Page 83 of Unintended You

Lea thought for a moment. “How about you handle breakfast, since you’re always the one up first. We can switch off lunch and I’ll take dinner?” That seemed reasonable.

“Deal.”

“Good. Now go make me something.” She pretended to shove me, and I laughed as I stumbled out of the room.

“Come down when you’re ready. I’ll keep your pancakes warm.”

“Fuck, that’s hot,” she called down the hall.

* * *

Our first daytogether did have a few awkward moments. It seemed as if I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t used to sharing space with another person.

I was in the middle of recording when I heard a soft knocking. I paused and opened the door of my recording booth to find Lea standing there with a plate.

“Shit, sorry. I didn’t know how to get your attention. I thought about sending you a message, but I didn’t want your phone to go off.”

I blinked a few times, still stuck in recording mode. “Oh, I have my phone on silent.” But she would need a way of getting my attention. Hm.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t ruin anything, did I?” Not really. There were interruptions all the time. It was part of the deal. No place was entirely silent. Usually it was the kittens or a neighbor mowing their lawn.

I got up and kissed her on the nose, taking the plate from her. I was starving and I absolutely needed to pee anyway. I’d lost track of time again.

The kittens pranced over, meowing at my feet.

“They’ve been excellent assistants so far. I thought you might wanna have lunch with me?”

She sounded so adorable and hopeful.

“Sweetheart, I would love to have lunch with you.” So far, the perks of having a girlfriend were really paying off.

* * *

“Areyou sure I can’t help?” I asked.

“No, I’ve got this,” Lea said as she managed multiple pots and pans on the stove. “You can do the dishes.”

“It’s a deal.”

Her phone went off and she asked me to see what it was.

“It’s a message from James,” I told her.

Lea nodded and kept stirring. “I haven’t told her about this weekend, and she’s been blowing me up since Saturday.” She rolled her eyes.

I opened the cabinet to get the plates and set them on the counter. “You haven’t told her?”

“Not yet. Things have been so new, and I guess I just didn’t want to make a big deal. Or have anyone give me advice or anything. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.”

Since I didn’t have friends, I couldn’t give any advice, but I had met James and knew how much she cared about Lea.

“Tell her. She’s a huge part of your life and we’re both in your life and we should get along, don’t you think?”

She raised both eyebrows at me.

“What?” I asked.

“You sound like you want to hang out with my friends, and I practically had to drag you to that party not so long ago.” That was true. But I’d done it for her.