CHAPTER SEVEN
“Wait, shouldn’t Chloe be here for the big unveiling?” Liz asked.
“She’s been in and out of the house all day already,” Gabe replied.
“I was here with her when she first came in a few hours ago, to show everything off, so really, she got an exclusive tour,” Sadie said.
“Oh, well, cool then. So long as she isn’t feeling left out,” Liz replied.
“Always an important thing to consider,” Sadie said, and unlocked the door.
They walked slowly into the entryway.
During the whole renovation, they had mostly left it up to Sadie, but there’d been some basic back-and-forth over what color to paint the walls and to make the carpets. Really, the biggest thing that they had made their input known on were their offices.
Gabe admittedly wasn’t extremely interested in these specifics beyond it not looking like crap, and trusted the others to make that happen.
And so they had.
The carpets were a light cream color that gave the area a sense of clean warmth, of newness, of welcoming.
“Here is your office, Ellen,” Sadie said, turning immediately to the right and pushing the door open.
There were four rooms they had decided would be dedicated to their creative and/or business endeavors, and only one of them was the ground floor.
Gabe and Chloe both had wanted to be on the second floor, and Holly had been mostly ambivalent about it, so Ellen had chosen to take the corner office on the first floor.
It was a simple room painted in soft shades of blue. Three windows that looked out onto the driveway provided a lot of natural light.
“This came out really well,” Ellen murmured as she studied it.
“I’m very glad you feel that way,” Sadie replied, and Gabe thought he detected the slightest amount of relief.
The nature of their relationship had always been curious, given its unlikely origins, and he was always curious to see how it would evolve.
Obviously he wanted it to grow in good ways–and it was–but one thing he had been hoping to see was more investment from Sadie.
Not for their own benefit, but for hers.
The more he slowly, carefully pried information out of her, the more it painted a picture of a woman with not a lot going on in her retirement. Despite what she’d presented so far.
He wanted her to be happy, and the things she did with them seemed to be making her very happy.
They moved on, now going through an open door immediately across from Ellen’s office.
Here would be the dining room, which they had ultimately decided to have.
Although it would also double-up as a board game room.
This led towards the back half of the first floor, which was split between a broad, open living room and a kitchen.
“We are so fucking getting a U couch,” Krystal said as she walked into the living room.
“Oh yeah,” Gabe agreed immediately. “Is it dumb that I think a U couch is a sign of being rich and successful?”
“No, it makes sense to me,” Ellen said.
“And a big fuck-off TV,” Krystal added with a grin.
“Obviously, at some point,” Gabe replied. “When we’ve had a bit more time to succeed.”
“So is there really not a bathroom on the ground floor?” Holly asked as they headed back to the main hallway.
“Correct,” Sadie replied. “I believe that every house has an odd quirk, and that is this one’s. You could turn the coat closet into a rather small bathroom, if you wanted.”
“It might come to that,” Gabe murmured. “I guess we’ll see how inconvenient it is after a month or two. Although I imagine that’s going to be out of our price range for a bit.”
“Not if you keep earning like you have been,” Ellen said.
“The books are doing even better?” Sadie asked, leading them into the basement.
“They’re doing better than expected, but I wouldn’t say amazing,” he replied.
“I think that’s about to change with the release of My Tall Blonde,” Ellen said.
“I think you’re biased.”
“Not wrong though.”
They came down into Krystal and Liz’s domain.
The basement seemed to be very different.
It hadn’t been in particularly good shape when they’d first seen it, but now it hardly looked like a basement at all.
They checked out the four other rooms lined up to the left side of the primary one that would be serving as their bedroom.
Here was the small closet, and then the laundry room, and the other was a full bathroom, with the final and largest room being Liz’s workspace with the full-length mirror across the wall.
“You sure this gonna be big enough?” Krystal murmured.
“Well, we’re going to have to dedicate a corner of the main room to my punching bag, but I don’t think you’ll take issue with that,” Liz replied.
A small smile crept onto Krystal’s face. “Nope. Not at all.”
“I figured. And I want to get a pair of stationary bikes and maybe a treadmill for out here, too. But otherwise there should be enough room for the weights and the bench press and the mat.”
They headed back upstairs, and then up to the second story where the rest of their new house awaited them. The master bedroom with its big master bathroom took up the most space on the second story, which felt appropriate given how many of them were going to be sleeping in there.
And all the fucking they were going to be doing.
Gabe could feel excitement thrumming just beneath the surface as he found himself thinking again of fucking both Ellen and Krystal in their broad, pale asses…
Later.
There was still work to do.
They checked out each of their offices. Holly’s in one corner of the house, Gabe’s in another, Chloe’s in the final corner. It had all come together very well. They came to stand in Gabe’s new office last and he stood there in its center, looking around slowly, silently.
