CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

JOSH

She probably expects me to leave, but I made a promise this time it will be different. After she makes a beeline to the bedroom, I walk to the kitchen to clean up. It dawns on me I didn’t use a condom. I’ve never not used one before, ever. Now with her, I forget. I wanted to be inside her so badly it just never occurred to me.

I sit on the couch and wait for her to come out. We have things to talk about. And I’m hoping to spend the night. Like I told her earlier, this time is going to be different.

The bedroom door opens, and she pads down the hall. I pat the seat next to me.

“You’re still here?” she asks sarcastically and takes a seat beside me.

“Yeah, I’m still here.” I turn and face her. Not surprised she’s so skeptical. “I don’t do relationships. I’ve never had one. I don’t even know if I’ll be good at it.”

I’m not going to lie to her.

She grabs my hand. “Is this what you want? A relationship?”

“I’d like to try.”

She smiles at me. “First thing is to not leave in the morning without telling me.”

I smirk. “Okay, I can do that. This”––I point my finger between us––“will have to be a work in progress.”

She leans into me. “I’ve only had two relationships, and neither lasted very long. I’m not good at this relationship thing either.”

This is good. We’re both newbies at this, which is fine by me. We’ll be able to define our relationship the way we want to. There is only one thing, though, and I need to tell her. “I don’t share, so this is not an open relationship.”

“Does that go for you, too?” she inquires.

“Of course,” I say and smile. “Now, what do you say we order something to eat and watch a movie?”

“There’s a Chinese restaurant down the block,” she says. “I’ll let you pick the movie.”

“Sounds good.” I flip on her TV. I’m not a romcom guy, so God, please, let there be an action flick.

There is no action movie and we end up watching Crazy Rich Asians and eat until we’re stuffed. Kim falls asleep in my arms. I carry her to the bedroom and tuck her in. Ditch my clothes and ease under the covers next to her. I didn’t ask if it was all right to stay, but I don’t feel like leaving this time.

It’s strange how now that I accept that we’re together, it’s not so bad. I pull her toward me, so I can hold her close. Her body fits perfectly against mine.

I drift off to sleep, thinking this is really nice. I could get used to it.