Chapter 22
Juliana
“Go, go, go.” I hear Tatyana and see her gesture dramatically, and I try not to laugh as I sneak my way out of the bathroom and down the hallway, popping into rooms when Tatyana gestures or talks loudly to draw attention to her and not to myself. I feel my phone vibrate and see a text from Tatyana.
Tatyana: Go now!
I smile and dash out into the hallway before I see Tatyana making wild gestures and I quickly duck into another room, bumping into somebody.
“Shoot, I am so sorry. I didn’t see you there.” I back up and hear a chuckle.
“It’s okay. Where are you running off to?” I look up and see Kurt watching me with an amused smile.
I cross my arms over my chest giving him a look, trying to hide my embarrassment by acting annoyed. I don’t answer his question and instead walk further into the room, looking around. “Is this your room?” I look at the twin bed in the corner and the shelves overflowing with books. It looks like a teen boy”s room, a smart boy though, an intelligent and book-loving one.
He laughs nervously, “Yeah. Don’t judge. My mom hasn’t changed a thing since I moved out for college.” He gestures around the room. “This is all from my teen years. More specifically, high school years.”
I give him a look, smirking a little. “Cute,” I comment and he laughs. I feel my phone vibrate again and I pull it out of my little purse.
Tatyana: Coast is clear all the way to the door! Get out now!
I look up from my phone and Kurt is watching me. I lift my phone and wave it a bit. “Escape plan.”
“Ah,” he nods. “Got room for one more?” He grins at me. I grin back and open the door peeking outside and Tatyana sees me and gestures for me to go now. I pop my head back into the room and gesture for Kurt to come closer. He stands next to me and I grab his hand.
“Ready?” I look at him and he nods. “Let’s go.” I open the door quietly and pull him out into the hallway then we race down the hall and out the front door. He follows me and we crouch behind Tatyana’s car. The car unlocks and I open the door and climb in, sliding across the back seat to make room for Kurt.
“Keep your head down,” I say quietly. Soon, I hear footsteps on the gravel road, approaching the car, and the front doors both open. I see Tatyana and Mike get in but they don’t turn around.
“Are you in here?” She says, pretending to talk to Mike.
“Yes, and we have a stowaway,” I say, mentioning Kurt.
“I owe you guys,” he says. “That was fun.” We all laugh and Tatyana pulls out of their long driveway. “You guys can come up now. I think we made it.” Tatyana says as she finally pulls out of the driveway and Kurt and I sit up normally. I give a sigh of relief and look around.
“No offense to your parents and everyone there, but that was way too much.” He laughs at my statement and nods, agreeing with me. “Oh no, what about your car?”
“I’ll pick it up tomorrow.” He says waving the thought away. I lean back feeling a bit guilty. I try to brush it away and I look out the window watching the trees go by and then watching the buildings when they start to appear.
“So…” Kurt says, hesitating.
“Oh, no. I’ve heard a ‘so’ like that before.” Tatyana says from the front seat and I turn to face Kurt.
“What is it?” I ask, skeptically, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Somehow, my parents… well, they think or rather expect us, to… move in together.” He finishes quickly and I hear a snort from the front seat. I groan and fall against the door, banging my head on the window. I rub my head and look out the window, taking a deep breath before allowing myself to talk.
“Why would they think that?” I ask calmly and I hear Tatyana’s intake of air and I know that she knows my calmness is not good. Kurt hears her intake of air and looks at her curiously but when she gives nothing in return he turns back to me.
“I honestly don’t remember how they landed on that idea but they think cohabitating would be a great idea since we are moving so quickly, it would give us more time to see if we work… So, you should probably move in with me, soon.” He says, casually. I snort.
“Oh, yeah, okay. Sounds good.” My sarcastic response is met with silence. “Really? No one is backing me up on this? This is a stupid idea.” I look at Tatyana and I catch her and Mike sharing a look. “What? Tatyana? What is it?”
“Well…he does have a point,” Tatyana says, cautiously, looking in the rearview mirror at me. “You guys are engaged. Most people in your position would probably be living together at this point…” I roll my eyes. Really? “But then again, many couples wait until after they’re married,” Tatyana adds, seeing my displeasure.
“You don’t have to totally move in. We could just move some of your stuff into my apartment and just make it look like you live there.” He offers but it’s not convincing me.
“No, absolutely not. No, I cannot move in with you. Not even falsely. That’s too far.” I complain and give Tatyana a look when she starts to object, so she keeps her mouth shut.
“Juli, you asked me for help. I think this is the best idea. It’ll convince everyone that we are together.” He emphasizes the word ‘everyone’ indicating Callum and I nod reluctantly.
“Fine. Fine. They think we are already living together?” I ask and he nods looking a bit embarrassed. “You have neighbors, right? Wouldn’t they be a bit confused if suddenly you have a fiancé living with you? Who supposedly has been living with you for a while?”
“Yeah, I guess so. But they know Ashley has been in the building,” I flinch internally at his mention of Ashley and I scold myself. “They don’t know her, or her name really so maybe I can convince them that she was really you…” He trails off. “But we should invite them over and maybe my co-workers, to introduce you to them?” He says as a question.
“Okay,” I agree. “If we are going to do this, that sounds okay.” I look up at the quiet pair in the front seats. “This is crazy, isn’t it?” Tatyana and Mike laugh.
“Yes, it definitely is,” Mike responds and Tatyana reaches over and whacks him playfully.
“Don’t listen to him. He is crazy, well, then he would know crazy when he sees it.” She laughs and he grabs her hand, holding it on her leg and I smile at them. They are cute together and a little part of me envies their relationship. I look over at Kurt and see him too, smiling at their hands intertwined together.
“Okay, so we should have a get-together?” I ask to make sure that was the end plan. Everyone in the car agrees.
So, like that, we decided to host a housewarming party. We planned for the party for another hour before Kurt drove me home and over the next few days we got together and planned the party between work and sleep. Kurt has a steady job but often works longer hours if his caseload requires more time, so sometimes we can’t get together until later in the evening.
After much discussion, we decided that for it to be more authentic and to plan the house party, I should stay at his apartment for a short period of time. I felt bad that I would be moving into his home for a while and that is why I started looking for a second job but Kurt is kind and tells me I didn’t need to worry about paying for anything. I still feel guilty for putting him in this situation so I decide take on extra hours at work while searching for a new job and give my money wherever I can to help.