Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I didn’t tell him that I had been the one to frame myself, by stepping in and helping Porter when I could have walked away. But I assured the landlord that I was working a good job now, and I had been taking piss tests every week and passing them. I could tell the guy wanted to give me a break. Sometimes people will surprise you.
The landlord decided to take a chance. He warned me that if I embroiled the property in any drug scandal, he would press charges. I had thought myself lucky, that the stars were finally starting to align. But now I learned that Tammy was the person I had beat out, and I felt awful. She was going to have to continue crashing in her cousin’s laundry room, and she might not even find as nice a place whenever she did.
I knew she’d told me to take it, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the problem. There had to be a solution that wouldn’t leave either of us in the lurch. I slow kissed her good night beside my truck, promising to text her as soon as I got home. That night, I thought about it while brushing my teeth, I thought about it when I was stripping off my clothes and hopping into bed, and I thought about it as I waited for sleep to overtake me. In the morning, I woke up with a plan.
It was obvious. Hadn’t the other couple, Tammy’s boss and her husband, been roommates in their cabin before they were married? I wasn’t ready to propose but sharing the house with a person that I cared for would be even better than living on my own. Maybe it was a little early in our relationship to move in together, but we could be responsible. We could break down the chores and each pay half of the rent. I wouldn’t have to spend my entire savings, and Tammy wouldn’t have to break the bank either.
I couldn’t wait to run the idea by her, but I thought it deserved more than a text message. We were both working, and I was pretty sure she took a one-o’clock lunch break. I scheduled my own lunch for one and hopped in the truck to go see her. There was no one at the front desk when I came in the door, but Lindsey was hard at work on a client in her chair. She pointed to a door in the back.
I thanked her with a nod and crossed the width of the shop to knock on the office door.
“Hello?” Tammy’s voice sounded startled.
I pushed the door open and surprised her, holding my arms wide for a hug. She got up from the desk and obliged, leaving a half-eaten ham sandwich behind.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, seating herself again.
I pulled a chair up beside the desk, eager to share my idea. “I’ve only got a few minutes, and I just wanted to run something by you.”
“Okay.”
“What if we share the cabin? Fifty-fifty. If you’re not comfortable moving in with me, you can keep looking for another place, but why should you sleep in a laundry room any longer than you have to?” I laid out my plan, rushing a bit but unable to contain my excitement.
“I don’t know.” She hesitated.
“It’s the perfect solution,” I insisted.
“We’ve only been on two dates,” she argued.
“Four,” I said.
She looked at me, confused.
“The one-night stand, dancing at the bar, fishing, and last night at the cookout,” I rattled off. “But who’s counting?”
She laughed. “I really like you This is really sweet of you to offer..”
I could sense there was a “but” coming, so I headed it off. “You don’t have to like me. We’ll be roommates, nothing more.”
She gave me a perfect ice princess stare, throwing my lie right back at me. “Nothing more?”
“We don’t have to share a room to have sex on the bar. I will respect however you want to live.” I allowed.
“Okay,” she said finally.
“Okay?” I squeezed her hand.
“Yes!” She stood up, opening her arms wide and letting me scoop her into a hug. We laughed like schoolkids on a snow day before exchanging a passionate kiss.
“I have to go,” I said. “I’ll call the landlord.”
“Okay,” she said again, clearly excited by the prospect.
I raced back to work and had no time left on my break to call the landlord. As soon as I clocked out, I called him from the lumberyard, walking back to my parents’ house. I hoped I could catch him before he left for the day, and I was in luck.
“Hello, this is Mike Newbury. We talked yesterday about the cabin off of Deer Tail Road.”
“Yes,” the man remembered.
“My girlfriend was the other person who expressed interest in the house,” I said, shocked at my own use of the word “girlfriend.” “I think we’re going to move in together, if that’s okay with you.”