It was even more beautiful close up. The lawn was impeccably manicured and there was a small flower garden all around the edge of the large building. I could smell it faintly on the breeze, and it just made me that much more excited.
Pamela punched in a code on the entry way then held the door open for us, and from the first moment I stepped in, I was in love.
The temperature inside of the hall was perfect, not too cold, not too hot, and there was the slightest of breezes that carried a barely perceptible hint of vanilla.
Huh, now I was hungry.
But besides my sudden craving for a glazed donut with some ice cream on top, the carpet was thick and luxurious under my flats, and the walls were neatly painting in alternating stripes of silver and white.
“So, as you see, we have the stairs if you’re in the mood for a little cardio, or even in case -lord forbid- there’s a fire. But, for most of your days, we have two elevators. Right this way!”
We followed her to behind the staircase and I saw that there were two vending machines there too, one with snacks and one with soft drinks. Wow, already this was a hundred times better than anything I could ever hope to afford on my own and we weren’t even in the apartment.
The elevator ride was smooth and uneventful, with James and Pamela making slightly flirty small talk. I felt the tiniest sliver of a negative emotion as I watched them go back and forth. Was it jealousy? What reason did I have to be jealous? It wasn’t like James and I were in a relationship, and he was an incredibly hot, charming, intelligent billionaire that had just the right hint of danger to him.
I had no claim to him, and yet I could still taste some bitterness on the back of my tongue. I needed to get a hold on myself or otherwise this was going to be more of a mess than it already was.
We finally reached the seventh floor, which was apparently where the apartment was. We stepped out into the hallway and the first think I noticed was a patio outside of a glass door at the end of the hall overlooking the Mississippi river.
“Is that what I think it is?” I asked, beelining straight for it.
“Unless they changed the word for what a balcony is, I would hope so,” James countered, laughing ever so lightly at me.
“You know what I mean,” I chided, reaching for the handle. “Is this open to the public?”
“Of course,” Pamela said, smiling like she knew she had me hook, line and sinker. “Why don’t you go look?”
But I was already out the door and onto the patio. It was just high enough to make me nervous, but not so much that I wanted to puke. The wind caressed my face, the slightest spray of water to it, and I could hear birds chirping off in the distance.
“This is… nice.” I breathed, not caring if Pamela heard. I figured it was mostly James’ choice or not.
“It is. But how about we actually go into the apartment now?”
I continued to look out at the expanse, breathing deeply, before turning to face the hall again. “Hey, you can’t blame me for wanting to stop and smell the roses.”
“Interesting you should mention that,” Pamela said. “We have over twelve different species of roses on premises.”
“Great factoid, but please, apartment now.” I guess I couldn’t blame James for being in such a rush. We still had three more places to go and I was moving on along at a snail’s pace. But these were places that I had only ever dreamed of being able to afford. I didn’t want to lose a moment of it.
“Of course. Right this way, Mr. Hines.” Pamela took off, walking at a good pace considering her high heels, and we followed along behind. This time we didn’t take any detours, and only stopped when we were at the apartment door.
“Here it is,” she said, opening the entrance and stepping back for us to go in. I flounced past her, my belly bouncing slightly, and was ready to be amazed.
And boy howdy was I amazed.
Once more there was no carpet. I didn’t know if James and I just agreed that carpets were far more trouble than they were worth as well as huge bacteria houses, or if he had noticed how much I appreciated the carpetless floor from the one place we had gone to the day before.
The place was spacious, nearly twice some of the apartments I grew up in. The living room was massive and faced out to the river again, and the dining area was cute with a little half-wall separating it from the hallway that lead to the bedrooms. But I skipped the sleeping areas, and made straight for the bathroom, which to me was the best part of the house.