Chapter 5
AIDEN
“You enter through the garage.” Mr. Earnhart punched in a code, and the door rumbled up on its track. “We only ask you don’t come home after midnight. The noise can wake us.”
“Oh.”
“Is that a problem?”
“I don’t know. I work at the hospital. It’s possible there could be an emergency.”
“A doctor!” he exclaimed, lighting up as he ducked under the garage door and walked across the oil-stained concrete floor.
“We’d be lucky if you moved in, wouldn’t we?
My wife has such bad migraines. Could you prescribe her refills?
I could use some Percocet for my bad back too. That would sure be handy.”
“Sorry, no. I’m not allowed to do that until after residency.”
“Oh.” His excitement dimmed. I guess he’d been hoping I’d be a pill dispensary. “So you’re a student, then? Not a doctor.”
“Um…something like that.”
I didn’t really want to educate Mr. Earnhart about the intricacies of the medical degree process. I was a doctor. But I couldn’t just go to work as a doctor, not until I went through residency. And I’d just delayed that by taking a research year. Which put me behind everyone else…
Maybe it had been a mistake. I could have tried for a less desirable residency.
Something respectable, if not the very best. But I wanted to be the best. I wanted to show Flynn that his sacrifice had value.
That he hadn’t gone to prison for seven years so I could settle for mediocrity. I needed to be great.
Important.
Worthy.
I’d make a good impression on Dr. Rose. I’d get that recommendation letter. And next year, I’d be in a prestigious residency that would live up to everything it had cost him.
“This is where you enter the apartment.” Mr. Earnhart gestured to a ladder that ascended to a hole in the ceiling.
“That’s the only way in?”
“Yep! Fun, right? You can relive those days you had a treehouse.” He chuckled. “Go on. Try it.”
Well, good thing the place didn’t have a kitchen. Getting more than a bag or two of groceries up the ladder wouldn’t be easy. Moving in my belongings would be a huge pain. Good thing I had no furniture.
I climbed a few steps up, popped my head through the opening, and saw a dingy room with a single twin bed. No windows. It would be like living in a closet. The smell wasn’t great, either.
“I don’t see a bathroom?”
“Oh, you share the bathroom in the main house,” he said cheerily. “Don’t worry, we’re all real friendly. You’re welcome to join us for breakfast, too.”
“And I have to go out the garage and in the front door to do that?”
“Yep. Afraid there’s no entry into the house from here. But it’s a very short walk, as you can see.”
My phone rang in my pocket. Oh, thank god. An excuse to get out of here.
I didn’t care who was on the line. It could be Flynn, a spammer, or my absentee mother calling from the cruise she was on with her new rich husband. I was taking the call.
“Sorry, I’ve got to answer this for work,” I told him, backing down the ladder.
“Sure, sure. Just come back when you have more time to look.”
I hurried through the garage, lifting my phone. “Hello?”
“Hey, Angel.”
Knight’s voice stopped me short. “Um, hi?”
Why was he calling? My heart thudded. Did he want a repeat of our hookup? That would be such a bad idea, but right now, it was tempting to seize on the distraction.
I was wound tight, and it’d been way too long since I’d had fun with more than my hand.
“I’m calling about the roommate situation,” he said, jerking my mind away from dangerous territory. “Would you be at all interested in coming out to see the place?”
I glanced back at the studio apartment from hell. Mr. Earnhart grinned and waved.
I hurried around the front of my hatchback and got into the driver’s seat. “You didn’t seem too open to the idea last night.”
“Well, I was too hasty. I assumed you wouldn’t want to live with me, and I should have let you speak for yourself. So…what do you think? Do you want to see it, or was I right the first time?”
I chewed my lip. Living with Knight would be…weird. No doubt about it. We’d fucked around and there was no forgetting that. We’d have to set some boundaries. But I had limited choices, limited funds, and limited time before I’d be busy with work.
“You have a kitchen and a bathroom?” I asked.
Knight gave a surprised chuckle. “Um, yeah, it’s pretty standard with a mobile home. There’s actually two bathrooms, so you can have your own.”
“When can I come see it?”
“Well, I’ve got about an hour before I go to work—”
“Text me the address. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Okay, will do. Thanks, Angel.”
My stomach flipped. If we were going to do this, we needed to leave that night in Omaha behind, which meant no pet names.
“Aiden,” I said firmly.
“Aiden,” he repeated. “See you soon.”
