Page 42 of Irreconcilable Attractions (Westwend Boys #1)
“Oh, well…” Mrs. Anderson shot me a small, uncomfortable grimace like LGBTQIA-allied people living in the home might deter me.
“Yes, but it seems she and her… partner… decided they wanted children. Anyway, seems she’s gotten herself pregnant, so the family is heading back to Oklahoma early to celebrate. ”
While I wanted to express how wonderful it was that this woman had such a supportive family and how incredible it was that she was pregnant, my head was a mess. My shoulders slumped.
“Anyway,” Mrs. Anderson tittered, “Isn’t that just wonderful news?
I’m sure you’re ready to get your own space.
The place is only a short-term rental, but it’ll be a good home to help get yourself settled in while you look for something more permanent.
” She let out a girlish giggle. “And, who knows, maybe find yourself a lovely wife in the meantime.”
Colton’s scowl deepened at that. My mouth opened to turn down both suggestions, but my eyes found their way back to the man beside me, the words dying on my lips.
Two months ago, I’d been hopeful for an opportunity like this, but with it presented to me on a silver platter, I felt conflicted.
We had agreed that I’d stay with him just till something came available, but that was before things had changed between us. But, what even were we?
“Well, I must be off.” Mrs. Anderson flapped a hand like we were the ones keeping her locked in conversation. “Buttercup has to get her walks in or she’ll lose her girlish figure.”
She set down the still yapping creature and the pair swept past us in a wave of old lady perfume and wonky bug-eyed energy that left me feeling unsteady.
My body felt stiff with tension, the shock of reality hitting me so squarely across the face causing me to stand there for what felt like a lifetime as I tried to process.
Somehow, the end of the summer had snuck up on me faster than I’d realized, leaving me feeling surprisingly unnerved.
This was all supposed to be temporary, but now?
I wasn’t ready to move out… but what did Colton want?
When he turned to head up the driveway, I absently followed after him, still reeling.
His scowl seemed to be permanently etched onto his face as we made our way back into the house, but the moment the door was shut, Colton whirled around on me, abruptly blurting, “The Grove Street house is really tiny.”
I blinked, trying to add this information into the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions I was working through right now.
My lack of response seemed to spur him on.
“It’s a lot smaller than here. You’d be cramped, for sure.
” Those green eyes bore into me expectantly and the lightbulb went off in my head.
“Oh,” I nodded, taking the lifeline he had thrown me. “I don’t want to move somewhere too small.”
“Right, so that house isn’t a good option for you.”
“Yeah, not a good fit.”
Tension melted from Colton’s body, that scowl slowly being replaced by his gentle smile, and watching it dissipate had me sucking in what felt like the first breath since Mrs. Anderson had ambushed us. Did this mean he didn’t want me moving out?
Instead of giving any clarification, Colton ran a hand over his head and sighed. “You wanna go to the farmer’s market? We still have time.”
My head spun, feeling thrown that the matter of my living arrangement had just been so easily concluded. “Uh, yeah,” I swallowed thickly, trying to get myself back on even footing.
Colton nodded, “You want to shower first then? I’d join you, but then we probably wouldn’t actually make it.” He shot me a wink.
I nodded, the realization that our sexual escapade had been interrupted somehow feeling like just the cherry on top to this whole debacle.
Making my way into the bedroom we shared, I paused to look over the unmade sheets on Colton’s side of the bed.
Because I had a side of the bed in this room.
How had that happened in a week? Rubbing a hand over my chin, I turned toward the dresser, staring at the drawer I knew my clothes were stored in.
The drawer I had thanked him for clearing out so I had space for my things.
Numbly, I pulled out some casual wear and headed into the bathroom.
With the water beating down on me, I tried to move past the whole conversation with Mrs. Anderson so I could find myself back in that blissfully unaware place I’d been before.
Just let the realizations eating at my brain wash right down the drain.
But… How could I have lost track of so much time?
We were already a week into August at this point, and my calendar had glaringly bold text written over the third weekend of this month.
