Bradley James

by C. E. Wilson

  “Yeah, I want some eggs too. I can cook scrambled eggs. You can make the toast while I cook us some eggs.”

  “Yeah, that sounds good to me.”

  “Let’s get our clothes put away first then what else do we have to put away?”

  “Well, we still have to finish the kitchen. We have more snacks and canned food to put away.”

  “We have more? Where are we going to put them, Bradley? The pantry is already full of that stuff.”

  “I was thinking about putting some in boxes on the shelves above the washer and dryer. Then as we make room in the pantry, we can unload the boxes.”

  “I think we should have a yard sale and get rid of some of that. There is no way we can eat all those snacks. What else is there besides all those chips and stuff in the pantry?”

  “There is a bunch of boxes of Little Debbie cakes. I mean a bunch of boxes. I don’t know what they thought when they bought all that crap.”

  They finished their breakfast and went to the bedroom to put their clothes away. They heard a knock on the door. Bradley rolled his eyes, thinking it was Dalton and Nash again. He said, “If that’s Dalton and Nash, I’m going to tell them we aren’t interested, so find someone else.”

  “Works for me. You know I don’t want anyone but you.”

  Bradley dropped the shirt he was holding on the bed and went to answer the door. He opened the door ready to tell Dalton and Nash off when a small guy was standing there. “Can I help you?”

  “Yes, I was told that you might be looking for a roommate. I was looking for a place to live while I’m in school.”

  “Come in, and I’ll get my boyfriend, and we can talk about it.”

  The boy walked in and sat down on the couch. Bradley went to the door and said, “Cade, can you come in here so we can talk to this guy. He’s looking for a place to live while in college. Someone told him we were looking for a roommate.”

  Cade laid down his jeans he was hanging up and followed Bradley back to the living room.

  Bradley said, “This is my boyfriend, Cade, and I’m Bradley. Who told you about us looking for a roommate?”

  “I was invited to a party last night, and I really didn’t want to go, but a friend of mine said I might find someone that wants a roommate, so I went. I sure regret going. I’m not the party type. A guy named Nash told me about it. He wanted to sleep with my friend and wanted me to sleep with his friend. I got the information for you from him and then left and went to my friend’s dorm room and stayed there for the rest of the evening.”

  Cade nodded. “Yeah, not good to hang out with those guys. We didn’t know how they were when we first met them, but when we told them we weren’t going to swap, they left and haven’t been back. We’re hoping they won’t come back.”

  Bradley said, “We are looking for a roommate, but we have some stringent rules. First, no parties here. Second, you pay one-third of the bills and buy your own food except for snacks. Our mothers bought enough and sent them with us to feed the entire college. Third, we want it fairly quiet in the apartment because we are both studying to be engineers, and we will have a lot of studying to do. Fourth, if you mess it up, you clean it up. Especially your bedroom, and bath. Of course, you cook and eat, then you do your own dishes. Or at least rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher. We have a washer and dryer, and you have to do your own laundry.” Bradley looked at Cade. “Is that it?”

  “Yeah, I would say that just about covers it. Oh, no moving anyone in without permission. If you do, then they stay in your room. I want no one to sleep in the living room.”

  “It all sounds good to me. How much is a third of the bills?”

  “We’ll have to figure that out. I’m not sure at the moment. We hadn’t expected anyone as yet, so I’ll go talk to George. My dad is paying the rent, and Bradley’s dad is paying the utilities, so we have to get the prices from them.”

  “My dad said if I can find an apartment with roommates, he will pay the bills. I’ll give you my number and as soon as you come up with the price call me, and I’ll tell Dad so he can send me the money. He’ll put it into my account, so I can pay the first month. If I’m chosen, that is.”

  “What’s your name?”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. My name is Alexander Duncan. Everyone calls me Alex. I’m nineteen so not even old enough to drink. No parties for me.” He grinned at them. He gave them his phone number and left.

  Cade asked, “Well, babe, what do you think if Alex?”

  “I think he would be a good roommate. He seems like a nerd and not wanting to party. I hope he works out, but it wouldn’t be a hardship if we kicked him out with your dad paying the rent and mine paying for groceries and utilities. I think we should give it a try and see how it works out. We just need to figure out what to charge him or any other roommate we decide on.”

  “Yeah let’s go see George or Bill and see what the rent is and how much an average utility bill is. They should know what they pay for the utilities for a month.”

  They left the apartment and walked down to the office. George was sitting behind the desk, and his husband was seated on it talking to him. Cade opened the door and walked in with Bradley right behind him. George smiled at them, and Bill turned to look to see who it was. George said, “Bill, these are our new tenants in 1-6. This is Cade and Bradley. Boys this is my husband, Bill. What can we do for you today?”

  Cade stepped up to the counter. “We were talking to a young man about being a roommate. We need to know what one-third of the rent and utilities are. So, we know what to charge him.”

  “If you charge him five hundred a month you can cover a third of the bills. You also need to think about the wear and tear on your furniture and with a washer and dryer for his convivence. Yeah, I would say five hundred. Don’t you think so, Bill?”

