by Jen Andrews
The first week I’d lived at the apartment, I’d actually slept. A full night’s sleep. Every single night. I’d been amazed at how much better I’d felt just from being rested.
After that first week, I’d spoken to Z about selling my house. She’d freaked and hadn’t spoken to me for three days. She hadn’t even been able to look at me. Every time I’d tried to talk to her, she’d glared at me and walked off. I knew she’d come to her senses eventually. She always did.
The day after I had ripped the fence out, I decided I was going to meet Nicole’s cousin, Joanne. She had recently come out of a long-term relationship with a man in the Army, and wanted to try dating again. Tonight, I was taking her out for the first time. We’d talked on the phone a few times and she was easy to talk to.
When I arrived at her house and knocked on the door, she answered right away. I was pleasantly surprised with the gorgeous woman who answered the door. Nicole said she was pretty, but she was wrong. Joanne was stunning. She had long, sun-kissed brown hair styled in loose waves, flawless porcelain skin, and the biggest, brown eyes surrounded by thick, dark lashes.
Her body was slender, with perfect curves and gorgeous, long legs. She was wearing heels, so she appeared tall, but I would have guessed she was around five-six without them. Joanne was dressed casually in a simple floral, yet sexy dress, with a tattered jean jacket over it.
Based on the way she was dressed, she seemed both carefree and confident. A great combination in my opinion.
“Joanne?” I asked after I stopped ogling her.
She gave me a sweet smile, showing off her perfect teeth and lips. “Hi, Jeremy,” she said. “It’s nice to finally meet you in person.”
She held out her hand to me and I shook it . . . and I felt nothing.
Not a goddamn thing.
Sure, Joanne was beautiful, and I definitely liked her and the way she looked. What man wouldn’t? But when I touched her hand, I felt nothing.
There was no heart stopping moment and no instant response to her the way that there was with Teagan.
“Jeremy, are you ready to go?” she asked as she stepped out of her house, pulling the door closed behind her.
“Yes, I am. Sorry, just got lost in thought for a sec,” I admitted. I took her hand in mine and walked her out to my car, hoping my initial reaction to her was some sort of a glitch, and that if I kept hold of her hand, something would spark.
As I opened the passenger door for her, I told her she looked pretty, because she did, but the words felt foreign coming out of my mouth when directed at someone other than Teagan.
“Thank you,” she said, as she took a seat in my car.
Jesus, she doesn’t even look right in my car. This is too weird.
On the ride to the restaurant, we talked and she asked me about my work. I told her as much as I could without boring her. Nic mentioned Joanne was super smart, and a bookworm, so I wanted to find out more about her.
Once we were at the restaurant and seated, she ordered a glass of wine, and I ordered a beer before we scanned our menus.
“Nic tells me you manage some sort of a blog, is that right?” I asked.
“Yes, it’s a book blog. I review books, interview authors, and do features on new books coming out. Basically, I help indie authors get the word out about their books so readers will buy them. That’s just for fun though, really. I work as a copy editor for my day job,” she replied.
Having no idea what a copy editor was, I asked.
Joanne laughed. She had a genuine laugh. “Trust me, it’s very tedious and dreadfully boring at times. I spend all day reading and making sure writers use proper grammar, have their facts straight, and all that other junk,” she said with a smile. “See, I get so tired of making sure the writers are doing their jobs correctly, sometimes I can’t stand to talk about it.”
“As long as you enjoy your work, that’s all that matters. I’m guessing you like it though, since you do it for a living, and then you manage your blog in addition,” I stated.
Joanne frowned slightly before taking a sip of her wine. “Being the girlfriend of a military man leaves you with a lot of spare time. A few years ago, I realized I was reading a lot and giving very candid reviews of the books after reading them, and that’s when I decided to start the blog.”
Shit, did I upset her?
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up a bad memory,” I said honestly.
“No, it’s okay, Jeremy. Is it just me or does it feel weird being out on a date?”
