I didn’t remember hearing about that being part of the plan. I mean, I figured sooner than later, but…
He was paying off my student loans if I did this. I should have moved in the day after we came to a decision, if that was what he wanted.
“When do you think I should?” I asked.
Of course he had a date in mind. “Friday or Saturday.”
I almost hacked a lung out. “This Friday or Saturday?” That was only five days away.
That big head tipped to the side. “We’re on a time crunch.”
“Oh.” I swallowed. “My lease is up in two months.”
Sometimes I forgot Aiden didn’t believe in obstacles. “Pay it off. I’ll give you the cash.”
This was happening. This was really happening. I was moving in. With him.
I eyed him—the wide muscles of his shoulders, the dark hair dusting his jaw, those freaking eyes that seemed to glare at everything and everyone. I was going to be living with this guy.
My loans. My loans, my loans, my loans.
“What day is better for you? Friday or Saturday?” I made myself ask.
“Friday.”
Friday it was. I peered at my belongings for the first time, and felt a pang of sadness.
Just as I was thinking about my things, Aiden seemed to be doing the same thing, glancing around the small living room. I thought he might have lifted a foot to toe my couch. “Do you need help packing… or something?” he asked in an unsure voice, like this was his first time asking someone if they needed help.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it was.
“Umm…” Right after I’d gotten home from his house, I’d decided what I would keep and what I would donate or give away. In conclusion, I assumed it would have to be most of my stuff.
I figured I’d be taking the guest room since it was the only room not being used on a full-time basis. The other three rooms beside the master were Zac’s, the home office, and the huge in-home gym.
“The only things I want to keep are my bookcase, my television, and my desk.” I didn’t miss the judgmental eye he slid toward the small, sixty-dollar black desk behind me. “The rest I’m going to give to my neighbors. There’s no point in keeping any of it in storage for”—I almost gagged on the words—“five years.”
He nodded even as he took in my television. “Everything can fit in a couple of trips.”
I nodded, sadness nipping my throat at the idea of leaving my apartment behind. Sure it wasn’t luxurious or anything, but I’d made it my own. On the other hand, an apartment I hadn’t been planning on staying at forever anyway wasn’t going to be the difference between living in debt and not.
I could cry at Aiden’s later if I needed to… and that thought almost made me crack up out loud. What had my life come to? And why the hell was I complaining so much? I’d be moving into a nicer house, getting my loans off my back, and getting a house, all in return for ‘marrying’ a man. So I couldn’t date anyone if I wanted to. Whoop-de-do. The last date I’d gone on two weeks ago hadn’t exactly left me excited for a repeat. It was a fair exchange, more than a fair exchange if I didn’t calculate the risk of what would happen if someone found out that our ‘marriage’ was a fraud. Then again, you didn’t get anywhere in life unless you took a risk.
“Okay,” I muttered out of the blue, more to myself than Aiden.
Then we just stared at each other, letting that same awkward silence that had been between us as boss and employee come out.
I cleared my throat.
Then he cleared his throat. “I talked to Zac.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
Aiden shrugged his shoulders carelessly. “He said he understood.”
In that case, I needed to call him; I didn’t want to be a total coward, and just move in without talking to him about it.
Aiden dipped his chin once before turning his body to face the door. “I need to go. I’ll see you Friday,” he said as he moved toward it.
And then he was gone.
He didn’t tell me to call him if I needed help with anything, and he didn’t say bye. He simply left.
This was what I’d signed up for.
This was the next five years of my life. It could be worse, couldn’t it?
* * *
It was seven thirty in the morning, and I was at my dining room table for the last time ever when that now familiar, three-rap knock made my door rattle. I’d just gotten out of bed twenty minutes ago, and I was sitting around waiting for the waffle iron to heat up. Hell, I still had my pajamas on, hadn’t washed my face, or even brushed my teeth yet. My hair was up in something that looked like a baby pineapple.
“Aiden?” I called out as I dragged my feet toward the door.
Sure enough, his dark facial hair greeted me through the peephole before I let him in with a yawn and a small frown.
The man who was apparently going to be my new roommate, amongst other things, strolled in, not muttering a good morning or anything. Instead, he waited until I locked the door before giving me a lazy look. “You aren’t dressed yet?”
I had to stifle another yawn, covering my mouth with my hand. “It’s seven thirty. What are you doing here?”
“Helping you move,” he said, like I was asking a dumb question.
“Oh.” He was? He’d said something about it only taking a few trips to move my things, but I’d assumed it would take me a few trips. Huh. “Okay. I was just about to make waffles… do you want some?”
Aiden eyed me for a moment before turning around and continuing on to the kitchen. His head turned from left to right in what I assumed was him either making sure that I had actually gotten some packing done, or taking inventory of what I had left to go. I’d bubble-wrapped all my artwork two days ago. My clothes were all in boxes the people at the grocery store were nice enough to let me have. My books and knickknacks were packed. My television and desktop computer were the only items that hadn’t been prepped, but I had almost every blanket and comforter I owned in the living room waiting to get put to good use.
“Which recipe?” he had the nerve to inquire.
“The cinnamon one.” Before he could ask, I added, “I’m not using eggs.”
He nodded and took a seat at the table, still not exactly subtle in his perusal. All my dishes, utensils, and pots were already out and stacked on the countertops, waiting for their new owners to come and take them. I’d been lugging them around since college, and I figured they’d gone above and beyond the call of duty.
I made more batter and then poured it into the hot waffle iron, keeping an eye on Aiden as he kept taking in my belongings. “What are you doing with the rest of your furniture?”
“My neighbor upstairs is taking the mattress, dining room table, and the dishes.” She was a single mom with five kids. I’d seen her mattress during the few occasions I’d babysat, and my things were definitely an improvement. The dining room table was also a nice addition to the empty space she had where one would have normally sat, even though there weren’t enough chairs for her and all the kids. “My next-door neighbor is taking the couch, the bed frame, dresser, and coffee table for his daughter.”
“They’re coming to get it today?”
“Yep, but my neighbor upstairs is a single mom, and I want to help her.”
“Did you pay the rest of your lease off already?”
I glanced at him from the other side of the kitchen. “Not yet. I was going to go to the business office before I leave.”
“How much do you owe?”
I might have muttered the amount.
There was a pregnant pause before Aiden asked, “For a month?”
I coughed. “No, that’s two months.”
Was he breathing louder than normal? “Did I really pay you that little?”
Again with a comment about my place. “No.” I fought the urge to scowl. I had other things to spend my money on. I didn’t need to explain myself to him.
Did he roll his eyes? “I brought enough cash.”