Is that like a running theme with me? Maybe that’s not a fair question, but maybe Reed let me push him away because I wasn’t enough to fight for? Maybe it was just easier for him to turn to Chasity than to fight for me?
“You’re being awful quiet, Bluebird. What are you thinking about in that pretty little head of yours?” Reed asks.
“Silly stuff,” I answer vaguely. “What is it you want to show me?” I ask again for like the tenth time.
“It’s a surprise,” he responds with a goofy grin.
I roll my eyes, making him laugh. He’s got a good laugh. It feels like it is full of joy and it’s something that he’s just started doing freely since the clinic called. When he got his results back, he said the past was behind us and we’re only looking forward from here on out. I agreed, which means I need to stop my brain from thinking beyond the here and now. Reed loves me. I love him. We aren’t defined by anything other than that.
I’m quiet as we drive through downtown Macon. Macon is a hole in the wall. Before moving here, I’d visited Macon, Georgia and it’s bigger than Texas’s version. Most people that live here say if you blink you would miss it. I don’t necessarily disagree with them, but after living in New Hampshire, I’ve found I prefer it.
I hear Mildred’s signal light turn on and look over at Reed who is still smiling. I move my gaze toward to the windshield and frown as we pull into Johnson’s garage where Reed works.
“Your surprise is taking me to your job?” I laugh. “Cheap date, Reed Lane.”
“Cut me some slack, Bluebird. You’ll be eating your words soon.”
I give him a smirk, raising my eyebrow in silent challenge and he laughs again. I decide right then and there that he has the most beautiful laugh I’ve heard in my life.
Once we park, we get out and Reed takes my good hand and leads me around the garage to the side entrance. We pass it, however.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Have you always been this impatient, Callie, and I just now noticed?”
“Reed,” I whine, making him laugh.
I’ve never been to the back of the building before and there’s a set of steps that remind me of a fire escape that’s made of old, rusted metal. We climb them and despite how they look, they’re surprisingly sturdy. There’s a small landing at the top. Reed unlocks a beaten-up, brown door that has a regular lock and a deadbolt. He opens it and grins at me.
“What is this place?” I ask.
He picks me up, mindful of my wrist and cradles me against his body. His hold on me seems to heat my whole body, making butterflies take flight inside my stomach. His dark eyes stare down at me, and they shine. His smile deepens, making these dimples that make me want to kiss them and run my tongue through the small indentions.
“This place is our new home, Bluebird,” he announces, before walking inside.
“Our new home?” I ask, my heart feeling as if it’s flip-flopping mid beat.
“Yep!” he says. “I paid the deposit and the first two months of rent down today.”
“You… I…We….”
“That’s the general idea,” he jokes, but I just shake my head.
“You rented an apartment for us without talking to me about it?” I ask, not quite understanding.
“I had to move fast, Callie. Rentals that aren’t total shit are hard to find. This place is good. It’s quiet on this street for the most part. It’s only one bedroom but look at this main room! There’s so much room and it comes fully furnished.”
“Maybe you should put me down for a minute,” I finally say, not sure how I feel about any of this.
“You’re not happy,” he says, sounding so disappointed that I immediately begin feeling guilty.
He holds me until I’m standing solidly on my feet. I look around the apartment. It’s nothing extra, but it is kind of nice. The walls are all dark paneling, so that’s kind of depressing, but it’s clean and the wood floors are great. We’re standing in the large room which has a sitting room with a couch and two chairs. There’s a television console, but no television. It’s positioned in front of the lone window in the room, which isn’t my favorite, but there’s no law that says you can’t rearrange furniture. A bar that is in the middle of the large room separates the kitchen area from the rest of the room. It’s huge, running almost six feet in length. There are three bar stools in the front of it and my guess is that this is the table. The counter is an ugly green that’s kind of jarring to the eyes but is in decent shape. The kitchen has an apartment sized stove, a fridge, and a double bowl sink. There’s no dishwasher, although I guess that’s okay. The appliances are white, which is good. Somehow, I think if they were a sunny yellow, the puke-green counters would look worse.