“Actually…” Elise glanced nervously at me. “I’m moving out. I’ll text you my new location.”
I swiveled my head to Elise. This was news. She hadn’t said anything about finding an apartment, and I’d wanted to talk to her about that.
The moms looked curious but didn’t question it. And then they were gone.
Elise grabbed her head and groaned. “That was the worst!”
“Agreed.”
Then her gaze zeroed in on the microwave clock, as though she were just now realizing something. “Shit! I’m late.”
She was about to run off when I grabbed her hand. “Slow down, Hot Stuff. Where are you going?”
“I’m supposed to meet Sophia at the shop, and she’s probably already on her way. I’ll call you later.” She reached up and kissed me hard on the lips, then rushed down the hall.
“Will you be back before dark?” I called and followed her back. “I have something I want to show you.”
She stopped outside her door, her look coy. “That sounds mysterious.”
“It’s a surprise.”
ChapterThirty-Four
Elise
The last twenty-fourhours had been the most amazing and confusing of my life. I was pretty sure I was in love with Jack, my mom had caught us post-coitus, and now I was moving out of his apartment. I’d signed a lease earlier this afternoon once I finished helping Sophia at the shop. After nearly four weeks of searching for an affordable studio, one had finally come up three days ago, and not a moment too soon.
I would keep my promise to Jack and move out after one month. That was the deal, and it was important to me to stick to it. I refused to be the girlfriend who used her rich boyfriend for perks like free rent. I’d worked hard to get my education and prove myself, and now was my opportunity to do just that. If we were able to survive our rocky start, Jack and I could survive a little distance. That was, if he hadn’t changed his mind and was willing to date after I moved.
We’d done everything backward: the one-night stand, then moving in together before we were dating. I wanted to make a fresh start and do things the right way for once, but I wasn’t sure how he felt, though his words last night were promising.
Jackson: Meet me at your old apartment at 4 p.m.
Elise: Why there?
Jackson: You’ll find out.
So mysterious. Did he miss his namesake roach?
Now that I thought back, I’d been thinking about my sister’s old roommate even back then, naming a cockroach after him. Which was funny, and proof of how much our night together had haunted me.
I grabbed my things and said goodbye to Soph before catching a bus that put me a couple of blocks from my old apartment. Only something was wrong.
I looked at my phone to make sure I’d walked up the correct block and had the right building.
A second later, Jack emerged from a modern stairwell.
“What’s going on?” I asked, glancing at my phone and walking toward him. “This is the right place, but the building’s not the same. My old landlord didn’t give a crap about the building and never fixed anything. But this looks brand new.”
He met me in front and faced the building. “It’s been remodeled. Do you like it?”
The exterior had been given a light taupe paint job—no, more than that. It had been re-stuccoed with a smooth surface where once there’d been cracks. And the old wrought-iron stairwell had been replaced with modern black railing. Someone had also torn out the concrete in front and planted hearty Mediterranean trees I recognized from working with Sophia. There was construction still being done on one side, but otherwise, the building looked almost brand new. “I can’t believe this is the same place. It’s actually cute and modern now.”
“No more roaches,” Jack agreed. “You want to look inside?”
We climbed the swanky new stairs and passed a family on their way down. People were living here, but the apartment I’d rented was empty, according to Jack.
“How do you know it’s empty?”
