Extra Grumpy (A Man Obsessed #6)

1. Emily

1

EMILY

For five whole years now, I’ve been in love. Not with a man, but with an apartment. I’m in love with its vintage details and charming fixtures, the way the sunlight gently streams in every morning, and the sound of the bluebirds in their nest outside my window. I could go on and on, telling you so many reasons why I adore this place.

Which makes it extra heartbreaking that right now a third of my apartment is soaked from a burst pipe.

“Yeah, that’s a problem, all right,” says Jerry, my landlord. He frowns at the burst pipe behind the gaping hole in my bathroom wall, rubs the scruff under his chin, and shakes his head. “Oh, boy. Yep. That’s real bad.”

I always try to see the silver lining in situations, but it’s challenging to think of an upside of the situation I’m currently in. I think the best I can hope for right now is that it will all get fixed as swiftly as possible.

I rub my arm, trying to ignore the mess that is my t-shirt. This is one of my favorite tees; it’s one of Rock’s that he gave me ages ago because I couldn’t get over how soft it is. Even being a size sixteen girl, the shirt is baggy on me, so I use it as a sleep shirt.

It’s just water, I remind myself. It’s not like the shirt is ruined.

“How long do you think the repairs might take?” I ask, still holding out hope that it’s not as dire as it looks. When the pipe burst earlier today I scrambled to get the water shut off and contain the mess, but there was only so much I could do. God, I hope nobody else in the building is affected by it.

“Oh, I don’t know,” says Jerry. “You know how backed up everyone is these days. I’ll do what I can, though, all right?”

That doesn’t sound very promising. I know Jerry always has a lot on his plate; maybe I can do something to help. “I’d be happy to call around and see if I can find someone who can come out ASAP.”

“No, no,” Jerry says, waving me off. “I’ll handle it, hon.” He pauses. “You got someone to stay with in the meantime? Your folks aren’t that far away, right?”

I know it’s well within my rights as a tenant to ask my landlord to put me up in a hotel while my bathroom is being fixed, but I feel too guilty to ask. Jerry doesn’t have extra cash lying around. He’s constantly having to put money into repairs for the apartment building.

“Yep, don’t worry, I’ll figure something out,” I tell him.

The water pipe emergency has distorted my sense of time. I check my phone and see that it’s a lot later than I thought. Shit. I need to get ready and get over to Blackbear. Not that Rock will care if I’m there a little later than normal, but I do. From day one, I’ve been extremely serious about running a business and doing it right.

I see Jerry off, make a quick snack of cheesy toast that I eat over the sink, then change into some fresh clothes and quickly pull my hair up as I head out the door. A quick glance in the mirror on my way out throws back a reflection of myself that doesn’t exactly make me feel amazing, but hey, it’s not the end of the world.

As I walk at a quick pace to Blackbear, I take a few clearing breaths and try to stay optimistic. Ok, a burst pipe is shitty, but it’s not like my entire apartment flooded. It will get fixed. I’ll have my place back before I know it. In the big picture, it’s really not a big deal.

These mental reassurances help. So does the fact that it’s a gorgeously sunny day today. It may have been a bad morning, but that doesn’t have to ruin my whole day. I smile as I watch a little cluster of birds swoop through the air.

Today, more than ever, I’m glad that I live as close to work as I do. Sometimes I still can’t believe that Rock and I found as good of a location as we did for the bar. It’s just six blocks from my place and eight blocks away from Rock’s place—not that he ever takes advantage of the closeness and walks. I love to tease him about that. I swear, he uses any excuse to ride that beloved motorcycle of his. Whenever it’s rainy, he always tries to give me rides to and from work, but I rarely let him. I enjoy the walk.

I see his bike as I turn onto the block where our bar is. The clicking of the motor as I pass it tells me he hasn’t been here long. I open the door to the bar and step into the dimly-lit space, a space that has become a second home to me.

Rock is busy moving tables around, carrying them with ease. He nods his chin toward me when he sees me come in. He’s wearing one of his usual black t-shirts and worn-in jeans. I swear the dude doesn’t own a single item of colorful clothing. At least everything in his wardrobe matches, I guess?

