Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“Are you freaking out?” she asked.
“No. Are you?”
“No.”
“Then we’re agreed. We’re not freaking out.”
“No.”
“Chloe, I need to know what you want to do.”
“I don’t know. Should I take the morning after pill? Would it be too late? I don’t know what is happening right now, and I feel we’re putting a lot of pressure on this,” she said.
“I’ll start using condoms.”
“And if I’m pregnant?”
“Then I’ll stop using them.”
She burst out laughing.
“What is so funny?”
“Alfie, I’ve been back in your life a week. That’s all. One week and now we’re talking about pregnancy.”
“I want you to move in with me,” he said.
“Oh,” she said.
“You’ve got no place to stay, and if we want our parents together, we’re going to have to do this.”
“You do know this will make us step-siblings, right?”
“We were dating long before our parents were,” he said.
“I don’t know what is happening right now.”
“Simple, I’ve asked you to move in with me, and that’s exactly what you’re going to do.”
“You’re doing that ordering around thing again, aren’t you?”
“Yep, and seeing as it has worked for me well before, I’m going to stick with it.”
Chloe sat up, and his cock was still inside her and he had no interest in letting her go.
“And if I’m pregnant?”
“Then it’s a good thing I got you to move in with me.”
“And if not?”
“We’ll continue to use the condoms until we’re ready,” he said.
“I could get on the pill. That would help.”
“I don’t want you on the pill.”
“Why not?”
“So when we’re ready to start, you don’t have to worry about taking it or not.” He teased a strand of her hair between his fingers.
“You don’t think this is happening too fast?”
“For me, Chloe, it’s not happening fast enough.”
She nibbled her lip. “Are you sure?”
He laughed. “Since you left, I’ve felt like a piece of myself was taken. You took it with you, and now you’re back, I finally feel whole.”
Tears glistened in her eyes.
“Don’t cry, Chloe. Please. I don’t want to make you cry.”
“Then why do you have to go and say all those nice things that make me cry?”
“Because I’m not going to hide what I feel anymore. I fucked up back then. I’m not going to do it anymore. I wasted five years. Tell me you don’t feel the same.”
“I do. It’s just, sometimes when I thought about you here, Alfie, it didn’t always lead to an orgasm. It led to me crying myself to sleep because of how broken I felt.”
He cupped her face and kissed her hard. “That guy is gone. I wouldn’t have gone through with it. I had no intention of ever hurting you in that way, not when I finally got to know the real you.”
“And who is the real me? Do you even know who that is?” she asked.
“I know the real you is loving, kind, sweet, charming, and I know you struggle to connect with everyone. But I get you. I do. I see you, Chloe. It took me a couple of months to see the real you, but as soon as I did, I loved what I saw. I’m not bullshitting you. This is all me. I love you, and I’m going to prove to you that I mean to keep you.”
****
Arriving home, Chloe nodded toward Alfie and entered her home. She found Eagle and Lily sitting together on the sofa.
This was all moving a little too fast, but if she allowed it to slow down, she had no idea what she’d end up doing.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, sweetheart, where’s your stuff?”
She looked over at Eagle. “Can I speak to my mom for a minute?”
“Sure.” Eagle got up, and she noticed how familiar they were. The way he touched Lily’s knee, and the kiss to her head.
“What is it you want to share with me?” Lily asked. “Where’s your stuff?”
Chloe shook her head, knowing she’d ask her mother another time. She moved closer to the sofa and took a seat. “Alfie’s got it in the car.”
“Why?” Lily asked.
“I … he … he asked me to move in with him.”
“He did?”
“Yes, and I’m thinking about it.”
“But you’re not sure?” Lily asked.
She pressed her hands to her face and groaned. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. Should I give him a second chance? Ugh, I hate this. I really do. What should I do?”
Her mother smiled. “What do you want to do? The first feeling that pops into your head.”
“I want to move in with him.” She cringed.
“But?”
“But I’m scared. I don’t think this is going to work.”
“Do you want it to work? Do you think you can ever forgive him and get past this?”
“I can’t answer that.”
“Do you want to try?” Lily asked. “Your room is always available here.”
“I’m trying not to freak out.” She ran fingers through her hair. “Yes, I’m going to do this. I’m in, like, a completely different world.” She laughed. “How did I get here?”