He disconnected, leaving me buzzing with a weird anticipation. It was just excitement to finally have a good lead on a place to live. That was all. Knight was just a man who needed a roommate. We’d share space, but nothing else.
Knight’s text popped in with the address for the Clover Leaf Mobile Home Park.
I started the car, tried to ignore Mr. Earnhart making the call me sign, and pulled into the street, heading south. Riverton was a relatively small town, and a few turns later, I was on the highway, headed past Ball Breakers and Forrester Bros Auto.
The trailer park was farther out than anything else. Tall grass and weeds obscured the sign. I hit the brakes and yanked the wheel to the right, nearly missing the turn. A cloud of dust rose behind me as the car kicked up gravel.
I slowed to ten miles an hour as I bumped over the uneven road running through the park. The trailers sat in circles, like the spokes of a wheel. I rounded the first one and came around the backside of the second.
I spotted Knight before seeing the 2-1-6 painted on the front of the trailer. He stood in the driveway next to a Harley, dressed in black jeans and a gray muscle tank that exposed his flanks. There was more ink there, too. Damn. I should have gotten that man to undress when we hooked up.
I blew out a breath. No point thinking about that now. In fact, no thinking about Knight as anything but a potential roommate. Otherwise, I should just leave.
I parked at the curb and threw open the door. “Hey, there.”
“Hey, thanks for coming over so quickly. I can give you the penny tour, but then I’ll have to leave for work.”
“It’s only worth a penny? Maybe I should just take off.”
“Okay, a nickel. I promise. Don’t go.”
He opened the gate to the yard and gestured me through. While a lot of the yards in the park appeared to be overgrown, Knight’s was neatly mowed and trimmed. That was a good sign.
He led the way up the wooden steps to a small deck that included a grill and two lawn chairs. He opened the screen door and waved me inside.
“It won’t make the cut at Homes & Garden magazine,” he said. “But I try not to be a slob.”
I glanced around the living room. There was a small gray sofa—really more of a loveseat—a cozy-looking leather recliner, and a flat-screen TV on the wall.
There wasn’t a lot of personal decor, but it was clean.
The kitchen was to the left, a Formica bar separating the rooms. I walked past it to see a small card table with folding chairs set up.
“Uh, yeah, my budget for furniture wasn’t great,” he said. “If you have nicer things, you’re welcome to bring them. I’m not attached to anything but my recliner.”
“Unfortunately, I came from student housing. I don’t own any furniture.”
“Ah, well, this is what you get, then.” He chuckled. “Although, once you’re working, I imagine you’ll make a lot more than me. Not that it obligates you to buy anything. Just, if you want…” He trailed off and rubbed a hand over the scruff on his jaw.
He seemed nervous, and that put me more at ease. Knight was an intimidating man at first glance. He was tall, broad, and while he wasn’t bulky, he looked strong. He’d picked me up easily at the club, holding me on his shoulders while he—
Abort! Abort! No sexy thoughts allowed.
I turned quickly, scanning the room for a distraction.
An avocado-colored refrigerator that had to be about fifty years old whirred nearby, and a cream-colored dishwasher was next to the sink, the gas stove on its other side.
“Everything works?” I asked.
“Yeah.” Knight knocked on the side of the fridge. “They don’t make them like this anymore. These suckers last forever.”
I nodded. “Can I see the bedroom and bathroom?”
“Sure.” He stepped into the hall just beyond the refrigerator. “Laundry and bathroom are down here.”
He pointed out a small room with a washer and dryer. Clothes were folded in stacks on top of the dryer.
“If you move in, I won’t do that.” He stepped forward and picked up the laundry. “Sorry.”
“I’m not a neat freak,” I said. “I appreciate that the place is pretty tidy, though. You’re already way better than my undergrad roommate. Kris was a huge slob. Drove me batty.”
“Yeah?” He chuckled. “Glad I can compete.”
He stepped back into the hallway, brushing against me, and I tried to ignore the tingles that rushed over my arm at the contact.
“Sorry, tight quarters,” he murmured, eyes meeting mine briefly.
My breath caught in my throat. I made an inarticulate sound of agreement.
Thankfully, he didn’t seem to notice my reaction.
He turned away and started down the hall. “Your bathroom is over here. It’s small. I’d be willing to give you the larger one, though.”
