After a few minutes, Blossom puts my foot rest down, gives me a comforting pat, and goes to talk to the people that are shopping.
I mentally sigh, curling in on myself. I need to find my mate. I’m not getting enough attention.
four
MAVERICK
I followSawyer into my new apartment, a smile blooming over my face. It took longer than expected, but I finally have a place to call my own.
Just in time, too. Sawyer and his girlfriend are getting more serious and she’s moving in with him. He said I could stay, but I need to have my own space, not just sleeping on the couch where I can hear them fucking. I think I’ve been subjected to enough.
Sawyer drops a box of pillows into the middle of the floor, puts his hands on his hips, and looks around. “This place will look great when you get some furniture.”
“I know, right? I’m surprised someone let it go. It’s awesome.”
The one bedroom one bath apartment is about ten minutes from my job and has a large living room with a patio, a separate dining room, and a bedroom with a walk-in closet to die for. The kitchen has so much counter space, I almost don’t know what to do with it. And it’s below the average rental cost for the area, so I can put money away to buy a house in a few years.
This place is going to change my life; I can feel it.
Sawyer claps his hands. “Okay, let’s get the last few boxes off the truck bed, then we can furniture shop. You have your list?”
I nod and pat my pocket. I don’t have money to go get brand new furniture, so we’re going to hit up a few yard sales today. The only thing I plan to spring for brand new is a mattress. Other than that, secondhand until I can afford to replace it.
But really, a good cleaning would make a lot of yard sale furniture brand new.
“Yep,” I say. “Let’s roll. It’s fucking hot outside. I don’t want to have to move heavy shit when the sun is at its highest.”
Sawyer agrees and we head out into the warmth of the morning.
I’m so glad to have my own place. After I graduated from culinary arts school where I studied to be a pastry chef, I lived with my parents while I was networking and looking for work. I was already living with Walt when I finally got my bakery job. I lived with him for a year and a half before our relationship went into the crapper. Then I lived with Sawyer for six months. I’ve never had my own space, never had somewhere that was just mine.
I frown as I think about Walt. Fucking asshole. The only silver lining in this fucked-up situation is the man he cheated on me with stole his couch while he was at work. Apparently Walt had given him a key two weeks after I left.
Now neither of us have the comfortable couch I spent a whole-ass paycheck on. He called crying about it, saying he couldn’t afford another. I told him to kick rocks in traffic at night with a blindfold on and blocked his number.
Two years of my life spent with that douchebag, and he cared more about losing his couch than losing me.
“How does it feel to have your own spot?” Sawyer asks, patting me on the back.
“Great. I loved living with you, don’t get me wrong. But…”
“But it’s not your own place. I get it. It’s nice to have something you can call your own.”
“Thanks for letting me crash with you. I know I’ve said it repeatedly, but I mean it. If it weren’t for you, I’m not sure I would have been able to leave Walt, since I wouldn’t have had anywhere to go.”
After I moved in with Walt, my parents retired to Florida, saying they wanted the warmer climate of the beach.
“Don’t sweat it,” Sawyer waves me off. “You would have done the same for me. You’re my best friend, Mav. Anything you need, if it’s within my power, it’s yours.”
I grin as he brings me in for a hug. “You sure you’re straight? You’d be the perfect boyfriend, you know.”
He snorts as we get into his truck. “I’m sure. Though you’re a catch yourself. If I were into dudes, you’d be my first stop.” He winks at me and I pretend to gag. Sawyer and I joke like this all the time, but we would never even think about going there.
We drive around the city, hitting up a few yard sales. Since it’s summertime, everyone is out trying to sell all the shit that’s been lazing around in their garages.
By midafternoon, I have a matching bed frame, dresser, and nightstand set, a dining room table with four chairs, a bookshelf, and a TV stand for less than two hundred dollars. Everything is in good condition, and it’ll probably last for a few years.
We go back to my place and unload everything, setting up the TV stand so I can add my television and all my video games. We quickly put together the bed frame and arrange the bedroom furniture how I like it.
