Were people buying it?
Hard to say. But we did our best. And we had a riot sneaking around.
Every night, I'd crawl out my bedroom window like a sex-crazed teenager, slink around the side of the house, and crawl in through the window beside Arden's bed.
And she'd be waiting.
Oh, boy, would she be waiting.
It was a good thing she had her own bathroom, because without it, we'd be showing up for breakfast reeking of sin and sex instead of soap and shampoo.
It also helped that we showed up alone.
Just before dawn, I'd use those same two windows to sneak back into my own room and come out looking reasonably innocent – or at least that was the general idea.
As far as the house we were fixing up, Arden and I no longer argued about who owned it. It was a good thing too, because I already had a plan to make it right.
When the thing was done, I was going to surprise the hell out of her in more ways than one. Until then, I was saying as little as possible. And so was she.
Maybe she knew I was up to something. Or maybe – and this was my favorite theory – I kept her so satisfied between the sheets, she was finding it hard to complain.
And me? I was asking some serious questions, the kind that should've scared the hell out of me.
Except they didn't.
Chapter 45
Arden
"My dream life?" I said in reply to Brody's question. "Well, I guess I'm living it, huh?"
It was long after midnight, and the two of us had snuck out for a quiet walk along the beach. Back in high school, I'd done the same thing plenty of times while living with my grandparents.
But never this late. And never after having had the best sex of my life.
Again.
In spite of the cool breeze, I felt warm and wonderful, walking beside Brody as the moonlight shimmered across the quiet, endless water.
He'd just asked me to describe my dream life, and the strangest thing was, I couldn’t envision anything better than what I was doing right now.
He gave my hand a playful squeeze. "It's a serious question."
"I know," I laughed. "But that was my serious answer, honest. I really am having a wonderful time."
With a smile in his voice, he said, "So you like ripping down drywall, huh?"
I had, actually. One of the new pipes had sprung a leak in the kitchen, and part of the wall had gotten seriously damaged. The soggy drywall had to be ripped out so new drywall could take its place.
At the time, I'd just seen Waverly throw herself at Brody for what felt like the millionth time, and I'd been eager to burn off some steam. So when Brody had mentioned in passing that he was going to get someone to take a crowbar to the wall, I figured the activity would be just the ticket for releasing some of my endless frustration with Waverly's antics.
In my mind, the wall had been Waverly's face, and the crowbar had been, well, a crowbar actually. I never would've committed such violence in real life, but the whole thing had been surprisingly fun, just like last week when I'd taken the same crowbar to an upstairs closet.
To Brody, I said, "The funny thing is, I like all of it."
"All of it?" he said. "Even Roy's camera?"
I knew what he meant. For whatever reason, Roy seemed to take a particular interest in whatever I was doing, especially if I was doing it near Brody. I knew it was part of the job, but there were times when it was a little unsettling.
With a laugh, I admitted, "Well, maybe I could use a little less camera time."
"You want me to talk to him?"
The offer caught me off guard. "What would you say?"
"I'd tell him to knock it off, find someone else to focus on."
I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "But even you said he's just doing his job."
"It doesn't matter," Brody said. "Say the word, and I'll make it stop."
Judging from his tone, I almost believed him. "You wouldn't, really?"
"I would," he said.
He sounded absolutely sincere, and I was embarrassingly touched by the offer. Still, it seemed wrong to take Brody up on it. After all, I'd signed a contract, and I wasn't the type to not live up to my end of the bargain.
"Nah," I said. "But thanks. Seriously."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure." I perked up. "And besides, it will be fun to see the finished product."
"You mean the house?"
"The house and the show." Still, at the thought of things actually ending, I felt an all-too familiar pang in my heart. As we walked along, I added, "If you want the truth, I'll be a little sorry to see it done. I mean, I'll be glad to see the house restored and all, but it'll be strange when it's over. You know?"
His voice grew quiet. "I do."
We were silent for another long moment, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Brody was thinking the same thing I was thinking.
What would happen when the house was done?
Would we go our separate ways?
I hated the thought more than I cared to admit. And judging from Brody's lingering silence, maybe he wasn't too thrilled with the idea either.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on my part. I hadn't been lying. The last couple of months had been some of the happiest of my whole life.
I adored what I was doing – and who I was doing it with.
Brody.
He was nothing like I'd expected.
And now, I couldn’t help but recall how much I'd hated him back in high school. As we continued along the moonlit beach, I said, "Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Remember that English assignment? The fiction-writing thing?" With an embarrassed laugh, I said, "You know, the one with the candy store?"
"I remember."
"Why did you hate it so much? I mean, I could see where you wouldn't love it. But it seemed like it almost made you mad or something."
He was quiet for several long moments. "You want the truth?" he finally said. "I wasn't mad. I was jealous."
I stopped walking. "Jealous? Why?"
"Maybe it was all the candy." His tone grew teasing. "And wasn't there ice cream, too?"
