“Hey, mate,” Teagan greets me as he flops into the opposite chair.
Teagan and I met when we joined the Seahawks, but we had lived only twenty minutes from each other in Ireland. We probably drank at the same pubs without even realizing it.
“Mornin’, Teag. Doing alright?”
“Aye,” he answers hesitantly.
“You sure, mate? You look stressed. What’s going on?” I close my laptop to give him my full attention.
He runs his hands through his hair, tugging on the strands and letting out a frustrated groan before looking at me. “I’ve been evicted from my flat. I have two weeks to be out.”
“What?” I ask, astonished. “You’re joking.”
I don’t believe for one second that Teagan has done anything to warrant an eviction. He’s straight-laced, never late with his rent, keeps his place clean, and hasn’t hosted one party since living there.
“I wish I was, Eam. The landlord sold the complex to some multimillion-dollar company that wants to completely remodel the place. They want to turn them into executive suites or some shite like that. They’re kicking out everyone. We don’t even get first dibs on the new ones—not that I could afford it anyway. The monthly rent is three times what I’m paying now.”
“Fuck. That’s robbery. How can they get away with that?”
“No clue, mate. I’m completely flummoxed. There aren’t any other flats available now that the term has started,” Teagan says.
I don’t hesitate to offer the spare room at my flat. It’s not much, but I’m not about to leave the fella homeless.
“Why don’t you take the second room at my place? It’s just sitting there. And if we split the rent and utilities, it will save us both some money,” I offer, knowing that Teagan would never ask that of anyone.
“No way, Eam. I’m not going to infiltrate your space. Especially now that you have your new girl. No offense, but I don’t want to listen to the two of you go at it all day every day.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t be a twat. Norah and I haven’t progressed to that place in our relationship. Plus, she has her own place, so if things do head that way, then you’re good.”
“You two haven’t…” Teagan wags his eyebrows. “How? She’s smoking, and that kiss you shared the other day was borderline pornographic, man.”
“Fuck off, you wanker.” I laugh, throwing an ink pen at him. “Seriously. Move into the second room. It solves your problems, and if you decide it’snot working, you can move out whenever you want.”
Teagan hesitates, rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t know, man. Are you sure it wouldn’t be an issue?”
“Not at all. Between classes and practice…and Norah…I probably won’t even be there much.” I shrug, then grin wickedly. “And maybe I could get Norah to come over and bring her friend Layla. Don’t think I didn’t notice you flirting with her yesterday.”
Teagan visibly brightens at the mention of Layla. “What can I say? She’s a fine thing.”
“So it’s settled, then? I’ll get the room sorted, and you can start moving your stuff as soon as today. I’ll get you a copy of the key.”
“You’re a gem, mate. Really, thank you. Can you send me a list of when the bills are due and how much you want me to pay?”
“We’ll talk about it later, yeah? I’ve got to get to Paddy’s to fix a few things for him.” I stand, hoisting my bag onto my shoulder before clasping a hand with Teagan and pulling him in for a hug.
“Right. See you at practice. Thanks again!”
I wave at him over my shoulder as I leave the cafe. He’ll be a good flatmate. He’s not wild like Ro and won’t give me too hard of a time about Norah. And maybe, just maybe, I can play matchmaker. He hasn’t gone out with anyone that I know of since his ex dumped him out of the blue. They’d dated for about a year before she broke it off, and he acted like it didn’t bother him much, but I know him better than that. He’d been head over heels for that lass.
It’s just past noon when I walk into Paddy’s. All of the chairs are turned over on top of the tables, and the main lights are on. There’s some clanking coming from the kitchen, so I head towards it. As I walk through the swinging doors, I see Paddy on his hands and knees, looking under the dishwasher. Leaning against the wall, I cross my arms over my chest, and watch the aul fella swear at whatever he’s trying to fix.
“Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph! This bleedin’ machine can go straight to the fiery pits of hell! Fu…”
“Look at the state of you, Paddy! What did you do to that dishwasher?”
Paddy jerks his head up, hitting it on the bottom of the sink, and I wince knowing what’s coming next. “Ow! Son of a… Kennedy! You shitehawk! Give a man some warning would ya? I could have cracked my skull open!”
I stifle a laugh and hold out a hand to help him to his feet. “Sorry, Paddy. Couldn’t help it. You looked a right eejit on the ground like that, cursing enough to make a harlot blush.”
