Chapter 4
“Nadia, I’m telling you it was awful. Imagine the horror stories you read about bad dates.
That is exactly what this was like. She didn’t even bat an eye at the fact that her dog took a shit inside a Starbucks.
And not to mention her service dog,” Paige said, rolling her eyes and then imitating the wink Wren had given her.
She had just gotten home from work and FaceTimed Nadia to fill her in on her tragic second interview.
I know it’s only Tuesday, but do you want to come over tonight and order sushi and watch Love is Blind?” Paige made sure to sound desperate. “I think Jeremy and Kylie are going to have that fight they’ve been teasing over the last few episodes.”
After a miserable day, all Paige wanted to do was curl up on the couch, stuff her face with imitation crab and rice, and watch the shit hit the fan for other people.
“I can’t tonight, Paige. I told Linus we could finish unpacking my things. All my boxes are starting to drive him crazy.”
“Fiiiiine.” Paige sighed. “More edamame for me then.”
They spent a few more minutes catching up on Nadia’s workday until Linus popped on the screen to whisk Nadia away to do their chores. After hanging up, Paige sat back on the couch, listening to the silence that flooded the apartment.
It was weird having things so quiet. She and Nadia had lived together for so long, she had gotten used to constant background noise. But now, Paige was alone with her own thoughts.
She couldn’t quite identify what she was feeling. But she had been sensing it creeping in the back of her mind for a while now—growing stronger with the sudden silence.
With all the quiet, Paige realized that while Nadia and Linus included her in just about everything they did together, she had become more and more lonely this past year.
Since high school, Paige had always had someone all to herself. First it was Nadia. Then Chance. And while Nadia had always been there, it wasn’t the same with more of her focus shifting toward Linus.
Sure, they still had plenty of solo girls’ nights when they were roommates, but now instead of swapping miserable dating and hookup stories like they used to in their college and early Chicago days, Nadia shared frustrations that come with a six-year relationship, and Paige shared excuses for not going on any dates at all.
Dating had been fun and casual when they first moved to Chicago and she and Nadia were both doing it. But once Nadia got serious with Linus, it left Paige to be the only one looking for a one-off fun time, or with the pressure to actually find Mr. Right.
And she thought she had with Chance. Until he decided to get in bed with the blonde new hire.
Paige hadn’t dated at all since the breakup. She couldn’t help being afraid to open up to someone knowing that person had the ability to shatter her heart again.
Logically, she didn’t want to be with Chance anymore. He cheated on her, came crawling back to her promising it meant nothing, and then after a week of being alone, decided he might as well start dating the girl he cheated with.
He sucked. She knew it. And Nadia knew it even before Paige did.
It didn’t take long after Chance’s Christmas party confession for Nadia to tell Paige how she really felt about her new ex.
As much as Paige had planned double dates, the couples never quite jived the way she had wanted. But she was blinded by her love and infatuation for Chance, so she always shook off the lukewarm feelings from all parties.
But once Chance was out of the picture for good, Nadia didn’t shy away from letting Paige know she thought he was a loser with little ambition and a bland personality. And Paige couldn’t help but agree.
Still, as much as her logical brain knew it was for the best that the relationship was over, she had been crushed in the weeks and months that followed Chance and Diana’s office debut.
Seeing the man she believed she would marry walk hand-in-hand through the office with a new girlfriend made her question everything about the validity of their relationship.
Had he even cared about her at all? It hurt her to see how much it looked like he wasn’t hurting.
So, dating had been off the table.
She told herself she was fine on her own. She still had Nadia as a roommate and best friend, and Linus was always kind, warm, and thoughtful towards her. But as she sat in the empty apartment, she realized maybe she was lonelier than she thought.
Should I download the apps? She thought to herself. It’s been almost a year now . . .
As she switched the TV on to watch Netflix, an automatic preview for Too Hot to Handle started playing. Paige couldn’t help but stare a bit too intently at the handsome shirtless men with washboard abs that flashed on the screen.
She clicked on it, and while the intro played, she went to the app store on her phone, searched for Hinge, and hit download.
