Chapter 26

Brandon

I barely heard the knock on my door.

Who the hell was here? I wasn’t expecting anyone. When I looked through the peephole, I couldn’t see clearly who was on the other side. They were much too close to the door, but I’d recognize that dark mop of hair anywhere.

Andrew.

Why was he knocking? He never did, since he had a key.

When I opened the door, I got my answer. I’d never seen him so upset. His shoulders hunched forward, and his eyes were red, as if he had been crying or holding back tears.

“What’s wrong?”

Andrew fell into me, his arms wrapped around me as he instantly started to shake and sob. This wasn’t like him at all. Andrew was one of the strongest and most steady people I knew, so to see him fall apart in such a way was startling. He hadn’t even been this shaken when his dad left. If he was, he hadn’t shown it.

I helped him to the couch in the living room, leaving him only long enough to close and lock my front door. He didn’t look any better when I got back to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around his middle, tears streaming freely down his cheeks.

“Does this call for the tequila?”

That got a small smile out of him.

“I don’t think this is something the tequila will fix this time.”

Oh, something was very wrong if our go-to fix-all wouldn’t help. Still, I retrieved the fancy bottle he’d brought over last night and two glasses. I set them on the coffee table before kneeling in front of him.

“Want to tell me what happened? Things were so good when you left this morning.”

Andrew sniffled, wiping his nose with the back of his sleeve. “I know. That’s why it all sucks so bad.”

Getting him to talk to me wasn’t going so smoothly. I sat on the couch next to him, uncorked the bottle of the amber liquid, and poured us each a shot, shoving the shot glass into his hand. Andrew stared at it for a moment before taking a tentative sip. It wasn’t like him to sip at it.

“Why did today suck? Tell me about it. I want to be here for you.”

Andrew took another small sip; only half his shot glass emptied as he set it back down on the table in front of him. “I went home to my lease renewal notice.”

“And...” He paused so long that I worried if he’d even elaborate, but I didn’t want to rush him, either.

“My rent is going up. I was already struggling with paying it, but while I can still pay, you can forget about me doing anything remotely fun.”

Yikes. Rent prices were insane. I knew the cost of my place was pretty steep as well, but I didn’t pay for it by myself. I paid maybe a third of it while my parents handled the rest.

“But you wouldn’t be this upset only about your rent. What else happened today?”

Andrew let out a humorless laugh before picking up the remainder of his drink and shooting it back. “Murphy’s Law. Anything that could go wrong at work went wrong. I’m here an hour before I’m supposed to be off.”

Now that he mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed what time he’d shown up. That wasn’t a good sign. “They let you go?”

“Thank fuck, no. Just sent me home for the rest of the day to calm down. I yelled at a patient.”

I wrapped an arm around Andrew’s shoulder and pulled him to my side. I kissed his dark hair and simply held him. We didn’t need more than that in moments like this. The simple comfort of being in each other’s presence was enough. We’d been doing it for years.

The idea hit me suddenly. Andrew didn’t need to worry about rent if he was here with me. I wouldn’t ask him to contribute, but if he wanted to, he could pay part of what was owed on this place.

“Move in with me.”

“What? ”

Andrew pulled away from me, eyes wide like I’d lost my mind.

“It’s not that crazy. It wouldn’t be any different from when we were still only friends. Best friends live together all the time.”

Something flashed behind his eyes, like I’d messed up by saying something about us only being friends.

“I’m not—”

“Just say yes. It solves so many of your issues. And then we never have to worry about being apart anymore.” I wasn’t about to let him tell me he thought it was a bad idea. It was a terrible idea, considering that I was still trying to hide us. There’d be no denying what was happening between us.

I gave him my best pleading puppy dog eyes. His smile came back, though small and watery.

“Why is it impossible to tell you no?”

I laughed, wrapping my arms around him more completely and crawling into his lap. Andrew’s hands rested on my hips as he looked up at me. “Because it’s not something you really want to say no to. Live with me, Andrew. Make it so I never have to be without you.”

He pulled me down for a soft kiss that tasted of salt from his tears. I hated that he’d been so sad, but I was happy to make him feel even a little better.

When Andrew pulled back, that same half-smile was across his lips. “Okay. ”

“Yes? That’s a yes?” My heart beat wildly, my body vibrating with excitement at his answer.

The chuckle he released was happy and genuine. It made those happy little butterflies flutter to life in my stomach.

“It’s a yes.”

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face as I continued to stock books on the shelf. This was real.

“You’re unusually happy. What’s up?”

I hadn’t noticed my mom coming around the corner, startling me, which wasn’t typical. My chest squeezed in panic as I tried to formulate a way to tell her the good news without giving everything away. Maybe she’d just be happy to hear that Andrew and I would live together as friends.

I was overthinking it. Mom wouldn’t care, but I still wanted to keep what was happening sacred. It still felt fragile. I’d already almost messed things up once. What if I got overly clingy and Andrew decided I wasn’t worth the effort?

“Andrew’s rent is going up, and I offered to let him move in with me... that’s okay? Right? ”

Of course, I should ask my parents, they paid for part of my place.

My mom’s smile grew as she approached and pulled me into a hug. “Of course that’s fine. If there was anyone I’d be okay with, it’s him.”

A weight lifted as Mom released me and went back to work.

My brain whirled with all the possibilities now that Andrew and I would be living together. He’d come home to me every night. We could sleep in the same bed with no more nights apart. All. The. Sex.

Heat spread over my face and neck as I thought of the sex. God, it had been amazing. I’d been so stupid holding back. Why had I wasted so many years giving myself to so many other people when they hadn’t valued me?

Things were starting to really look up.