Move In With Me
Lia should have known Adrian was planning something the moment he started acting nervous.
Not visibly nervous.
Adrian Monteverde would probably rather collapse dramatically than let most people see him anxious.
But Lia noticed the small things now.
The way he kept checking his phone without reading anything.
The restless tapping of his fingers against his coffee cup.
The unusual silence while driving her home from campus.
Something was happening.
And honestly?
That realization alone already stressed her emotionally.
—
The city glowed beneath soft evening rain while Adrian drove through traffic one-handed, the other resting possessively against Lia's thigh.
Warm.
Comforting.
Natural now.
The radio played quietly in the background, but Adrian barely seemed to hear it.
His attention stayed fixed somewhere deep inside his own thoughts.
Lia watched him carefully from the passenger seat.
"You're acting weird."
Adrian's thumb brushed lightly against her leg.
"That's insulting."
"You reorganized my bookshelf alphabetically last night because you said it looked emotionally stressful."
"It did."
"That is not helping your case."
A faint smile appeared briefly.
Gone just as quickly.
There it was again.
That strange quietness.
Lia narrowed her eyes slightly.
"What are you thinking about?"
Silence.
Then Adrian sighed softly through his nose.
"You."
"That is the least reassuring answer possible."
A low laugh escaped him.
Warm.
Distracted.
God.
Something was definitely happening.
Rain streaked softly across the windshield while city lights blurred gold around them.
Adrian tightened his hold on the steering wheel slightly before speaking again.
"You know what I realized this week?"
Lia's pulse stumbled instinctively.
Because Adrian only asked questions like that before emotionally devastating her.
"What?"
His gaze stayed fixed on the road.
"You don't go back to your apartment anymore."
The words settled heavily inside the car.
Because they were true.
Painfully true.
Lia blinked softly.
"I still technically live there."
Adrian finally glanced toward her briefly.
One look.
Enough to ruin her completely.
"Do you?"
Heat rushed instantly into her chest.
Because honestly?
She wasn't even sure anymore.
Her clothes filled half his dresser now.
Her skincare products lined his bathroom counters.
She had favorite mugs in his kitchen.
Favorite blankets on his couch.
A drawer turned into two.
Then somehow three.
And Adrian—
Adrian looked happier every single time another piece of her life settled into his.
The realization wrapped tightly around her chest.
Adrian's hand moved slowly higher against her thigh.
Grounding himself again.
He did that whenever conversations mattered too much emotionally.
"You leave for class from my apartment," he murmured softly.
His thumb brushed lightly against her skin.
"You study there."
Another slow stroke.
"You sleep there every night."
Then quieter—
"You come home there."
The last sentence shattered straight through her chest.
Because Adrian sounded affected by it.
Deeply affected.
Like every tiny domestic habit between them physically meant something to him.
Lia stared out the rain-covered window for a second, overwhelmed suddenly by how real everything had become.
This wasn't casual anymore.
Hadn't been for a long time.
This was a life slowly forming around both of them.
Adrian noticed her silence immediately.
"You're overthinking."
"You say terrifying things very calmly."
A faint flicker crossed his face.
"I'm trying not to scare you."
That made her look at him instantly.
Because Adrian sounded sincere.
Actually sincere.
His expression softened slightly when their eyes met.
"I know I feel things too intensely."
The honesty settled painfully into her chest.
"You don't scare me."
A quiet breath escaped him.
"You should probably lie better."
Lia smiled despite herself.
Then slowly—
"What are you really trying to say?"
Silence filled the car again.
Heavy.
Fragile somehow.
Adrian's fingers tightened slightly against her thigh before he finally pulled the car into the private underground parking garage beneath the penthouse.
The engine shut off.
Rain echoed softly above them.
But Adrian didn't move.
Neither did Lia.
He stared ahead for several long seconds before finally turning toward her fully.
And suddenly—
Lia realized something terrifying.
Adrian actually looked nervous.
Tiny signs.
Barely visible.
But there.
His jaw tense.
Breathing slightly uneven.
Like whatever he wanted to say mattered too much.
Her chest tightened instantly.
"Adrian?"
His eyes met hers slowly.
Warm.
Terrified.
Completely sincere.
Then quietly—
so quietly it almost hurt—
"Move in with me."
Silence crashed through the car.
Lia physically stopped breathing for a second.
Because somehow—
despite everything—
those words still felt enormous.
Adrian looked at her carefully after speaking.
Watching every tiny reaction like he physically couldn't help himself.
"I know you already practically live with me," he continued softly. "But I mean officially."
The roughness in his voice wrapped tightly around her heart.
"I want your things there because you chose to leave them there. Not because you forgot them."
God.
The sincerity nearly ruined her emotionally.
Adrian looked down briefly at their intertwined hands before continuing quieter:
"I want you to stop feeling like you're visiting."
The confession shattered straight through her chest.
Because suddenly—
she understood this wasn't about convenience.
Not really.
It was about permanence.
About Adrian wanting proof she planned to stay.
His thumb brushed slowly against her hand.
Careful.
Almost uncertain.
"I don't want to be the place you sleep sometimes anymore." His gaze lifted back to hers. "I want to be your home too."
The honesty physically hurt.
Lia stared at him silently while rain echoed softly through the parking garage.
And suddenly—
every small thing between them replayed through her mind.
The key.
The drawers.
The toothbrush.
His hoodies.
The way he relaxed every time she came back to him.
Adrian had been building space for her inside his life piece by piece long before saying this out loud.
And maybe the most terrifying part?
Lia realized she'd been building one around him too.
Adrian noticed the exact moment something softened in her expression.
Of course he did.
His breathing caught softly.
But still—
he looked afraid.
Like part of him expected rejection no matter how deeply she loved him back.
The realization broke something inside her chest.
Lia reached for his face slowly, her fingers brushing gently along his jaw.
Immediate reaction.
Adrian leaned into the touch instinctively.
Eyes closing briefly.
Like tenderness from her still undid him every single time.
"You already feel like home to me," she whispered softly.
The confession visibly wrecked him.
A sharp breath escaped him while his hand tightened around hers.
His eyes opened slowly afterward.
Devastatingly emotional.
Then quieter—
almost vulnerable enough to ruin her permanently—
"Please say yes anyway."