“Listening did it, huh?”
“Yeah. Weird, right?” Theresa laughed. “On that first blind date, I don’t think I did any of that, and I didn’t give her a chance. I’d just gotten some bad news at work and should have canceled or, at least, postponed, but I didn’t. I remember thinking about work for most of that date, which wasn’t fair to her. If we hadn’t bumped into each other later, I’m not sure we’d be together right now.”
“I thought you were long-distance initially.”
“We were. I moved right after that,” Beth explained. “I hadn’t wanted to go on the blind date because I’d gotten a new job right before it, but my friend just told me to go, and if it didn’t work out, no harm, no foul. It didn’t then, but I was also pretty on guard the whole night of that blind date. I knew I was leaving, so there was no point. The long weekend thing was a bitof a going-away event for me, and that therapy appointment was the last one with that doctor. I went to one more coffee date with her before I moved, and when she visited about a month later, we decided to give distance a try.”
“So, you were both blocked off to the idea of the blind date actually working out?”
“Yes. I wanted to focus on my career and wasn’t looking for a relationship; definitely not one in the place I was moving awayfrom,” Beth added.
Larissa could relate to the being blocked off part. Her previous relationships hadn’t been a priority, which was why they’d all ended directly or indirectly and probably also why she’d blocked off her now obvious feelings for Harlow. She finished the interview and showed the two women out of the office. Then, she picked up her phone and sent a text.
Larissa: Heading home now. Need anything?
Harlow: I’m good. I’ll be home in about an hour.
Larissa smiled, sent another message, and walked to her car. Her phone dinged while she was putting on the seat belt, and she read the response.
Harlow: I miss you, too.
CHAPTER 30
Harlow had gotten a call from the apartment complex that the direct debit from her account for a security deposit had failed for some reason. She had tried three more times to complete the transaction while at work, but every time, it had failed. She had even called her bank to see what the issue was, but the person she’d spoken to, after waiting on the line for forty-five minutes, had said that it hadn’t been on the bank’s end. It was the system the apartment complex was using, so Harlow would have to talk to them. Harlow had then called the complex back and had spoken to the manager, who had informed her that they had discovered some kind of overall issue with their payment system. He’d told her to drop by a check or money order instead, and that, unfortunately, it had to be today since it was the last day that they could hold the unit for her without any kind of deposit. While he had been apologetic about it being their system causing the issue, the money needed to hit their bank today, and it would be after business hours that she could drop it off, so she was technically already late.
Harlow knew other people wanted the apartment, too, but they’d all be dealing with the same system issue, so she’d tried to get him to let her drop it off the next day after work. He’d politely declined and told her that there had been two people on their waiting list, who lived only five minutes from the building, andthat they would rush over with a check if he gave one of them a call. Harlow hadn’t been sure how true that really was, but she hadn’t wanted to take a chance.
She had texted Larissa that she would have to miss the interview since she finished work at five and would have to run over to the complex and would then get stuck in traffic for about an hour to get to either the office space or Larissa’s house. Larissa had understood, but Harlow was starting to have second thoughts about the whole thing. She leaned back in her chair at her desk and couldn’t focus on work for a solid thirty minutes.
If they were dating now, an hour one way wasn’t that big of a deal, but an hour one wayplusan hour home on the nights they didn’t sleep over would get tiresome. And an hour was being generous, too. Some days, the highway after work was crazy. She would know; she’d been driving to Larissa’s from work since she started staying with her and many, many times before that. Often, the mornings were better, and she could get to work in forty-five minutes to an hour, but in the afternoons, it could be well over an hour. She already didn’t like the drive much before they started dating, but it hadn’t been an option because she needed a place to stay, and Larissa’s place had always been like her second home. No, Larissa’s placewasher home, and dating her changed Harlow’s plans. She didn’t want to be at work until five and then sit in traffic for at least an hour before she got to Larissa’s place, exhausted. She didn’t want to getbackin the car to drive them somewhere for their date right after that, have an hour or two together, and then drive back home if they weren’t sharing a bed that night. If she stayed over, she’d have to leave around the same time she left now, but because they were building up around the office, traffic would only get worse with more people moving in, and she’d have to get up earlier and earlier.
She had a few options. She could still rent this apartment. She could stay with Larissa while she looked for another one that could be between Larissa’s place and her office. Or, she could just ask the woman she’d been on one date with if she could move in while she looked for a new job. That last one had a nice ring to it, but she knew she couldn’t move in with Larissa now that they’d started to date. Staying with her was one thing; it had an end date. Living together was something they’d hopefully do for real as a couple eventually.
Harlow continued to sit at her desk until after five-thirty, searching for different apartments between her office and Larissa’s house, knowing that even if she decided to get a new job, that area should still be okay for her since it wouldn’t be that much farther from downtown, where she’d likely find a job. She’d told the complex manager that she would be there by six, when they closed, but by six, she was still at her desk. She packed her things and waited until she got the call.
“Miss Madden?”
“Yes, hello,” she greeted.
“It’s ten after six. I was wondering when I could expect you. I need to close up,” the guy from the leasing office said.
“I’ve been thinking about it, and I think I’d like you to give the apartment to someone else.”
“Someone else?”
“I get that you have to have the money by a certain date and stuff, but I have been sitting here thinking about it, and I don’t think I want to live there. It’s your system’s fault, but I have to go out ofmyway to get you a check, or you’ll get on the phone with someone down the street, and they’ll be there faster than me? Seems a little like extortion,” she noted as she walked. “Like I said, I get it: you have to put money in the bank, too. But if my rent doesn’t go through one month because of your system andI’m not at home, are you going to call and have me run a check over again when I’m at work or something?”
“No, I assure you: this is the first time this has ever happened. We wouldn’t do that when it comes to your rent. It’s the security deposit that we need. I can stay here until you can get here, if that helps.”
“No, I think I’m going to go somewhere else. Feel free to give the apartment to whomever.”
She knew it was a little rude to make him wait and not call to tell him that she wasn’t coming, but he had to be there until close anyway, and they hadn’t exactly been easy on her today, calling two additional times to see when she would be bringing the check by, despite her telling them that it would have to be after work.
Harlow was tired, and she should have just gone to the interview with Larissa, but she didn’t know how to tell her that she’d decided not to take the apartment. She wasn’t sure how Larissa would take the news now that they’d gone on a date. Would she want her out as soon as possible so that they could date like a normal couple? Hell,werethey a couple yet? Would she not care at all or like that Harlow wasn’t moving over an hour away? She’d seemed so disappointed with the idea before. Maybe she would be happy to find out that Harlow was going to look at places that were closer.
When she got to the house, Larissa wasn’t there yet, so she changed into her comfy jeans and a T-shirt and decided to cook them some dinner. According to their text exchange, Larissa should be home in a few minutes, so a grilled cheese with bacon and tomato would be on the menu. They had the ingredients, and Harlow didn’t want them to go bad. No tomato soup tonight because they didn’t have any more of the canned stuff, and she didnothave the time or the energy to make it from scratch.
She felt more than heard the garage door opening from behind the wall and smiled because it meant she’d be seeing Larissa soon. She flipped their sandwiches in the pan and set the table by the time Larissa walked into the room.
