Colin
“Marshall.”
Olivia looked up from her computer. “What?”
She was curled up on the sofa, wearing those stupid flannel pants and staring at the laptop with her glasses halfway down her nose. Her hair was up in what I could only guess might’ve been a bun at one time, and she was gnawing on the end of her pen.
“What’re you doing?” It was midnight, Jack had gone to bed, and I was barely staying awake as I watched the news. Liv, on the other hand, looked hyper-focused. “Your fingers aren’t flying so I’m guessing you’re not writing.”
“Nope.” She uncurled her legs and stretched them out on the ottoman. “I’m looking at apartments. I’ve gotten so comfy in your condo that I kind of forgot all about finding a place, and I’m mere days away from you physically removing me from the building.”
“I’m not a monster. I’ll let you stay a whole extra day if you’re nice to me.”
She threw me a look and said, “I don’t need your favors. I just need to find a decent place that doesn’t require too big of a deposit.”
“Still building up your cash stash since the fire?”
“Bingo. I make enough to pay the rent, but don’t have a crap-ton to put down.”
“Could you maybe borrow from your parents?”
“I’d rather live on the streets.” She kept scrolling through apartment listings as she said, “I borrowed a hundred bucks from them the night I came back, and my mother has literally mentioned it every time we’ve spoken.”
“Did you fail to pay them back?”
“Nope—I know the way she works, so I actually paid them back a hundred and fifty dollars.”
“Didn’t buy their silence?”
“Not even for an hour.”
That made me laugh, because her mom was a real piece of work. I adored Nancy, but the woman reminded me of a Seinfeld character. I sat down on the arm of the sofa next to her and looked down at Olivia’s computer screen. “One Hundred Eighth and Q? I thought you loved living downtown.”
Since moving in, I was pretty sure she’d spent more time staring out at the city than doing anything else. She was like me in that, her absolute adoration of downtown life.
“I can’t afford it, moneybags; everything down here is crazy expensive, so I’m afraid it’s the burbs for this girl.”
“This building has loft studios; did you look at them?”
“I think so . . . ?”
“Here.” I pushed her over and sat down beside her, stealing her laptop.
“Hey!”
A few clicks, and boom—there was my building. I hovered over the studio floor plan. “See? They’re studios, but the loft is like the bedroom so it feels more like a one-bedroom.”
“Look at those high ceilings.” She squinted and leaned closer, her body leaning against mine as the smell of her shampoo—my shampoo—came at me. “Wow, those are amazing!”
I just shook my head; her excitement made me miss Misdial. Even though it was Olivia and I saw her every day, I missed what I thought it’d been.
“And not too expensive. I’m sure they require a crazy deposit, though.” She frowned.
“You should just apply; you never know.”
She gave me side-eye and nudged me with her elbow. “I can’t believe you want me to live in your building so badly.”
I reached out a hand and pushed, toppling her over on the couch. “I was being nice, but now that you mention it, perhaps having your Liv luck in the building isn’t the best idea.”
“Nope, it’s too late now. I’m sending in an application.”
“Please, God, no.”
“Oh, I’m here.” She grinned and pushed my leg with her foot as she stayed horizontal. “If they accept me and I can afford it, I’m going to be here all the time. In fact, I think I’ll request an upper floor just so I can drop stuff down onto your deck.”
“Typical.”
She sat up and pushed up her glasses. “I might even train pigeons to crap on your fancy patio furniture.”
“As if you could.”
“You don’t know.” She yanked back her computer and clicked on the “Apply Now” link. “This is pointless, but I’m doing it just to make you regret trying to help me.”
That made me laugh. “Why, exactly . . . ?”
“I have no idea.” She grinned, and something about the intimacy of the smile she was giving me made me notice her full lower lip. “It’s just the knee-jerk way I’ve always related to you.”