with your mom?”

“Because it wouldn’t be a break. It’d be…an interlude. I’d be using you as a distraction instead of giving you—and us—my full attention. You deserve all of me, not just scraps.”

“I’m happy to take scraps.”

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