“Does he live here?”
“Stop!” I snapped at both girls, not even trying to decipher who was asking what since they weren’t allowing me time to breathe or answer their questions.
I took a deep breath and got on the elevator when it opened. Erica made her way in, but Alexa stood in the doorjamb until the warning bell started ringing.
“If you don’t get in this damn elevator, I won’t tell you anything.” I stomped my foot at her to get my point across since both my hands were full.
“Fine.” She crossed her arms and made her way in. I waited for the door to close before I started up.
“Yes, he has a key.” Both girls gasped and I could see Erica’s mouth already opening, but I stopped both of them before they could start again. “You two wait for me to tell you everything and then we do questions one at a time.”
I waited for either of them to answer.
“Understand?” I looked between the two of them.
“Yes.” They both responded together.
“Greg has had a key for a long time. The apartment actually used to be his and, when I needed a place to live other than my parents’ house, Greg let me stay with him. That was after he gave me the job at The Ink Well. After a few months of my living there, he bought out the apartment next to his and moved himself out and let me keep it free of charge.”
We stepped off the elevator and made our way across the street towards work.
“It doesn’t mean anything because it isn’t something. He’s always had the key, and I even have a key to his place, just in case anything ever happens. That answer everything for you guys?”
Alexa raised her hand like a child.
“Yes?” We were stopped at the curb as I waited for her to ask her question.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Alexa asked.
“I agree with that question.” Erica commented back.
I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and lifted my head to the sky, praying that I could answer this in the best way possible without offending anyone.
“I never knew how to tell you guys.” I started off as we crossed the street after a few cars passed us. “ It’s one thing to live next door to your boss, it’s another that he gave you his apartment, that we were best friends and hung out every night together, and that I was madly in love with him. It wasn’t so simple just to say, so it was just easier to keep a secret.”
“What about when I moved in?” Alexa asked her next question.
“We made sure to let each other know when we were coming and going from the apartment so there wouldn’t be any run ins.”
“I feel a little hurt that you never told us.” Erica added.
“It hurt not to tell you all, but I knew once you knew just a part of what was going on, you would want to know it all, and a selfish part of me never wanted you two to know about how close Greg and I used to be.”
“Used to be?” Erica asked the question next.
“When Alexa moved in things became more strained. We never saw each other like we used to and I stopped going to family dinner every Wednesday like I had been before.” I waited for Alexa to open the door to the office building as we all trucked inside.
“Family dinner?” Alexa questioned.
“That’s why you were always late on Thursday! Ah! The mystery is solved!” Erica pointed at me with such excitement that a few people in the lobby were looking our way now.
“Shush.” I scolded her.
“I’m just so happy to finally know what’s been going on.” She spoke quietly this time and let out a giggle at the end. God I loved this woman. She was the sweetest most innocent person I knew and it radiated off her in the best ways. You could only see perfection when you looked at Erica.
“Okay, we basically know what’s going on now, but you never answered the most important question we asked,” she hissed at me. I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion. “Are you two dating?”
Shit. I forgot that one.