Oh, thank God. I thought I was the only one feeling off about tonight. Letting out a laugh, I finally relaxed.
“It does feel weird. This is my first date since my break-up.”
Joanne noticeably relaxed, too. “Well, this is the first date I’ve been on in years.” She smiled. “Now at least that’s out of the way . . . how long were you and your girlfriend together?”
“Not long actually, but we had a real connection. Then everything went to hell. Are we supposed to be talking about our exes on a date? Isn’t that bad dating etiquette?”
She let out a hearty laugh. “You know what? Let’s talk about them. Get it all out in the open and out of the way. You game?”
By the time we left the restaurant, I knew her story and she knew mine. It felt good to talk about it without getting in to an argument with someone about my being stupid.
“So, what next?” I asked when we were inside my car. “We didn’t make a plan for after dinner, but I don’t really feel like going home and getting the third degree from my sister.”
“Hmm, let’s go hang out at my house,” Joanne said. “We can watch a movie or continue to dwell on our exes. It’s kind of liberating to talk about it, isn’t it?”
“It is,” I admitted as I started my car and shifted to first gear.
By midnight, we were pretty much talked out. We watched a movie on TV and hung out. I still felt nothing between us. In fact, the more I talked about Teagan, the more I missed her.
“What’s going on in that head of yours right now, Jeremy?”
Crap, what do I say?
She narrowed her eyes at me as if trying to read my mind, and bit her lip before she spoke. “Let me guess. You’re thinking I’m a nice person and we can be friends, but there isn’t a spark between us. You’re also thinking about Teagan, and how much you still love her.”
My mouth dropped open, and I quickly shut it. Joanne burst out laughing and placed her hand on my knee. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, you are. I won’t lie to you, Joanne. This dating thing is unfamiliar to me.” Shit, I’d only ever dated Cammie and Teagan. Dating was still a fairly new venture for me.
“Well, don’t feel bad, okay? We’re in the same boat, I think. After talking about my ex all night, I’ve realized I’m nowhere near being over him either.”
“Friends, then?”
“Yeah, we can definitely be friends. You’re a good person, Jeremy. I can see why Nicole speaks so highly of you.”
“Thanks. I guess I should get going then,” I said and stood to leave.
Joanne walked me to the door and hugged me.
“Thanks for dinner, Jeremy. I had a great time, and it was nice to have someone to talk to. Maybe we can get together again, just to hang out.”
“Absolutely. Thanks for listening to me and for being cool about . . . the lack of spark.”
She laughed. “Goodnight, Jeremy.”
After that first date, Joanne and I hung out together often. We would meet for lunch or dinner, hang out at the bookstore to read and get a cup of coffee, or watch movies and cook dinner at her house. I didn’t dare take her to the apartment. Not with the prying eyes of my sister next door.
Since Z had found my house for me, she convinced me that she should also be the one to get rid of it for me. I agreed, but only because I couldn’t stand to look at it anymore. She told me to leave all the furniture so the potential buyers would have a better visual of t
he house as a home.
Besides, at the time I didn’t have a clue what I was going to do with all of the furniture, other than move it to a storage unit.
We argued about the price of the house and Zoey got pissed at me when I told her to sell it to the first person that offered what I owed on it. That was right after I put it on the market near the end of March.
Since then she had changed her mind, and the house was in the process of being sold. Someone from the open house was buying it and all the furniture because they loved the way it was decorated. Whatever. When escrow closed, it would all be over. Then I’d never need to worry about it again.
Several days later, I was working on a motor with Jason when Zoey called me into the office. I sat down on the chair next to her desk, and she pushed a few papers in front of me.
“Here, sign these,” she said, holding a pen out to me.
“What is it?”
“They’re the final papers for your house. Once you sign, it’s gone. You know this, right?” she asked, irritably.
“Yep,” I responded then scribbled my name on the lines highlighted in yellow. I tossed the pen on the desk when I was finished signing and stood to leave.
