by Shey Stahl
“I think if we can find a responsible renter, this could work out,” Nahla suggests. “I have to head out. I have dinner reservations with Kenneth.”
I stand and hug her. “Thank you. I really appreciate all this, even if you did marry a man over me.”
Nahla grins. I tried to get her to become a lesbian and marry me. Clearly I would have been better off. But when I told her I wouldn’t put out, she left me for a man. Figures.
Nahla leaving Sadie and me alone is where the night goes to shit. She left us with that bottle of wine and a laptop. What else could go wrong?
More than you know. It starts with Sadie pulling up ASU’s baseball roster and us staring at the guys on the team. “Forest was sure into Nahla.”
I laugh. “Who isn’t? Look at her. She’s like every man’s exotic wet dream.”
Sadie quirks an eye in my direction, drinking straight from the bottle of wine now. We’ve lost the glasses at this point. “Do guys really have wet dreams?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never asked one.” I scroll down on the page to see Cason’s name and a picture of him in a Devils’ hat and jersey. The sight of him sends a quick blip through my chest. I can’t help the smile.
“Damn, he must’ve really gave it to you last night.” With the bottle between her legs, she pretends to hump it.
Tatum grins, watching her, and then proceeds to hump the air.
“Can I watch Frozen?” Tatum, wearing a cowgirl hat and a lace skirt, stops her humping motions and twirls around the room.
“No, we watched it this morning.” I grab her and haul her onto my lap. Her cackles fill the room, and it’s the best sound I’ve heard all day. “You don’t even watch it. You just fast-forward until you get to the parts with that little snowman talking.”
She bats her long dark eyelashes at me. “I like hims.”
“He’s a pretty great character,” Sadie adds, pulling up Craigslist. “Now, let’s post this ad for you since you won’t let me live here with you.”
Tatum settles on the couch between us, and I roll my eyes at Sadie. “I would, but you can’t pay rent. That defeats the purpose of renting it out for money.”
“Right. I know that.” Sadie hasn’t held a job in her life. Unless you count the week she worked at Starbucks and got fired for reasons she won’t tell us.
There’s one thing that’s been good about this last week, and I’m reminded of it during the opening credits of, you guessed it, Frozen. It’s spending time with my sister. I can’t remember the last time I was able to see her for a week straight.
“Right. Let’s put up an ad.”
My ad?
Classy as shit.
Large, okay, medium-size apartment above garage. Has a toilet. Not in the bedroom, but like, attached and shit. Even gets hot water after an ungodly waiting period. Might as well bring baby wipes. It’d be faster. There’s walls, a ceiling, and carpet up in this ho too! My cheating husband wanted wood floors, but I was like, fuck that. I don’t want my toes cold. Hit me up if interested. If not, find another place. Your choice. Ask for Sadie. She’s taking my calls.
Sadie stares at the screen with pride. “I mean, if that doesn’t get a renter who’s cool as shit, I don’t know what will. I would want to be best friends with you after this.”
“I don’t need any more friends.” I settle onto the couch next to Tatum, who is currently fast-forwarding through Frozen to find the part where Olaf loses his nose.
Sadie no sooner sends the ad through, and we get a phone call on it.
“Okay, that’s creepy.” Sadie stares at her phone. “I just confirmed it.”
“Answer it.” We used Sadie’s number because I can’t find my phone. Tatum had it earlier and said something about it going swimming. If I had to guess, it’s in the hot tub again.
It takes a few minutes before Sadie glances over at me, holding her hand over the microphone. “Does a felony matter?”
“What?” I can’t believe someone would ask that, but then again, I’ve discovered over the last week, nothing will surprise me. “Uh, well, what’s it for?”
She brings the phone back to her ear. “What’s the crime, man?”
He says something, and she snorts. “Sex offender? Sorry, dude. Not happening.”
Click.
“Was he for real?”
“Sadly, I think so.”
The next guy that calls wants to know right away when we can move in, as in, two people.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Sadie asks, running her fingers through Tatum’s hair as she lays her head on Sadie’s lap. “It’s a small place.”
Click.
I search her eyes as they slowly slide to mine. “Wow.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what was that?”
“Him and his doll.”
It takes me a minute before I understand it, but then I’m disgusted. “Maybe we should take the ad down?”
“No, leave it. These things take time. I once rented out my car, and it took a week before I found someone.”
“You rented your car?”
“Yeah, once. And never again. I think they rented it to bone.”
“Ew.”
“I sold it right after that.”
“I can’t say I blame you.”
Sadie sets her phone down on the coffee table in front of us, careful not to squish a now sleeping Tatum between us.
Am I doing the right thing for her? Is she going to remember anything?
Running my fingers through her blonde curls, I look over at Sadie. “Am I doing the right thing for her? What if I can’t keep her in that school or this house?”
“It’s all going to work out. We didn’t think it would. And look at us now.” She looks at me over the rim of her wineglass. Dropping it past her lips, she gives me that endearing Sadie expression. The one she gave me countless times when I was there for a scared fourteen-year-old who’d lost her parents within two days. All we had was one another, and now here we were, drinking wine, watching Frozen, and holding my daughter. Together. The way our parents raised us to be. “Mom would be so proud of you.”
