Page 198 - Interior_SPRING SUMMER FALLING_2021

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He squeezes me tighter. “He missed.”
We snuggle up in his bed after washing away the remnants of Teo’s crime.
Henri’s shirt swallows me, but I feel more like myself than I have all day. My head

rests on his chest, and I can hear the steady beating of his heart. A sound I feared
I’d never hear again. I can’t wait any longer. I must tell him how I feel.
“Henri?”
His kisses my forehead. “Yeah?”
“We need to talk.” He stiffens slightly.
“You should rest. We can talk in the morning.” “Nope,” I deny stubbornly.
“We are talking now.” “Okay.” His tone is reluctant.

I sit up to look at him. “First of all…” his lips tip up in amusement.
“Focus, Henri.” He sits up, too.
“I’m sorry. It’s just you’ve never been that good at being scary.” There’s
laughter in his voice.
“Oh, yeah, well, I’d decided I was mad at you and was on my way to yell at
you…” I let “when Teo showed up” fall in the air. This isn’t about him. This is
about us.
His eyebrows shoot up. “Really, I’d shown up to do the same thing…”

I hold up at finger. “Me first. Sir, it is not okay for you…” I poke his chest. “To
decide that we are a couple and not discuss it with me.”
Henri scratches his head. “I…I didn’t?”
“Oh, really? Why were you so pissed this morning when I called and asked for
a break? A friend-with-benefits wouldn’t have been mad. And an ex-roommate
wouldn’t be mad…”

He rolls his eyes. “Okay. I see your point. But, what else would you be?” “See
the aforementioned titles.”
“But…” he counters. “We spend a lot of time together.” “We lived and work
together.”
“Naked.”
“We both really like sex.”
“If that’s the case, then why did you need a break?” he points out. “Because!”
I nearly yell. “I thought I was breaking the rules and becoming too attached. You
couldn’t stand the last woman you lived with. I honestly thought part of the reason