Page 133 of Hyde and Seek

When he returned wearing track shorts, a t-shirt, and his converse, I sat up. “Where’re you going?”

God, my boyfriend is beautiful.

No, wait. My fiancé.

Don’t squeal. Don’t squeal.

Okay, totally squeal. Just try to disguise it as a cough or something.

“I’m gonna go get your ring.”

“I can wait ‘til tomorrow.”

Jake put his hands in his pockets and shook his head. “You might be able to, but I sure as fuck can’t. I’ve waited long enough.”

I threw the sheet off and hopped out of bed. “I’ll come with and we’ll just crash there.”

“Thought you wanted to sleep here?”

“We did what I wanted to do.” I quickly dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a slouchy, off the shoulder t-shirt, going commando and braless.

Reaching into my closet, Jake pulled a suitcase from my set and tossed it on the bed. “Grab some clothes for the rest of the weekend, yeah?”

“No problemo, Mr. Bossy Pants.”

*******

“Where do you wanna live?” I heard, and felt, Jake ask.

On his back in his bed, I was half on my side and half sprawled over him. My head rested on his shoulder while my leg was bent over his hips. One of his hands sifted my hair through his fingers.

“What do you mean?” I tried to sit up but his grip tightened and kept me tucked close.

“Do you wanna live here or your place?”

“I really hadn’t thought about that.” The reality of the changes that were coming made my stomach flip. I was excited. Thrilled out of my freakin’ mind. But I was nervous, too.

Jake chuckled. “Of course you hadn’t.”

“What’s so funny?” I again attempted, and failed, to push up.

“Most women’s minds go wild plannin’ every detail of this kinda stuff from the first date.”

I opened my mouth to argue when he talked over me.

“I know, you’re not most women.”

Seeing as he made my point for me, I closed my mouth but did it rolling my eyes.

“Don’t gotta decide tonight, but I’d like to get into the same place with you soon, yeah? Packin’ a bag to go back and forth got old long ago. Don’t care if it’s here, your house, or a new place as long as I come home to you every night.”

“A new place?”

“Yeah. That somethin’ you might like?”

It was scary as hell, but the good kind. “Yeah. Someplace that wasn’t mine then ours, or yours then ours. It will just be ours.”

“I like that. Get some sleep, yeah?”

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