Chapter 41 - Good Question #2
Enough immediate capacity.
Preserve cash.
Preserve optionality.
Move later if growth continued.
Annoying.
Reasonable.
"I hate you."
Tori looked up.
"No, you don't."
"No."
I sighed.
"I don't."
She smiled.
"Adjacent unit?"
"Probably."
"Good."
"I haven't decided."
"Okay."
"You're not going to push?"
"No."
"Why?"
"It's your business."
Simple.
There.
Challenge without ownership.
Opinion without control.
I liked that too.
Fuck.
We stopped talking about work.
Eventually.
Tori showed me her bookshelf.
Actual books.
Not decorative.
Some tech.
Business.
Fiction.
Travel.
One book had so many sticky notes it looked injured.
I pulled it out.
"What is this?"
"Travel plans."
I opened it.
Japan.
Taiwan.
Korea.
New Zealand.
Europe.
Restaurants.
Train routes.
Museums.
Hikes.
Random notes.
"You plan vacations like product launches."
"I like good vacations."
"You accused me of optimization."
"I optimize the preparation so I can stop thinking during the trip."
I paused.
"That is annoyingly reasonable."
"Thank you."
I flipped to Korea.
Concert notes.
I narrowed my eyes.
"You go to concerts?"
"Sometimes."
"What kind?"
"Different ones."
"MAMAMOO?"
Tori thought.
"I know some songs."
I stared.
"What?"
"What?"
"That was not included in your dating disclosure."
"You never asked."
"This is relevant information."
"To what?"
"Compatibility assessment."
Tori laughed.
"You already chose me."
"Oh."
Right.
Girlfriend.
Fuck.
She noticed my face.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You forgot?"
"No."
"You did."
"I temporarily failed to load current relationship status."
"Product bug."
"Shut up."
"Patch available."
"What patch?"
Tori leaned closer.
Then kissed my cheek.
I froze.
She smiled.
"Updated?"
I laughed.
"Yes."
"Good."
Fuck.
We ended up on the couch.
Her phone buzzed.
She checked the screen.
Turned it face down.
I looked.
"You're not answering?"
"No."
"Work?"
"Yes."
"What if it's important?"
"They'll call."
"What if they need you?"
"They have other people."
"What if—"
Tori looked at me.
I stopped.
"What?"
"You're anxious on behalf of my job."
"I am not."
"You are."
"I'm asking."
"You want me to check."
"No."
She smiled.
"Lia."
Fuck.
Maybe.
"A little."
"Why?"
I thought.
Because if work called, I answered.
Because if something could become a problem, I preferred killing it before it grew teeth.
Because I had died once doing exactly that until there was nothing left of my life except work.
I shrugged.
"Habit."
Tori nodded.
Then left the phone face down.
No lecture.
No—
you need to learn boundaries.
Just demonstrated one.
Interesting.
A little later, her mother called.
Actual call.
Tori answered.
"Hi, Ma."
Pause.
"No, I'm home."
Pause.
She looked at me.
Then away.
"Yes."
Pause.
"Because I like my job."
Pause.
I frowned.
Tori closed her eyes.
"No, Ma. Better benefits don't automatically make it better."
Pause.
Her expression changed into something painfully patient.
"I know."
Pause.
"No."
Pause.
"I'll look."
She ended the call.
I stared.
"What?"
Tori sighed.
"She found another job posting."
"You're looking for work?"
"No."
"Then why—"
"My mother thinks any position with slightly better benefits should be investigated."
I started laughing.
Tori stared.
"This is not funny."
"It is."
"She does it constantly."
"Very responsible."
"Do not encourage her."
"Risk diversification."
"Lia."
"Career due diligence."
"She sent three last month."
I laughed harder.
"Stop."
"Your mother is optimizing you."
Tori covered her face.
"Oh my God."
That made me laugh more.
Then she started laughing too.
Good.
Normal family nonsense.
No tragedy.
No corporate empire.
Just a mother sending unsolicited job listings to a fully employed adult.
I liked seeing it.
Tori outside competence.
Tori irritated.
Tori daughter.
Tori bad cook.
Tori who left messages unanswered after work.
Tori who could change her mind.
Not candidate Tori.
Not woman number whatever.
My girlfriend.
Fuck.
That word was getting easier.