  “Are you furnishing the groceries, or does he have to get his own?”

  “He has to get his own except for snacks. Our moms went overboard on the snacks. They sent enough to feed the college for four years.”

  Bill nodded. “Then I would say that the five hundred will be plenty. Is everything good in the apartment? Do you have anything that needs to be fixed? If so just let me know. I do the maintenance on them.”

  “Oh, the apartment is great. Everything works just fine. We love it.”

  “Ok good. Just let me know if something happens.”

  Cade nodded, and they turned and left to go to the grocery store. Bradley’s dad had put money in his account for groceries already, but he still had a lot of the money left from the trip and Bradley was going to use it to get the groceries.

  When they got to the store, Bradley grabbed a buggy, and they started with the produce aisle. They grabbed some fresh fruit and then headed for the frozen food aisle. They got some frozen pizzas and some tv dinners. Bradley got some bagels for breakfast, and then they went and got bread, butter, eggs, milk, and juice. They checked out, and Bradley was surprised how cheap things were in this town. He figured he would be paying a lot for what they got, but it was less than a hundred dollars.

  When they got home, they took the groceries into the house and put them away. They made some coffee and sat down to discuss Alex as a roommate. Bradley said, “He seems like he is nice, but I think we need to write the rules down and have him sign it so that later if we have to kick him out, then we will have proof that he knew the rules.”

  “Yeah, babe. That’s a good idea. I don’t want any problems with kicking him out if he breaks the rules. I agree he seems nice now, but he would be with wanting to move in. I guess we are going to have to keep a cupboard bare for his food. Also, a shelf in the refrigerator for his food. That would only be right. He has to have somewhere to put his stuff.”

  “We are going to have to clean out a shelf. There is no room left in the pantry. We agree to share the snacks, so maybe that will help give us some room in there too. I was thinking about asking Alex what he is going to school for. If it is engine
ering too then, we could bring him in to study with us. At least he might help us with our work.”

  “I just hope he doesn’t try and come between us, Bradley. I don’t want to lose you. I love you so much.”

  Bradley walked over to Cade and put his arms around him and laid his head on his shoulder. “You’re never going to lose me, Cade. I love you just as much as you love me. I know things haven’t been the way we wanted them when we left home, but I promise tonight I won’t fall asleep.”

  Cade pulled him close and kissed the top of his head. “I’m not worried about that part of our relationship. I know it’s going to be good. We have had a rough few days. Driving here and then moving in has been rough on both of us. Remember I fell asleep last night the same as you did.”

  Bradley lifted his face to Cade and kissed him. Then he chuckled. Cade looked at him with a frown. “My kiss is funny?”

  “No, babe. You think I would leave you to be with Alex is funny. That would be like leaving a Greek God to be with a troll. Not going to happen my love.”

  Cade smiled at him and kissed him again.

  Chapter 15

  Cade sat back down at the table and pulled out his phone. He got the paper off the table with Alex’s phone number on it. Bradley refilled their coffee cups and sat beside him. Cade dialed Alex’s number, and he answered on the first ring. Cade said, “Hello Alex, this is Cade. We have decided if you will follow all our rules and pay your fair share each month then you’re welcome to move into the spare room.”

  “That is awesome. What is the monthly charge?”

  “It will be five hundred a month. We expect it to be paid each month on time so we can pay our bills.”

  “Yeah, it will be. That is really reasonable from what I have been checking around the area. Thank you so much for choosing me. I’ll call my dad right now and have him deposit the money into my account. I should be able to give you the money tomorrow. That way I will be due on the first of the month each month. Is that alright with you and Bradley?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine. One more thing we want and that is for you to sign a paper with the rules on so you can’t say later that you didn’t know or remember. We will give you a copy of the rules as well. Is that something you’re willing to sign?”

  “Yes, I have no problem with any of your rules. In fact, I like your rules. It will give me a chance to study, as well.”

  “What’s your major?”

  “Business, like my dad. He owns his company and wants me to take business so I can take over for him. I wanted to be a chef, but I guess I can understand him prepping me to take over his business.”

  “You can cook?”

  “Yes, I can cook very well. I’ll have to cook for you and Bradley some night.”

  “Neither one of us can cook. We just went to the store and got frozen food that you can make in the microwave.”

  “I can teach you to cook. I don’t think I’d like frozen food. My mom is a chef, and she taught me to cook. She’s really good at it and works in a French restaurant.”

  “That would take a miracle. At least for me, it would. I bet that Bradley can learn to cook though. He’s brilliant.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow. What else besides food do I need? Sheets and towels?”

  “Yeah, you need whatever you're going to use. You will have your own bathroom and bedroom, of course. Our bedroom has its own bath so the other one will be only yours.”

  What about security deposit?”

  “Do you plan on damaging anything?”

  “Oh no, I just know that most places require a security deposit. I promise not to damage anything in the apartment. If I do, I will replace it, but I won’t do it intentionally.”

  “Ok sounds good to me. We will be gone in the morning, but we will be back by noon. We have to go pick up our books.”

  “Yeah, I need to do that as well. I will be over around one then, and I can pay the first month’s rent.”