***
The following days had Paige feeling hopeful.
She had some newfound confidence after spending some time swiping on the dating apps and receiving some flirty messages.
But while she had been scanning through Chicago’s dating pool, she had received another message in the housing Facebook group from a promising lead.
Her name was Allison, and she had been living in Chicago for a few years, originally from somewhere in southern Illinois.
Her lease at her current house was about to be up, and she said she was ready for a change of scenery.
The big plus was that she worked as an engineer at a tech company and didn’t scoff at the price.
No forceful diet restrictions, check. No pets, check. Has the funds to pay the rent, check. Allison just might be the one, Paige thought.
They set up a time to meet on Thursday during their lunch break, and Paige woke up that morning with an optimistic feeling that this would be the day she found her roommate.
Allison arrived on time, smiling and politely shaking Paige’s hand. Paige had suggested the same Starbucks she met with the other roommate prospects hoping none of the employees would remember her from the day of Noodles’ incident.
“It’s so great to meet you,” Paige said before the girls joined the line for a coffee.
Allison looked—and smelled—normal, and as far as Paige could tell, she didn’t have any surprise toy poodles hiding in her purse.
After a few minutes of small talk while they were waiting for their drinks, they found an empty table and got into house details.
“The building is great—not too old, nice amenities, and the handymen I’ve found are quick to fix anything that happens,” Paige said proudly. “So,” she continued, “tell me a little more about your routine and living style.”
She sipped her coffee, waiting anxiously to confirm that Allison was indeed as good a roommate choice as she hoped she’d be.
“Yeah, I’d be happy to,” Allison replied.
“I am in the office every day from about eight to five. I try to cook most dinners at home and then pack a lunch each day before work. I’m very tidy and clean my dishes almost immediately after using them.
I’m used to splitting house chores, but don’t mind doing some extra cleanup if it’s needed. ”
Paige couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was Allison the perfect roommate? She was tidier than Paige was, check. She cooked, which would help her save money, check. There were no red flags in sight.
“Well, it sounds like a great match so far!” Paige couldn’t keep the smile off her face. “So, your current lease is up. Are your housemates just not renewing? Are they all moving out too?”
“Oh no, they are all staying. But I just had to get out of there.” Allison appeared to shudder just thinking about it.
“Yikes, they’re that bad, huh?” Paige asked, awaiting the juicy details.
“There are three other girls and they are just super annoying. It’s like, every morning before work they stand around the kitchen recapping Love is Blind or some other crappy TV show.”
Paige’s face went pale, and she looked down at her coffee cup to try and avoid eye contact. She didn’t want her facial expression to give away the fact that she was a major consumer of reality TV.
“Like, can’t I just make my lunch for the day in peace without hearing about who kissed who and who is causing all this made-up pointless drama?” Allison seemed truly irritated by the idea.
Paige didn’t know what to think or say in response.
How many evenings and mornings did she and Nadia spend talking about which men from their favorite reality dating show were the hottest, or about the petty things the women on the show did to stir the pot?
And don’t even get her started on all their other “crappy” TV shows, as Allison had called them.
Was this a deal-breaker? Paige supposed she could cut back on the reality TV nights and see if she could convince Linus to let her and Nadia watch their Hallmark Christmas movies at his place instead.
It could work! She told herself. She just needed a few months of extra income, after all. Surely, she could survive a six or twelve-month lease with limited trash TV.
“Well, yeah, that sounds like a frustrating situation!” Paige finally said, hoping Allison couldn’t see through her forced response. “You’ll be way more comfortable in a new place.”
“Exactly! That’s why I was so happy to see your listing pop up. It’s perfect, and I’m totally fine with starting on a six-month lease.”
Phew. She could make it six months if she had to.
After a little more small talk and showing off some photos of the apartment, Paige said goodbye to Allison and walked back to her office. Her mind was swirling with thoughts.
Was she really okay with packing away the parts of life she enjoyed just to appease a potential roommate? But on the other hand, was she okay with losing out on thousands of dollars because she wanted to watch hot guys run around on the beach trying to impress girls who were out of their league?