Chapter 18
As I drive the short distance home, I choose not to dwell on the fact that I chickened out. That I again didn’t ask Lucy what I really wanted to.
Go on a date with me. Spend time with me, for no other reason than because she wants to spend time with me.
But sitting on her front porch, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the Carpenter Collection wedge was still very much between us. And how could it not be?
I realized in that moment, the wedge won’t go away. I just need to work around it long enough for her to see it as more of a mogul than a whole mountain. Which is exactly what I plan to do.
Tapping the steering wheel in time with the two minutes of a Smashing Pumpkins song that it takes to get back to my apartment, I let the plans we made keep me tethered to my wish for more.
Lucy’s like a mystery wrapped in enchanting eyes, a sly smile, and paint-stained fingertips. She’s everything I didn’t expect coming here, but I’m happy to keep collecting the little clues she’s giving me along the way.
Parking in the alley that leads to the apartment’s stairway around back, I grab the untouched hoagie I had gone out for prior to finding her Walkman and carry it with me. I’m still full from dinner, but Charlie will appreciate the meatballs and marinara soaked bread.
I lift my key to the deadbolt, only to find the door unlocked. “Maybe I only locked the bottom,” I mumble to myself, moving to the keyhole in the handle.
Also unlocked.
“Huh.” I push the door open and start up the steps, growing more concerned that Charlie hasn’t run to meet me. But as I crest the top and move into the kitchen, I understand.
“Jake Carpenter,” my intruder barks, “how dare you.”
I watch the furious blonde woman rise from her seat on my sofa and stomp towards me, Charlie at her heels.
“Taylor? How are you in here?”
“Your landlord in the shop downstairs took pity on me,” she explains. But even as the words are mundane, her delivery is sharp.
She reaches the kitchen counter between us, slapping her palms down on the laminate with a resounding echo I feel in my chest.
“You have some nerve leaving New York City like you did. You don’t think you should let me know you’re moving?”
“Technically, I didn’t move—not permanently.”
“And that’s the part to focus on?” She crosses her arms and attempts her most withering glare. “I get back from the girls’ trip and you’re gone. Then I can’t seem to track you down. No responses to my emails or calls.”
“Got a new number here,” I explain. “I figured Mom or Dad would have given it to you.”
“That would require me to be speaking with Mom and Dad.”
I turn to my fridge and withdraw two beers, then I pass one over to my little sister with a sigh. “Why aren’t you speaking with them?”
“They rented out my condo, can you believe them?” She storms back over to the sofa, collapsing onto it with a defeated groan. “I go on my trip and come back to someone living in my home.”
“You need to get a place in your own name, like I did.”
Taylor rolls her eyes at my suggestion, clearly wishing I’d spend more time going on about how unreasonable our parents have become. “Jake, they rented my home and belongings to a stranger. I’m bunking at your place in the city now, by the way.”
“Good to know.” I laugh. Withdrawing a knife from the block on the counter, I cut the sub into pieces for Charlie and drop them down to where he waits eagerly at my side.
“You shouldn’t feed him that.”
“You shouldn’t live off Daddy’s credit card, then he couldn’t rent your home out.”
She looks at me with teary eyes, and guilt immediately pinches itself between my ribs. While I stand behind my statement, my delivery leaves something to be desired.
Coming around to the living room, I sink into an armchair and conjure my most reassuring look. “I’ll help you,” I offer. “We’ll find you a good job, and you can stay at my place until you can afford your own.”
“What if that takes longer than your stay here? Could I still live with you in the city?” she sniffles.
“Of course.” I lean back in my chair and kick my feet up on the coffee table. “But honestly, I may be here awhile.”
Taylor brightens, as if she’s suddenly distracted from her predicament. “You like it here, don’t you?”
I think of coffee shop run-ins and nights on a quiet front porch and football games with mountainous backdrops. “Yeah. I really do.”
“You seem so… relaxed. It’s nice to see.”
“Thanks, Tay.”
“Thanks for your help,” she shoots back, curling her legs up beneath her as she settles into the couch.
I nod, reaching for the remote and grinning to myself when I see that Seinfeld is on.
“I hate how they ended this show. There was no closure,” my sister says, causing my smile to widen. Catching my reaction, she adds, “What’s that look for?”
“If you stick around here long enough for me to introduce you to someone named Claire, you should share that sentiment.”
“Who is Claire?” Her eyebrows shoot up.
“Before you get any ideas, her boyfriend, Levi, will probably be there, too, if you ever meet.”
“Are you making friends? That’s so cute.”
I take a pull of my beer and think about the one name I decided to keep to myself. If I start talking about Lucy, I don’t think I’ll be able to play her off as a friend. And I don’t think I want to try.