Staccato (Magnum Opus #2) - E.M. Lindsey Page 0,85
That was just the sort of man he was.
“Van doesn’t want to be alone. He’s terrified of it,” Jay said. “He likes to play the loner, but before Nik got back here, Van was like some weird basement troll. I saw him a few times at the store—he was always unkempt, never showered, never shaved. It changed when Nik got home.”
Adam swallowed thickly, wondering why Van would imply that Adam was standing in Nik’s way. Maybe…it was guilt. Maybe Van was lashing out because he felt responsible. He didn’t want to be anyone’s whipping boy, but in a weird way, he understood.
“God, I just…I need to get some space,” Adam said, then flushed. “Not from Nik. Just from everything.”
“You should book you both a little house at the beach. It’s two hours from here, and there’s a ton of little seaside villages that rent out cottages.”
If Adam wasn’t paying a huge apartment deposit, he’d actually have the money for it. He could get settled in his place, then see if Nik could take a few days off. God only knew the man needed a vacation. He hadn’t asked, but he could easily guess when the last time Nik took real time off had been.
“Yeah. Maybe we’ll do that.”
Jay smiled at him, then pulled into the little coffee cart drive-through and ordered them both a latte. It was rich and creamy, and even the smell of it started to work its magic. Adam was almost human by the time they got to the apartment complex, and he was pleasantly surprised when he saw them. They were cottage-style, two-story, attached buildings in duos. They had a fresh coat of white paint and quaint little balconies with black railings. They were close to the road, and the noise would be annoying, but the space would be his.
He unbuckled his belt and stepped out to follow Jay up the sidewalk and to the third building on the right. The apartment in question was on the ground floor, and Jay rapped on the door, tapping his foot as they waited for his friend.
A long moment passed, then a harried-looking man appeared with an afro slightly longer than Jay’s, light brown skin, and wide eyes that looked frantic and worried. He took one look at Jay, and his shoulders dropped as he stepped back and gestured for them to step inside.
The place was in total disarray, books and clothes everywhere, and plastic moving bins open and half-full. Jay took a look around, then burst into laughter. “Devon, man, don’t kill yourself trying to get out of here.”
Devon gave Jay a flat look. “They want me there Monday, bro. Monday. Don’t fucking tell me to calm down.” He turned and offered Adam an apologetic look. “Sorry, I’m not usually like this.”
“He’s lying,” Jay said with a cheerful grin. “But he will be nice since you’re saving his life and the other guy interested in his place was in a fraternity.”
“I don’t fuck with white boys like that if I don’t have to,” Devon said by way of explanation. “Jay says you’re good people.”
“I try?” Adam offered, then stuck out his fist, and Devon bumped it. “Uh…but just let me know what you need from me?”
“Normally some kind of reference. You have a job, right?”
“I work at Vincent’s at the mall. Been there almost a year. I came here to help my sister after her husband was deployed,” he offered.
Devon grimaced, then went back to throwing thickly bound leather books into one of the bins. “That sucks, man.”
“Yeah, but he’s being discharged, and he’s on his way home in a couple weeks, so this is perfect timing.”
“I’ll vouch for him,” Jay said. “You know I’m good for it.”
Devon looked up at Jay for a long time, then his shoulders sagged, and he nodded. “Yeah. You are.” He looked at Adam, a calculating gaze, then he said, “You good to take over Tuesday?”
Sooner than he thought—than he could have hoped for, but he was ready. “Yes.”
“First and last month’s rent. The lease is up in October, and I’m doing this shit under the table, so I can’t offer you any longer than that.”
Adam waved him off. “It’s fine. That’s plenty of time for me to figure it out.” Eight months had felt like a lifetime for Stella with Cooper gone, but he wondered with Nik, if it would feel like only seconds to him. “You get a job or…?”
“I got into Stanford,” Devon said, his smile going a little