Something felt just...correct about it. Like he had been looking for it for a long time, but hadn’t realized it.
He’d chosen the smallest room, mostly because he wanted very little inside the office. Really just his desk, a chair, and a lamp. Maybe a bookshelf. He wanted a place he could go and exist as a writer and nothing else for a portion out of most days.
It felt like the only way he would realistically have this as a sustainable career.
“Are we happy?” Sadie asked as they began heading back downstairs.
“Yes,” they all said at the same time.
She chuckled. “Good, I’m very glad. If you find yourself with more money and a desire to make some changes, all I really ask is to be involved in the decision-making process.
This house is legally mine, but I imagine that once you settle in and a few years have gone by, it will be yours entirely.
And at some point, I want to sign it over to you. ”
They stopped before the front door. “Seriously?” Ellen asked.
“Yes. I’m quite serious. I mean I’m certainly not doing this for the money, I’m doing this because I like you all, and I want to help if I can. And I can.”
“That’s more than a bit of help,” Gabe murmured.
“I know, but I can’t really see a reason not to do it. And anyway, it’s a conversation for the future. For now, I’m still a little jet-lagged and I’d like to be home with a glass of wine, a good book, and some lo-fi.”
Gabe couldn’t help but grin. “So, you like it then?”
“That is a bit of an understatement. Once I began listening to it after you sent me that playlist, it was very much an ‘I didn’t know I needed this’ moment.
I didn’t even know it existed. I thought it was going to be some kind of new jazz...
anyway. Do you need anything else?” she asked, going into her purse.
“I think we’re good,” Gabe said, looking around and getting nods of agreement.
“Excellent.” She extracted a small manila envelope and passed it to him. “Here are the rest of the key copies for the house. There should be enough there that all five of you will have them. Front and back doors. Chloe already got hers.”
“Thank you, Sadie,” Gabe said, accepting and pocketing it for the moment. “And...thank you. For all of this. Like really thank you. This is beyond incredible.”
The others voiced their own thank yous as well, and Sadie endured it with the slightly awkward smile of someone who doesn’t really know what to do with praise or thanks.
“You’re very welcome, all of you. I’m happy to do it, and I wanted to thank you all as well. For being my friends. And listening to me. And...letting me have sex with your handsome boyfriend,” she said, her cheeks flushing a little.
“Happy to,” Ellen said, and Holly and Liz and Krystal all laughed.
Gabe gave Sadie another hug. “We’re really happy to have you in our lives, and we’re looking forward to getting to know you more, hanging out more.”
She laughed softly as she stepped back and then pulled her coat on. “I am still thrilled about the prospect, but I can’t help but feel it’s going to be strange, hanging out with...well, a woman my age.”
“I mean you aren’t that different from us, Sadie, just farther down the path,” Ellen replied.
“I suppose that’s very true. Well, let me know if you need anything.”
“We will,” Gabe promised.
She headed out then and he turned to face the others.
It was time to get back to work.
…
“God, finally!” were the words that greeted them as Gabe headed into the smaller house they’d been cooped up in all January.
“Hello to you, too, Chloe,” he replied.
“You took so long!” she complained, her voice growing closer. She hurried out into the living room and almost knocked him over as she hugged him. “I have learned that I fucking hate being away from you!”
He laughed and kissed her, tried to speak but got interrupted as she kissed him back, then did it again.
“Chloe! I missed you, too,” he replied. “And I feel the same way.”
“Yeah but you’ve got four other awesome people to hang out with and I’ve been here by myself after dealing with my parents. But also, I’m done! I finished boxing all the stuff up like three minutes before you came in.”
“Damn, good job,” Ellen said.
“Thank you. It helped that we don’t actually have that much stuff for four people. Also, can I sit down for like five minutes? I feel like I’ve been going all day.”
“Yeah, definitely,” Gabe replied. “Although I think we should probably get the last load of furniture hauled so we can turn the truck back in. How about, we load up the bed and couches and stuff, me and Liz drive over to the house and Ellen follows, helps us unload, then we turn the truck back in and come back to help you finish up?”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Liz said.
“Perfect, let’s get to it,” Gabe said, heading for the couch.
“Someone’s eager for tonight,” Krystal murmured as Liz followed to help.
“What’s happening tonight?” Chloe asked.
“Gabe’s going to fuck me and Ellen in the ass.”
“Oh. Wow. That will be...wicked hot,” Chloe murmured.
“Yes, it will. And also feel really good. So I am understandably excited to get to it,” he replied.
“Well,” Liz said, grasping the couch and lifting it easily with him, “let’s not keep you waiting, boyfriend.”