14. Kiley #2
“Yes way, and maybe we can go swimming when it warms up.” Chloe pauses for a moment and thinks.
“That’s if I’m still here.” She glances at her mom, who gives her a small smile.
“But there’s a hot tub that we’re allowed to go in with an adult if it isn’t crowded.
There’s also a gym, movie room, bowling alley and a small grocery store on the lower level. ”
“Wow, this place makes it very easy for you not to have to interact with the outside world with all its amenities.” I don’t think I would ever leave if I lived in this building. I make a mental note for us to check out the grocery store before we go home today.
“Chloe, why don’t we show them the bedrooms so they can see where they’re sleeping?
” Gretchen suggests and Chloe nods. She turns around, and before we follow her lead, I casually glance at Gretchen to catch her staring at me.
She gives a polite smile, but I’m curious to know what’s going through that brain of hers.
So far, she has been very pleasant and engaging.
I was expecting her to be a little aloof, but she hasn’t been that way at all, which I appreciate.
We walk toward a long hallway that contains three main doors.
Chloe turns to the left and opens the door to a rather large bedroom with floor to ceiling windows that showcase an incredible view of Lake Michigan.
“This is my dad’s room,” she announces and I can’t stop my eyes from locking in on his king size bed.
I can feel the blush creeping up my face as I try to imagine him sleeping there, naked.
I quickly avert my eyes and keep them downcast as Chloe shows us his bathroom and walk-in closet.
The next bedroom is Chloe’s, and I can hear the pride in her voice as shows it to us.
The room is mostly pink with the exception of a floral accent wall behind her queen size bed.
She has a partial view of Lake Michigan and a television hanging in the corner.
It’s the most perfect girly room I’ve seen in a long time.
“Chloe, your room is so pretty,” I comment, and she smiles in happiness.
“Thanks! My mom and I just put up this peel and stick wallpaper behind my bed, and we painted the walls pink. My dad hasn’t seen it yet, but he told me I could do whatever I want, so I’m sure he won’t have an issue with it.”
“I’m sure he won’t,” I reassure her because I can’t see why Jax would have a problem with the decorating. From what I can tell, Jax will do anything for his daughter.
“Oh well if he does. The room is done, and you love it. That’s all that matters,” Gretchen tells her daughter while she gives me a tight smile. Her message is loud and clear: Keep Chloe happy.
“Now let’s see where you guys are going to sleep.” We walk out of Chloe’s room to go to the final door in the hallway.
This room is smaller than the last two and has a view of the building next to us. There’s a Murphy bed wall unit against the main wall that contains shelves and cabinets. It looks like this is Jax’s office. The shelves contain awards, books and photos of family throughout the years.
“Don’t worry, my dad will have this all cleared out by the time you need to spend the night.”
I turn and give her a smile. “I’m not worried. Even if he doesn’t, we can always sleep on that big couch in the living room.”
“Oh no, Dad would never allow that. He said he would take the couch, and you can have his room.”
The thought of sleeping in sheets that smell like Jax makes my throat dry. “We don’t have to worry about it right now,” I tell her.
“You have your own bathroom and closet, even though it’s kind of small.” She shows us the bathroom, and she’s right about the closet; it is small. But with Jax having his own washer and dryer inside his place, we can do laundry and wear the same clothes when needed.
We follow Chloe and Gretchen out of the room and back into the dining room. “So, that’s the end of the tour,” Chloe exclaims. “What do you think?”
“This place is beautiful! Thanks for the amazing tour, Chloe.”
“Are you guys hungry? We have some snacks.”
“Oh, no thank you,” I respond just as Zander says, “I want a snack.” He looks at me with his puppy dog sad eyes, and I give in. “One snack, Zander.”
Gretchen walks to the pantry and opens the door. “What would you like, Zander? Do you want some chips and a soda?”
Zander quickly whips his head around to look at me, his eyes wide with begging. I usually don’t allow him to have soda pops, not that she would know that, but now I feel like I can’t say no.
“Water will be just fine, buddy. It’s getting close to bedtime, so we don’t need to have a pop.”
“Please, Mommy?” he begs, and puts his hands together as if he’s praying.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have offered without asking you. I assumed that he’s allowed to drink it,” Gretchen apologizes.
“No, it’s okay. You didn’t know,” I tell her and look down at Zander. “No pop for tonight. You can have a snack, though.” He frowns but doesn’t say a word.
Chloe, being the smart girl that she is, gets his attention by pulling down a wicker basket that has bags of chips for him to pick out.