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“Has it been that long?” Noah’s eyebrows lifted. “I guess it has.”
“Who’s Jenna and why is Austin talking to her?” Scott was looking between us as we spoke. “Also, do we want to move into the living room and start? We can probably get a round or two in before everyone shows up.”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” I grabbed the bag of chips. They were my favorite kind and I wasn’t going to be able to stop eating them. I didn’t buy them often for just that reason.
“Jenna’s a girl I knew in high school. We kept in touch a little during college, but I guess we lost touch over the last few years.” Noah shrugged like it was no big deal, but I caught a glimmer of something in his eyes.
Interesting.
“So, you were best friends? Like me and Kayla?”
Noah scoffed. “No. Friends, sure. Just pals. No biggie. You asked in the group chat about architects and I remembered that was the direction she was leaning, so I passed her info along. That’s it.”
I exchanged a look with Scott. Noah was spending a lot of time explaining how little their relationship had meant. And it was rapidly becoming a case of someone protesting just a bit too much.
“Uh-huh.” Scott shook his head. “You stick to that story if that’s what you want. But free tip? Tone down the denial when the other guys ask.”
Red flooded Noah’s face. “Did you hear Cody has a closing date on his townhouse?”
“Smooth subject change, bro. Seems to be the night for them.” Scott picked up the deck of cards and started to shuffle.
I cleared my throat. “It’s a nice place. I knew he was putting in an offer, but I hadn’t heard it was accepted.”
Noah nodded. “Last week, yeah. I think they were hoping to hold out for someone to offer more than they’re asking. You know what the market’s like right now. But Cody didn’t want to play, so he told his agent to let them know his offer was expiring, and I guess they’d had some tours but no other offers, so they took it.”
“Nice.” The market was definitely heating up, but expecting offers above asking when I felt like they were already priced near the top of the acceptable range teetered on the edge of ridiculous. “He offered full price?”
“He did. Said he didn’t see the point in arguing when he could afford what they were asking, and he wanted the house.” Noah reached for the two cards Scott had dealt him. “I’m not sure that’s the best plan when it comes to buying a house, but maybe it is. Guess I need to figure out what I’m going to do.”
“What do you mean?” Scott tossed his bet into the pile in the center of the table.
“Well. Cody’s moving out. I could take over the rent on the whole apartment and stay put. Or I could look around for a house of my own. Or a condo like Tristan. He said there was one in his building coming on the market soon.” Noah let out a blustery breath. “But I’m not sure what the right choice is.”
I’d never really considered just how blessed I was to have my grandma’s townhouse. This wasn’t a decision I had to deal with. I guess maybe down the road, if either Megan or I got married, we’d have to decide who kept the townhouse and who found something of their own. And that was a no-brainer to me. I could afford to get another space, so it made sense that I’d move. Unless Megan ended up marrying someone who already had a place.
Someone like Cody.
I’d made a point of not thinking too hard about the conversation he and I’d had over burgers. I stood by my comment—I honestly didn’t mind if he wanted to ask Megan out. Nor would I mind if something serious developed between them. But I didn’t really want to dwell on it.
Megan didn’t date a lot. Never had. So it was tricky to think of her being involved with someone.
“Yo. Austin. Where’d you go, man?” Noah nudged me with his elbow. “Are you in?”
“Sorry.” I glanced at my cards. They weren’t anything to write home about, but there were a few more cards yet to be dealt. Things could change. I tossed a couple of poker chips on the pile. “Sure, why not.”
Scott flipped the next card.
I checked mine even though I knew that hadn’t helped any.
“So? Thoughts?” Noah drummed his fingers on the table.
“Do you want to own something? Fiscally, I guess, it makes more sense than continuing to rent. Equity. Investment. Blah, blah.” I grinned.
Scott laughed. “Yeah, those last words are the important ones for sure.”
“Don’t underestimate the importance of blah.” Noah shook his head. “All right. I guess I’ll let the leasing office know I’m moving out when our lease is over. Which means I should probably start looking around at what’s available.”
“Seems reasonable.” Scott reached for his phone. “I’m going to text the others and see what’s going on. It’s Friday, right?”
