“I get it.” Her shoulders sagged. “I don’t like it, but I get it.”
I gave her a side hug. “It’ll be fun. An adventure. I’ve never lived with strangers before. Especially not guys.”
“Dad said to call him immediately if they cause trouble.” Celeste pointed her finger at me. “Immediately.”
“It’s going to be fine. I know how to stand up for myself.” I playfully shoved her hand away. “Speaking of keeping my skills fresh, where do you keep the cleaning supplies?”
A part of my deal living here was being the cleaner. Not a glamorous position, but I had experience from my gig at the arena. The Ables knew that and offered to split my rent in half if I cleaned up the place. I think the addition of a live-in maid added to the appeal of this house once they offered it to their renters. What college student didn’t want someone around to pick up after them?
“There’s some in the garage and the bathroom upstairs. Did I mention the bathrooms are only upstairs?”
My face must have fallen because Celeste chewed on her nail. Bathrooms upstairs only where four guys lived? Well, that was just great.
“It’s fine.” That’d become my motto as of late.
“Let me show you your room.” She hurried through the kitchen and opened two glass doors. “It used to be a dining area, but my mom converted it into a bedroom. There are curtains for privacy. The door’s a little flimsy, but I can get my dad to install a lock. For now, you could shove a box against it to keep it closed. Also, the heating doesn’t really work in here during the winter, so it’s going to get pretty cold…God, I’m sorry, Mimi.”
I was in the middle of the room now. I spun around to take in the floral wallpaper, gorgeous bay windows that faced the backyard, and the adorable desk and bed set. It looked like a room in a 90s movie about a perfect girl who grew up in the suburbs and didn’t know how lucky she was. This room was just like the ones I fantasized about when sleeping on a blow-up mattress in a studio apartment when I was younger.
“What are you apologizing for?” I still spun, marveling at how, for this semester, this was all mine. My chest warmed and my throat tightened.
“It’s small and cold and the door doesn’t even work,” Celeste explained.
“It’s perfect.” I looked at her and she frowned, not understanding. I didn’t blame her. She’d grown up in the same two-story house all her life. Her lights were never out, her fridge was never empty, and she always had the chance to go wherever she pleased. She had parents who cared about things like stability and consistency. Her mother didn’t give her paychecks away, hoping to win it back tenfold in lotteries. Her father stuck around to make sure she was home at night.
“You sure?” my friend scanned the room, trying to see what I saw. “I should bring some of my things down. We’ll fix it up.”
“Celeste.” I shook my head and pulled her in for a hug. She froze for a moment but eventually wrapped her arms around me in return. “This is more than I could ever ask for. Thank you.”
She tightened her grip around me. “You can always ask for more. I’d give you the world if I could.”
I laughed. “We’re such saps.”
“We are.” She pulled away with a wide smile. “So, I promised my folks I’d do a quick walk around before the other renters show up. They’re supposed to be here later tonight.”
“Of course.” I nodded. “Go ahead. Do what you need to do. I’ll start bringing my stuff in.”
“Once I’m done, I’ll help, and then head out. Do you mind giving them the run-down I gave you?” She winced at having to ask the question.
“Consider it done.” I squeezed her arm.
Her smile was back. “Thanks.”
My phone buzzed as soon as Celeste left the room. I unlocked it to see a new message from MidQuest.
MidQuest: Sooo, how’s the place?
I’d been so excited about moving that I talked to him about it in our private chats. He was as pumped as I was since he knew the story about me having to move in with Celeste’s family. I leaned against my bedroom wall as I typed my response:
Chai03: Not what I expected, but better somehow. What about you? How’s your new digs?
He was moving back to his school’s campus, too. We’d spoken about it a few nights ago, and he admitted he was nervous. It was the first time he’d ever sounded afraid, and I stayed up all night trying to distract the anxiety away with memes.
MidQust: Digs? How old are you again?
I snorted.Old enough.
He sent a laughing emoji. I smiled widely, trying to imagine what his laughter sounded like. I couldn’t imagine what he looked like going off of his name alone. Whenever I tried to think up an image, my mind painted a picture of a guy no taller than my six-foot frame. A little chubby around the middle because most avid gamers were. And he had a calming voice. Something deep. He probably held his stomach when he laughed, too. Like all cute guys did.
