Page 94 of The Goat in the Bedroom
“When you got...” She gestured vaguely downward, blushing. “I realized I wanted to affect you that way. That I wanted you to want me. But honestly? Maybe always. Maybe I've always been in love with you and just didn't know it.”
Vincent and Holly were sitting in the hallway watching us, their little tiny tails wagging, looking extremely pleased with themselves.
“I think they planned this,” I said.
“Definitely. They're probably wondering what took us so long.”
My phone started buzzing on my bed. Then Artie's started from her room. We ignored them, too wrapped up in each other to care.
“Flynn's going to be insufferable,” she said against my lips.
“Jules probably already has a PowerPoint presentation ready.”
“Titled 'I Told You So: A Six-Year Journey.'”
“With graphs.”
“So many graphs.”
We were laughing and crying and kissing, and it was messy and perfect and everything.
“So what now?” Artie asked, pulling back to look at me.
“Now we stop pretending.”
“No more practice?”
“No more practice. This is real. You and me.”
“I like the sound of that.”
I kissed her again, deeper this time, trying to pour everything I felt into it. Six years of friendship, months of pining, weeks of torture, all culminating in this moment.
“Your room or mine?” I asked against her mouth.
“Yours is closer.”
We stumbled backward into my room, still kissing, tripping over Vincent who bleated in protest. We fell onto my bed, laughing, and Holly immediately jumped up to join us.
“We're not having sex with the goats watching,” Artie said firmly.
“Agreed.” I wasn't going to fuck this up again. “As much as I want to make love to you right now, I also want to do this right. Let me romance you, take you out on a real date. But can we just... lie here for a while? I feel like I'm dreaming, and I want to wake up with you in my arms.”
She curled into my side, her head on my chest, and it was the same position we'd been in that morning in Vegas. Except this time, there was no pretending, no panic, no pulling away.
“I love you,” she said quietly. “I feel like I need to say it a thousand times to make up for not saying it before.”
“I love you too. And you can say it as many times as you want, but I’m going to say it more.”
She hit me with a pillow. “Yeah, well, I said it first, so I win.”
“Technically Vincent heard it first. I've been telling him for weeks.”
She sat up and glanced between me and little Vinnie. “The goat knew before me?”
“He’s been very supportive.”
Vincent bleated in agreement, then climbed between us, settling in like he belonged there. Holly followed, curling up against Artie's side.
