Chapter 15 Oh Shitshitfuckingshit!
TANNER
It’s eight o’clock in the evening when I pull into my designated parking spot outside my apartment, next to Wren’s car. I guess that means my new roommate has officially moved in, and I missed it.
The new proposal is nowhere near done, so I’ll most likely be in the office tomorrow and Monday working on it. I massage my temples and run my hands through my hair, trying to shake off my day. Grabbing my tie and jacket off the passenger side seat, I open my door and slide out of the car.
I’m exhausted and starving. I should’ve stopped for food, but it didn’t cross my mind until I was almost home, and I was too tired to turn around to grab something.
The scent of tacos hits me the minute I open my door. Every light in the apartment is on, and pop music is blasting over a speaker. Wren’s cat meets me at the door, and I bend down to scratch it between the ears. “Welcome home, kitty.” I stand, walk around the corner, and my whole day melts away.
Wren’s dancing and stirring something on the stovetop. The kitchen is a mess. The counter is covered with pots and pans and most of the food from my fridge.
My heart swells. I was fully expecting her to be hidden away in her room, and instead she’s made herself right at home. She seems comfortable. She seems happy.
I prop myself against the wall as she brings the wooden spoon to her mouth and begins to belt the chorus of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.” She’s wearing a green silk tank top, shorts that are rimmed in lace, and cat slippers.
Her ponytail and hips rock in sync with the music, and her other hand moves to match the words of the lyrics.
I have to stop a laugh from bubbling out of me when she tries to hit the high note.
She looks so damn cute. It’s clear she didn’t hear me come in, but I stay quiet, not wanting her little show to end.
Her happiness is contagious, and I fear the minute she sees me, it’ll disappear. I wish I could bask in it forever.
The bridge begins and she starts to spin in a circle, but her eyes are closed. I wait until she’s facing me and then clear my throat. Her eyes pop open, and the spoon flies into the air and then clatters to the ground.
“Boo,” I say with a wide grin.
“What the fuck, Tanner!” she yells. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough.” I smirk. “Very valiant effort with the high note on the word heat. I didn’t know you sang.”
“I don’t,” she grumbles, bending down and picking up the spoon then tossing it into the sink. She moves around the kitchen, opening drawers. “Do you have another spoon?”
“Top drawer on the right.” She opens it and grabs one out.
The scent of charred something wafts by me. “Is something burning?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
She flips around. “Oh shitshitfuckingshit!” She grabs a pot holder and smoke pours out when she opens the oven.
She reaches in and pulls out a tray of what I think may have once been taco shells.
Placing them on the stove top, she kicks the oven door closed.
The smoke alarm begins to sound, so I quickly grab a towel and begin to fan the air around it.
“You trying to burn down my place on day one?” I say with a chuckle once the beeping stops. “Turn on the exhaust fan, would you?”
“The what?”
“The exhaust fan.” I move into the kitchen and flip the switch above the stove. The sound of the fan begins to compete with the music that is still playing.
“What are you doing?” I ask, muting the speaker.
“Cooking us dinner.” Her cheeks turn pink. “You made me dinner the other day, so I was trying to return the favor.”
“You were making me dinner?”
“Well I was, but the shells are burnt, and I’m honestly not sure if the meat is done. I used the ground turkey you had in the fridge.”
“How long did you cook this for?” I ask, pointing to the pan on the stove. The meat looks…dry. Really fucking dry.
“I don’t know, but I kept cooking it because I didn’t want to give us salmonella.”
“Based on the looks of it, I can assure you there is not a chance any salmonella is left on that meat.” I chuckle.
“I’m sorry,” she says, fidgeting. “I was trying to do something nice, and I ruined it.”
“You didn’t ruin anything. This was the best part of my day. I promise.”
“Well then your day must have really sucked.”
Understatement of the year.
“Here, let me help you get all this cleaned up, and I’ll order us a pizza.”
She scrunches her nose. “You don’t have to help. I made the mess.”
“I don’t mind. Let me just get out of these clothes, and I’ll be right back.” I click through the pizza delivery app on my phone as I walk to my room. “What kind of pizza do you like?”
“Barbecue chicken? But this dinner was for you, so pick what you like.”
“That sounds delicious.” I finish placing the order before stepping into my room and closing the door. I discard the suit, pull on sweats, and grab a T-shirt.
“Pizza should be here in thirty minutes,” I say, walking out of my room still holding the shirt. Wren’s eyes dip to my abs.
“Can you please clothe yourself,” she says from the sink where she’s trying to scrape burnt taco shell pieces off the pan.
