Page 73 of Strawberry Kisses

“Eh, hell yeah. They’re not even fighting.” I tilted my head up to kiss him because it had simply been far too long since I’d had Patrick’s mouth on mine, and I was suffering.

“Yeah, I thought something was going on last week when they were on shift together. Apparently they didn’t speak to each other all service. Everyone was talking about it.” Patrick finally noticed I wanted a kiss and brought his mouth down to mine. I sighed happily against him. I couldn’t wait to get back to our house and relax. We could snuggle up on the sofa, get a takeaway, and chill.

“I wonder who’ll crack and tell you first,” I said teasingly, knowing poor Patrick had been in the middle of their fighting for years. If they were going to spill the beans to anyone, it would be Patrick.

“Is that a hint for me to tell you when I find out?”

“I mean… Please?”

“You’re not very subtle, you know that?” Patrick’s lips twitched into a smile, and I scoffed.

“Subtle is boring. I’d much rather be wonderfully exuberant.”

“I wouldn’t have you any other way.” He kissed me again as warmth flooded my chest. Why had I fought so hard to deny myself this when every moment was perfection? If I had a time machine, past Connor and I would be having words.

“There you are,” Levi said from behind me. “Come on, slackers. We’ve finished loading the van while you two are in here skiving off.”

“That’s what I’m paying you for,” I teased, and Levi rolled his eyes so hard they practically disappeared into the back of his head.

“You’re not paying me at all, asshole.” He was grinning though, so I knew he didn’t mind. He still kinda owed me for helping him pull the showcase together so quickly. This, plus the whole cake incident, would pretty much make us even again.

“You’re doing it because you love me,” I said. “And because we’ll give you food.”

“As long as it’s not your cake, then we’re good.”

“Ugh, fine. I suppose I can give you actual food.” I smiled and stepped out of Patrick’s arms, looking up at him. “Do you wanna go ahead in the van and I’ll follow in my car? I can just do a final sweep and make sure we’ve got everything and then you can supervise this lot.”

“Hey, we’re not totally incompetent,” Ben called from the living room.

“That’s debatable,” Levi added.

I could feel an argument brewing because apparently Aaron and Josh had passed on their penchant for bickering to Ben and Levi. I looked at Patrick and he nodded, clearly thinking exactly the same thing.

“Okay, let’s get going then,” Patrick said, motioning for Levi to head out the door. He turned and looked over his shoulder at me before he turned the corner. “See you soon.”

“I can’t wait.” Because honestly, I couldn’t. Even though we’d decided to move in together as soon as we’d started dating, it had taken ages for us to find a free day to get everyone together. It hadn’t come fast enough in my opinion.

I finished wiping down the kitchen and gathered the last of the cleaning products, shoving them into an old bag for life. I did a final sweep around, double-checking all the wardrobes just in case I’d forgotten anything before making my way out the front door, locking it behind me. I didn’t really feel any sadness at leaving the flat behind because I was too excited about what was happening next.

I made my way to my little car and jumped in to set off for the new house, making a quick stop at the Co-op to grab a ton of sandwich meal deals for everyone before making my way across town. By the time I got to the house, the van was half-unpacked, and after a quick break for food, it didn’t take us long to get everything else unloaded. Soon Patrick and I were alone in our house with President Whiskers, of course, who’d watched the entire affair from the back of the sofa wearing an air of indifference. Although he had tried to trip Aaron up at one point by winding around his ankles while Aaron was carrying a box through the living room.

“So,” I said as we made our way into the living room and collapsed onto the sofa together. It was only four o’clock, but I was fucking exhausted. “What do you want to do now?”

“How about we just chill here for a bit?” Patrick opened his arms so I could snuggle into his side, my favourite place in the world. “Watch a movie, nap, and then later we can order some food? Maybe get a curry?”

“With extra garlic naan?”

“Of course. I’ll even kiss you afterwards.” Patrick handed me the remote and gave me a fond smile. A smile that told me so many things—that he cared for me, that he thought I was cute, that he was glad I was here, and that he loved me. It was the smile that I’d only ever seen him wear for me. “Cheesy romcom?”

“You read my mind.”

I flicked on the TV and scrolled through Netflix, choosing an old romcom that we’d seen a million times. Then I snuggled deeper into Patrick while his arm came down to rest around my shoulders. It was the same thing we’d been doing for years. Only this time I had no doubt in my mind about Patrick’s feelings for me.

We were in love. And nothing was going to change that.

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