CHAPTER 1
LEO
I braced myself for a sneeze as the invisible cloud of pollen choked me as I trudged up the steps to my apartment. The Oregon spring was going to be brutal on my allergies.
I nodded at a passing neighbor whom I’d never said more to than, “Rain’s sure pissing down today.” I missed knowing my neighbors’ names as I had at my old place. It was rough going from a ranch-style house tucked away in a charming cul-de-sac to a cookie-cutter apartment with two shared walls and no garage. A mechanic without a garage was as sad as a landscaper without a yard.
I reached the landing outside of the apartment and rolled my shoulders. It’d been a long day at work, and I didn’t want to carry the tension into the sanctity of bowling night later. Our league games were the highlight of my week. My one escape from the stress of the real world. I always had a blast with my best friend and roommate, Hudson. He loved bowling night as much as I did.
Hudson. I adored the guy, but he’d indirectly been the source of my stress today, thanks to the endless torment by my coworker and close friend, Ollie. Ollie often gave me a hard time about how close Hudson and I were, but for whatever reason, he’d escalated. Mercury must be in retrograde. Ollie had better cut the shit and not bring his shenanigans to league night.
I was used to good-natured ribbing whenever Hudson made my favorite cookies or I turned down grabbing beers at Tap That Brewery with Ollie to watch TV with Hudson. But today, Ollie came at me with variations of “you act like a couple, so why not make it official?”
I’d never considered dating a man, but this teasing hit different. I should’ve been able to brush it off like all the times before.
I unlocked the door and left my boots on the mat Hudson bought for my “grease-stained monstrosities.” The first time I’d worn them around the house and marked the floor, I had expected a vessel to burst in Hudson’s temple. The man was particular about how he wanted things at home, but I didn’t mind since our place was always clean and comfortable. Well…the communal spaces were. My room did not meet Hudson’s exacting standards.
“Honey, I’m home.” He didn’t respond, but I heard him moving around in the kitchen.
I was mesmerized by his wild auburn curls bouncing as he bopped to music I couldn’t hear. He swiped his rag across the refrigerator shelf in time with his hips while crouching. The man was in the zone. He’d emptied the fridge contents onto the parallel counters in our narrow, too-sterile kitchen. Aww, he’d even wiped the dried goop off my ketchup bottle.
Teasing from the guys at the shop—those less kind than Ollie—filtered through my mind. Jokes that I’d divorced my high school sweetheart only to find someone else to take care of my sorry ass. Quips about me being Mr. Social Butterfly, who was so terrified of being alone that I’d regressed to roommate living.
I was lucky I’d met Hudson through our bowling league and that we’d clicked quickly as teammates, buddies, and then genuine friends. When our marriages fell apart last year, it made sense to move in together to save money. The daily company and not having to cook for one was a bonus, but I didn’t need it.
Hudson awkwardly head-banged to whatever song he was listening to—right into the freezer door.
I rushed over and squatted next to him. “You okay?”
When Hudson spotted me, he threw his cleaning cloth in the air and made a hilarious sound that was the lovechild of oink and shriek. “Leo! You scared the heck out of me.”
Even when startled, he wouldn’t let a curse word slip through his prim and proper lips. The only thing not completely put-together about Hudson was the hair he always failed to tame. He kept it long enough to be messy instead of forcing it into submission with a short cut like mine. It was the only slice of chaos he regularly tolerated.
I grabbed the cloth and handed it to him. My breath caught when his fingers brushed mine.
“Are you sneaking up on me now?” He pulled an earbud out as he stood, tossed the rag in the sink, and selected a clean one from his neat stack. I’d learned that Hudson had specific rags for various purposes when I accidentally used a kitchen rag to clean my bathroom.
“Not my fault you were rocking out and didn’t hear me come in.” I pulled a Gene Simmons, making devil horns with my fingers and sticking out my tongue.
He frowned. “Hey, I listen to cool music.”
I raised my hands in peace. “You’re right, ‘Barbie Girl’ is a total banger.”
Hudson swatted me with the clean rag. “We can’t all be as cool as you, listening to AC/DC like it’s your entire personality.”
“I can’t help that I have superior taste in music.” I scanned the fridge contents on the counter for something to snack on since lunch had come and gone a long time ago.
Hudson closed the fridge door and walked over to the sink. He tugged off his rubber cleaning gloves and washed his hands for the full twenty seconds. I counted.
I pulled my attention away from his long fingers and noticed something new on the fridge door. He’d moved our spring league schedule up to the freezer door to make room for a dry-erase board with Hudson’s tidy letters on the left and columns on the right. A creeping dread crawled up my spine as I moved to get a closer look.
I glared at Hudson, ignoring the dimple deepening in his freckled cheek as he bit back his smirk. “Did you seriously buy a chore chart for me?”
“It’s not just for you. General Ledger’s on there too.” He pointed to a stick figure cat doodle next to a row that read “look cute” with stars already filled in for each day. “I thought you’d appreciate the colors.” There was laughter in his voice.
I did notice it matched the neon green and black of our Gutterade team bowling shirts, but that didn’t make the idea of a chore chart any more palatable.
“Neon green isn’t gonna make me want to do the dishes, man.”
