Page 134 of Derivation

She nodded to the empty left side of the office.

“Whatever you want, Gabs. I just want you here.” Sarai kissed her softly on the lips. “I just want you finally here.”

“I’m here, babe. I’m not going anywhere.”

She pressed her forehead to Sarai’s and felt Sarai’s tension leave her body at the same time Gabi’s own did.

EPILOGUE

“Babe, you left your towel on the floor,” Gabi said.

“Shit. Sorry,” she replied. “I had to run out this morning after my shower.”

Sarai walked into the bedroom, picked up her wet towel off the floor, and threw it into the hamper in the corner.

“I know. I had to run out with you. But I at least threw my dirty towel into the hamper before I did.”

Sarai glared playfully at her and asked, “We have to talk about it, don’t we?”

“Yeah, we do. It’s time, Sarai.”

Gabi sat down next to her.

“I know,” she said on a sigh.

“Do you really not want to? Because that’s a different thing.”

“No, I do.” Sarai turned toward her girlfriend, crossing her legs on the bed. “I do. I want us to live together.”

“We already do,” Gabi replied, looking around Sarai’s bedroom. “It’s just too small.”

“I know. It hasn’t been working for a long time.”

“Most of my stuff is in another room because there’s not enough space in here for all of it, and it’s weird, Sarai. I never know what I have in your closet or mine. I love living here, I do, but…”

Gabi turned and mimicked Sarai’s posture.

“But we’ve been together for a year, and your lease is technically up.”

“I don’t know that Violet is going to harass me about re-signing since you and I are dating, and she knows I’m not going anywhere, but I should either re-sign the lease, or we should–”

“Move out,” she finished.

“And in together. I want us to do that, babe.” Gabi took Sarai’s hands in her own. “Have our own place. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, but with a bedroom that’s actually meant for a couple, our own bathroom, a kitchen that only has our food in it, and no pesky roommates who sometimes steal it.”

“I want that, too.”

“Okay. So, it’s your call. Where do we go from here?”

“We should find a place first,” she suggested.

“Really? You don’t want to give them a heads-up?”

Sarai looked up at the ceiling and said, “I don’t know. What’s the right thing to do? Should I tell them now or later?”

“I would let them know now, babe. They need to decide what to do with our rooms. They’re not just losing one roommate but two this time. They might need to find two more to replace us, so they could use the time while we’re looking for a place to do it.”

“I don’t know that they even want other roommates.”