Okay, so- real talk? I didn’t think this whole “move in with me” thing was gonna turn my damn apartment into a Pinterest board. Like, three days ago, I had one fork, a couch that doubled as my laundry pile, and exactly zero decorative pillows. Now? Now I have a throw blanket. That’s just for looking at, apparently. Not even warm.

She’s only halfway moved in and already, I don’t recognize this place. There’s a plant in my bathroom now. It has a name. Franklin. The hell is that about?

But here’s the thing, every time I try to sass her about it, she just smirks, kisses me on the cheek, and says something like, “You’re lucky I love your mess.” And I swear to God, I melt a little every damn time. Like a popsicle in a sauna. Like… yeah. Like a man losing his own bed to a pile of pastel pillows and somehow liking it.

She’s got this way of acting like everything’s casual, like she’s just crashing here for a bit while her lease ends but I know better. I saw her Google search: “baby names that sound good with his last name.” Girl’s planning the whole damn wedding and trying to act low key.

And yeah, maybe I give her shit about it. Maybe I say things like “Babe, if you buy one more Jellycat, I’m gonna propose just to make you stop.” But when she laughs and looks at me like I’m the center of her damn galaxy? Yeah. I shut up.

I act like I’m still in control, still the cocky bastard with a hockey stick and a smart mouth. But truth is, she’s got me soft as hell. I hear her humming in the kitchen, probably rearranging my cabinets, and suddenly I’m thinking about things I never thought I’d give a shit about. Like... curtains. And anniversaries. And what she’ll look like ten years from now, still stealing my clothes.

“You nesting, baby?” I say when she’s rearranging my spice rack- which I didn’t know I even owned.

She shoots me a smile that’s way too smug. “Maybe I just don’t want to eat plain pasta for the rest of my life, babe.”

Touché.

Okay I’ll just pretend I’m chill. Play it smooth. Let her melt me slowly.

One scented candle at a time.