“What?” he laughs.
The words are out there before I can second-guess myself. Not that I need to. There’s no doubt in my heart. “I think you should move in with me.”
His eyes widen in an almost comical way, like in one of those cartoons, and his mouth drops open. “What?” There’s a slight tremble to his voice, thewhathanging between us.
I release his earlobe and slide my hand down his jaw, cradling his chin. “Move in with me.”
“Oh, so you did say that?”
“I did.” I swipe my thumb back and forth against Kayden’s chin, feeling his soft scruff against the pad of my finger.
“But I just moved into my apartment.”
“I know, but… You see, I realized something while you were still asleep.”
“What?” His voice comes out all breathy.
“I realized a couple of things, actually.” I try to keep my voice steady, but it’s fucking hard when you are about to lay it all out there, when you are about to completely bare yourself to another person. “But to sum it up, I want the wholeshebang.”
Kayden frowns at me. “The whole…shebang?”
“Yes. All of it.”
“Okay…” It’s almost like I can hear the wheels inside his head turning. I realize then that the wordshebangis probably a little too abstract. One person’s idea of ashebangmight not be another person’s idea.
“For one, I want a porch swing. A two-person swing with striped cushions. You can choose the color, but it’s important that the overhang matches.”
Kayden is full-on squinting at me at this point, looking slightly worried. “Are you okay, Caleb? You’re not… you’re not stroking out on me or anything?” He places his hand against my chest, right on top of my heart, like he wants to reassure himself.
“I’m fine. Never been better, actually. I just…” I place my hand on top of his. “I just really want that porch swing.”
He chuckles. “Okay. I don’t think it’s outside your budget, so you should go for it.” His eyes shimmer, the color a dark indigo. His lips brush against mine. “I think you should get a swing if that’s what you want.”
“Yeah? It’s not…lame?”
He smiles even wider. “Yes, it’s super lame, and I might tease you about it from time to time, but it’s also very endearing, and if it’s part of your…” he hesitates, lifting an eyebrow, “shebang,then go for it.”
“It is. It’s part of myshebang.” I squeeze his hand, pressing it closer against my heart. “You are, too, Kayden. You’re part of myshebang, too.”
“I am?” His voice is so vulnerable it almost breaks my fucking heart.
“You are.”
He nods, blinking back tears. “I’d love nothing more. To be part of your…” He snorts. “Okay, we have to think of another word becauseshebangis just so fucking corny.”
I lean in and kiss him. “We’ll think of another word. We have the rest of our lives to come up with another word.”
A small hiccup bursts from his lips, and he fists my shirt. Fuck, I love when he does that, like he wants to disappear inside me.
“Okay,” he murmurs, the feel of his lips against mine sending electric shocks through my body.
“Yeah? You’ll move in with me?”
He nods, and I feel his smile.
“When?” I blurt like the no chill, possessive motherfucker I apparently am.
“As soon as you get that swing, babe.” There’s a teasing edge to his voice. I break away from him and pull my phone from my pocket. “What are you doing?” He laughs.