“There!” she said, triumphantly placing the square on the board.
She had surprisingly nerdy taste in board games. Which was fine with me. I had quite a collection of board games, especially the nerdy ones—though we’d had to open up quite a few boxes in order to locate the one she’d wanted to play tonight. Prior to meeting Tammy, most of my stuff had already been in storage in anticipation of my move, all except for my bedroom and kitchen. Those had been packed and moved over right along with us in the middle of the night by a scarily organized woman and her very effective crew.
Now I glanced down at the pieces Tammy had played and knew that I’d met my match.
“Two dungeons and four unique pieces on either side,” she crowed, doing a happy little dance. “Beat that.”
There was no way I could beat that.
“I yield, oh dragon master,” I said, pushing the board away from me and fiddling with the folder in my lap again.
“You going to show me that?”
“What?” I glanced up from the table to her eyes, which were filled with warmth.
“Whatever you’re fondling in your lap,” she said. “Either that, or you’re fondling something else, and I don’t know whether I should be sad to be left out of the fun or disgusted.”
“Disgusted,” I quipped. “Definitely disgusted.”
She laughed quietly then began stacking pieces, not bothering to tally up the score because one look at our respective boards told even the most casual viewer that she had absolutely obliterated me.
Once they’d been cleared, she looked at me expectantly.
I handed her the folder.
Her brows drew together, a slight V forming between them.
I opened it. “I was thinking . . .”
“What is this?” she breathed.
“I was thinking,” I said again. “That I don’t have much of a need to continue living in L.A. anymore. I have this place if I need to be here for work, but otherwise I’m either on set or . . . well, I want to be with you.”
She glanced up from the listings of houses I’d had my realtor pull together. Houses that were located in Darlington, Utah.
Because my life might not be there, but Tammy’s was.
“What is this?”
I’d broken her.
After pushing up from my seat, I rounded the table and crouched near her side. “Pick one,” I said. “Or we can pick one together. But I don’t care which house we live in—I just want to live in one with you.” I cupped her cheek. “I want to be with you. I want to build a life together and have you make me cookies that don’t all get eaten before I ate only a single, paltry one”—I gave her sad, puppy eyes, which had her smiling, the shock wearing off her expression—“I know things have moved so fast, that we’ve been living in this alternate reality with forced proximity and dangerous situations. I just want to have a chance for us to be us together.”
She softened, shifting in her seat to face me. “But will there be board games?”
“For you to destroy me in them?”
A smirk. “Naturally.”
I nodded. “There will be board games.”
“And omelets?”
I took her hand. “And omelets. And,” I whispered, leaning very close. “If you’re very, very good, I’ll even make you my special blueberry pancakes.”
She leaned in, her lips coming to my ear. “Blueberries are my favorite.”
“Are they now?” I asked, turning my head so that our mouths were suddenly perfectly aligned.
A nod.
“Well, then,” I said. “I guess you’d better pick a house.”
“Tal?”
“Hmm?” I asked, having gotten distracted by the column of her throat and starting to kiss my way down it.
“It’s just . . . I’d rather we stay at my house,” she whispered. “It’s on the edge of town and isolated. We could put in some security protocols, but Darlington is safe and—”
I placed my finger over her lips. “Tammy?”
It was her turn to murmur, “Hmm?”
“I’d love that.”
“Really?” she asked, after peeling my finger back. “It’s not fancy like this place and—”
“I don’t need fancy,” I said. “I just need you.”
Her smile was bright enough to light up the world, and I knew that even though we were just starting out, that we were going to be okay.
Tammy was asleep in bed, and I was answering emails.
Did that still constitute us being on our long, best first date?
Maybe?
Despite us separating at intervals throughout the day, we always found each other at small, random moments. Me stroking my fingers down her neck as she talked with her boss about what her schedule would look like when she returned, her squeezing my shoulder as I squinted over offers that Mags sent over. Me bringing her some of that sludge while she relaxed on the back patio. Her finding out that my favorite meal was Pad Thai and finding a recipe so she could cook it for me. Board games at noon, movies in the evening. It felt like every minute was completely full of a life I hadn’t known was possible, and also as though I were on the most incredible vacation of my life.
Apart and yet not. Finally belonging for the first time ever.
I was part of a pair.
And it felt fucking great.
I was feeling great, better than I’d ever felt in my life. In fact, I was feeling so great that I was going to close my laptop, cuddle up with my woman, and go to bed at the very “late” hour of ten P.M.
Ha.
We’d had an eventful couple of weeks, okay?
Plus, that afternoon, Tammy had her stitches taken out, after which we’d gorged on homemade pizza, watched a movie, and
