Erica smiled so brightly at Adam that he momentarily forgot everything he was worried about. The girl he had been secretly in love with for more than a third of his life was actually his girlfriend.
Maybe…just maybe…would he be able to do right by her and convince her to stay? He hadn't wanted to take that step if it meant he would later lose her forever but what if he didn't? What if his brothers and mom were right and he could be good enough to give her what she wanted so he didn't have to lose her?
Adam hadn't thought he would even have a chance to be her friend for such a long time. When she came into his life for real, he would do anything not to rock the boat so he could keep basking in her light. She had been one of the few things keeping him going as he worked himself half to death for the sake of his family.
Erica said she was willing to work with him. If she meant that, he might be able to pull this off.
He was still drowning in that smile when the food arrived. After all that, he wasn't even hungry but had to eat because of how rarely he got to come here. He couldn't waste the chance to eat the food while it was hot.
After he paid the check, she wanted to go walk around in the park for a while and held his hand while doing so. He had to be dreaming. But he wasn't, either then or when she kissed him goodnight when he dropped her at home. That had been his first kiss and he stood there like an idiot for over a minute before he was able to walk back to his car and drive home, his face on fire the whole way.
His mom, Colton, and Evan were all waiting up for him when he got back and looked at him expectantly. "Well?!"
"She's my girlfriend," Adam said faintly.
Colton was rather smug about it. "I knew it! You're welcome."
Sarah's eyes filled with tears as she clasped his hands. "I'm so happy for you, honey. You deserve to be able to go have fun with someone nice."
"This is going to make you really mushy, isn't it?" Evan asked. Adam smacked him for that.
They weren't the only ones with questions either. He got the same thing from Peter and the twins the next morning. Jonas started singing "Adam and Erica, sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G" and Jenna joined in. He pinched both of their cheeks until they stopped.
Erica knew he had soccer this morning but called him in the early afternoon, wanting to know how it went. They tied up the line until he had to get ready for work and his mom gave him a knowing smile once he hung up that made him blush.
He needed a cellphone. He really, really needed a cellphone.
This was going to be a problem. Adam couldn't afford one. At least not now. He was going to have to wait until he was working more hours in the summer.
But was he really going to be able to get away with that the way he had before? He didn't think his girlfriend would be very happy if she never saw him. He needed the money though. If he did things the way he did last summer, he should be able to split his free time between her and his siblings. Or see them both at the same time. She had said that she liked them.
He would figure this out. He would! Because he had to. This was just one more person he had to take care of. He could handle one more person.
For the rest of the semester, they fell into a new pattern. In addition to their usual eat and study together routine every weekday, they hung out on Saturday nights and talked on the phone at some point on Sunday.
Sometimes they went out by themselves. Sometimes Erica tagged along as Adam did things with his family.
Around Christmas, she took advantage of Colton's constant stream of holiday goodies both at school and when she was at his house. He had to pick up a few extra shifts to be able to afford presents for everyone including her but that wasn't the end of the world.
He wasn't able to get her much. All he could do was get her a pair of earrings and was a bit embarrassed about it but she assured him that she loved them and proved it by wearing them all the time.
It made him happy every time he saw them. It meant he had done something right.
Being able to spend more time with her over Christmas break was nice too. He also ended up meeting her sister's family because they were in town. He had already met her parents in October, which was more than a little nerve-wracking but it went well enough.
Thankfully, meeting Julie's family did too. All of his childcare experience came in handy because her daughter Olivia adored him. That helped.
He was more comfortable with kids than adults anyway because that was who he spent most of his time with. Kids didn't judge you the same way adults did. As long as you played with them, they liked you.
As they sat around watching a movie together in her room the day after Julie's family left, she snuggled closer and smiled at him. "They really like you, you know."
"That's a relief."
Adam hadn't realized he said that out loud until she laughed. Oops. At least she thought he was funny. He had been dead serious.
"You never had anything to worry about," Erica reassured him. "I knew Olivia would like you because you're the Child Whisperer. You're going to be a great dad someday."
A jolt went through him. He knew that was just an offhanded comment and didn't mean anything but considering who it was coming from… It was different hearing that from random friends of his mom's than it was from his girlfriend.
Adam did love kids and always assumed he would have them someday but that plan sort of derailed once his dad died. He had plenty of kids to look out for already. They had to be taken care of first. Provided he even found someone he wanted to spend his life with, they could have kids after his siblings were mostly grown and didn't need him so much.
He hadn't thought that would happen so soon. He knew it was stupid to even dream about something like that considering they had only been dating for a few months but he was so HAPPY with Erica. Happier than he had thought was possible after losing his dad.
How could he not get his hopes up? He had never thought he would be able to be with her at all. Now that he had her…how was he ever supposed to let her go?
She still didn't know the depths of his feelings. He hadn't wanted to freak her out. He could tell her that he loved her when they had been together longer. He just wasn't sure when exactly would be the best time to do that. After six months? A year?
Maybe he should wait for her to say it first to be safe. He already knew that she didn't shy away from saying things when she wanted to. It was the only reason they were together at all. He never would have made a move if she hadn't first because he was too afraid of what would happen.
"You think so?" Adam ended up saying lamely in response to her comment.
"Mmhmm," Erica said as she leaned her head against his chest.
His mind was no longer on the movie after that. He knew he was totally jumping the gun here but he couldn't help but wonder what any kids he and Erica might have would look like.
They were twenty. Even if they hadn't been in a relationship for such a short time, it was still way too soon to entertain such thoughts. Especially given his current responsibilities. All of his siblings were still at home and he had to support them. He couldn't support anyone else. He couldn't even support himself right now because all of his money went to the household.
Now that he was in a relationship though…his mom's talk about thinking about his future came back to him. He really did need to start setting aside his own money this summer with his second job.
If Erica was going to stay with him, he would need his own apartment sooner or later. At this rate, he didn't see it happening before graduation. They were only halfway through their sophomore year. There was still quite a way to go before then.
Adam hadn't thought about the long-term future much before they started dating. He was too busy trying to get through each immediate crisis. But he understood where his mom had been coming from now.
Would Erica really stay with him long enough for him to be able to provide a good life? He wanted that more than anything but had to take things one day at a time the way he always did.