Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
AVERY
Dollyboy rubs around Ty’s ankles as he paces before me. I try to summon the stubborn cat over, but he doesn’t budge. He’s chosen Ty as his new best friend, and there’s nothing I can do about that.
Ty stares down, navigating around the cat as he moves in little circles across the wooden floor of his living room. “Did you hear what I said?”
I drag my eyes up from Dolly to meet Ty’s stare. “Kinda hard to follow what you’re saying with Dolly looking so cute and you making everyone dizzy with your spiral.”
“I’m not spiraling.”
I point to his feet. “You’re pacing in a circle. A spiral.”
“Since you missed it, I said I have more than enough room for you here.” He runs a hand down the back of his neck. “And you can’t sleep in your car.”
“Why can’t I?”
“Because it’s dangerous, Avery.”
I cross my arms and lean back into the smooth leather couch. The way he says it feels a little condescending. “I’ve lived here for years, actually. I didn’t just get here yesterday, you know.”
“After last night, I’m surprised you’ve made it here for even a week.”
“Excuse me?” My tone climbs into screechy territory as I push to my feet. “Thanks for… whatever this was, but I’m not going to stay somewhere I’m clearly not wanted. You don’t need to do me any more favors.”
Grabbing for Dollyboy, I tumble forward as he scrambles through Ty’s legs. Some kind of weird hopping dance between the three of us ensues until Dolly is finally in my arms against his will. Ty’s gaze is wide, his expression indecipherable.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he shakes his head. “I didn't mean… I just meant that with the crime—”
“Yeah, yeah, the crime.” I swat a hand in his direction as I turn toward the door, struggling against all fifteen pounds of my squirming tomcat. “The car thing is temporary. An in-between. I’m looking for apartments now.”
Ty’s heavy sigh forces me to turn around.
He saunters closer. “Avery, you and I both know living in your car with a cat isn’t ideal.”
I huff out a laugh. “And what is? Ruining the one good thing I have going for me by immediately breaching my contract?”
When I reach for the door handle, his hand comes down over mine.
His grip is firm but gentle enough that he doesn’t crush my fingers as he keeps me from pulling it open.
I stare aimlessly out the sidelight windows flanking the front door.
The sun is still rising in the sky, a thin mist from the nearby coast blanketing everything in a hazy filter.
It’s something I’m not always up early enough to witness.
By the time I wake up, the sun has heated everything enough that it dissipates.
Seeing it now from inside Ty’s house with his warm hand wrapped around mine feels like an out-of-body experience.
Am I really here right now? Did I really sleep in my car last night?
A tightness sprouts in my chest at the memory.
Being displaced—even for a night—was scary.
If I yank this door open now, the only place I have to go is back to my old sedan.
“Hear me out.” Ty’s voice interrupts my looping thoughts. “It’s not permanent. It just isn’t a car. I’m not inviting you to stay forever.”
Dollyboy gives one last-ditch lunge as I turn to face Ty, falling from my grasp and landing on his feet below in a flurry of white dander.
Ty’s eyes dip to the floor momentarily. “Dollyboy’s his name?”
I nod.
“See, Dollyboy wants to stay.”
I press my forehead against a sidelight, most likely leaving some kind of gross residue, but that’s the least of my worries right now.
The truth is, I want to stay too. Ty’s house might be sparse in the cozy department, but it isn’t a car.
It isn’t a parking lot. It has running water.
Actual beds. A million plants. Somewhere to fit a litterbox.
No strangers tapping on the window or yelling unhinged profanities late into the night.
At least I assume. It’s in a safe neighborhood, and it’s everything I’m missing right now.
I’ve never been one to break the rules, and I’ve never intentionally jeopardized a golden opportunity when it arises—though that’s been few and far between.
But given my circumstances—the roommate moving out and on with her flourishing life, the fact that I was no more than a squatter there for the past two years, and my name never made it onto the lease—I’m all out of options.
Telling Ty no means telling my dream no, and I’m not willing to do that.
If I want to dance with the Vista City Kings cheerleaders, I can’t do it when my home base is a thousand-year-old sedan.
Keeping my sanity intact in this city is hard enough without the added uncertainty of whether or not someone is going to burglarize my vehicle with me inside of it.
A shiver runs down my spine at the thought.
Moving back in with my parents isn’t even on my radar, and I don’t know my new teammates well enough yet to ask if anyone is in need of a roommate.
If anyone found out just how bad things have gotten for me…
I shudder. Ty knowing I’m basically homeless is embarrassing enough on its own.
If I want to keep the one good thing I’ve got right now, the answer is clear.
“Fine,” I say, lifting my head from the glass and turning to face him.
“Fine?” he repeats, and for the first time ever, I can read his expression. He’s surprised. Maybe even a little relieved.
“Yes, but I can’t stay for free.”
“But—”
I hold up a hand. “Please, let me salvage a little dignity. I’m going to repay you whether you like it or not.”
He runs a hand over his blond hair. “I figured the whole point of this would be for you to get on your feet again.”
I groan. “Ugh. Don’t say it like that. That makes it worse.”
Stomping past him, I reach for Dollyboy—the only source of comfort and familiarity present—but he evades me. I turn to Ty, empty-handed, peering around him and down the hall.
He follows my stare, gazing at the dark space with closed doors lining either side.
I sigh. “Which one’s mine, roomie?”
Maybe I should lose my apartment more often. This room is nice.
I smooth my hand over the luxurious fabric of the comforter.
It’s velvet, pale pink and pillowy. So soft the clouds would be jealous.
