I didn’t sign up for intoxicating sexy man scent.
“Back here is the laundry room, which you know. You’re welcome to use it anytime you want. Store anything you need in the cabinets to the left. I’ll take the cabinet above the washer since it’s so high up.”
I glance around, taking in my new home. “Thank you, Colton. I want you to know how much I appreciate you putting your faith in me as your tenant. I’m sure it’s not easy, with a son and all, but I promise not to be a bother or a nuisance. In fact, you won’t even know I’m here,” I reassure him.
“I doubt it,” he mumbles, glancing off to the right. In fact, I’m not really sure he meant to say it aloud.
I know I wasn’t what he was expecting when he opened the door earlier. In my defense, I never once tried to hide it from him that I was a woman. If he didn’t read my background check, well, that’s on him. But I need this place, which is why I’m determined to be the best tenant and roommate he could ask for. I’ll be as quiet as a mouse and make sure to be respectful of his property. I’ll keep to myself, so he never regrets renting his place to me.
“Got a lock,” his brother, Chase, hollers as he walks in the front door. “Oh, hey,” he adds when he sees us standing in the kitchen. “I come bearing pizza gifts.” Chase sets two pizza boxes down on the counter.
“Thanks. I’ll give you some money in a bit,” Colton says, setting the empty bottle aside and moving his son to his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it. I got ya covered. Consider it a housewarming gift. For both of you,” Chase says, giving me a warm smile. It’s actually a quite nice smile. Sexy, even. I imagine that smile gets him out of any trouble he may find himself in, especially with his wife.
She enters the kitchen. “Food. I smell food,” she says as she lifts the first pizza box lid and inhales the cheesy goodness. “Oh my God, that smells so freaking good.” Then, she pulls a slice of mushroom pizza out of the box and shovels a third of it into her mouth. “Mmmgrrrmm,” she mumbles while chewing.
“What’s that, baby? I couldn’t hear you over your pizza inhalation. Did you even taste that?” Chase teases, coming over and placing his big hand on her small belly.
“Fuck off, Callahan. Baby needs pizza,” she says, drawing out that last word, before taking another massive bite.
“Come on, Hollis, let’s get you a slice or two of pizza before the pregnant lady eats it all,” Colton says, humor in every word.
“Watch it, older Callahan. Be nice, or I’ll eat you,” Gabby chastises, finishing off her first piece.
Colton grabs me a paper plate and waves me on, all while extracting a loud burp from his son. “That’s my boy,” Chase says proudly, then seems to stop. Something passes between the brothers that I can’t decipher, but the moment passes quickly. Chase grabs a plate of pizza and goes to sit next to his wife on the couch.
I follow and take the floor, trying to stay off to the side and out of the way. Not that I’m really in the way, but you know what I mean. I’m the outcast here, the outsider who doesn’t know any of the people in her company. A few minutes later, Colton comes into the living room and lays Milo down on a blanket he stretched out in the middle of the floor. The little guy starts kicking and waving his arms, wiggling from side to side and kicking his leg to the side.
“You know, it won’t be long until he’s rolling over,” Gabby says between bites.
Colton, who returned to the kitchen to grab a plate of food, says, “Hard to believe we’re already approaching that milestone. Seems like just yesterday he was getting up every two hours and making sure I never had a moment’s alone time to shower.”
Chase snorts. “No shit. He was damn good at pulling the ‘scream until you picked him up’ card.”
“It’s better now though, right?” Gabby asks.
“Much better. He’s getting up once, maybe twice a night now. And he loves that stupid singing bear, so as long as my shower is under ten minutes, I can usually get it done before the bear shuts off and he vocalizes his disappointment,” Colton says, taking a seat on the floor beside his son.
Nibbling on my slice of pizza, I have to concentrate on not inhaling my food. It’s been a long day on the road, and since I spent a big part of my travel money on gas, I kept my food to a bare minimum. I have the basic furniture to get yet, and with paying first and last month’s rent and only two jobs on the horizon, I need to make sure I stick to my budget.