Page 21 of Always Been You

Seconds later, she opens the door; she is dressed in a pair of pyjama pants, and a UBC t-shirt. Her hair is up in a messy bun, with little tendrils of her auburn hair out, shaping her face. She smiles questioningly and opens the door more for me to slip into her apartment. I place a quick kiss on her cheek before I make my way to her kitchen, and she follows behind me, silently grabbing plates and cutlery for us.

“Soooo, not that it’s not nice to see you Josh, but what’s up? What’s with the dinner and random visit?” She asks as she opens her fridge, grabs a beer and points it to me as a question. I nod, and she passes it to me and grabs a cooler for herself. She settles in a chair across from me at her kitchen table.

“Matt came to see me at work today. He mentioned you are having a problem finding a place to move into when your lease is up. He also mentioned that he is worried about potential drop-ins from Drew.” Her shoulders slump as she dishes up some food on her plate.

She lets out a long breath before speaking. “Yeah, it’s been difficult. It’s so soon to the end of my lease. I thought I’d have issues, just not this bad. I think I’m going to have to crash on Zoey’s couch for a bit while I try to find a place.” I can hear the defeat in her voice and it crushes me. I never want her to feel this way.

“So that’s why I’m here. I have a spare room. Why don’t you take it for the summer? It will give you plenty of time to find a place you like.”

Her head shoots up as she looks at me. She swallows as she takes in what I just said. I can see all the questions running through her mind right now.

“Are you sure? I really don’t want to impose Josh; I don’t want to be in your way.” She nibbles on her lip nervously.

I take a bite of my food; Olivia could never be a bother, and it would be nice to see her more often. I don’t tell her that. Instead, I say, “Olivia, I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it. Couch surfing is not something you should have to do. Get a storage unit for your bigger furniture. The bedroom is furnished. Come over whenever you want, and I’ll show it to you.”

“Josh…” she pauses before continuing, “that would be amazing. Of course, I’ll pay rent,” I cut her off before she can continue. “Nope, not necessary. The room isn’t being used right now. It’s all yours.”

Her entire body visibly relaxes, and I hope that means that she is going to take me up on my offer. “Thanks, Josh, I’ll at least cook and clean. I appreciate this. I have been stressing about this. You’ve taken a huge weight off my shoulders.”

I nod. “Anything for you, Olivia.” I don’t think she realizes how true that statement is. I would do anything to make her happy.

We finish our dinner while she tells me about some of her students and we talk about this weekend’s hockey game. When we finish, I help her clear the table and put the leftovers in her fridge. While she walks me out, I make sure she has my address and the buzzer code. We make arrangements forher to move in this weekend. It’s a full month before her lease is up, but we don’t want any chances of Drew showing up.

I throw myself into my work over the next few days; I have my housekeeper make sure that there is a set of fresh sheets on the bed in the spare room Olivia will be using. Em usually uses one when she stays with me, so Olivia has the other, and I get a new set of keys and fob made for my place.

It’s noon on Saturday when my phone rings with a call from the buzzer downstairs. I answer, “Olivia?”

“Yup,” she answers. I buzz her up and head to the front door.

I’m waiting in the open door when the elevator opens at the end of the hallway. She is dressed casually in a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a silky tank top that does nothing to hide her curves or her ample chest. I hurriedly drag my eyes up to her face hoping I didn’t get caught checking her out. She’s pulling a suitcase behind her as she makes her way to my place. She follows me into the living room, and I close the front door.

“So, this is it,” I say.

She leaves her bag as she makes her way over to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room that look over the city. I join her and take in the view, trying to see it from her point of view. I’ve lived here for a few years, so the view is nothing new to me, but I remember seeing it the first time I moved in, and it is amazing.

“It’s beautiful,” she finally says, looking over at me with a tentative smile on her face. She seems unsure about being here. I want her to know that she is completely welcome, and that this is now her home, too. I walk over to her suitcase and grab the handle. “Let me show you your room,” I say and wait for her to follow behind me.

There is a hallway on either side of the front door. When you walk in the front door, the one on the left has my bedroom, a washroom, storage closets, and my office, and the one on the right has three spare rooms, a washroom, and my gym. Walking down the one on the right, I walk to the end and open the door and Olivia follows me in.

My sister helped me furnish my place when I moved in. This room has a queen bed in the centre of the room, with black sheets, a navy-blue comforter, and nightstands on either side. There is a walk-in closet to the left of the bedroom door and beside it is an ensuite washroom. I pull her bag into the closet and join her in the room.

“So, this is your room. There are fresh sheets on the bed and towels in the washroom. My housekeeper will change the sheets once a week on Mondays. There should be enough towels in the washroom, but if you need more, let me know. There is an in-home gym two doors down on the right and my room and office are on the other side of the apartment, so you’ll have plenty of privacy. Help yourself to the kitchen. My housekeeper stocks it when she comes on Mondays as well. This is your home now too, so please make yourself comfortable.”

She nods at me, and she twists her hands in front of her like she is deciding what to say. “Thanks, Josh… if you want, I can do the grocery shopping and cleaning. I don’t mind. School is out soon, so I have the time.” She is chewing on her lip now, something she has done for years when she is nervous.

I shake my head. “All good, there is no need for that, but I won’t stop you if you want to. This is your home now too, so please do what you would like. Let me know if you need anything, Olivia. Do you have anything else in your car?”

“Yeah, a few boxes in my car, and I think I’ll bring my vanity tomorrow and move my stuff into storage this week.”

“Let’s go get your boxes and then we can take my car and go get your vanity today. I can help you move stuff to storage tomorrow.”

I head out of the room, grabbing my keys off the table by the front door; turning to Olivia, I hand her the new set of keys I had made for her.

“Here is your key and fob. We can move your car to your parking spot now, too.” She nods and pockets the keys.

Heading out of the apartment and down to the parking garage, we move her car and carry the remaining boxes upstairs before we head to her apartment to get her vanity. Olivia grabs a couple more boxes and we load everything into my car and head back home. When we get home, she gets settled into her room, and the next day we head back to her place, meet Matt and get the remainder of her furniture and stuff put into storage.

Monday, I head to work before Olivia wakes up. I make my way through my meetings and read through the reports sitting on my desk. I finally pack everything up and head home at 6 p.m.; getting home half an hour later, I open the front door and my apartment smells amazing. I can smell a mix of seasonings wafting from the kitchen and hear music playing from a Bluetooth speaker.

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