There was a knock at the door.
“Dani, you awake?”
“Yeah, why?”
“I have a peace offering.”
She should just ignore him.
Her curiosity, though, was piqued.
Leaving her bed, she stepped up to the door. Taking a deep breath, she opened it. He stood with two cups of steaming liquid.
“Hot chocolate. I noticed you had a liking for it.”
“You noticed?”
“Kind of hard not to. I didn’t have a single jar of the stuff. You move in and ta-da, we’ve got three.”
“A peace offering?” she asked. She loved hot chocolate. The drink helped her to relax.
“Yes. It’s my way of saying sorry about what you heard and about your vase. I have put your flower into a bottle. It should keep it alive for a little while longer.” He turned so she saw the roses in a couple of beer bottles.
“I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”
“My fuck shouldn’t have ruined your vase. It’s as simple as that. So, what do you say, peace offering? Maybe even come into the sitting room. Watch a bit of television with me. Talk to me. We’ve been together for an entire week, and I think this is the first time I’ve seen you.”
“I’ve been around. I heard your woman on Monday night. I preferred her. Calling you all the names under the sun and leaving. I liked her. She left my stuff alone.”
“They’re not always like that crazy one.”
“Do you even know her name?”
“Nope, not a clue. You coming out of there?”
She stared at the cups and sighed. “Sure, why not?”
Following him to the couch, she sat down, tucking her feet up beneath her. Jax handed her the hot chocolate, and she thanked him for it, taking a sip as he sat down. “This tastes really good.”
“You left a note on the fridge on how best to make it up. Figured it was weird at the time, but now it makes total sense.”
She smiled, and blew across the surface of the water.
“You know I expected you to be judgey.”
“Why?”
“A brand-new woman in my apartment.”
“Jax, I rent a room. I’m not your mother, sister, or girlfriend. I have no interest in your love life or how you conduct it. Of course, I will get judgey and call the cops if you turn out to be one of those loser assholes that beats on girls or rapes them. Call me honest.”
“I don’t take a girl against her will. This has to be the weirdest topic of conversation I’ve ever had.”
“It’s a Friday night. It’s not too bad.”
“You’ve had worse?”
“At Arnold’s bar, I heard a bunch of guys talking about how they were constipated and how a bowel movement was the best thing going at the moment. Clearly, they hadn’t lived. Personally, I’ll take a lasagna any day.”
He burst out laughing. “You’re really not kidding?”
“Not kidding at all.”
“So you work at a bar and a diner?”
“Yep. Both places pay really good tips as well as good wages. I’ve been doing okay for some time.”
“What about family?” he asked.
She wrinkled her nose. “They wanted a life for me that I knew I wasn’t good enough for. I wanted to do stuff that didn’t involve having kids, baking, teaching them how to be better citizens and that kind of thing. I wanted to go out, explore, be my own person. I left home at eighteen, and I’ve not looked back. You?”
“I’ve not seen my dad in a long time. My mom died when I was a kid, and it didn’t take him that long to move on. Let’s just say that we both have different views on who he decided to move on with.”
“Okay, I’ve got to ask because you’ve been all mysterious. Who was it?”
“My mom’s sister.”
“Ouch.”
“Yeah. I have a feeling they were screwing long before my mom passed away.”
“Sorry.”
“No need to be. It wasn’t you fucking around.”
“Still, it’s got to hurt.”
“It did, but I moved on. I’ve not been back since, and I intend to have nothing to do with the cheating asshole. I’m sure my mom knew, which is why she just gave up the fight. She had cancer.”
“You can’t think like that.”
“I know my mom. She wouldn’t have left me like that. It’s just one of those things.”
She nibbled her lip, knowing there was an entire story there that he wasn’t going to share tonight.
“Is that why you screw everything with a vagina?”
“I don’t screw everything. I’ve not tried to bed you.”
“Please, you and me would never happen,” she said.
“You haven’t even given it a try.”
“I’ve no intention of doing that either. You’re my roommate, and with what I’ve heard and seen so far, I don’t need to know how you go in bed.”
“I’m a damn good lay.”
“You must have something about you to pick up women. It’s just keeping them you have a problem with.”
He shrugged. “I don’t make excuses. When I pick a woman up, I don’t agree to exchange numbers or even for there to be a second time. I don’t do that thing. I’ve got rules.”