Tatum stirs in my lap, curling herself closer to me, as if she knew in that moment I needed to know how she felt.
Sadie chuckles when her phone dings. “This dude wants to know if the room is big enough for him and his snake.”
I blink rapidly. “Like his actual snake?”
She clears her throat and tips her phone in my direction. “If you mean the snake in his pants, then yes.”
And there on Sadie’s phone is a big, fat dick.
“It’s so veiny.” She cringes. “And sadly kinda familiar.”
We both start laughing, but it’s apparent this renting a room out is harder than it looks.
A pitch that is a cross between a slider and a curveball.
SYDNEY
You wouldn’t believe the shit calls I get over that damn room. Absolutely fucking random. Luckily for me, Sadie takes the calls while I deal with the bank and insurance. Tuesday morning, she tells me she has someone coming over to look at the room.
“No weird fetishes or thirteen cats he wants to bring with him?” I ask, driving to the school to pick up Tatum. We had one lady want to know if her daughter’s cage would fit in the room. Yes, fucking cage.
“He seemed normal. College kid. Said he could pay in full for his rent until August. He’ll be here around three to check the place out.”
“That would actually be perfect because then I wouldn’t have to worry about them being on time with rent.”
“Exactly. See, I did something right.”
“Thank you.”
She snorts. “Don’t thank me yet. I spilled some wine on your carpet.”
“Sadie.” I groan. Sadie spills everything. She’s worse than Tatum. “It’s eleven. Why are you drinking?”
“I mixed it with Tatum’s apple juice. It’s like Sangria.”
I pull into the school parking lot.
“Did you try to soak it up with paper towels?”
“I did. I have to go. I’m late for Diesel’s gig tonight.”
Inching forward in the line, I use the mirror to comb through my hair and realize I don’t think I’ve washed it since Sunday morning. Two days isn’t bad though. I’ve gone longer for sure. “Are you coming over tonight?”
“No, I’m gonna stay at D’s place. Is that okay with you?”
I drop my hand in my lap and stare out the windshield at the rush of kids out the front doors. “You don’t have to babysit me.” I can’t deny there’s disappointment in my words. It’ll be the first night I’ve slept alone. Maybe I could invite Emmie over. Or I could convince Tatum to sleep with me. She absolutely hates sleeping in any bed but her own.
Most parents would love that, but when you really want a bed-buddy, she won’t do it.
I end up hanging up with Sadie just as Tatum comes running to the car. She’s wearing those same cowgirl boots she’s been wearing since Collin died and a long bohemian dress that’s purple, green, and neon pink, and an oversized old lady hat she found at an antique store with me last month. It’s freaking adorable and strangely similar to what a little old lady would wear but three feet tall.
The second I see her cute little face, I forget all about my morning at the bank, adulting, and trying to decipher a sense of normalcy I might not have for a while. “How was school?”
She rolls her eyes and flicks her hat up. “I hate school.”
I can’t offer her much on that one because I hated school too.
I take Tatum out for lunch at Chick-fil-A. We make it back to the house just in time to meet the college kid.
It’s shortly after two forty-five when I set Tatum up in the family room with Frozen and discover Sadie really did try to make sangria and spilled it on the white carpet in the living room. That’s what I get for having a white carpet though. I was asking for trouble with that one.
“You good with your movie?” I ask Tatum, kissing the top of her head.
She nods, practically buzzing with excitement and holding the remote in her hand, ready to fast-forward to Olaf. Kid can’t bother to use the toilet on her own, but she can use the remote perfectly fine. Go figure.
The doorbell chimes through the house.
Tatum gasps, eyes wide. “Pizza?”
At least she didn’t mutter under her breath, “What now?” because I certainly did.
“No, I didn’t order pizza.”
Her smile collapses. “I want pizza, pleez?”
“Maybe.” I’m such a pushover. Luckily I was able to deposit the money from Collin’s car so our checking account is no longer in the negative. I even transferred money to Karen for paying my phone bill. No way I wanted to owe Karen money. I went ahead and let her pay for her son’s funeral. Because if he hadn’t been buried, I’d be in jail for murder. I would have killed him myself.
Kidding.
I think.
“Coming!” I yell at the door, as if they could hear me.
When I open the door, I’m not expecting to see the one person I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. Are you expecting him? Does your heart start jumping up and down like mine just does?
If it does, you know exactly who’s standing in front of me in all his muscle goodness.
He laughs as he stands there, all cute and hot with his baseball hat on backward. “Hey there.”
“Oh, hey. I was expecting someone else,” I say, as casually as I can. Look at me trying not to freak out that he’s staring at me. I’m not great at it.
And he notices. Smiling, he lifts his hand to his chest as if he’s hurt. “Not me?”
“No, not really.” I lean into the door, unable to stop the heat in my cheeks that he’s seen me naked. “A word to the wise, when you sleep with a woman, don’t leave a note that says thanks for the four-bagger.”
