“Hey, Alycia? Can I talk to you?”
“Oh my God, you’re pregnant,” she mocked, feigning astonishment and glancing at me over her shoulder.
I rolled my eyes and sat down on the couch. “C’mon, I’m being serious.”
“All right, all right,” she conceded, turning toward me and resting her arm on the top of the sofa. I swallowed hard, and she looked at me with upturned brows. “Is something wrong? Are you all right?”
“Oh, yeah. Everything’s okay,” I reassured her. “It’s just that Wesley asked me to move in with him.”
Alycia stared at me, as if waiting for something more. She held her hands up, palms open. “And? What, you need help moving in?”
“No. I…. Well, don’t you think it’s kinda soon? I mean, we’ve only been going out about four months and the apartment is only one bedroom, so don’t you think people’ll think it’s strange? For two guys to be living in a one-bedroom apartment? It’s not that….”
“So that’s what this is all about,” Alycia said, shaking her head. “I thought you came out already. It’s not living with Wes; it’s what people think about it. Didn’t we go over this before? Tor, who gives a damn what other people think? The question is: Do you want to live with him?”
I looked at the floor and squeezed my hands together. Was she right? Was that why I felt so nervous?
“Okay, let’s figure this out,” Alycia continued, placing her hands on her knees and looking at me with a serious expression. “You like being with Wes, don’t you?” I nodded. “And you like having dinner with him and watching TV and doing stuff together, right?” I nodded again. “You like waking up with him in the morning, don’t you?” I blushed but nodded. “And you love him, right?”
“With all my heart.”
“Then you’ve already got your answer,” Alycia said conclusively with a smile on her face. “Besides, you have to think about Wes. This isn’t a choice for him. He has to do this because of his stupid parents. And even though he acts tough, he’s probably scared. He needs you, by his side, reminding him why he’s doing this and why everything’ll be okay.”
She was right. Of course, she was right. I’d been worried about what other people would think and if we were moving too fast, when Wesley’s whole world was just turned upside down. I was embarrassed by how selfish I was being.
“So, you need help packing?” she asked, grinning.
“Yeah, I guess I do,” I said, leaning forward and hugging her. She was my little sister and she knew more about life than I did.
“But you still have one more obstacle,” she said ominously. “Trying to convince Mom.”
I DECIDED to make something special for dinner and I ran to the store to buy some salmon fillets. I placed them in a two-hour marinade and went to my room. I looked around and decided that I needed to take everything with me. Except my bed. But Wesley only had a single bed too. Maybe I would have to take my bed. But would there be enough room? The apartment was just down the street, a block or two away, but I didn’t know anyone who lived there, so I didn’t have any idea how big the rooms were.
As I looked around my room, I realized how much stuff we would need to buy. There was an old sofa and two end tables in the storage unit in the basement that Mom saved for me, so that was a start. But we would need a kitchen table, chairs, pots and pans, dishes…. There was so much. I had about seven hundred dollars in my bank account, but that wouldn’t be enough for all the stuff we needed. I was working full-time now, but I would have to cut my hours when school started. How was this going to work out?
Wesley came back a little after six. He knocked before he let himself in and I ran out to greet him, drying my hands on a dishcloth. He was wearing his navy work shirt and pants, streaked with grease, and he had his book bag over his shoulder. He looked really cute in his work clothes. There was just something about a man in uniform that turned me on. But it wasn’t really a uniform. Maybe it was the grease-monkey look? Then again, it was probably just Wesley.
“Hi! Welcome back! You know, you didn’t have to knock,” I said, smiling shyly.
Wesley stood just inside the door, smiling and blushing lightly. “I kinda felt like I should.”
“Don’t be silly. Did you have a good day? Oh, dinner’ll be ready in about half an hour,” I said, walking toward him, but he still stood just inside the door with a silly grin on his face. I stopped and felt my cheeks redden under his gaze. “What? What’s wrong?”
“No, nothing. This is just… really nice,” he said, scratching the back of his head and looking down and to the side.
“Well, get used to it,” Alycia said, walking out of her room carrying a full laundry basket.
“What?” Wesley asked with raised eyebrows, looking at Alycia, then at me. “Is she serious?”
“Yeah,” I murmured, nodding timidly.
“That means…. Really?” A smile brightened his face and he exhaled like he had been holding his breath. “I can’t believe it,” he said, dropping his book bag and walking toward me. “I’m so happy.”
“Hey, don’t get all lovey-dovey yet, you two. You still have to convince Mom,” Alycia warned, then looked Wesley up and down. “I’m gonna do some wash. Want me to throw those in?” she asked, looking at his grease-stained clothes.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind,” he agreed, picking up his book bag.
“Well? What are you waiting for?” Alycia asked playfully.
I knew the look on Wesley’s face and my cheeks flared.
“Oh,
