Only, Always, and Forever You

31 - The Offer

Amara's POV:

Cole's mom is truly a lovely woman.

Her and I have been talking for a very long time, and Cole has just been eating and listening silently for the entire conversation.

I've enjoyed this dinner, but it's surprisingly late right now, and I'm super tired.

After I manage to wrap up the chat, I stand up, grab Anne's plate as well as my own, and I walk over to the sink to rinse them off.

"Oh, you're such a dear! But don't worry about that, I'll have someone clean it up later!" Anne says, swatting the air.

I forgot that they probably pay someone to do this. I forgot just how rich they are.

I smile lightly at her, "Oh, it's really alright. It's the least I can do after that lovely meal."

I was always taught to be grateful and polite, but also to always do good deeds for others and not wait to be asked to do something before doing it.

Anne gives me a stern look, but when she realizes that I'm not giving up as easily as she thought, she smiles appreciatively and stands up. She walks over to me and lightly pecks my cheek, holding my face in her hands. I can feel my face squish up from the way she's squeezing it.

"You're such a sweetheart! I wish you were staying in this house with me, not the two cavemen of mine," she jokes, and I laugh with her.

"I wish I could stay in this house, it's drop-dead gorgeous!" I drawl in awe, thinking about this house compared to the rinky-dink apartment that I live in.

"Well, you did say that you are alone most of the time at home, so you could stay here sometimes if you want," she says, and I can tell she's serious, "And I would love to have another woman around."

"I- uh-" I stutter, speechless at her offer.

Did she just invite me to live with them? Well, I mean, it would be much better—

No!! I can't just intrude in their space like that...

"You wouldn't intrude or anything, we have enough spare bedrooms in this house," she explains, answering my mental question.

But what about my things at home?

"You could stay here some days and stay home on others, but we could get you some extra clothes and things for here."

I'm sure Cole would not be happy about this...

"And I'm sure Cole wouldn't mind. You two seem like such a lovely couple!"

"Oh, no, we're just friends," I reply, oddly quickly, might I add.

"Oh," Anne says, looking genuinely confused, "I'm sorry, I must have misread that."

I laugh awkwardly.

"Well, my offer still stands, regardless of your current status," she says, and I can't help but notice the slight emphasis on 'current', as well as the way she briefly raised her eyebrow when saying it.

"I genuinely appreciate the offer, Mrs. An- Anne," I thank, "But it seems like it's too much, I couldn't possibly accept."

"Nonsense!" she exclaims, chuckling as if what I said was funny, "How about this: you stay here tonight, since it's already very late, and then tomorrow you go home, think about it, and let me know what you want to do afterward."

"Really, I—" I start, but I'm cut off.

"Amara, darling, I insist. I'll have someone get a room ready for you right now," she declares, and I'm still stunned at her decisiveness. I don't think this woman is offering anymore...

I look past her to try and find Cole, but he's at the table, scrolling on his phone. I don't think he heard a single part of our conversation. I'm nervous as to how he'll react.

Anne must have followed my gaze to her son, and she knowingly smiles as she walks back over to the table, ushering me to follow her. She sits down, so do I, and she begins to explain.

Cole's POV:

"Cole, sweetie, I told Amara that she could stay with us sometimes if she wants, but she's hesitant. So, I wanted you to tell her how much we'd all love having her here!" my mother explains excitedly.

What?! I nearly choke on my own spit.

I just made a plan to not let myself get closer to Amara, and now my mom is giving her a place to live? Nuh-uh. Nope.

"What? What about dad?" I ask, trying not to make it obvious how much I don't like this idea.

I mean, it's not that I don't like it, but I know it's not going to end well.

"Leave that to me, Cole-bear. The offer stands," she says sternly.

I know by her tone that she is not giving up until Amara agrees, and she does not care what I think. I love my mother, but boy, she is stubborn.

I look at Amara, and she seems to share my defeat. We both know that my mom won't accept a no, so she slightly nods her head and gives a small smile.

My mom squeals in excitement and brings Amara into a tight hug. I'm expecting Amara to cringe at the sudden close-contact, just like I would, but instead, she embraces it and genuinely hugs back. It's an oddly heart-warming sight to see my mom so easily adore someone. Usually she's hard to charm.

Nothing Amara isn't capable of, though.

I would know.

STOP!!

I need to stop. I already decided to keep myself distanced from her, and since I can't do that anymore physically, I need to keep myself emotionally distanced.

So that means no more talking and thinking as if I'm whipped.

"Cole, will you bring Amara up to the guest bedroom across from yours? I just had Lucy get it ready for Amara," my mom asks me, but it was more of an order.

I nod my head with a tight lipped smile, and I start to walk out of the room. I don't look behind me to see if Amara is following me because I can't look at her without adoring every feature, but I know she's following me from the sound of her small steps.

I desperately want to turn my head and talk to her, hear her laugh, and see her smile. But I can't let myself do that. So, instead, I pull out my phone and mindlessly scroll, trying to distract myself with every ounce of power in my body.

We get to the part of the hallway in front of my room and I point at the guest bedroom door, "That's yours."

I can feel that Amara is thrown off by my sudden distance, and I can tell that she's about to say something else. So, before she gets the chance, I walk into my room and close the door.

I flop onto my bed, discarding my phone and bringing my hands up to my face.

How am I going to do this? I'm never going to make it.

But I have to. For her sake.

I hear a door close outside my room and figure that Amara has finally accepted that she's staying here for the night.

Remember earlier, when I said I wanted to be able to keep an eye on her, so I invited her to my house?

Yeah. Well, this is not what I meant, universe.

Normally, I would love it. But I hate that she's so close, and yet I'm not allowing myself to be anything but distant.

This is going to kill me.