Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 97382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 487(@200wpm)___ 390(@250wpm)___ 325(@300wpm)
I snort at that. “He is, but he’s grown on me.”
“Like a fungus?”
I shrug. “I was going to say like a wart.”
I mean, I may love the guy, but I’m not going to go too soft on him.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE
Dawson
“Are you ready to head home?”
Ambrosia is checking her socials when she glances over, her lips quirking up at one side. She unfortunately changed from her robe to a pair of leggings and an oversized Bullies sweatshirt. She has one of my beanies on her head, her hair in two full braided pigtails. She looks so cute, and while I want to get her back into her robe with nothing underneath, I’m not ready to go home yet.
Not when I heard what I did in the kitchen.
“Do you have somewhere to go?”
“Yeah, just a small detour.”
She shrugs, setting her phone in her lap. “Let’s go.”
I flash her a grin as I bypass the interstate exit and head toward school. I can still feel my heart exploding in my chest like it did when I heard Louis open up to Ambrosia. Listen, I adore my brother, but it was Ambrosia who had me breathless and holding the doorframe for support.
I’m pretty fucking sure she loves me.
“I wanted to talk to you about something,” she says, pulling me from my thoughts. I reach over, threading my fingers with hers. She holds our hands in her palm, and I can’t stop the little smirk that moves across my lips.
“That doesn’t sound ominous at all,” I tease, and she snorts.
“It’s not. Promise,” she says, and I chance a glance to read her face. Her cheeks are bright pink, and a small smile sits on her sweet lips. “And you can tell me it’s none of my business. But are you paying monthly for the condo?”
While I’m confused why she wants to know, I say, “No. We bought it outright after a year of NIL agreements.”
She nods. “So, if you were to move out, Louis wouldn’t be in a pinch.”
I look over at her, but she’s not looking at me. She’s looking at our hands, rubbing the underside of my hand with her thumb. “Not at all,” I answer, my heart kicking up.
Silence fills the car and I almost ask why, but I’ve dumped the puck in her zone. This is all her. I think I know what she is asking, but I’m not coming out and saying it in case I’m jumping the gun. She starts to squirm, and I almost help her out, though I feel if I do, I’ll admit that I’m obsessed with her, love her, and want to live with her—all in the same sentence.
A girl may like a guy who expresses himself, but I sound really needy and obsessed in my head.
“How do you see the future?”
She’s killing me. “The future? Or our future?”
I feel her gaze on me. In the smallest voice possible, she answers, “Ours.”
My heart aches in my chest as I squeeze her hand. “I see us finishing school, figuring out where we’ll end up, maybe living apart for a bit, and then settling down together. Marriage, kids, a pet, the whole nine.”
I probably could have left off that last part, but…well, here we are. I hear her suck in a breath before she asks, “So, together?”
I scoff. “Kinda.”
She snorts. “Maybe part time,” she teases, and I grin.
“Or on all the days that end in Y.”
Her laughter sends good shivers down my spine. “But together.”
“Totally together,” I assure her, and I see her nod in the corner of my eye.
She brings her lip between her teeth and then takes a deep breath. “My condo isn’t mine. It’s Tía’s, but it’s mine until I move. I don’t pay anything monthly since my dad bought it for her, and when he passed, she moved in with my mom. So, you wouldn’t have to pay or anything, but I was wondering if you’d like to move in with me.” I go silent just to fuck with her. I feel her anxiety rise as the silence stretches, until she says, “I know it might be early and I don’t want to upset Louis, but he has Jennings living there, right? I don’t know. I really like waking up with you, and you haven’t left. So, I just thought—”
“Fuck yeah, Ro,” I say, cutting her off. “I want to live with you too.”
She glares when I flash her a toothy grin before she smacks me with her free hand. “Ass.”
“You love it.”
She rolls her eyes, exhaling. “I know things are a bit up in the air, but I’d rather us be together now in case we can’t be together all the time later.”
“Agreed.”
“I know neither of us expected this to come along, but I wouldn’t change it.”
“Neither would I,” I agree, looking over at her.