Eventually, we went quiet.
My leg against hers.
Her hand beside mine.
No need to fill every second.
Then Tori asked—
"Can I ask something?"
"Sure."
"How are you?"
I looked at her.
"That sounds suspiciously broad."
"It is."
"About?"
"Everything."
Ah.
I knew.
Celeste.
The choice.
Us.
I leaned back.
"Happy."
Tori waited.
"And still sad."
She nodded.
"Okay."
I looked at her.
"You really don't mind?"
"What part?"
"That I'm sad."
"No."
"About Celeste."
"I know who it's about."
"That doesn't bother you?"
Tori thought.
"Would I prefer nobody got hurt?"
"Yes."
"Obviously."
"Would I prefer you never liked her?"
She shook her head.
"No."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because you did."
Simple.
Fuck.
"She mattered."
"Yes."
"You don't have to make that smaller for me."
There.
I looked down at our hands.
"You're very emotionally reasonable."
"Thank you."
"It's irritating."
"Still thank you."
I laughed.
Then—
"I don't regret choosing you."
Tori turned toward me.
"I know."
"How?"
"You came."
"That is not proof."
"You keep coming."
Fuck.
Again.
She said things like that.
Not dramatic.
Just—
correct.
I turned my hand over.
Her fingers slid into mine.
I squeezed.
"Can I tell you something?"
"Go."
"I like how your brain works."
Tori went still.
Tiny.
Then smiled.
"Good."
I laughed.
"No. Proper response."
"That was proper."
"I just complimented your brain."
"Best compliment so far."
"Better than pretty?"
"Yes."
"Better than sexy?"
"You haven't officially said sexy."
I stared.
Tori raised her eyebrows.
Oh.
"So you're keeping records."
"Current data."
"Dangerous."
She smiled.
Then—
"I like your brain too."
My chest did something stupid.
"Why?"
"Do you need a report?"
"Yes."
"Of course."
She thought.
"You follow an argument."
"Good start."
"You can change direction without losing the original question."
I listened.
"You see systems very quickly."
"Obviously."
"Arrogant."
"Continue."
"You ask why."
"Okay."
"Then you ask why again when the first answer is lazy."
I smiled.
"And you don't need me to agree with you to keep listening."
That one—
I liked.
A lot.
Tori looked at me.
"Also, you're funny."
"Thank you."
"Sometimes accidentally."
"Relationship terminated."
"No."
She squeezed my hand.
I laughed.
Then she leaned closer.
"Can I kiss you?"
"Yes."
She kissed me.
Slow.
No rush.
No comparison.
Celeste crossed my mind for half a second.
Not the kiss.
Just—
grief.
Then passed.
I didn't shove it away.
Didn't hold onto it either.
Tori was here.
Current.
Her hand in mine.
Her mouth against mine.
I kissed her back.
Current choice.
When she pulled away, she stayed close.
"Good?"
I laughed softly.
"Very."
"Good."
"There it is."
On the way home, I opened the business numbers again.
Adjacent unit.
Building.
Growth.
I stared.
Then closed the file.
Tomorrow.
Current business could survive one night without being solved.
Apparently.
My phone buzzed.
Tori.
home?
on the way
Then—
next week?
I smiled.
yes
Immediate.
good
I stared out the window.
Maybe that was the thing.
I had already chosen Tori.
Now I was discovering why.
Not because she was better than Celeste.
She wasn't.
Not because Celeste had failed.
She hadn't.
Not because Tori always understood me.
She didn't.
Not because we always agreed.
Definitely not.
I just—
liked what happened when I put a thought between us.
She picked it up.
Turned it around.
Handed it back different.
Sometimes better.
Sometimes more annoying.
Sometimes I changed her mind.
Sometimes she changed mine.
Neither of us seemed particularly interested in winning.
We just wanted the conversation to move.
Fuck.
I understood.
I had chosen Tori because I liked her.
But more specifically—
I liked her mind.
And maybe even worse—
I liked who I became when mine was beside hers.
Not quieter.
Not smaller.
Not more impressive.
Just—
interested.
Present.
Still wanting to know what came next.
My phone buzzed again.
also please never eat my pasta again
I laughed.
i survived
barely
i like you
Pause.
Then—
good
Of course.
I smiled all the way home.