“It’s a baseball term.” His smile peeks out again as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “I thought you liked the innuendos.”
“I know what it is. But it makes some women start to question their tits and ass.”
He licks his lips, and his eyes make a lazy path over my frame. I’m not exactly wearing anything revealing, yet the moment he makes a pass over my body, I feel naked again. “There’s certainly nothing wrong with either.”
“How did you remember where I lived?”
“I didn’t, really.” His expression falters. “Until I called on the room for rent.”
“Are you shitting me? That’s why you’re here?” My eyes about bug out of my head. “You’re the college kid?”
“I could be here for other reasons if you’d like,” he says suggestively, hinting at what I’d been thinking all along. “But I need a place to stay until after graduation.”
Fuck me. Seriously? What if his idea of renting a room from me includes renting my cootie? Surely my pussy has no complaints because I’m not lying when I say she’s still thinking about him, but I shouldn’t let him live here. It’d be a disaster.
“It’s still available, right?” he asks when I don’t say anything in reply.
I nod before I know what I’m doing. It’s one of those moments when your body fights against its reactions.
“Can I see the room?”
I blink slowly, still trying to process what’s happening. You’d think I’d be used to being shocked in this foyer. “You can’t be serious.”
He sweeps a hand through his hair, inspecting me with a predatory gaze. “What do you mean?”
“Stop looking at me like you’ve seen me naked.”
“I have though,” he whispers, leaning in and invading my personal space. “And I’d like to again. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”
Looking behind me, I check for Tatum and don’t see her. Stepping outside for privacy, I place my hand on his chest and move him backward a few steps. “You don’t want this room.”
He chuckles and shifts his weight as if he’s amused by this. “Why not? I don’t need much, just a place to crash until graduation.”
“Why? You’re a baseball player.” I plant my hands on my hips. “Don’t you live in the dorms? Some privileged baseball dorm?”
“I did, but I got kicked out,” he admits.
“This isn’t a place for you.”
“You don’t even know me.” He huffs, his tone irritated.
I think I’ve pissed him off.
“Sure I do. I’ve been around baseball players my entire life. It’s nothing personal, but I don’t want my daughter around college dorm life.”
“I don’t do the dorm life thing.”
He has an answer for everything, doesn’t he? “You know what I mean.”
A frown settles on those beautiful lips, and he draws in a quick breath, shaking his head. “No, really, I don’t.”
“Cason.” I sigh, trying to put this nicely. “I can’t rent this room to you.”
“Why not? I can pay for six months’ rent. Today.” It’s as if he knows I need the money. Oh, right. He does know. Fuck.
“If you can afford that, why rent a room from me? Why not rent a house or even a dorm room? You’re probably in school on a scholarship.” I leave the words hanging because he should be. With that kind of talent, he has to be there on a scholarship.
“Dorm life and me didn’t work out.”
“Why not?”
He doesn’t say anything at first, but then he sighs, his shoulders rolling forward with defeat. “Okay, if you must know, I filled a condom with conditioner and left it on the floor. They kicked me out for lewdness and invasion of privacy.”
I want to laugh, because that’s funny. “Why would you do that?”
“I could go into the reasons and all that, but I won’t.”
“No way they kicked you out for that only.” I went to college and was around plenty of college athletes over the years. It’s next to impossible to get in trouble for them. Everyone worships them, and they
’re constantly handed second chances.
“I was drinking.”
I stare at him.
“A lot.”
I’m still staring, waiting for him to crack and tell me he set the school library on fire and that it was all a misunderstanding and the fire started itself.
But that doesn’t come. Instead, he tries again and gives me soft eyes and a pleading voice that nearly cracks me.
He caves. “Listen, I swear, I’m a good person. I just made some shitty decisions this last year. But I need a place to stay.”
“I really can’t. I have a daughter to think about. I can tell you’re a good person, and I want to let you stay here, but if I do, I’m afraid of what I’ll do.”
He raises an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“You.” I gasp, reaching out to touch his arm. I regret it instantly because the second our skin touches, I’m reminded of how much I already like this guy and our strange electric connection. I don’t know if he feels it too, but I think he does because he automatically moves closer, his lashes fluttering. “You’ll be here every day, and then sooner or later, we’ll be sleeping together.”
A smile tugs at his lips. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“See? That’s exactly why you can’t stay here. I need someone unattractive.”
“I’m great with kids,” he adds, trying to gain some runs for his side. “They love me.”
“That’s because you are one,” I mutter under my breath, chewing on my bottom lip. I notice in the distance, over Cason’s shoulder, a car pulling into my driveway.
“I didn’t hear you complaining the other night.” Cason glances over his shoulder. “I can help you with her.”
I frown. I can see it now. Tatum attached to him and thinking she has her own personal boy toy. Not in the same ways I would, but you get it. “No way.”
A man exits the car in the driveway and walks up the drive. Please don’t be a lawyer here to tell me I’m being sued or that he was sleeping with my husband too.