“Hiya,” I call out, sending a smile in his direction.

“Hey.” His greeting is far more subdued than mine, but that’s standard for him. To an outsider, it might seem like a lackluster greeting, but I know Rock better than anyone and I know he’s glad to see me. When he’s in a bad mood, his ‘heys’ are way grouchier than that.

I cross the room to drop my purse in the back office, then join Rock in getting the bar ready. We’ve been open for three years now, and the routine we go through to get the bar prepped for the night is completely second nature.

Or at least it usually is. Today, despite all my effort to not let it get me down, I’m distracted by thoughts of my apartment and I keep fumbling with things as I work.

“You okay, Em?” Rock asks.

I startle, not realizing he’d come up behind me. I look up from the garnishes I’m prepping to see my best friend frowning at me with concern, his broad shoulders leaning toward me. Rock is the kind of guy who looks intimidating—he’s tall, muscular, and his resting face is a scowl. In reality he doesn’t have a mean or violent bone in his body, but he sure looks like he could tear you apart.

“Yeah,” I tell him. “Just dealing with apartment stuff. A pipe burst this morning in my bathroom.”

A frown overtakes Rock’s face. “Are you serious?”

I can’t help but laugh at his question. “Why would I make something like that up? Yes, I’m serious.”

“Goddamn it.” Rock sighs, like he knew it was going to happen. He doesn’t see the charm in my apartment—to him, it’s just an old building with old building problems. “Is your place okay?”

“I got a lot of the water cleaned up. But it sounds like repairs might take a while. It’s fine, though. It could have been worse.”

“Is that what your landlord said?” Rock asks, looking extra pissed.

“No. I’m saying it could have been worse.”

“He’s putting you up in a hotel while it gets fixed, right?”

“I’m going to stay with my parents.” I grab another lime and start slicing it. “They’ll love having me home for a while.”

Protectiveness flares in his eyes. “Em, you hate staying with your parents.”

“I’m sure it will only be a short while.”

“No. I’m not going to let you do that. You’ll stay with me.”

I throw him a bewildered look. “You don’t have a guest bedroom.”

“You can have my bed. I’ll take the couch.”

“Nope. I am not kicking you out of your own bed.” I dry my hands and grab a stack of drink menus to put out on the tables. Rock follows close behind.

“You’re going to go crazy staying with them,” he says. “Plus you’ll have to commute all that distance to and from work. It makes way more sense for you to stay with me.”

“ We will go crazy if I stay with you,” I point out. “We already drive each other crazy working together.”

“You don’t drive me crazy.” He pauses. “Is that really how you feel?”

The way his brows furrow so deeply, I can’t help but burst out laughing. “Rock! We constantly bicker about stuff. You’re my best friend, and I love you, but yes , you drive me crazy sometimes.”

“I don’t mean to.”

His voice is gentler when he says that. Apologetic. I set down another drink menu and throw him a smile. “I know you don’t. It’s just the way we are.”

When everything’s set up at the bar, I step into the back office for a moment to call my mom about staying with them. But before I can, I see the last text my mom sent me and it gives me pause. I love my parents dearly, but I’ve also been feeling pretty annoyed with my mom lately because of her relentless attempts at matchmaking.

Rock is right—staying with my parents will drive me crazy, even if it’s only for a few days. My mom has been bad enough with all the texts she’s been sending me; in person, she’s going to be even worse. Last time I had dinner with my parents it was all she could talk about.

Do I really want to deal with that? I know I could handle it if I had no other choice, but if Rock is giving me another option…

I put my phone away and walk out of the back office. Rock is checking our liquor bottles, a concentrated look on his face. I chew on my bottom lip as I think. I love that we get to spend our days together running a business, but when was the last time we hung out as friends away from the bar? This could be an opportunity for us to hang out the way we always used to, just enjoying each other’s company as friends.

Maybe there is a silver lining to a burst pipe after all.