“You’re a stubborn, fucking ass, Jeremy James,” Zoey muttered.
“Thanks,” I replied before walking out the door.
I made a right down the hallway and walked outside instead of going back to work. Signing those papers was the last thing I wanted to do, but it was done. Taking the stairs up to the apartment two at a time, I slammed the door behind me once I was inside.
Suddenly, I felt like breaking something or drinking an entire bottle of tequila. But, I knew neither of those options would change anything. I took a few minutes, got my shit together, and went back to work.
The rest of the week dragged by, and I’d thought I had a handle on my decision about selling my house. I was wrong—dead fucking wrong. I couldn’t believe after all the good shit I had done the last year, I had come full circle. I was back living in a small apartment and the only thing I owned was my car.
For a short time, I’d had everything.
Everything.
I’d had a great girl, a nice home, and a perfect life. Now it was all gone.
Every part of me wanted to go out to the bar and fuck any woman who wanted to take me home with her. But, I couldn’t even think that without Teagan’s face popping into my head. Besides, that’s not who I am anymore.
Teagan had tried to contact me several times, but I was so pissed at her I wouldn’t answer my phone or text her back. Probably a dick move on my part, but I had to move on.
So here I sat at my apartment alone, on a Friday night. There was no TV here because Andy had never bought one. I hoped the person who bought my house was enjoying my TV because I sure as hell hadn’t found the time or energy to shop for a new one. Bored as hell and feeling a bit lonely, I gathered my laundry basket full of dirty clothes and headed next door to see if Z would let me use her washer and dryer.
When I knocked on the door, Andy answered. “Hey, Jeremy, what’s up?”
Andy and I had patched things up after our argument during family dinner, but all my sister would give me now was the cold shoulder. Personally, I thought she was fucking with me half the time, because something wasn’t right about how she had been acting toward me. That’s Z for ya though.
“I was gonna see if you’d let me do a load of laundry if you guys aren’t busy.” Please don’t let them be busy . . .
The door swung open farther, and Zoey stepped next to Andy. “No morons allowed,” she said with a snarky smile on her face.
Bratty little shit.
“Why’s Andy in here then?” I retorted.
He laughed, pulling the door open all the way, and walked off. “You assholes leave me out of your brother-sister feud, eh?” Shaking his head, he went and sat on the couch.
“Use the Laundromat down the street, Jeremy. You’re the one who sold your house,” Zoey snapped at me.
“Come on, Z, don’t be like that. I couldn’t stay there and you know it. Don’t try and tell me if the roles were reversed you wouldn’t have done the same thing.”
She glared at me because she knew I was right. “Fine, you can do your laundry . . . on one condition.”
“What?”
“You let me set you up with somebody.” Her eyes begged me to say yes, and it was hard to tell her no. Plus, I really didn’t want to go to the nasty Laundromat again. The last time I was there, this creepy lady with no teeth kept hitting on me. I shuddered at the memory.
“Fine,” I said, pushing past her and into their apartment.
“Don’t you want to know anything about her, Jeremy?”
“Nope. Can I go wash my clothes now?”
Z let out an irritated breath and joined her husband on the couch. She turned around and flipped me off before I left the room.
After tossing my clothes into the washer, I slipped quietly into Sweet Pea’s bedroom to check on her. She’d kicked off her blanket, so I covered her back up and kissed her goodnight. Joining Zoey and Andy in the living room, I sat on the couch and watched a rugby game with them while waiting for my laundry.
“We’re having a double date tomorrow night,” Zoey said, as I was leaving with my basket full of clean clothes.
“Just tell me what time and where I need to go,” I said, jogging down the stairs.
“Be here at seven. And dress nice!” she yelled as the lobby door closed.
The next day, I spent working on the Chevelle. Again. The seats were finally done, and the new carpet kit was first on my to-do-list for the day. Taking the carpet to the parking lot, I unrolled it and laid it in the sun to warm it up so it was easier to work with.
