I chucked a little. "I think you're going to say yes."
So, it was set. I was about to have a girl live with me for the first time.
My apartment, well, condo actually, at Trump Towers was on the 30th floor, facing north, with a somewhat shaded view of Lake Michigan. Leo was on the 35th floor. I both hated and loved that he lived in the same building as me. You could imagine why.
When we pulled into the parking garage, she said nothing, her eyes following the lights of the city just as they had done when we drove to Pittsburgh. Even through the lobby and into the elevator, nothing was said.
When we got to the door, her eyes found mine as I unlocked the door. "I haven't even seen the place yet, but I can honestly tell you this is the coolest place I've ever been."
I laughed, wrapping my arm around her and led her inside. Trump Towers was cool.
I watched carefully as she explored my two thousand square foot condo. There had only been about three or four girls that had ever stayed the night here. Callie was the only one that had stayed multiple times, and she didn't give a shit about what my place looked like other than if it had a bed.
I had a feeling Ami would have a reaction similar to Callie's. It was just a place to sleep. Sure, it had some perks that some other places didn't, like a private health club, but it was still just a condo.
The more Ami moved through the place, looked at pictures on shelves, and the decorations Caitlin had put in there, the more nervous I got.
"Are you hungry?" I asked when I saw that my assistant had put dinner on the counter for us.
"Did you cook dinner?"
"No, I ordered pizza and had it delivered." I raised my hands, showing her the box from Lou Malnati's. I wasn't sure what she would want, so I had them send over wings, a salad, and then my favorite deep dish pizza: the Malnati Chicago Classic.
Naturally, like everything else that surprised me, Ami went straight for the pizza.
"You like pizza, eh?" I asked, leaning against the island in the kitchen as she sat at the bar eating. Reaching behind me, I grabbed two bottles of water and handed her one.
"They never had pizza like this where I came from."
"No?"
"Nope. Just regular food like burger joints and your occasional Mexican restaurant."
"Wow, the rest of the world is missing out." I took a bite of my own slice, trying not to talk with my mouth full. "This was the first place I ate at when I moved to Chicago."
She nodded, eating her own pizza in silence.
"How long have you lived here?"
"Oh, uh, about eight months. I was living with Dave Keller, one of my teammates, but he gets around and I didn't really want to be living with anyone."
"Gets around?" Ami moved from standing beside me to sitting on the counter.
"Yeah..." Shifting my stance and leaning with my side pressed to the island, I smirked at her question. "...like sleeps with a different girl every night type of getting around."
Again, she nodded but said nothing else. I couldn't help but wonder if she thought I was the same way. Most people would have thought that, and while I'd been known to indulge a little, I wasn't exactly on the starting line-up in that game.
I brushed the thoughts away, not wanting to make her feel uncomfortable, and changed the subject.
I showed her around the rest of my place and where she could sleep in the guest room. She seemed tired and wanted to take a shower. I let her take one in my bathroom because Callie had once told me my guest bathroom was just not suitable for women.
We had just said goodnight when I heard a knock on my door. "Evan?"
"Yeah?" I sat up and looked toward the door. Ami was standing, looking at me with a mixture of fear and sadness. "Can I…be with you in here?"
Say what?
"I…uh…do you want to sleep in my bed? I can sleep on the couch or something?" I was clueless. I had no idea what her intention was until she moved to stand by the bed.
"No..." she shook her head, her eyes on mine "...with you…in your bed."
Fuck.
"I'm sorry." She moved away from my bed with one step back. "Never mind."
Ami didn't want to be alone and things like sleeping with the lights on, checking the locks on the doors, all that shit I understood. She didn't have to feel bad. Losing her whole family, what happened to her that night, all that shit was far worse having to go through it than hearing about it. She had every right to be like this.
"No..."Shifting my place on the bed, I reached out grabbing her hand. "...You can stay."
Ami blinked, relieved. "Thanks. Not only am I a little…scared. Your guest room is freezing."
My phone beeped by the bed. Leo sent me a text. You fuck the girl yet?
He was so vulgar sometimes it was disturbing.
Fuck off, was my reply.
Pulling back the covers, she moved to get in the bed with me. I moved over giving her enough room. That was when her eyes were drawn to the large windows in my room. "Wow, that's an amazing view to wake up to."