case there’s an emergency?” I asked.
“Yes, and I’ll need yours. You in?”
I hesitated for a moment and took in a deep breath.
“I’m in. Thank you.” I gave him a soft smile.
“Okay. Let’s go to the office and tell Victoria to draw up a new lease. But first, let’s take these suitcases back to your room,” he said as he grabbed them.
Was this a good idea? Probably not. As much as he irritated me, it was nice of him to offer that we share the apartment. I could do this. Like he said, he’d be gone three nights a week and with my crazy work schedule, we’d probably never see each other much.
After we signed the new lease, we went back up to the apartment, sat at the table and made a list of rules each of us were to follow.
No touching food that doesn’t belong to you.
Take turns cleaning the apartment and stay on top of the cleaning schedule.
Do your own shopping.
Bills will be divided equally and paid on time.
No borrowing of personal things without asking.
Be respectful of personal space.
Get party permission before throwing the party.
No dishes piling in the sink.
Be respectful when having overnight guests. Keep noise level to a minimum.
Respect each other’s privacy.
“Can you think of anything else?”
“I think that should do it,” I spoke.
There was a knock at the door, and I immediately jumped up.
“That must be the movers with my things.”
As soon as they stepped inside, I directed them to take all my boxes to the bedroom while I canceled my reservation at the Hilton.
Chapter 12
Mason
The thing I dreaded the most was having to tell my family what I’d done. I would never hear the end of it. The truth was, Sara was going through some shit I didn’t know about and I didn’t want to add the stress of her being homeless to it. As long as we followed the rules we set in place, and I stopped thinking about fucking her every which possible, we’d be fine.
I walked into my mother’s house for family dinner, and I braced myself for the teasing and comments I was about to receive once I told them about Sara.
“Hey,” I spoke as I walked into the kitchen with my hands tucked into my pants pockets.
“Hello, darling.” My mother smiled as she walked over and kissed my cheek.
“Well?” Elijah spoke. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you all day.”
“Yeah, bro, me too. I was going to call you when I didn’t hear anything, but I figured you had your hands full with Sara.”
I took in a deep breath.
“I told her she could stay. She’s officially my roommate now.”
“You what!” Nathan laughed and Elijah didn’t say a word.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” my mother asked.
“How did she talk you into that?” Elijah asked.
“She didn’t. I offered. Her mother is a resident over at Easton Gardens.”
“The assisted living home for patients with Alzheimer’s?” my mother asked.
“Yes. The primary reason she wanted the apartment was because it’s close. She’s dealing with a lot. She’s in a new city, her mother is in stage four Alzheimer’s and she was homeless thanks to the landlord fucking up. What the hell was I supposed to do?”
My mother walked over and placed her hand on my cheek.
“I am so proud of you. You did the right thing. You should have brought her to dinner.”
I gave her a small smile as Nathan hooked his arm around me.
“Does this mean she’ll let you in her bed now?”
“No, and I’m not even thinking about that anymore. We wrote out a list of rules.”
“Good idea,” Elijah said.
“Rules? Who the hell are you, and what have you done with my brother?” Nathan spoke as he put me in a headlock.
“Knock it off, bro. I’m serious. This wasn’t an easy decision.”
“Do you think she told you about her mother for sympathy knowing you’d possibly let her move in?” Elijah asked me.
“Nah. She wouldn’t have mentioned it if I didn’t ask her where she went that night.”
“All I know is I’m going to sit back and watch this shitshow unfold.” Nathan grinned, and I punched him.
One Week Later
I’d just gotten home from the fire station and when I walked through the door, I saw Sara sitting on the couch with her laptop.
“Hey,” She glanced over my way.
“Hi.” I walked over to the couch and sat down next to her.
“You smell like a fire.” She smiled.
“That’s because I was just in one. I didn’t shower at the station. My shift was