I leaned through the doorway to give it a peek. There was a bathtub/shower combo, a toilet, and a small vanity—all the same shade of off-white. It was smaller than Flynn’s bathroom, certainly, but if I got it all to myself, it would be fine.
“This seems okay,” I said.
“You’re easier than I expected.”
I turned, raising an eyebrow at him.
He grinned unabashedly. “I didn’t mean that how it sounded, but it was kind of true the night we met too, wasn’t it?” He waggled his eyebrows. “You were—”
“Anonymous,” I cut in. “I was a stranger you hooked up with. Not Aiden Donovan.”
His brow furrowed. “Okay…”
I crossed my arms and leaned against the bathroom doorframe. “If we’re going to live together, we need some boundaries.”
“Like what?”
“We don’t bring up Omaha. That never happened. We’re just two guys sharing a house.”
“Well, we’re more than that.”
I pushed past him and started back toward the living room. “Sorry I wasted your time. I don’t think this is going to work.”
“Wait, Angel.”
I continued toward the door.
“Hold up!” He tossed his laundry on the table.
“I didn’t mean it how you think.” He cut around the other side of the recliner and stepped in front of me, ducking his head to catch my eye.
“Flynn’s my best friend, and you’re his brother.
We can pretend Omaha never happened, but you can’t just be some stranger living in my house. It’s just not possible.”
He seemed sincere. I hesitantly nodded. “Okay, that’s fair, but no calling me Angel. That’s the guy in Omaha. Not me.”
“Right. Sorry. It’s just habit because I spent so many months thinking of you that way. You never told me your name.”
My stomach fluttered. I’d assumed he nicknamed me Angel because he didn’t remember my name. It never occurred to me he’d spent months thinking about that night. Maybe even as much as I had.
“I’ll work on it,” he said. “I promise to respect your wishes. That night in Omaha was hot as fuck, but I’m not looking for a boyfriend. I need a roommate. I’m in danger of being evicted. So are you in?”
“Show me the bedroom first,” I said. “And tell me how soon I can move in.”
His smile was blinding, erasing that edge of danger that lurked in him and bringing out the cute little boy he once was.
“Hell yes! You can move in whenever you want, but I’ll be at work till six.” He whirled around and led me to the other end of the trailer. “This is your bedroom.”
He waved toward the doorway. I gazed in to see a full-sized bed, nightstand, and dresser.
“It’s already furnished?”
“Uh, yeah, my last roommate couldn’t take it with him. But you’re free to replace anything you want.”
“No, this is great. I thought I’d have to take my brother’s futon.” I went and sat on the edge of the bed. It was a decent mattress. I bounced a couple of times and stood up again. “You’re sure you don’t mind if I use it? I could pay you for it, but not right away.”
“Nah, it didn’t cost me anything. It’s yours if you want it.”
“Okay. I’m in. Tell me how much to write the rent check for.”
He sagged against the doorframe. “Shit, Aiden, you’re saving my ass. Seriously. I can’t thank you enough.”
“Hey, it’s saving me from watching Flynn and Bailey make out again. So, we’re even.”
Knight laughed. “Fair enough.”
We hashed out the details and the rent and utilities split.
Fifty extra bucks a month to get all the amenities the studio lacked plus my own bathroom seemed like a good deal.
“Okay, I guess we’re set then,” Knight said. “I agreed to do some maintenance work around the park to cover my late fees. So this should get everything squared away.”
“The park looks like it could use some help,” I said.
“Yeah, I know it’s a little rough and we’re out on the edge of town.
Not everyone around here is…” He trailed off as if he didn’t know how to quantify that.
“But I haven’t seen any crime, aside from casual drug use and domestic disputes.
I’ll obviously be here most nights, too, and no one fucks with me. ”
I couldn’t resist giving him a once-over, the muscle tank revealing his toned biceps, arms tattooed with images of serpents, flowers, and skulls, and flashes of his muscled pecs and lats.
“Yeah, I bet they don’t. I’m not really worried.”
“Good. I want you to feel safe here.”
Knight looked like a man who would not hesitate to knife you in a dark alley, but there was a genuine warmth in his eyes that reassured me.
He wasn’t the bad man he’d pretended to be the night we met.
He projected that image, maybe, but it wasn’t who he was inside.
Otherwise, Flynn wouldn’t be his best friend.
No, Knight was a decent human being. Just a guy trying to get his life on track. Not so different from my brother. Or me, for that matter.
That made him dangerous in a whole different way.