There had been ice cream, not at the candy store itself. But in my fictional world, the parents had been stupidly fond of taking the family out for ice cream.
In hindsight, I guess it was pretty ridiculous. Still, I teased, "What do you have against ice cream?"
"Nothing," he said. "Maybe I was hungry. And you had it all."
"Oh stop it," I laughed. "You know it wasn't real, don't you? I mean, look at your paper. Yours had an alien eating the world. I knew that wasn't real, so you had to know that mine wasn't real, too. Right?"
He gave my hand a tender squeeze. "I know now."
And something in his voice made me wonder if there was more to what he was saying. But I didn't ask – just like I didn't ask a lot of things as the house moved ever closer to completion.
Chapter 46
Arden
"So," Cami said, "is he going to let you buy it?"
She meant the house, of course.
The question was a dark cloud over my otherwise happy mood. "I don't know," I said. "We never talk about it."
It was almost seven o'clock at night, and I was hunkered down in my bedroom talking to Cami on my cell phone while Brody was away, meeting with his brothers on some company business.
Cami said, "But why wouldn't you talk about it?"
"It just seems wrong. That's all."
"Why?" she laughed. "Because you're donking him?"
I didn't see the humor. "Yeah. I guess."
"So?" she said.
I sighed. "So I don't want him to think that I'm 'donking' him for all the wrong reasons, like to get him to sell me the house or something."
"Oh, please," she said. "He'd never think that."
"But how can you be sure?" I asked.
"Because no one would. You're not the type."
I frowned. "And what type is that?"
"Oh, you know," she said. "The type to ho yourself out for a beach house, or cripes, even rent money."
She was right.
I wasn't the type. And yet, her words served as yet another reminder that in spite of everything, I still wanted the house. And Brody still wasn't giving it up – at least not that I knew of.
Maybe it was time to give it another try.
By now, I'd had a steady paycheck for nearly three months. It was true that I'd spent some of that money on student loan payments, along with some basic necessities here and there. But I'd saved almost all of the rest. And I still had the bonus coming at the end of my consulting gig.
If I played my cards right, I'd have at least thirty thousand dollars after taxes. Was it enough for a down payment on the house?
I tried to think. No. Not according to Brody. He'd told me so himself way back in the beginning, and I had no reason to doubt him.
To Cami, I said, "Honestly, I don't think I could afford it."
"But why not?" she asked.
"Aside from the fact it's waterfront property?"
"Yeah. Aside from that."
"Well, for starters," I said, "you should see what Brody's doing to the place."
"Really?" She hesitated. "Good or bad?"
"Good. Really good." Now I couldn't help but smile. "You should see it, Cami. It's amazing. Granite countertops, marble sinks, a brand-new kitchen. I mean, it's not finished yet, but I've seen almost all of the plans."
I'd had a hand in creating those plans, too.
As I told Cami all about it, I heard the excitement in my own voice as I detailed the many improvements Brody would be making – or in some cases, had made already.
I loved every single thing on his list. And, later this year, when the next season of "Blast Brothers" would begin airing on the Home Network, the rest of the world would love it, too.
I just knew it.
Inside and out, Brody was working some serious magic. And me? I had the happy luck of seeing the magic unfold in every area of the house, well, except for the attic, which was still off-limits for safety reasons.
On the phone, I finished by saying, "And when he's completely done, it's going to look brand new, but even better because he didn't ruin the original character." I gave a happy sigh. "It really is amazing."
And it wasn't just the house that was amazing. It was Brody, too. Even if we hadn't been romantically involved, I still would've admired not only his work ethic, but his skill in bringing out the home's natural beauty.
On the phone, Cami said, "Well that stinks."
My smile faded. "Why?"
"Because," she said, "if he were taking a more modest approach, you might be able to afford it, the house, I mean."
Well, there was that.
When I said nothing in reply, she added, "And granite countertops? Seriously?"
Her words stung. "What's wrong with granite countertops?"
"Nothing," she said. "They're beautiful if you can afford them. But you can't."
She was right. And yet, I couldn’t really complain. After all, I'd had a hand in selecting those countertops. In fact, I'd helped select a lot of things – flooring, kitchen cabinets, appliances, and more.
At first, I'd gravitated mostly to the cheap stuff, but Brody had insisted on going high-end with everything. And, I had to admit, he definitely knew what he was doing.
Plus, I had to face facts. It was his house, not mine.
There was a time, not too long ago, when I might've blamed Brody for buying it out from under me. But over the last few weeks, I'd come to realize something. It wasn't Brody's fault.
For whatever reason, my cousin had decided to sell. And Brody had decided to buy. He'd probably paid cash, too.
Sure, it was a crazy coincidence that Brody of all people had been the buyer, but at least the house was in good hands – very good hands.
And besides, I reminded myself, even if my cousin hadn't screwed me over, I still would've been screwed in the end when the house caved in around me. Repairs were expensive, especially for a house that big and in that bad of shape.
