Chapter 10 The Life Between Us #2
“My apartment is almost ready.”
Adrian looked at him.
“That’s good.”
“It is.”
Riley smiled faintly.
Neither spoke for several seconds.
Then Adrian asked, “Do you want to go back?”
The question was quiet.
Riley looked at him.
“I don’t know.”
Adrian nodded.
He didn’t pressure him.
That was one of the things Riley loved about him.
Adrian had learned to leave room for Riley’s choices.
Riley took a breath.
“I have most of my things in storage.”
“I know.”
“I think I want to bring them here.”
Adrian’s expression softened.
“Okay.”
Riley smiled.
“That’s all?”
“What else should I say?”
“I don’t know.”
Adrian walked closer.
“You want your things here.”
“Yes.”
“Then bring them.”
Riley laughed.
“You make everything sound so simple.”
“Sometimes it is.”
Riley leaned against him.
“What if it changes things?”
Adrian wrapped his arms around him.
“It already has.”
Riley looked up.
Adrian kissed his forehead.
“We’ve changed.”
Riley smiled.
“Good.”
That afternoon, they drove to the storage unit together.
Riley hadn’t realized how much he had kept there.
Boxes of books.
Old sketchbooks.
Clothes.
Art supplies.
Framed paintings.
A small collection of children’s books.
Photographs.
His favorite chair.
The storage unit looked like a version of his life that had been paused.
Riley stood in the doorway.
Adrian came up beside him.
“Where do we start?”
Riley smiled.
“Books.”
“Of course.”
They loaded the first box.
Then another.
And another.
By the time they returned to Adrian’s apartment, the hallway was crowded with Riley’s belongings.
Riley laughed.
“It looks like we’re moving in.”
Adrian looked around.
“We are.”
The words made Riley pause.
He turned toward Adrian.
“You mean that?”
“Yes.”
Adrian took the box from his hands.
“Unless you don’t.”
Riley smiled.
“I do.”
They spent the afternoon organizing everything.
Riley’s books went onto the shelves.
His artwork went onto the walls.
His supplies filled part of the study.
His clothes took up more space in the closet.
The apartment slowly changed.
Again.
But this time, there was no uncertainty.
Adrian wasn’t allowing Riley into his space temporarily.
They were creating a shared space together.
At one point, Riley found an old photograph from college.
It showed him and Adrian standing beside each other, both much younger.
Riley held it up.
“Look at us.”
Adrian smiled.
“We looked exhausted.”
“We were.”
“We were also terrible at managing time.”
“You still are.”
Adrian laughed.
Riley placed the photograph on the shelf.
Beside it, he placed a newer photograph.
The two of them together.
Adrian looked at the pictures.
“That’s a good place.”
Riley nodded.
“I think so.”
They continued unpacking.
By evening, the apartment looked different.
Not unfamiliar.
More complete.
The old sterile spaces had gradually disappeared.
There were books everywhere.
Paintings.
Photographs.
A basket filled with art supplies.
Two mugs beside the coffee machine.
Two toothbrushes in the bathroom.
Two sets of clothes in the bedroom.
Two lives.
Riley stood in the kitchen.
“This feels strange.”
Adrian walked toward him.
“Bad strange?”
“No.”
Riley smiled.
“Good strange.”
Adrian pulled him close.
“Then we’re doing something right.”
Riley rested his head against Adrian’s chest.
“Do you ever think about the future?”
“Constantly.”
“That’s very doctor of you.”
Adrian laughed.
“What kind of future?”
Riley looked up.
“The one where this isn’t just about us living together.”
Adrian’s expression softened.
“You mean marriage?”
“Maybe.”
“And children?”
Riley’s heart warmed.
“Maybe.”
Adrian smiled.
“I’ve thought about it.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Riley studied his face.
“Do you want that?”
Adrian didn’t hesitate.
“I want a family.”
The answer made Riley emotional.
“With me?”
Adrian looked almost surprised by the question.
“Who else?”
Riley laughed softly.
“Sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
Adrian brushed his thumb across Riley’s cheek.
“I want a future with you.”
Riley leaned into his touch.
“Then I want one with you too.”
They talked for a long time.
Not about exact dates or elaborate plans.
They talked about the kind of home they wanted.
A home with laughter.
A place where children could make noise without being told to sit quietly.
A room where Riley could paint.
A kitchen where Adrian would hopefully stop burning food.
A garden.
Books.
Music.
Family dinners.
They talked about balancing their careers.
Riley’s studio.
Adrian’s hospital work.
The possibility of children.
The practical challenges.
Neither pretended everything would be easy.
They simply agreed they would face it together.
Later that night, Riley stood in the bedroom.
His suitcase was gone.
His clothes were hanging in the closet.
His books were on the shelf.
His artwork filled the walls.
There was no longer a reason to call the room Adrian’s.
Adrian stood beside him.
Riley looked around.
“I remember the first night I stayed here.”
“The storm.”
“Yes.”
“You said you’d stay until your apartment was repaired.”
“I remember.”
Adrian smiled.
“Your apartment is almost ready.”
Riley looked at him.
“I know.”
“But you’re still here.”
“I am.”
“Why?”
Riley smiled.
“Because I want to be.”
Adrian reached for his hand.
Riley intertwined their fingers.
“I don’t want you thinking of this as my apartment anymore,” Adrian said.
Riley looked around.
“What should I call it?”
Adrian squeezed his hand.
“Our home.”
The words settled gently between them.
Riley smiled.
“Our home.”
Adrian nodded.
“Your studio will be yours.”
Riley smiled.
“My studio.”
“Your work.”
“Your hospital.”
Adrian smiled.
“And our home.”
Riley’s eyes filled with tears.
He stepped closer.
“You’re really choosing this.”
“Every day.”
Riley wrapped his arms around him.
Adrian held him tightly.
For so long, Riley had worried that loving Adrian meant waiting for him to make room.
Now he understood something different.
Adrian wasn’t giving Riley a corner of his life.
He was building a life with him.
That mattered more than any grand declaration.
Riley looked around the bedroom one last time.
There were still boxes to unpack.
There were still decisions to make.
The future was still uncertain.
But the room no longer felt like a place Riley was borrowing.
It was theirs.
The apartment was theirs.
The routines were theirs.
The dreams were theirs.
And standing in the bedroom they now shared, Riley finally understood what it meant to be chosen.
It wasn’t about being needed every day.
It was about being wanted every day.
Adrian kissed his forehead.
“Welcome home.”
Riley smiled.
“I think I’ve been home for a while.”
Adrian held him closer.
This time, neither of them needed to say anything else.
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