“My bad. I’m not used to having a roommate.” I pull the shirt over my head, and she starts to giggle.
“What the hell is that?”
I look down and study my shirt. “Oh, that’s the mascot for the pickleball team Logan and I are on.”
She cocks her head to the side. “Is that a pickle with balls?”
“Yep, that’s Willie.”
“You did not name it Willie.”
“Well, Logan refuses to acknowledge him by his name, but I like to call him Willie.”
She shakes her head. “Living here is going to be interesting isn’t it?”
“I like to think it’ll be fun.” For the first time since I got home, I scan the living room and kitchen for any sign of her belongings. There’s nothing.
“Where’s all your stuff?”
“Oh, everything is in my room, except for my mattress. Logan’s mom called while he was helping, and he and Poppy had to leave right after they dropped off the bed frame.”
“Was everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah. A squirrel got into her house, and she was freaking out. It actually sounded kind of funny. Could you imagine? A squirrel! Anyway, Logan went to help catch it. He’s going to help me move my mattress tomorrow.”
“So where are you going to sleep tonight?”
“I’ll just crash on the couch. If that’s okay? I thought about staying at my place for one more night, but I had already moved all of Dolly’s stuff over here.”
“You can take my room, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
The thought of her in my bed pops into my head, and my cock twitches under my sweatpants.
Bad fucking idea, Tanner. She’s your friend. You're really pretty, incredibly sexy, absolutely under no circumstances can you try anything with, friend. This is only night one of her living here.
“No way. I’m smaller than you, and I really don’t mind. Plus, you look exhausted. I’m not letting you sleep on the couch after you had such a bad day.” She smiles.
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“It’s fine, I promise.”
I begin to help clear the counters, and as she taps the speaker, music fills the space again.
We work mostly in silence, other than me telling her where things usually go.
When we’re done, I grab a beer for me and one of the canned cocktails Logan told me she liked for her, and we head into the living room.
“Pizza should have been here ten minutes ago,” I say, checking the app.
“I’m sure it’s coming.” I hand her the can. “Thank you,” she says.
“It’s no problem. Figured you were probably parched after all the singing.”
“No, I meant thank you for stocking the pantry and fridge with things I like.” She opens the can and takes a long sip.
“Oh, good, so you saw the snacks?”
“I did, and you don’t have to keep doing nice things for me. At this rate, I’m never going to be able to repay you.”
A knock on the door echoes through the room, and I jump up and grab it. The man hands me the box of pizza, and I slide him a twenty dollar bill. “Thanks man; have a good night.”
I turn back to Wren, carrying our dinner inside. “You don’t have to repay me. I like helping out my friends,” I assure her, setting down the pizza box and flipping open the lid.
“Can I at least send you money for the pizza? I was the one trying to make you dinner.”
“Not a chance.” I grab a slice and take a bite. “Fuck, fuck, fuck, it’s hot!” I say around a swig of beer.
She giggles and blows on her slice but waits to eat it. “So, how’s the whole CEO thing going?”
“Awful.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking.”
She blows on her slice again and then attempts a bite.
“Lacey and Poppy mentioned the guys were worried about you,” she says a little hesitantly. “Do they know what’s going on?”
“Nah. They don’t want to be bored with my family and work shit. They both have enough going on in their own lives.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
I shrug. “Maybe not, but usually by the time I get home from work I don’t want to rehash it all. I’d rather pretend like it doesn’t exist.”
“Oh, sorry if I overstepped. If you don’t want to talk about it, we don’t have to.” She bites her lip, looking down at her plate.
“No, that’s not what I meant. I like talking about it with you.”
Her breath catches, and her eyes find mine. I do like talking to her. Something about being near her calms me. I want to open up to her completely and let her get to know every part of me.
“I don’t know what your parents are like, but my dad has always been really hard to please.
I’ve spent my whole life chasing the feeling of him being proud of me, and it’s never happened.
The closest I ever got to that was when my grandfather was alive.
He always made sure to tell me he was proud of me. He and I were a lot alike,” I explain.
“It sounds like you were really close with him. When did he pass away?”
“Last December.”
“I’m sorry,” she says.
“It’s okay. He was old and not in the best health.”
“Is he why you volunteered to take over as CEO?”
“Yeah, it might sound dumb, but I felt obligated to keep the position within the family.” For a split second, I consider telling her about the bar, but don’t. I still haven’t gotten back to Jerry. I know he needs an answer, and I know I can’t do both even though I wish I could.
“I get it,” she says, tipping the can up and taking a sip. “I feel obligated with my family too.”
“What do you mean?”