Teach me to trust

52. Casual Admission

JD had a certain skip in his step when we went back into the house after our chat, grabbing Nate's shoulder and leaning over to mutter something into his ear. Whatever it was piqued my interest when Nate turned to look at me with a soft look in his eyes, small smile on his lips.

Our friends hung out for a little while longer, nobody questioning why me and JD went outside for a little while, just simply accepted that if we wanted to tell them we would.

I was surprised when JD blurted out suddenly the fact that we had enough proof to go the police and my chest felt tight when Marc shot up out of his seat and threw himself at JD, wrapping him in a tight hug, muttering quiet words into his ear. Lily was up not long after that and she wrapped her arms around JD from behind, resting her head on the middle of his back and smiling over at us.

I watched as Keira ran a gentle hand over the back of JD's head, smiling calmly at him when he looked over to her. Nate was the last to move, still sitting next to me with a shaking leg and chewing on his bottom lip,

"Hey" I nudge him, catching his attention "What are you doing sat here?" I rest my hand on his knee and it instantly halts it's movements.

Nate sends me a grateful smile and plants a soft kiss on my cheek before clearing his throat and standing, clapping JD on the back and stumbling back when JD throws himself into a hug with him, quietly talking between themselves. The couch dips next to me and I see Marc making himself comfortable.

"I don't know what you did, but I know it can't be a coincidence that this is happening after you spoke to him. I just wanted to say thank you, this means more to all of us than you'll ever know"

I feel a warmth rise on my cheeks at his kind words and I bite at the skin on my thumb, an anxious habit I picked up a few years ago and seem to automatically revert to at times. I shrug my shoulders and slip my hands under my thighs,

"I didn't do much" I tell him, watching our other friends interact with each other and my heart thuds when Marc rests his head gently on my shoulder, patting my knee with his hand and chuckling to himself.

Nate glances over and sees the two of us sat together, raising his brows at us and grinning before stepping towards us, running his hand through my hair, and leaning over to kiss my forehead.

"Thank you" he murmurs against the skin, turning to smile at Lily when she makes her way over to us and places herself on Marc's lap, smiling at the three of us and wrapping her arms around Marc's chest, his head moving to rest on top of hers.

"Are we cuddling?" JD calls out across the living room and I brace for the impact when he starts taking long strides towards us, wincing as he jumps off the floor and I close my eyes.

I'm surprised when I don't feel the full body weight of JD but instead feel a knee land on the couch beside me and the cushion behind my head dip. I open my eyes to find Nate above me, holding himself over me with a grimace on his face. I laugh when JD pops his head over Nate's shoulder and grins at me.

"Told you we shouldn't tell him you have a thing for me" Nate almost breaks his neck with the speed he tries to turn to look at JD, who leaps off him and runs to the other side of the room, hiding behind Keira who stands rolling her eyes.

"You're fucking delusional. Dispshit" Nate tells him, huffing and dropping onto the couch beside me with a pout on his lips.

I lean over to kiss it away, laughing when he blushes slightly,

"You're the only one I have a thing for baby, don't worry" I tell him and he grins at me, leaning over and pressing his lips against my ear,

"Love you"

"Bye my love! Bye Nate" JD calls out, carrying a shouting Keira over his shoulder and throwing her into the backseat of his car.

Nate rolls his eyes and shuts his front door, leaning his forehead against the surface and sighing,

"He is exhausting at times" he huffs, turning to give me a dirty look when I laugh, patting him on the back and heading back into the kitchen to make us both a cup of tea.

I wander back into the living room and place his cup down on the floor,

"Tea for you" I tell him and receive a kiss on the cheek as thanks, smiling down at him when he lays on his back and rests his head on my lap.

I turn the TV on, and we sit in comfortable silence for a while when he speaks up,

"How would you feel about officially moving in with me?"

I choke on my tea when he asks the question as casually as when he asks what I want to eat.

"What?" I choke out, discomfort in my throat from where I inhaled the liquid.

"Did you really not hear me or is that a rhetorical question?" he teases, laughing at my teary eyes and slightly red face.

I study his face for a few minutes to try and determine if he really means it or if this is some kind of cruel prank. I realise I may have taken a little too long when Nate frowns, sitting up and taking my mug from my hands and setting it down on the floor.

"Stop" he tells me, "Stop overthinking this, please"

"I'm not-" I close my mouth at his reproachful look,

"I mean it. I would like it if you would officially move in with me. You've been here, with me every day since that night and I don't think I want to go back to when I didn't come home to you every night"

"I love having you here, I love when you make me my coffee in the morning exactly how I like it. I love when the bathroom smells like you after you've had one of your insanely hot showers" we both let out a little laugh,

"I love that even when I'm having a stressful day at work, it's never too bad because I know you'll be here when I come home. I don't want this place to just be mine anymore, I want it to be ours"

My hears stutters in my chest at his sweet words and I'm lost for exactly what to say that would match what he's just told me.

"Okay" I croak out, cringing internally at my less than romantic words, shaking my head,

"Yes. I would love to move in with you" I tell him, smiling when he grips my face and pulls me in for an ecstatic kiss.

"I'll have to go back to mine to get some stuff" he frowns at the thought of me  going back to my house, "I just need to get the rest of my clothes and everything. Clean the place out in case I decide to sell it"

"In case? Baby I'll help you put it on the market. There's no way you'll need to keep it. You're stuck with me" he shrugs casually as if he hasn't just set my soul on fire with his casual admission that he's in this for the long haul.

"That sounds good to me" I tell him, noticing how his eyes light up at my own admission of intent to stay with him as long as he'll have me.

"I'll see if the guys are free one day soon. That way we can grab what we can and we can always hire someone to move the bigger stuff" I nod my head at him,

"We can buy them takeout as payment, I'm sure they'd more than appreciate that" he nods his head in agreement, leaning over to pass me back my cup of tea and sipping his own, holding his mug up to cheers me.

"To moving in together and getting to fuck like rabbits for the rest of our lives"

I don't hesitate to clink my mug with his.