AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You want them to invite you,” he repeated.
“I do and that makes me feel stupid.”
“You’re many things, but you’re not even close to stupid. Maybe you could divide and conquer. Invite one or two of them to lunch.”
She pulled her hand free of his. “I don’t need you to tell me how to make friends.”
“I was offering a suggestion. I’m a guy—I can’t help it.”
“We should change the subject.”
His gaze met hers. She read indecision there. He wanted to continue the conversation and yet he wanted to respect her request. She was sorry she’d brought up the topic. She wasn’t lonely and she didn’t care if those women had a thousand spa treatments. More business for her.
Later, she would have to deal with the fact that she’d been reduced to lying to herself to get through the evening, but for right now it was enough.
“Do you go to every game?” he asked.
“Of course. Always. The season is only about ten weeks, but they cram in at least two regular season games every week, plus invitationals. It’s a lot. And of course they always make the playoffs. But I’m there.”
“You’re a good mom. It’s one of the things I admire about you.”
She stared at him. “You admire me?”
“Yes. Why are you surprised?”
She didn’t have an answer for that. He leaned toward her.
“Why would I want to be with you if I didn’t admire you?”
“Because the sex is good.”
He grinned. “Yes, it is.” His humor faded. “But good sex isn’t that difficult to find. Someone I can be friends with, someone I can respect and admire, with whom I also have good sex, is pretty rare. Plus, you play fair. You say what you want and you’re not into games.”
Was that how he saw her? The words felt good. “Thank you. You’re not into games, either. It makes things much easier.” She hesitated. “I’ve been told I can be difficult.”
“You are, but I can handle it. I travel a lot and I can be moody.”
“I don’t mind the travel and I ignore you when you’re moody.” She picked up her fork. “And you can cook.”
He raised his glass. “A partnership of equals.”
“It is.” She smiled. “And after dinner, if you’d like, we can have sex.”
His eyes brightened. “I’d like that very much.”
8
Allison worked her way through the rental application. The questions were fairly straightforward, but she didn’t find the process easy. Take the first line: “Name of applicant(s).” Obviously she was married and she would lease an apartment with her husband. Only she wasn’t sure if she should put Peter on the lease or not. Would he be out of jail in time for him to sign it? And if he wouldn’t, was it legal for her to lease the place in just her name? She simply didn’t know.
She left him on the lease, thinking she could take out his name later if she wanted and continued to fill out information, only to stumble over a question about arrests and convictions. While Peter hadn’t been convicted of anything, he had been arrested.
She skipped that question and scrolled down to the next section of the application, then held in a groan. She told herself she wasn’t going to cry, that she would get through this, no matter what, but no matter how she blinked, she felt tears filling her eyes.
Applicants must provide proof of income that is at least three times the monthly rent. A W-2 plus the last three paychecks is sufficient. If income comes from another source, proof of income must be provided, along with two years of tax returns.
She didn’t have enough proof of income, mostly because she didn’t have enough money coming in. At the day care, she’d mostly been paid in childcare credits and her job at the grocery store was only part-time. By herself, she didn’t come close to qualifying.
With Peter’s income, she would be fine. His company was a corporation so he got regular paychecks. She could provide pay stubs and his last W-2, only he wasn’t around to sign the lease. And what about the whole “Have you been arrested?” question? Not to mention there wasn’t going to be a current paystub.
