Pitbabe S2, Chapter 8 pg1

 Pitbabe S2, Chapter 8 pg1

 Chapter 8:

   CHARLIE

   “Babe!”

   “Just a sec!”

   I couldn’t help but smile when I heard the response echo from the second floor. It’s become a habit to call out Babe’s name the moment I step through the door. Our house is quiet enough that he can hear me even if I speak at a normal volume. But if it’s Babe doing the talking? He’d be yelling loud enough to burst eardrums every time.

   “Coming!” In just a few minutes, I heard the sound of the man himself coming down the stairs. I’d just walked into the kitchen, quickly grabbing a water bottle from the fridge, pouring it into a glass, and chugging it without hesitation. I knew the rest of my time from here on out belonged to Babe. “Back right on time. Good boy, you dog.”

   “I made a promise, didn’t I?” I set the glass with the remaining half of the water on the kitchen counter and went to hug my amazing boyfriend. Not seeing him all day felt like a bigger deal than I’d thought. Just pulling Babe into my arms, I could feel how much I’d missed him today. “Mmm… missed you so much.”

   “For real?” Babe hugged me back, his tone slightly surprised at my words, which was odd. I thought it was pretty obvious.

   “Totally. Didn’t see you all day.”

   “Thought you’d be too busy to even think about me.”

   “Forget you? That’d be bad. I think about Babe with every breath.”

   “Don’t get too dramatic.”

   “Not dramatic… I mean it,” I said, pressing a kiss to Babe’s cheek, trailing down to his jaw, then to the nook of his neck—my favorite spot when I want to breathe in that familiar scent. A scent that’s both thrilling and calming in the most incredible way. “Missed you, missed you, missed you.”

   “Alright, alright, I believe you,” Babe said, placing his hand on my chest and gently pushing me away, dodging as if he didn’t want me nuzzling any closer. “But can you not snuggle yet? I haven’t showered.”

   “Doesn’t bother me at all,” I laughed, thinking his concern was utterly ridiculous, especially since Babe is the one who’s always holding me back from showering the most.

   “No way… I’m gross,” Babe mumbled, flustered as I tried to hug and kiss him. His behavior felt a bit off to me, but I had to admit, his frazzled expression and the huffy sounds by my ear were pretty adorable. “I was at the garage all day, super dirty. Don’t kiss me.”

   “You don’t smell bad at all. Same sweet scent as always,” I teased.

   “Don’t love me more than that Charlie guy,” he shot back.

   “Whoa, what’s with the weird restriction?”

   “I’m just not confident, okay?” Babe’s voice softened, and I knew he was doing that thing where he uses his small, pleading tone to coax me into doing what he wants. It usually works pretty well, unless what he’s asking for is something totally outlandish. “Let me shower first. Then you can snuggle all you want.”

   “You’re overthinking it,” I said, playfully poking his nose. “You said you were gonna shower and wait for me, but you still haven’t. What’ve you been up to?”

   “Just preparing some stuff.”

   “What stuff?”

   “Preparing for Papa, duh. You’ll have to go upstairs to see,” Babe said with a mischievous grin. It seemed like when he shouted “One sec!” earlier, he was probably setting something up. Honestly, seeing him like this made me feel all warm inside. Babe must’ve been eagerly waiting for the moment we’d get to spend together, while I’ve been out acting like a lunatic every single day.

   “Proposing or what?” I teased, because who knows? Maybe our bedroom is filled with red roses right now, with scented candles lining a path, rose petals on the bed spelling out “Will you marry me?” and a shiny silver ring sparkling in the center.

   “You wanna get married?” Babe laughed at my absurd question. “You keep bringing it up, and I’m starting to think about it.”

   “Go ahead and think about it. What’s stopping you?”

   “For real?” Babe mocked, his lips curling into a delighted smirk. “Finish school first, then I’ll propose.”

   “Babe, you gonna propose to me?”

   “Obviously. If I wait for you to propose, I’ll be so old I can barely croak out ‘I do.’ It’ll probably sound like…” He switched to a raspy, trembling old-man voice, “‘M-marry meh…’” His impression made me burst out laughing, but at the same time, it stung a little that Babe thought I’d never planned anything like this with him. To him, I’m probably still too young to think about serious stuff like marriage, living together officially, or doing something big as a couple. But in reality, it’s the complete opposite.

   My head’s full of thoughts about us—so many endless dreams that I’m scared if I say them out loud, Babe might think I’m trying to tie him down indirectly. But maybe that’s true. I’ve been thinking about our future since before he even said he loved me.

   Sometimes Babe isn’t all that bright.

   Of course, I only think that. I’d never dare say it out loud.

   “Okay, I’ll wait then,” I said, pressing a soft, quick kiss on Babe’s lips, sealing the promise that these weren’t just empty words. “I’ll hurry and finish studying as fast as I can.”

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