The end of the summer wasn’t just the expected end of my arrangement with Colton.
Ever since I’d officially moved out in college, I’d had yearly plans with Lucy to see her just before school started.
It was our way of kicking off the academic year right, with one last hoo-rah, and it was something I always looked forward to.
How hadn’t that clicked? Pinching the bridge of my nose, nausea rolled in my gut.
Our talks had become more sporadic recently and I’d been sending her to voicemail more since she’d called while I was with Colton.
It wasn’t that I was purposefully trying to hide what had developed between him and I, but I knew my sister.
She would have questions I didn’t have the answers to yet.
But fuck, what was I going to do about Colton?
Putting aside the living situation, I didn’t want to change anything between us, but realizing how quickly our lives had melded together was shocking.
So, what did that mean? Was he my boyfriend now?
My heart thumped rapidly in my chest at the idea of calling Colton my boyfriend.
It felt… right. But, is that what he wanted?
I mean, fucking someone’s brains out on the regular and moving them into your bedroom felt very much like boyfriend territory.
So, why hadn’t he asked? Did men in relationships ask each other to be boyfriends or was that just a straight couple thing?
And if we were boyfriends, was it weird we were already living together?
I groaned, getting nowhere with the way my thoughts piled on top of each other.
We needed to sit down and talk. That was the only way that any of this mess would get sorted out.
Making my resolve, I rushed through the rest of my shower.
But, coming from the bathroom and seeing him stretched out on the bed we’d made so many intimate memories on, I couldn’t force myself to confront the problem.
The words clogged in my throat, something ugly swirling in my belly at the idea of losing this.
When Colton was finished with his shower, those bright green eyes looked at me with such affection, my brain went blank.
Frustration began to bubble inside me as we made our way to the farmer’s market—at myself, the situation, Mrs. Anderson.
I’d been riding on this cloud of pure euphoria, basking in my blissful ignorance to all the knives that hung over my head.
The more I dwelled in those thoughts, the more my attitude soured.
The temperature had inched its way near triple digits since our run, only adding to the belief that I’d been in some fantastical dream before.
The heat loomed over us as Colton and I made our way along the rows of booths.
When Colton stopped at one to browse the wares, the one next to us caught my attention.
I scowled toward the sign advertising ‘Hottest peppers in Texas’.
Who’d want Carolina Reapers or Ghost Peppers when you were already boiling alive just from stepping outside?
Were they ignorant to the world they lived in too or were their brain cells fried by the capsaicin in their chilis?
My judgmental thoughts were abruptly halted as someone knocked my shoulder hard before they passed by without so much as an apology.
I huffed in annoyance, following the girl with my eyes.
She was clearly a tourist—no Westwendian would be so rude.
Beside me, Colton looked up, scrutinizing my face which I was sure had the look of a petulant teenager.
He pressed into my side, fingers softly grazing over mine in a touch that was barely there.
“What’s wrong?” He whispered, those gorgeous green eyes ping-ponging over my features.
“Nothing.” I grunted, crossing my arms so I didn’t seek out his hand.
Here, something else to add to my growing list of frustrations.
I wasn’t out, and no one knew how I felt about the man beside me, so despite how badly I wanted to lace our fingers together and seek comfort in his touch… I couldn’t.
Colton looked like he wanted to press me, but instead gently bumped his shoulder against mine before turning to pay for his goods. When he was done, he motioned for me to follow him further down the row and I begrudgingly trudged along, feeling like some out-of-season Scrooge.
How had I gotten here? Pissed at the world and suspended in relationship limbo with a man I knew I cared deeply for? I sucked in a deep breath, trying to clear my head.
Both Colton and I had been blindsided this morning, but recognizing my own lack of awareness had triggered something.
When we’d both agreed to see where things had gone, I’d been infatuated, but those feelings felt surface-level to where I found myself now.
It wasn’t fair to either of us to keep continuing on as we’d been without discussing things.
And I’d make sure we did that as soon as we got home.