“As a heart attack, and trust me, those things are serious.”
Take a chance.
Take a leap.
Fall in love.
Those were things her mother always told her to do. She didn’t see a reason why she couldn’t. She loved spending time with him. Her feelings for him were real.
“Are you just trying to get someone to cook for you?” she asked.
“That too. I’m teasing. No, I want you. I could drop you off at work, and pick you back up.”
“It would be extra driving for you,” she said.
“Do you think I give a shit about a bit of extra driving? I’m going to have you. When you’re in love you make sacrifices. Driving you is not going to be a sacrifice, not to me.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
“Is that a yes?”
“That’s a yes. I want to move in.”
So, on a Saturday, with every single part of her aching, she called Brice and Cathy, along with her parents to help.
Cathy helped after she closed the bakery for half a day. Brice couldn’t help as he was doing Drew’s shift. Her parents helped, her father and Drew taking the furniture while she packed everything else. Her mother was in the kitchen, and Cathy came to see her in the bedroom and help fold her clothes.
“So, did it happen?”
“It happened,” she said, smiling.
Cathy gave a quiet squeal. “I was worried. After what happened, I didn’t know if you’d go through with it.”
“I didn’t care. I know I probably should, but he defended me. How could I not love that? He defended me and my honor. He was such a sweetheart for doing it.” She released a little sigh.
“Was it good?” Cathy asked.
Glancing toward the door to make sure her mother wasn’t there, Raven nodded. “It was so good. He asked me to move in with him this morning. I think he also proposed, but I’m not sure about that one. He could have asked me, or not.” She shrugged.
“Could have asked. How does that work?”
“He said that spending time with my dad, and also taking my virginity meant that I belonged to him.” She chuckled. “I don’t know.”
“You’d say yes to him though, right?”
“Yeah, I would. How was it with Brice after I left?”
“We stayed, played some pool, danced a little, and then went home. We had sex, and then he left.”
“You don’t mind that?” Raven asked.
She wouldn’t be able to stand Drew taking what he wanted and leaving.
“Some people want different things. I like Brice. I care about him, and I know he feels the same about me. We’re not in love. One day I’ll find the man for me, and Brice and I will be friends.”
“You haven’t talked about staying together?”
“We’ve talked about it. It’s not going to happen though. Neither of us wants to have that kind of commitment.”