Coordinating throw pillows are arranged meticulously against the mauve, upholstered headboard.
Pretty feminine for a guy whose house is decorated as much as a holding cell.
Dollyboy has already made himself at home, curling up on the plum throw blanket draped across the end of the king-size bed.
I reach out to stroke his head, but when he spots Ty, he’s on the move.
Someday I will get to pet my cat again. Ty stares at the furball strutting over, and I fully expect him to ignore him.
To my surprise, he leans down and runs a hesitant hand down Dolly’s back.
“He likes you.” I giggle, and Ty’s eyes rise to meet mine.
“He won’t leave me alone,” Ty says, dropping one of my suitcases by the walk-in closet.
I shrug. “You are the chosen one.”
I swear I see a corner of his mouth quirk up.
Most guys from my past that Dolly chose would be kicking him away by now. I have to admit I’m pleasantly surprised that although Ty does seem a bit overwhelmed with the attention, outside of that, he’s totally fine with Dolly. Which is great because we have nowhere else to go.
“Why do you have a tomcat named Dolly?” He scratches down the cat’s back, and Dolly eats up every tiny touch from Ty’s calloused hand.
I laugh. “First off, the full name is Dollyboy. And it’s because I didn’t know anything about cats when I found him and thought he was a girl. Dolly Parton was too long, and I found out later that Dollyboy was just right.”
Ty arches a brow. “But didn’t he have—”
“Later it became more obvious. Specifically when he had to be neutered.” I shake my head. “I wasn’t a cat lady then.”
“You said you found him?”
I can’t help myself. I crawl to the floor right next to them both. “Had to climb a tree to get the poor thing down. I couldn’t find him a home. Everything fell through. So he’s stuck with me.”
Finally, Dollyboy relents, moving over to butt his fuzzy white head against my side. I cradle him in my arms. “He likes to be held like a baby,” I inform Ty.
He arches a brow and nods as though he’s never seen someone hold a cat before. Which maybe he hasn’t—at least not like it’s an infant. He pushes to his feet. “Bathroom is right outside the door, in case you didn’t notice. My bedroom is on the opposite end of the hall.”
I stare up at him, and within two seconds, he fidgets.
“I just wanted you to know which one’s mine in case you ever need anything,” he adds.
“How many bedrooms does this place have?”
“Five.”
It’s my turn to raise my brows. “Five? And there’s only one of you?”
He shrugs.
I peer up at him. “I had to share a room with my sister until I was fifteen, and then we finally moved to a bigger place.”
“That’s who this room was for.”
“My sister?”
He stares at me, then shakes his head.
“That was supposed to be a joke,” I inform him. “Your sister was going to move in? I was wondering why it was decorated so feminine.”
“I furnished it as a birthday gift to her.”
“So why isn’t she here? Where’d she go?”
He leans a shoulder into the wall. “To Anthony’s. She got engaged.”
The bitter look on his face is kind of scary. Whoever Anthony is better be thankful he’s off somewhere else and not here right now.
“You seem fond of him,” I say.
Ty chuffs and pushes off the wall. “Just be thankful he showed up and ruined my sister’s plans, or this room wouldn’t be open.”
“Ruined her plans?” I blink up at him. “You think her fiancé ruined her plans? Kinda sounds like he is the plan, Ty.”
His hands disappear into his jeans’ pockets, his brow furrowing.
“Well, thank you, Anthony,” I say, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Because this place is amazing. Your sister—what’s her name?—is missing out.”
“Maggie.”
“Big sister or little sister?”
“Twin.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Identical or fraternal?”
“Fraternal. Boys and girls can’t be identical twins.”
I offer a sheepish smile. “My bad.”
“But growing up we looked almost identical.” His jaw tenses.
“I have to see her.” I wait expectantly, but Ty doesn’t reach for his phone, a frame, nothing. “Can I see?”
He stares at me a long moment before digging in his pocket and pulling out his phone.
Silently, he scrolls before brandishing an image.
The two of them squeezed next to a woman with their exact sun-washed look—all three blondies with vivid blue eyes.
Each one of them beautiful in their own way but also in very similar ways.
I take the phone from him, and he clears his throat as I pore over the screen. “Is that your mom?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s gorgeous. You have her eyes, but your nose must be your dad’s.”
“Thanks.” He doesn’t elaborate on my observations. Instead, he snatches up the phone and shoves it back in his pocket.
“Does your mom like Anthony?”
He shoots me a sharp look. “When he’s treating Maggie right.”
“Ew. Well, hopefully he continues to.”
“He better.”
I fiddle with a tassel on the throw blanket.
“I know you aren’t too happy with how that all went down, but I’m grateful.
Maybe it sounds selfish, but I believe everything happens just the way it’s supposed to.
If this room weren’t free, I’d still be stuck in my car with my cat and…
And that definitely wasn’t my highest moment. ”
“You don’t say.”
“Life is full of highs and lows, Ty. You can’t have one without the other. I’m thankful for both.” Words have the power of life and death, right? My hope is that the more I say it, the more I believe it.
A golden brow arches as he pinches his lips together.
“Speaking of being thankful, I am. I owe you, Ty, I do.”
“You don’t.”
I nod, pushing to my feet. “I do. And I’m going to pay you back.”
“Please don’t.”
“I can’t just stay here on some handout. I’ve taken enough of those from my mom. I’m standing on my own two feet.”
His brows raise, and I hope he might say something. But he doesn’t. Instead, he turns and retreats toward the door, disappearing out into the hall without another word.
Leaving Dollyboy in my dust, I chase after Ty.