Chapter 20 #2
“It’s not that big,” Justin tries to say, and I just look at him, and he shrugs.
“Let’s start right here,” he says, walking straight and coming to the open room.
I look around in awe. The whole front and one wall on the side are completely windows.
“This is what my mother calls the family room.” I look around and see the huge table at the front of the room with eight chairs around it.
When he steps farther into the room, I see the L-shaped kitchen behind the wall.
The cupboards are a shiny beige that almost match the floor.
The huge stainless-steel fridge fills almost a whole wall.
Against the wall is the sink, and the stove is right next to it.
My eyes fly to the island that sits in the middle with four white stools.
A huge vase filled with flowers decorates the middle.
“Look at this TV,” Dylan says, and I turn to look.
I love how the kitchen opens to the dining room, and right after that is the living room.
The TV hangs above the fireplace. Two massive beige couches are on either side with a square wooden table in the middle with more flowers on it.
The fluffy throw pillows on the couches make you just want to curl up into a ball and take a nap.
“Wow, look at this,” Dylan says, running to the window.
“Don’t touch anything,” I say, and he stops in his tracks.
“What?” Justin says from beside me.
“I don’t want him to get his fingerprints on the windows,” I say. I don’t want him to touch anything in this house with the fear he might get it dirty, and I can pretty much bet with everything I have, which isn’t much, that I can’t afford to replace anything.
“You can touch whatever you want,” he tells Dylan. “Let’s go see outside.”
He walks past me, grabbing my hand and pulling me to the door. We walk out on the terrace that wraps all the way around. “You can see so many boats,” Dylan says, going to the railing and pointing. “Can we eat outside?”
“Sure. It’s a little hot, but if it’s okay with your mom, I’m good,” Justin says, and I look at him and I shrug, not sure what the good answer is. Even his outdoor furniture looks like it’s from a magazine.
“Can we see the rest of the house?” Dylan asks, and Justin smiles at him.
“You are going to flip out,” he tells Dylan and walks back into the apartment.
“I’ll show you my room first,” he says. I follow him out of the room and toward the door, but he walks straight to the end of the hall and opens his door.
“This is my bedroom,” he says, walking into the room.
He flips a switch that I think is for the lights, but the curtains slowly open, and the far wall is also a wall of windows.
I try to look at the view, but instead, I look at the unmade bed.
The huge king-size bed is in the middle of the room with a wooden wall behind the beige and brown headboard.
The side tables look like they are floating on both sides of the bed with lights hanging over them.
“Wow, your bed is huge. Who do you share your bed with?” Dylan asks, and I close my eyes.
“Just me,” he says softly, and Dylan looks at him. I want to say so much, but I don’t. “Now, let’s go check out the best room in the house.”
Dylan follows him out of the room with me right behind as he walks toward the other end of the apartment.
“This is a spare bedroom,” Justin says and opens the door to show me a king-size bed with a light gray headboard.
Two light gray chairs and a round table are arranged at the side of the room with a long mirror dresser against the wall.
“This is a girl’s room,” Dylan says with disdain, and then Justin nods his head.
“It’s where my mom and sisters stay when they visit,” he says. “Now come and see the man room,” he says, and Dylan’s eyes light up.
We walk down a long hallway, and the walls are lined full of pictures.
There are pictures of Justin on the ice celebrating and then another of him with what looks like his whole family around the Stanley Cup.
Three huge sweaty guys in jerseys with Matthew standing in the back wearing a suit with a huge smile on his face.
Then a couple of a huge family in front of a Christmas tree.
One when he got drafted, and he looks like a little boy.
“This is the man’s room,” he says. Opening the door, he turns on the light, and Dylan gasps.
The whole back wall is a television. A white chest sits under it with all the game consoles you can think of.
Three bean bags are on the floor in front of it but then behind the bean bags is the most massive U-shaped couch I have ever seen in my life.
With over twenty throw cushions, I was wrong before.
This is where you want to sit and take a nap.
“Does this TV play movies?” Dylan asks, and Justin nods. “I want to do movie night in here.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Justin says, and I’m at a loss for words.
“What do you want to watch?” Justin asks Dylan.
“I don’t know,” Dylan says, and Justin hands him the remote.
“Here, find something while your mom and I go talk about dinner,” he says, and Dylan grabs the remote and goes to sit on one of the bean bags.
“Don’t touch anything,” I whisper, and he ignores me while he watches the huge television. I follow Justin out to the family room.
“It’s time to have a talk,” he says. Looking at me, he takes his baseball hat off and tosses it onto the big wooden table. “Are you going to sit?” he asks, and I just shake my head. Right before he starts to talk, the doorbell rings.