Briar
“Wait, this is a basement unit?” I glance around. “I thought the listing said it was on the first floor?”
The landlord flashes a wide smile. “It is on the first floor.”
I look out the window in the living room, frowning at how half of the apartment is underground.
“Technically, because sixty percent of the unit is above ground, it counts as first floor,” she says.
“Oh.” I can’t hide the disappointment in my tone. I look around at the dark space. It’s mid-morning and sunny out, but hardly any direct sunlight comes into the apartment.
I’d hate living in such a dark space all the time.
“You’re still interested, right?” she asks brightly.
I hesitate for a moment as I try to think of a way to politely break it to her that I don’t actually want to rent this place, but before I can say anything, Blake speaks.
“She’s got some other places to look at today before she makes a decision,” he says.
I let out a quiet breath, relieved at how smoothly he handled that.
“Oh, of course. I understand,” the landlord says. “It’s just that I have quite a few people interested in viewing this unit, and I don’t want you to miss out.”
I make my way to the door. Blake follows me.
“We’ll be in touch,” Blake says.
“Thanks for taking the time to show this to us,” I say.
We walk out the front door, out of the building, and down the sidewalk.
I let out a breath and grab Blake’s arm. “I really didn’t like that place.”
“I could tell. It was written all over your face.” The corner of his mouth hooks up in a playful smile as he looks down at me.
I scrunch my face, a little embarrassed. “Really?”
“Yeah.”
“I hope I wasn’t rude.”
“You weren’t. But even if you were, it would have been justified. It was misleading of her to list that place as a first-floor apartment when half of it was underground.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
I realize I’m still holding his arm, so I let go. I probably shouldn’t be touching him so much. Especially after overhearing his conversation with his roommates earlier this morning.
I think about how, when I was walking down the stairs and into the kitchen, I overheard him say he was going to hook up with that beautiful dark-haired girl from the party last night, but he didn’t because I was sleeping in his bed.
A sick feeling socks me right in the stomach…I hate the thought of him sleeping with someone.
There goes my inconvenient crush rearing its ugly head. As much as I don’t like it, I don’t have any right to feel this way. Blake can hook up with whoever he wants. And I feel like a terrible friend for cockblocking him by sleeping in his bed.
That’s why I’m determined to find a place to live today. Blake has already done so much for me. I need to stop taking advantage of his kindness and move on.
I should also probably stop being so physically affectionate with him, especially when we’re out in public. That probably turns women off from approaching him because they must assume we’re a couple.
I grab my phone from my pocket and pull up the apartment we’re on our way to look at.
“Where’s the next place?” Blake asks.
“The next street over, just a few blocks away.” I let out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t think it would be this hard to find somewhere to live. I still can’t get over the smell of that first apartment.”
I make a grossed-out face. Blake laughs, then gently nudges me with his elbow.
“Oh, come on. You don’t like the smell of burnt grease and rotten eggs?” he jokes.
I gag. “I don’t know why I thought looking at an apartment above a diner was a good idea. I was swayed by the cheap rent.”
We reach the next place, which is a small brick house with a nice lawn.
“This is cute,” I say as we walk up the porch.
“Yeah, this is definitely the best house on this whole block,” Blake says. “A Hollis U student lives here?”
I shake my head. “No, she graduated a few years ago and is renting out her spare bedroom and bathroom.”
I knock on the door, and a few seconds later, a guy in his late twenties with short, brown hair answers.
“Hi, is Taylor here? I’m supposed to look at her spare room,” I ask.
He sticks out his hand. “I’m Taylor. You must be Briar.”
“Oh, sorry. I thought you were a woman.” I laugh as I shake his hand, a little embarrassed. But he just grins.
“No worries. I get that a lot,” he says before glancing at Blake.
“This is Blake. He’s helping me look at places today.”
They shake hands, and Taylor lets us in.
“Always good to have a second opinion with you when you look at a place,” Taylor says.
He steps aside and gestures to the living room, which feeds into a modest-sized kitchen and a small dining area. “It’s an open-concept space. Not huge, but it’s plenty big for two people, I think.”
