Strength in Numbers

It was two long and hard months, but we were finally home. Aaron and I had been fantastic and for the past week and a half we'd been inseparable. The house we stayed in depended solely upon which was closer at the time – usually it was his. I'd never been happier in my entire life. Everything was finally perfect.

I kicked open the door to my apartment and wiggled in through the narrow opening I had made before bumping it shut with my butt. “Honey I'm home!” I called to my roommate.

I heard her laugh from her bedroom. “Aaron stopped by earlier and said he left something on your bed! He told me to tell you not to sit on it!” I chuckled as I placed the bags of groceries on the kitchen counter. I began putting things away when another shout sounded from Hillary's room. “Well what the fuck is it?!”

I sighed. “I haven't checked yet!”

“What the fuck are you waiting for? An invitation? Go see what it is!”

I rolled my eyes but abandoned the bags in the kitchen and walked to my room. I opened the door to find a small box sitting on my bed. Curious, I picked it up to examine. Too big to be a ring box. I shook it. Doesn't sound like a bomb.

“Hurry up! The suspense is killing me!”

I sighed, but pulled off the little ribbon that had been tied in a bow. I opened the box to find a key inside. A key? I looked a little closer at it, then I saw a small strip of paper still nestled in the box. I looked at it to find an address scrawled across the sliver of loose leaf.

Uh oh.

That wasn't just any address.

Oh god.

“Well, what is it?” Hillary asked as she waltzed into my room. She looked over my shoulder at the key in my palm. “A key?”

I shook my head. “His key.”

“Aw you two are sharing keys? Cute.”

I shook my head again. I hadn't given Aaron my key, and he hadn't told me he was giving me his. “I-I think he wants me to move in with him.”

My best friend snorted as she plopped herself on my bed. “Well it's about damned time. I love you and everything, but I'm sick and tired of listening to you two fuck every time you stay here.”

I could feel my hands shaking. “Hil, I-I don't think I'm ready for this.” My breath was coming in shorter and shorter gasps.

Now, each of my friends deals with my panic attacks differently. Austin will hold me and make me feel safe. Aaron will talk with me and work me through it. Hillary, however...

My head snapped to the right, my cheek immediately beginning to sting. “Listen up, fucker, you two practically already live together. This is the first time I've seen you alone since you got back. If you go through your closet I think all the things you wear normally are at his house. Don't give me any crap about how you're not ready, cause you are. You love him, and I love you, and that's why you're packing your shit and getting the fuck out by this time next week. I'm going to go see if any of our friends need a place to live.” And with that, she walked back to her room.

I sighed. Maybe Hillary was right. It won't change things too much, right? My eyes drifted down to the key in my hand. Aaron has seen me at my worst. He knows how to handle my panic attacks. Maybe Hil's right.

I would never tell her I thought so.

*

I took a breath as I stared at the key in my hand. I'm ready. I love him. I can do this. I slid the key in the lock and turned it.

The door opened.

I stepped in and quietly guided the door shut. I dropped my bag next to it and wander to the living room to find my boyfriend. When the room was vacant, I turned to the kitchen, where I found Aaron humming as he busied himself with the pots on the stove. I hopped up on a stool at the island and just watched him cook.

Suddenly, I recognized the melody he was humming. “Did you ever finish that?”

He turned his head casually with a smile, as if he was expecting me to be behind him. “I did.” He turned back to the food. “I see you got my surprise.” I hummed my agreement. “So?”

I arched an eyebrow. “So what?”

He scoffed and spun to face me. “You know very well what. We didn't talk about exchanging keys, and I'm not expecting to get one of yours.”

I swallowed. The thought that he might have just wanted to exchange keys had crossed my mind on the way over, but clearly that was not the case. “Ah.”

He sighed, rolling his eyes, as he walked to me. He bent over like he was going to kiss me but stopped a centimeter from my lips. “So, will you move in with me?” he whispered, damn well knowing what he was doing to my head.

I swallowed. “You're not playing fair.”

“I'm not playing.”

My eyes flickered to his lips before returning to his gaze. “I think you know,” I muttered, closing the distance between us.

I felt him smile. “Good.” One of his hands reached behind my neck to pull me closer, the kiss intensifying. Just as I was about to get up to close the distance between us even further, Aaron pulled away. A smirk was playing on his lips as he waltzed back to the stove, “Well now that's sorted, but I still have to finish dinner.”

I dropped my head forward onto the counter. “I hate you.”

“No,” he laughed, “you love me.”

I sighed. “Yeah, I guess I do.”

He beamed at me. “I love you, too. We'll start moving stuff tomorrow, yeah?”

I smiled. I'm going to be moving in with Aaron. Suddenly, it wasn't such a scary statement. “Yeah. Sounds good.”

Notes

I promised, and I delivered! Sorry, it took a few more days than expected, but here it is! The new chapter! There's not too much left of this story. It's resolving itself quicker than what I'd planned, but I like it, and I hope you all do too! Tell me what you think! Thanks for all the support even though I'm a shit author when it comes to updates. Enjoy, loves! - Anna