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TRACK 46 - PART 1

I'm so happy I get to fall in love with you.

Those words rang in my head every time I looked at her. She never alluded to it again, but I didn't have to hear her say she loved me to know. It was in the little things she did that I knew in my heart to be true. The way she checked in on me throughout the day, ensured I took the breaks I needed but never asked for when I felt overworked, and checked that my appointments with Doctor Khan were always scheduled. I saw it in her eyes when she played with the ring that hung from the chain around my neck, when I brought her breakfast in bed, had the gardener put together a fresh bouquet of her favourite flowers, and when I checked that her appointments with Doctor Khan were always scheduled.

Saying that word - committing to love - wasn't something I wanted her to feel rushed into. Just like how I didn't want to overwhelm her by saying it to her first.

TJ had enough to deal with right now.

The moment to say it could wait as long as it needed to.

"Is that the last one?"

"Yup," I said, placing the cardboard box down on the ground. "Are you alright?"

"I think so." Her eyes scanned all the boxes. "I don't know how I feel about having to share a bed with a stinky boy now though."

I chuckled under my breath at her remark. "Rory would be happy her nickname is catching on."

"Are you sure you don't mind me taking up space in your house?"

Walking behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her back towards my chest. "Our house," I corrected, placing a kiss on her neck. "And, to answer your question, I don't mind at all. It's always better when you're here."

"Yeah, but this is, like, me being here forever."

"I think forever has a nice ring to it."

That glimmer in her eyes was visible as she turned her head to the side, and I noticed her cheeks flush with red. "I do too." She leaned closer, brushing her lips against mine and whispered, "You're gonna get so laid tonight."

Maybe there was some type of honeymoon bliss clouding my view on reality, but the first couple of weeks we spent officially living together were more amazing than I could have ever imagined.

"You know you don't need to keep living out of your duffel bag anymore, right?" I asked, entering our bedroom.

TJ rolled her eyes. "Everything I need is in here! Besides, we still haven't sorted out the closet situation so I don't know where to put things."

"Well, you said you wanted to go through all those boxes and see what you wanted to keep first."

"I know, I know," she said, adding a dramatic sigh, "It's just... a lot to go through. Would you be okay if I invited Gwen over to help me?"

I sat down on the bed, beside her bag. "You don't have to ask permission to invite someone over to our house, baby."

"I was asking because, you know, she's dating Pat... and I know, even though you don't say it, I know you're also still mad about what happened."

Mad was an understatement but I did my best to not have my true feelings to show. It was more complex than the way it usually went when someone leaked something private. Did I feel like some of my boundaries were crossed? Yes. But did he owe me any type of loyalty? No. However, he owed that to her.

And a betrayal to TJ was a betrayal to me.

"If you want to have Gwen over, I think that's a great idea."