“Yeah, it’s nice,” I say. “And you get a lot of light from the windows and the sliding glass door.” I walk over to it and glance out at the yard.
Taylor opens the door for me.
“Oh, cute! I love your flower beds,” I say as I walk into the small yard.
“Thanks. My friend who’s a florist helped me plant them.”
We walk back inside, and he shows me around the kitchen, then I follow him down the hallway.
“This is the bathroom,” he says, flipping on the light. “The shower in my master bathroom is bigger though, so you’re welcome to use that whenever you want.”
“That’s nice of you,” I say.
I glance over at Blake when he doesn’t say anything. He’s glaring at Taylor for some reason, but Taylor hasn’t noticed.
“And this is the guest bedroom that you’ll be sleeping in.”
Taylor steps across the hall into the empty bedroom.
“Wow, this is a nice size,” I say.
I step around the room, feeling hopeful. This place is promising.
“You said the rent is six hundred, right?” I ask.
“Yup, and that includes internet, electricity, and utilities. And if you need help moving in your stuff, I’m happy to do that,” Taylor looks between Blake and me. “Unless your boyfriend’s planning to help you.”
“Oh, Blake’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”
Taylor smiles. “Oh. Great.”
I notice Blake isn’t smiling. He looks annoyed and a little mad, which is kind of weird. He’s hardly ever in a bad mood.
“I do have a few house rules,” Taylor says.
“Yeah, of course. What are they? No meth labs, I’m assuming?” I joke.
He chuckles. “I figured that goes without saying. But, um, I don’t like for people to have overnight guests.”
“Oh. Okay.” That’s kind of random, but this is his house. He can have whatever rules he wants.
“Why not?” Blake says to him. His tone is harder than normal.
Taylor’s brow lifts slightly, like he’s caught off guard. “Sorry, what?”
“Why can’t she have someone stay overnight in her own bedroom?” Blake says, his gaze hard as he looks at Taylor.
Taylor clears his throat. “I’ve just had a bad experience with past renters letting their significant others stay for multiple nights in a row. It starts to feel like having a third roommate who doesn’t pay rent.”
“She already told you she’s not seeing anyone, so what’s the issue?” Blake says curtly.
I lean back, caught off guard by how serious and hard he sounds right now.
Taylor lets out a chuckle like he’s embarrassed. “You’re right.” Taylor turns to me. “I guess that won’t be an issue with you.”
Blake studies the doorknob, then the door frame. “She needs a lock on her door,” he says.
“Excuse me?” Taylor says, like he’s offended.
He pins Taylor with a hard stare. “She needs a lock on her bedroom door,” he says again.
“Why?” Taylor’s tone is indignant.
“For safety. You’re a stranger. She doesn’t know you. Her bedroom should be a safe place for her.”
Taylor purses his lips like he’s frustrated. “Are you trying to say I’m a danger to my own potential tenant?”
“Maybe. You’re trying to police who she wants to have over, and you don’t seem on board with a lock on her door, something that’s totally reasonable for her safety. That’s kind of a red flag, don’t you think?”
Taylor shakes his head and laughs like he’s annoyed. He glances off to the side. “Your friend’s a little intense,” he mutters.
A protective feeling swoops through me. I don’t like how he’s trying to dismiss Blake’s concerns.
“He’s just trying to look out for me,” I say.
“We should go,” Blake says. “We have another place to look at, and we don’t wanna be late.”
I follow Blake as he walks out of the bedroom and down the hallway. When we walk out of the house, he slams the door behind him.
He grabs my hand and leads me away from the house, back in the direction of his place, a couple of miles away.
“You’re not living there,” he says while staring straight ahead.
My head spins. Even though I liked that place and initially wanted to move in, when Blake pointed out Taylor’s hesitation about the door lock, and Taylor reacted the way he did, I lost interest.
But still. He seems really pissed. I’ve never seen him this worked up before.
I tug on his hand to get him to stop walking. I look up at him. “Blake, what’s wrong?”