The Way of Fate (Book 1)

12. Living Conditions

Allen kissed me again, lifting me up. I wrapped my arms and my legs around him to hold on, kissing him back just as heated as he walked us over to my bed. As soon as my back hit the mattress, I broke the kiss off, remembering.

"Your son is watching us," I said, although it came out more as a moan since he chose that moment to reach his hand into my pants and grab hold of me.

"He doesn't know anything," Allen replied, kissing my neck. And with that, I forgot all about Sam.

Some time later, Allen flopped down on the mattress next to me, both of us out of breath, but feeling too good at the moment to care. Just as he wrapped his arms around me to pull me closer to him, my stomach grumbled softly, yet Allen heard it anyway.

He chuckled. "Have you eaten anything tonight?"

"Aside from that muffin you gave me, no. I only just got home, and then someone convinced me into bed."

He nodded his head before shifting me off his chest to sit up. "I haven't eaten either," he said, ignoring my last comment. "Do you want to order something?"

I thought for a minute, not yet moving from this position. "I have leftovers in the fridge I was going to eat last night. They need to get eaten soon. There should be enough for both of us, if you don't mind?"

He leaned down to give me a quick kiss. "Sounds perfect."

I watched him as he got up from the mattress and pulled his boxers on. It was weird, this whole situation, and I wasn't sure if I was used to it, the whole boyfriend thing. It was weird that after having sex, we would get up and make dinner, well, heat up leftovers out of my fridge. It was weird that I was happy being with Allen like this, not even the sex, but being in the same room, talking about dinner plans. It was nice.

"What are you thinking about?"

I moved my gaze to Allen, who had gotten dressed at some point while I was lost in my head. "Nothing." It was all I said as I crawled to the edge of the bed, where my tub full of clothes were to grab a fresh pair of underwear. I was not about to put on the same pair as earlier.

"You keep your clothes in there?"

I looked up, closing the lip to the tub. "Yeah. Where else would I put them? I don't exactly have a closet."

He looked around, as he just realizing my lack of closet space, while I pulled my clothes on. "You didn't get this place with the salary I'm paying you, did you? Because I really thought you'd be able to afford better."

I scoffed, heading over to the kitchen area. "Yeah, no. I've been here for years." I pulled a couple containers out of the fridge and placed them on the counter. Holding up the top one, I looked at him and asked, "Baked chicken okay?"

Allen was just bending over to pick up Sam off the floor, who had fallen asleep at some point. "Sounds good." He then placed Sam on the couch and laid the blanket from the floor over top him before walking over to me. "What about your plan to move out of here? Didn't you mention that once?"

I didn't say anything as I plated both of our meals before sticking one of the plates in the microwave. I didn't want to admit to him why I was saving all my money. It was a stupid idea and I didn't want him to judge me for it.

"Am I not allowed to change my mind?" I said once the microwaved beeped for the first plate.

Allen shrugged, handing me the second plate once I took out the first. "Just wondering why you'd stay here."

I smirked. "What? Don't like my home?"

He faltered a minute with his words. "I didn't say that. Uh, it's... it's nice."

"It's not nice, Allen, just admit it. I know you're thinking it."

He shrugged again, not giving me an actual answer. "Why don't you move out though? I mean, what changed your mind?"

I shook my head, taking the second plate out of the microwave and setting it at the table with the other one. "Let's talk about something else."

We ended up falling silent for the next few minutes while we started eating before Allen spoke up. "This is amazing, Mika. I didn't know you could cook this well. You should be doing this for a living, not watching my kid. Seriously."

"I asked you to talk about something else," I muttered, not realizing exactly what he said. As soon as the words registered though, my eyes snapped up to his.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

I sighed, looking down at my food so I didn't have to see his face when I told him the truth. "That's why I'm still in this shit hole. I'm saving money to pay for cooking school, once I finish getting my GED."

I hadn't even told him how I was taking online courses during the days to get my GED. It was something I started a couple months ago, figuring I should decide on a direction to take my life. I wasn't going to babysit Sam forever, and then what? And now that I was actually dating Allen, he might still be in the picture when Sam gets older, but I couldn't just rely on him for the rest of my life. I needed to do something, especially if Allen and I don't work out, which is probably more likely than us working.

"I think that's a great idea," Allen said, breaking through my thoughts. "You'll be an amazing chef if you can already cook like this."

"You think so?" I lifted my gaze to see him smiling at me.

"I know so. And," he paused for a second. "If that's why you're still here, why don't you just move in with me?"