  “Alright, dude, we’ll see you then. I have an extra key for you. I’ll give it to you tomorrow and have you sign the rules paper. Then we are good to go.”

  They hung up, and he told Bradley what Alex said. So, they went into the bedroom and finished putting their clothes away. The rest of the apartment was done so they decided to make some dinner and then watched TV until time to go to bed.

  This time they made it into the bedroom. Cade laid down on the bed waiting for Bradley to get a shower. Then he would take a shower before coming back to bed. Bradley took a quick shower and went out of the bathroom. Cade was sound asleep. Bradley chuckled and kissed Cade on the forehead and got in bed and it wasn’t long before he was sleeping too.

  The next morning Bradley woke to the smell of coffee. He got up and slipped his pants on and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth and then to the kitchen. Cade was standing with his head in the refrigerator. Bradley came up behind him and slapped him on the behind. Cade jumped and hit his head in the fridge. He whipped around and saw Bradley standing there grinning. Cade smiled and kissed him. Cade got the eggs and cheese out of the refrigerator and got the butter for Bradley to make the toast.

  Bradley popped some bread into the toaster and stood there and watched Cade make the eggs. Cade said, “I’m sorry about last night, babe. That bed was so comfortable I couldn’t help myself. I tried to stay awake.”

  “It’s not a problem. We both have fallen asleep. When the time is right, it will happen. I just enjoy feeling you next to me. I love the way you snuggle against me at night.”

  “I can’t help it. You’re so warm and you feel like my own personal electric blanket.”

  Bradley grinned. “I’ll always be your blanket.”

  They finished their breakfast and Cade got a shower while Bradley cleaned the kitchen. He sat down at the table and used his laptop to write down all the rules that they had for Alex. He printed off a couple of copies. One to give to Alex and the other for him to sign then they would put it up.

  Cade came out of the bedroom dressed, and they got in Cade’s truck and went to the school to get their books. On the way home Bradley said, “I think when we get home, I’m going to start on the first chapters of all the books. I like to stay ahead of the game.”

  “I would love to, but this afternoon I have to report to the coach of the football team and get signed up, but when I get home, you can tell me all about it. You’re going to have to collect the money from Alex and get him to sign the rules.”

  “That won’t be a problem. I’ll miss you. It seems like we have been together forever.”

  “I won’t be long. I’ll miss you too. I would ask you to come with me, but we need to get this settled with Alex. I didn’t know until I got my schedule that I had to go today and sign up. Here is my schedule. See what classes we have together. Hopefully, we’ll have some classes together.”

  Bradley spread the schedules out beside each other and compared them. They were almost identical. Where Cade had football practice, Bradley had computer class. Bradley said, “Darn we don’t have any classes together. I guess I’m going to have to find another boyfriend that will be with me and can carry my books.”

  Cade chuckled. “How many really?”

  “All of them except for football practice and computer class.”

  “That’s awesome. I like that. I was hoping for us to be in class together. We can compare notes and help each other study. I know you think I’m just a jock, but I really am smart and can help you as much as you help me.”

  “I never thought you were a dumb jock. I know you’re smart. You’re very good looking too so don’t let the guys in football practice hit on you. You’re all mine.”

  “I sure am all yours just like you’re all mine. You don’t have anything to worry about babe. You’re the only man for me.”

  “I was joking. I know you’re mine, and I’m yours, I wasn’t worried about it.”

  When they got home, Cade dropped Bradley and the books off at the apartment, a
nd he went back to the school to the football stadium. He went in and introduced himself to the coach and had to sit through several meetings. In high school, he was the quarterback but here in college he was the tight end.

  When the meetings were over, and he was released, he was happy to go home and see Bradley. He was invited to several parties, and he declined them all. He would party, but it was with his man and schoolbooks. Not beer and girls.

  Bradley was looking over the books and shook his head. Just the calculus was enough to scare him. He knew he had to take the course, and he and Cade would rely on each other to get them through with the best grades possible. He was looking at another book when there was a knock on the door. Bradley answered it, to find Alex standing there. He smiled and invited him in. He took him to the kitchen, and they sat down at the table.

  Bradley handed him the papers, and he read over them and signed one of them and tucked the other in his pocket. He got his checkbook out and wrote a check for five hundred dollars and handed it to Bradley. “I didn’t make it out to anyone because I don’t know which one to put on the check.”

  “I’m not sure either. When did you plan on moving in?”

  “Is tonight too soon? I have been staying with a friend at the dorm, and I’m afraid that someone will be assigned to the other bed, and then I won’t have anywhere to stay.”

  “Yeah, sure. Let me get you a key to the door.”

  “Where is Cade today? I thought he was going to be here when I came. That’s what he told me last night.”

  “He’s a jock, and he had to go to some meetings with the football coach. He’s a quarterback, so I hope he gets that position again.”

  “I figured with a body like his that he had to be an athlete.”

  “Yeah well, you don’t need to look at his body. That’s all mine just like I’m all his. We are getting married when we graduate, so don’t even think about it.”

  “I can’t help but look. Cade is hot.”