33. Braden
Chapter 33
Braden
B ella looks at me. “Um, what?”
“Move in with me,” I say again.
For a moment, she just stares at me. She furrows her brow, looking serious and concerned all at once.
“Braden, you can’t be serious.”
“I am. I want you to move in with me.”
She laughs again, but this time she sounds surprised. “You want me to move into your apartment?”
“Yeah.”
The thought of Bella moving forty-five minutes away, of not seeing her every day, makes my chest go tight and my stomach churn.
I don’t want her to leave. I don’t want her to go live with her parents when they make her feel bad about herself and she clearly doesn’t want to be with them.
Emotion surges up my chest at what I won’t dare say to her.
But it’s the truth, and I can’t deny it.
My feelings for Bella have changed. She’s more than just a friend to me. She’s more than just someone I hook up with.
She’s the person whose smile makes my whole day. She’s the person I think about more than anyone. She’s the person I want to spend time with over anyone else.
And the thought of her moving away makes me want to crawl out of my skin.
But I can’t say that to her. She’d probably freak out if I told her that I caught feelings for her. And I wouldn’t blame her. We agreed that this thing between us should stay casual.
My brain races as I scramble for a way to convince her.
For a long moment, she just stares at me, eyes big, like she’s in utter disbelief at my suggestion to move in with me.
“We’re friends, Bella. This is what friends do. Help each other out when one of us is in a jam.”
I’m proud of how easy my tone is, despite how wrong it feels to call her my friend. She’s so much more than that to me.
She’s quiet for a moment as she looks at me. “You really don’t mind?”
I shake my head and smile. “Not at all. You’ve seen how often I’m gone during the season. You’d have the place to yourself a lot of the time.”
“I’ll pay you rent. I can’t pay what you’d normally charge for such a nice unit, but I’ll set money aside and…”
I shake my head, cutting her off. “No way you’re paying me, Bella. I bought my apartment. I’m not making you give me rent for something I already own.”
She starts to protest, but I tell her there’s no chance I’m charging her.
She sighs, pursing her lips, clearly annoyed. I start to smile. She’s really fucking cute when she does that .
“Fine. But this is temporary. Until I can save enough money to find a place in my price range.”
I nod once. “Of course. But you can stay as long as you need.”
I glance down at Maizie, who is sitting on the pavement between us, her tongue sticking out of her mouth as she looks up at the both of us. When I lean down to pet her, she starts wagging her tail.
“Look at how happy Maizie is knowing that you’re gonna live with me.”
Bella laughs and leans down to scratch behind her ears. I gently grip her waist and pull her against me, then kiss her slowly.
“We should head back to my place and celebrate you moving in,” I say.
The corner of her mouth quirks up right along with one of her eyebrows. “Wow. Someone’s excited that we’re about to be roomies.”
I grin. “Guilty as charged.”
I walk into my master bathroom and see Bella smearing toothpaste onto my toothbrush. She starts to brush her teeth, stopping when she notices me. We lock eyes in the mirror.
“I accidentally dropped my toothbrush in the toilet bowl, so I have to use yours,” she says.
I chuckle. “You didn’t pack a spare one in one of the dozen boxes in the guest room?” I tease.
Still smiling, she rolls her eyes at me.
I step up to her, rest my hands on her hips, and pull her back against my chest. I press a kiss to the back of her neck, savoring the soft hum she lets out.
“I’m kidding,” I say, my mouth against her skin. “Of course you can use my toothbrush.”
She looks at me in the mirror again, her toothpaste-covered lips curved into a naughty smile. “I figured since we put our mouths on each other’s naughty bits regularly, you’d be fine with me using your toothbrush.”
I laugh. “Naughty bits? Haven’t heard that one before.”
She shrugs as she continues brushing her teeth. She spits into the sink. “I like it better than saying, ‘genitals.’” She wrinkles her nose and makes a grossed-out face. I laugh even harder.
It’s been a week since Bella moved in with me, and things have been great. And easy. I had roommates when I was younger, but I’ve never lived with a woman before, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought things might be awkward or weird, but they aren’t. Maybe it's because she already spends so much time here when we hook up and hang out.
I drop a kiss on her shoulder and step aside. I flip on the faucet of the second sink and splash water on my face. I squirt some face wash into my hand and lather it up. After Bella finishes brushing her teeth, she washes her face too.
As I dry off with a hand towel, I catch myself smiling. I glance over at Bella, who’s leaning over her sink, eyes closed as she rinses the suds off her face.
I glance at the half-dozen skincare bottles on her end of the counter, her shiny red makeup bag, her hairbrush, hair dryer, and giant curling iron.
A warm feeling puddles in my chest at seeing Bella’s stuff scattered on my bathroom counter.
I like this. A lot.
I like living with her. Every night that I’m home, we cook and eat dinner together before taking Maizie out for an evening walk. I like waking up with her cuddled into my chest every morning. I like kissing her awake and the way she wrinkles her nose because she’s not a morning person. I like standing at the bathroom sink and getting ready for the day together. I like walking through the door and seeing her on the couch with Maizie.
That warmth burrows deeper. I don’t want this to end.
I halt the thought the second it materializes. Because I shouldn’t be thinking that.
Living with Bella is temporary. It’s going to end in a few months when she saves enough money to get her own place.
An uneasy feeling drags through my stomach.
Don’t get attached. She’s your friend and roommate. Not your girlfriend. Quit daydreaming about playing house.
I drop the towel in the nearby hamper and walk with Bella to the kitchen. I grab Maizie’s morning treat from the bag on the counter right as she saunters up to me, tail wagging.
Bella leans down to pet her and kisses the top of her head. Just then, both of our phones, which are sitting on the kitchen counter, buzz at the same time.
When I look at the screen, I see that Ingrid has just sent a massive group text to everyone on the Bashers team—all the players, staff, their significant others, Bella, and a bunch of other phone numbers I don’t recognize. Probably her friends. Ingrid knows everyone.
Hey, all! I know Halloween was weeks ago, but we never got to have our annual Bashers costume party because the guys were gone on a stretch of away games that week. So Del and I are hosting a costume party at our place this Saturday! Dress up in your best costume and be ready to get wild !
Bella looks up at me, amused. “You guys have an annual costume party?”
“Yeah. It’s a team tradition. Every Halloween, one of the players hosts it. It gets kind of wild.”
She quirks an eyebrow, smiling. “How wild?”
“Well, last year, Xander ended up skinny dipping in the pond behind Maya and Theo’s house wearing nothing but a tiara.”
Bella bursts out laughing. “Okay, I’m definitely in.”
She walks up to me and slides her arms around my waist. “And I think I have the perfect couples costume for us.”
I try to ignore the sparks that light up in my chest at hearing her say, “Couples costume.”
It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just for Halloween.
I smile down at her. “What do you have in mind?”
Her grin turns teasing. “It’s a surprise.”