Back inside the shop, I unwrapped the seats from the protective plastic covers. I went to my toolbox to get the tools I needed to install them. I lifted the lid and came face to face with a photo of Teagan. Freaking Zoey. I’d removed the photos long ago so this new one had caught me completely off guard.
Why did I still love her so much, but hate her at the same time? She’d dismissed me from her life and hadn’t even had the nerve to do it to my face. Well, not to my sober face, that is.
I grabbed the tools I would need for later, and slammed the lid shut. I put the seats on a flatbed cart and wheeled them outside.
After cleaning and prepping the floor of the Chevelle, I laid the carpet inside the car and went upstairs to find something to eat. When I was finished with lunch, I finished the carpet and installed the seats, then decided to take the rest of the day off and relax.
When six o’clock rolled around, I figured I should probably get ready for my double date with Zoey, Andy, and the mystery girl. Who would Z set me up with? She had a tight group of friends and hadn’t mentioned anyone new.
I showered, shaved, and then went to my closet to try and find something nice to wear since Z said to dress up. I wasn’t a dressy kind of guy, so I pulled on my nicest jeans and one of the few dress shirts I owned.
After I was ready, I suddenly felt nervous for some reason. Like tonight might be a game changer for me. If my sister was setting me up with someone, it might actually work.
Not surprisingly, my mind drifted to Teagan. Fuck this. She wanted me to get on with my life, and I wanted to get on with my life, so that’s what I was going to do.
I walked across the courtyard to Zoey’s. When I went around the side of her building, I noticed a red, Chevy Cruze that still had paper plates parked next to the building.
I opened the door to the lobby, then went upstairs and knocked on the door. Andy answered, and I instantly noticed the hesitant look on his face.
“What did my sister do?” I asked, knowing Z was up to something.
“Sorry, bro, I didn’t know what she was planning,” Andy said as we walked toward the kitchen.
Apparently, we were having our double date at the apartment because the smell of food cooking drifted fr
om the kitchen. When I entered the room my feet froze in place the second I saw her.
I couldn’t believe my sister had done this to me. I watched as the two women talked and laughed while they prepared dinner.
The two women being my sister—and Teagan. What was she doing here?
Andy cleared his throat to get their attention and both women turned. I was too stunned to say anything. All I could do was stare at her.
She looked beautiful. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, with several wavy tendrils loose around her face. She was wearing a pretty, green dress and her favorite shoes. The same pointy shoes she’d been wearing last year when she’d kicked me in the shin. I almost smiled as I thought of that night and how feisty she’d been.
But then Teagan took a step toward me. “Hello, Jeremy. It’s good to see you.”
Ignoring Teagan, I turned to my sister. “What were you thinking, Zoey?”
Her face immediately fell because she knew I wasn’t happy about the situation. “Jer, please don’t be mad at me. You’re both unhappy and you belong together—”
“Stop, Zoey. You had no right to butt in like this. She stopped talking to me then decided to tell me to get on with my life while I was passed out drunk. I’m not doing this. I’ll see you later.”
“Jeremy please, don’t leave,” Teagan said as she stepped toward me again. “I’m so sorry for everything, can we talk?”
I took a step backward, away from the woman I still loved.
“No, we can’t. I am so fucking pissed off right now because both of you went behind my back. I’m leaving. Enjoy your dinner.”
When I reached for the doorknob, I heard Teagan let out a sob and tell my sister, “I knew this was a mistake. He hates me.”
If she only knew how wrong she was. I wanted to speak to her, but I felt deceived by my sister and Teagan. I just wanted to get away from them. I pulled the door open and left.
Halfway across the parking lot I heard Teagan call out for me.
“Jeremy, please talk to me.”
Still fuming, I spun around to face her. “What Teagan? Have you finally had enough time? Are you expecting me to forget about you not speaking to me for weeks? It’s also pretty chicken-shit for you to dump me while I’m passed out drunk.”
