“I guess once I didn’t have my bossy little sister around, I let loose a little.”
“A little?” I question, gesturing toward the leaning tower of laundry on the dining table. “How about this: another rule. I won’t call you peepants if you can manage to maintain a clean home.”
Arden looks over at me. “And what if we break the rules?”
“If we break the rules, then one of us has to move out.”
Arden laughs. “This ismyapartment.”
“Ourapartment.”
“Is your name on the lease?”Damn.He got me there. And he makes a very good point. My name isn’t on the lease. Which means I’d be at his mercy to live in this place. He can kick me out at any time.
“Relax, brat,” Arden says, as if reading my mind. “No one is moving out. We’ll just have to think of another way to punish the rule-breaker. I’m sure we’ll come up with something.”
I nod but don’t say a word. The sexual innuendo is not lost on me but I’m not going to call attention to it and let Arden think I’m flirting with him, because that is the very last thing I would ever do with him…
Satisfied with my reaction, Arden turns his attention back to the screen, putting his feet up onto a pile of clothes on the table.
“I’m going to go unpack a bit.”
Arden only grunts, not looking away from the game.
Turning on my heels, I make my way toward my room, ready to dive into an afternoon of folding and clothes hanging. It’s a good thing I don’t have orientation until tomorrow because this task is going to take all night.
Chapter Nine
Arden
WhenMargotcalledmeabout Danika needing a roommate, I thought it was a joke. There was no way that we could live together and both make it out alive. I was preparing to laugh in her face about it and then find my own roommate…until I saw her scrolling through craigslist.
When I said I would be like her lifeline, this isn’t exactly what I meant but a rambunctious girl like Danika would not last long with a stranger. Us living together is truly the safest option. And that’s the only reason I pitched it. I didn’t expect her to say yes so quickly though. I thought I’d have to do a little bit more convincing but I was glad that she came to her senses in a timely manner.
I know helping Danika is the right thing to do but what I didn’t do was give myself enough time to come to terms with the fact that the fiery redhead would be living with me full time until the deal was already done. I certainly didn’t realize how much having her in my space would affect me.
She’s already unpacked most of her stuff in her bedroom and now she’s moved on to the other rooms. The bathroom is already an explosion of pink, her toiletries everywhere and don’t get me started on the make-up. I’m going to have to get used to having mascara stains on all my towels at this rate.
She’s placed some decorative pillows and blankets on the couch, which I won’t admit to liking—even though I do. And she’s even lit a few candles that give the whole place a nice earthy smell.
“Okay, I’ll give. The candles are a nice touch,” I comment as I walk into her room, dropping the last bag she left in the hallway onto her desk chair.
“It smells good, right?”
I nod, and she seems satisfied with herself. She’s placing the final touches around the room, wall posters, ceiling star decals…it looks like aSeventeenmagazine spread threw up in here. It’s definitely not my style but it’s one hundred percent Danika and I find myself grinning in spite of myself.
There’s a creased photograph on her nightstand and I lift it to get a closer look. An older woman holding a tween tightly. Both are smiling widely, as if they’d just heard the best joke ever. I recognize an adolescent Danika but the woman…
“My grandma,” Danika says, looking over my shoulder at the picture.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met her,” I comment.
She shakes her head. “You wouldn’t have. She was my mom’s mom who lived in Vermont. She died of breast cancer when I was thirteen.”
Actually, now that she mentions it, I remember a time when Danika came over crying and Margot brought her hot chocolate. I remember feeling like I wanted to help but had no idea what to do so I sat outside Margot’s room all night in case Danika needed me. Which is an absolutely crazy thing for a sixteen year old boy to do and in hindsight, I’m so glad she didn’t see me sitting out there. I don’t know what I would’ve said.
“It’s a nice picture,” I say, clearing my head of the image of me in the hallway.
“Thanks,” she smiles, taking it from me. “We used to collect rocks and pebbles together. I’ve got a collection of them in my top drawer. Seems silly to keep them now.”