21 Days (Time for Love 2)

“I’ve always looked at it as Keith realizing that Watts had always loved him for who he was, and didn’t need convincing. Plus, she was his best friend. I mean, how great is that, for a girl not only to get you, but to love you just the way you are.”

I tilted Sasha’s chin up and lowered my head to kiss her softly on the lips. “I think you’ve got a little Watts in you, as well as Amanda, and that’s a pretty amazing combination.”

When Sasha gave me a watery smile, I began to wonder if we were heading in a dangerous direction, and how either of us was going to come out of this experiment without getting hurt.

Chapter 22 – Sasha

TJ’d asked me to meet him at the rental that Brock had told him about, said he wanted my expert opinion. So, it was with a surprisingly heavy heart that I was walking around a sweet little one-bedroom unit over the owners’ garage. The walls were freshly painted, and the furniture was well used, but clean. The kitchen was small, but perfect for one person. With the counter overlooking the living room, which led to a small bedroom with an adjacent bathroom, it would be easy to maintain. A perfect bachelor pad.

TJ watched me intently as I wandered the space, but I kept my eyes averted, not wanting him to see the way being here was affecting me.

I hated it.

I hated the thought of TJ moving here. I didn’t want him to move five seconds away, let alone fifteen minutes. I wanted him in my home, and in my bed. Permanently.

How could I tell him that now? Now that our time was almost up and he was getting ready to leave. I’d promised to tell him if I was getting to serious, but in my defense, it just sort of happened. Now I was stuck with the realization that I was about to lose him.

I didn’t want him to see my despair, which I was certain would be apparent if I looked at him, so I mumbled about fixtures and flooring, rather than begging him not to take the apartment.

Chapter 23 – TJ

I could tell she hated it.

I’d asked Sasha to look over the apartment that Brock had told me about at dinner. I figured she’d be able to tell me whether or not it was a good deal for the location and the size, it hadn’t even occurred to me how I’d feel having her in my future living space.

Sasha had never been to a place I’d lived in. Not in high school or as an adult. I’d always met them somewhere else, so she’d never been subjected to the way I lived. I could see the way she walked around mumbling that she was uncomfortable being here, and this was much nicer than any other place I’d ever lived.

I looked around and tried to imagine this place the way that she would. Yellowing linoleum, cracked paint on the cupboards, chipped tile in the bathroom, and old worn-out furniture. This was not the kind of place that Sasha would ever live, or would ever have to. Compared to her upscale, stylish home, this tiny apartment was a hovel.

Of course I already knew that we were from two different worlds, but I’d been able to forget that over the past couple weeks, staying with her. We were happy together, in her world of nice and expensive things, but it was time for me to stop living a fantasy, and come back down to reality where I belonged.

This place would fit me perfectly, and I decided to take it, but first, I wanted to enjoy the fantasy a little longer.

Chapter 24 – Sasha

“Can I take you to dinner?” I asked TJ when I finally got my shit together and could look at him again. I needed to get out of the apartment before I dissolved into tears.

TJ pushed himself off of the counter he’d been leaning on and nodded. “Sure, sounds good.”

I rushed out, eager to put distance between myself and what I’d so childishly begun thinking of as the place that was taking TJ away from me. I needed to stop being crazy, and enjoy my time with him.

“What are you in the mood for?” TJ asked as he pulled the El Camino out of the driveway.

“Jake’s,” I replied. Jake’s was a bar and grill not too far down the road that our gang liked to frequent. They had the best burgers and over fifty beers on tap.

“Are you sure?” TJ asked, sounding skeptical, which caused met to turn and glance at his profile.

“Yeah, why not?” I asked confused. “I like Jake’s.”

“I just figured you’d want to go somewhere more upscale,” TJ muttered.

“Nope,” I responded lightly, trying to mask my hurt. Where had that come from? I’d never been one to drag my friends to the kind of places I went for business, or that my parents dragged me to. Maybe I needed to stop being so sensitive and reading into things. TJ was going to be counting the minutes until he could move out if I kept this up.

I vowed to push my insecurities to the backburner and enjoy the rest of our evening together.

When we got to Jake’s I secured our booth in the back corner while TJ went up to get a pitcher. I grabbed the menu off of the stand on the end of the table and looked it over while I waited, even though I almost always got the same thing.

I glanced up with a smile when TJ slid a frosty glass in front of me and began pouring beer into it, then sat across from me and filled his own. He took a long drink from his glass, and I became momentarily mesmerized by his Adam’s apple bobbing as the liquid hit his throat.