Page 19 of Fall of Us
Nathan shoved Chase’s shoulder and the two of them started laughing. “Aiden will live.”
Chase’s eyes widened comically. “Tell me I’m lying. I’m still not convinced he’s not going to take her with him whenever he comes over.”
“Baby, you’re being ridiculous.” Nathan leaned in and kissed Chase on the nose, which quickly turned into real kissing. I shifted in my seat, looking away from the spectacle they were making right there in the restaurant. Andrew shifted beside me. Was he uncomfortable with their open displays of affection as well?
When they finally broke apart, Chase at least looked a little embarrassed by how carried away they’d gotten. It was great that they were so in love. They both deserved it.
This time, when everyone went back to eating, I didn’t feel like our friends were picking apart every last move I made.
“Are you all right?”
I huffed as I flopped back onto my mattress.
“You aren’t mad at me, are you?”
Andrew chuckled as he pulled my glasses from my face and placed them on the nightstand. He leaned over and kissed mynose before gently running his fingers through my hair. My body unwound its tension with his intimate care.
“Why would I be mad at you?”
Another deep sigh escaped me. I wanted to sit here and just enjoy him petting me and not have to talk about the deep stuff. “Because I didn’t say anything to our friends.”
Andrew’s fingers stilled and then sat up. My body tightened, terrified he was going to leave in anger because I’d just reminded him I hadn’t been honest with our friends.
Before I knew what was happening, Andrew scooted behind me and pulled me so that I was spooned and resting against his chest. He kissed the crown of my head. “Don’t you want to tell them about us?”
When his arms wrapped around me, I threaded our fingers together and squeezed his hands. “We didn’t talk about it, but I sort of like keeping it between us for now. At least until we completely figure things out.”
Andrew’s chuckle stirred my hair, but I liked the feel of the rumble against my back. “If keeping it between us means you’re going to be super tense like today, is that really smart?”
I pulled away slightly, turning my head to give Andrew a half-hearted glare. “I was only so tense because we didn’t talk about a plan.”
Pretending to be mad at Andrew was nearly impossible. Even with my shitty eyesight, it was hard to not drown in the darkbrown swirl of his eyes. Andrew exuded protection and caring. He’d always been my solid rock and now he was all mine, as scary as that was.
Nothing else needed to be said between us. I was exhausted after the day and wanted to just curl into my best friend and rest. Then I suddenly remembered the question I’d been curious about during lunch.
As we lay there, snuggled against each other on the bed, my heart beat just a little faster as I asked what I’d been wondering about. “The other day, when you gave me the book?”
Andrew sighed. “What about it?”
I laughed. “Don’t laugh at me, okay? I’m probably overthinking it, but you picked me up and took me for lunch. Was that a date?”
There was another kiss to the back of my head and I melted for Andrew just a little more.
“It was whatever you wanted it to be.”
Chapter 13
Andrew
“Andrew, can you grab the customer at the front, please?”
I rolled my eyes as I tugged at my smock and headed to the front counter. At least I was working today, but if another patient yelled at me about something I had no control over, I was on the verge of quitting. I didn’t go to school for this. I could have gone to trade school, already had my certification, and been making better money, but I was stuck doing it this way. I couldn’t pay for additional schooling with my looming student loans.
I plastered the biggest, fakest smile I could muster onto my face as I saw the woman standing there with her classic ‘I’d like to speak to your manager’ haircut. She had sunglasses pushed on top of her head and she was checking her nails like she was being inconvenienced by having to wait for someone to help her.
“How may I help you today?”
She turned, sneering and cocking her hip while placing a manicured hand there. “It’s about time someone came up to help. My fluffy gets bad anxiety and needs his meds.”
