Chapter 11
After the auction, I sit in my car, clutching my keys and staring into space.
What in the hell just happened? It all went by so fast. One minute, the ringer was snatching up all the houses, then she left and somewhere in there, Zach had gone, too.
After a brief and shaky bidding war (shaky on my part), I won my house.
I paid five grand more than I’d planned to, but it’s fine. It’s mine.
So why do I feel defeated? Maybe it was the heat of a rivalry with Zach that had me so worked up. And he removed himself from the equation without so much as a single bid. What was that all about? If it was a rule of flipping, he hasn’t shared that one with me yet.
I have to find out, so I start my car and get back to the duplex as fast as I can. When I arrive, Zach is inside his unit. I can hear the music. The man truly loves his yacht rock.
I drop my stuff in my side of the duplex, then grab the four beers he left when he came over the night I arrived.
Neighborly, sure, but I also have to know what he’s up to.
I’m nervous when I knock on his door. And when he answers in a grubby T-shirt and shorts and bare feet, I’m even more so.
There’s something about seeing him here that feels like home.
I hold up the beer as an offering. “I’d say welcome to the neighborhood, but we’ve already done that part.”
He opens the door wider to let me in. “That was such a bad pick-up line from me. I’m kind of surprised you didn’t slam the door in my face.”
I step inside and set the beer on his kitchen counter, then hand him one and take one for myself. “That was not a pick-up line. You were looking for intel.”
He clinks his can with mine. “Cheers.” He takes a long sip, keeping his eyes trained on me the whole time.
Maybe I’m just sorely out of practice, but he does something to me with that look. It’s like I’m a giddy college freshman who thinks she might get lucky. My lady parts are plotting against me. They want him naked, now. “Cheers to you, too.”
“So? How’d it go?” He walks over to the couch and pats the spot next to him. “Were you victorious?”
I sit, but leave a sliver of space between us. “I was.”
A wide smile crosses his face. “That’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you.”
I realize that for the first time in a long time, a man has just said something nice to me that he truly means.
And then I realize that I can’t think of another time when Zach has said something to me that didn’t seem genuine.
The man has his faults, but he doesn’t spew bullshit.
And believe me, my bullshit meter is finely tuned.
“Thanks. But I’d like to know what happened. Where did you go?”
“I left. I wanted you to get your house, but I also didn’t want to be a distraction, so I got out of there.”
This isn’t adding up. “You told me I wasn’t supposed to call it my house.
That meant I was attached, and I wasn’t supposed to get attached.
You told me all these other things to try to dissuade me, and then you totally changed course.
” It occurs to me just how much the rules of flipping have imprinted on me.
And also how much they work for relationships, too.
He takes another sip, then sits forward and turns to me.
“I could tell you were attached from the moment we walked in the front door. And although it’s not the smartest way to flip a house, I was the same way on my first project.
It means that you’re doing it for love. That’s the exact right reason to do it. Especially the first time.”
“Wow,” is all I can manage to say.
“Wow, what?”
“You made a sacrifice for me?”
“I figured you deserved something nice after being married to that asshole.”
I can’t even believe how kind he’s being to me. “I thought you were going to work on a project here. I thought you were going to stay for four years.”
“I am. I bought a different house. A friend texted me about a property two days ago, so I bit on that. It’s not as prime a location as your house, it’s on the sound side, but it’ll work.
” Just then, he reaches for my hand and pulls it into his lap.
For a moment, he’s simply rubbing his thumb along my knuckles, then he gathers himself and looks me in the eye.
“Look, I think both of us have been around long enough that we don’t have to slap a label on what happened the other night.
If that’s not what you want from me, that’s cool.
I don’t want to hurt the friendship we’ve built.
I’m trying to learn from my past mistakes.
I don’t want to screw up another relationship with someone I care about.
So I will follow your lead. No arguments.
This divorce thing is far fresher for you than it is for me. ”
Once again, Zach has managed to make me forget how to breathe. I’m just not used to a man giving me space to make up my mind. I’m even more not used to him respecting my choices. “If I just want to be friends?”
He smiles and nods. “Yep. That’s cool.”
I swallow hard. “And if I decide at some point that I want more?”
“You know where to find me.”
I nod solemnly, taking it all in. “What if I need help with the house?”
“Oh, that’s non-negotiable. I’m going to offer advice and help, even if you don’t want it.”
I laugh and shake my head. Then our gazes connect, and I’m so drawn to him that it’s like I’m being turned inside out. I lean in closer and kiss him softly. “You’re amazing. Thank you.”
He’s smiling, eyes half closed. “I’m attached to you, Jodie. I’m not going to lie about that.”
Now it’s my turn to smile. “Look at you. Breaking the first rule of flipping.”
THE END