Forget the granite countertops. The roof alone would've busted my budget. Just last week, I'd seen the roofing bill with my own two eyes. It was a doozie.
To Cami I said, "Look, I get what you're saying, but going high-end was the right decision."
Sounding less than convinced, she said, "Oh yeah? Why's that?"
"Because it's a huge, waterfront home." I recalled what Brody had told me when I'd tried to go cheap on the countertops. He'd explained that a house in such a prime location should have the interior to match.
He'd been right.
Still, Cami did have a point. If Brody had stuck with basic repairs and nothing else, maybe I could've afforded the house on my own eventually.
I was still mulling all of this over when Cami said, "And really, you wouldn’t even need a bank."
I wasn't following. "Sorry, what?"
"I'm just saying, Brody owns the house on his own, right? Like, he doesn't have partners or a mortgage, does he?"
"I don't think so."
"And he's got plenty of money." Sounding more excited now, Cami said, "Maybe he could give you a loan."
I stiffened. No. Absolutely not. I was horrified by the mere idea. "I'm not gonna ask him for money."
"You wouldn't be asking him for money," she said. "You'd be asking him to do what a bank does."
"Except he's not a bank."
"But so what?" she said. "Bank or not, he could still charge you interest. And you'd get the house. See? It's a total win-win."
She made it sound oh-so simple. But I knew it wasn't. "Honestly, I don't think Brody would see it that way."
"Hey, you never know," she said. "It's called a land contract. I looked into it." Sounding even more enthused, she explained, "It's where a private person finances a property they already own. They sell the house, and you pay them directly."
I'd heard of such things, but I still didn't see it working out. "So he'd be what?" I tried to laugh. "My landlord?"
"No. Because you'd be buying it, not renting it. And as long as you made the payments, the house would be yours in the end, just like if you got a mortgage from a bank."
I had to admit, it did sound like an interesting idea. Still, I had to say it. "I can't ask Brody to do that."
"Why not?" she said. "You know you'd do it for him if you had the money."
She was right. The truth was, I was coming dangerously close to falling for him. Or maybe I already had.
He was fast becoming one of the best friends I'd ever had. Plus, he was an amazing lover. And an amazing colleague. Yes, I knew that on the show's totem pole, he was at the very top while I was just a lowly stump at the bottom. But he never treated me like that.
He actually asked for my ideas, and took a ton of my suggestions. On every front, we made a great team. Or at least I liked to think so.
And yet, a little voice in my head whispered that we never talked about the future or went out in public. I'd never even seen his condo. And forget his family.
The only family he had were his brothers, and although I'd met them in person many times by now, my relationship with them wasn't exactly friendly.
Mason, in particular, seemed to truly despise me, while Chase seemed content with just giving me a hard time.
As far as I could tell, neither Mason nor Chase knew that Brody and I were more than colleagues.
As I tried to explain all of this to Cami, I started to feel just a little bit silly for falling so hard and fast. To Brody, our relationship – or whatever it was – might be just a passing thing.
But for me? Maybe it had started out that way, but I was fast becoming hooked. Really hooked.
Was that a good thing? Or a bad thing?
I wasn't sure.
And by the time I got off the phone, I wasn't nearly as happy as I'd been when the conversation
had begun.
Just maybe, I decided, it was time to broach the subject of the house again, if only to gauge Brody's response. It would tell me a lot – and not only about the house.
Chapter 47
Arden
"Ask me later," Brody said.
His words sounded vaguely familiar. And then I remembered why. He'd said the same thing a few months ago when I'd asked him why he'd never known his grandparents.
Since then, I'd approached the subject of his family several times, with little success. Obviously, it was a sore subject, so I tried not to push it.
But tonight, I hadn't been asking about his family. I'd been asking about the house.
It was long past midnight, and we were lying naked in each other's arms. In the quiet darkness of my bedroom, I asked, "Why later?"
"Because it's not the time."
"When would it be the time?"
With a smile in his voice, he replied, "Later."
I pulled away, putting some distance between us. "Look, if you want to say no, just say it."
"Alright. No."
My heart sank. "Just like that?"
In a teasing tone, he said, "Hey, you wanted an answer."
I had. But his flippant attitude still grated. My question had been simple and straight-forward. Was there any chance at all that he'd ever consider selling me the house?
Apparently, his answer was still no.
It was a quick, dismissive no, too, leaving me little hope that he'd ever change his mind.
Maybe it shouldn't have surprised me. But for some stupid reason, it did.
And now, I was almost sorry that I'd brought it up.
There was only one upside. At least I hadn't mentioned Cami's crazy idea of asking Brody to finance the venture. Now that would've been embarrassing.
As far as the house itself, I decided to take a different approach. "You know, I've got a job interview next Tuesday."
"Oh yeah? Where?"
"A shipping center near Midland. We're doing a phone interview."
I still hadn't purchased a car, mostly because I didn't need one at the moment. Brody had a food service that stocked our groceries, and we ordered takeout all the time. Brody always treated, even though I offered time and time again to chip in.
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