Page 7 of Boyfriend Maintenance

“Oh, poor Jake. Would you like some fucking cheese with that wine? Are you really complaining about all the women in your building enjoying a little eye candy while they wait for something in their apartment to be fixed?” He really doesn’t get it.

“Yes, Kev. I’m really complaining. I’m not just talking about smoking hot twenty- and thirtysomethings. The teenage girls living in the building, married women, and even the Q-tips are all guilty of it. Hell, my week wouldn’t be complete without some kind of sexual advance or come-on. Seventy-year-old Mrs. Jenkins is a repeat offender.”

“I dunno, man, you’re not that attractive.” He leans back in his chair, crosses his arms over his chest and studies me.

“Pfft. Just last week, someone told me I could pass as a body double for one of the Jonas brothers.” I brush the nonexistent dust off my shoulder.

Chuckling, Kevin reaches for his bottle of beer. “Fine. I might see it. Still, I think you’re missing out on some hot and passionate resident sexy time.”

“Whatever. Not going to happen.” This isn’t something I’m going to let up on. I don’t want to mess with my job, a job that pays the bills and allows me to tuck some money away here and there for some high-society tail.

“Oh, that reminds me. My buddy told me that there is a house up for sale in Great Kills. He said it’s a great starter home. You should check it out.” Kevin knows I’ve been looking.

“Oh really? Any idea what they are asking?” I’ve been saving to buy a house on Staten Island for nearly two years now. That pesky down payment is keeping me from really getting serious with my realtor.

“I think like seven hundred thousand. Which isn’t bad at all for that neighborhood.”

“No, it’s not. I’ll have to check it out.”

“Speaking of buying a house, how’s that down payment fund coming along?” He motions to the server for another beer.

“Very slowly. I’m a little more than halfway there, but it’s slow going.” And so help me, if I have to put any more money into my apartment, then it’s just going to slow me down even more.

“I don’t understand why you are so hell-bent on buying a place on the island. Why not just get a better apartment, or buy a unit in a nicer place?”

“I need to be able to get out of the city. This place is crawling with tourists twenty-four seven and sometimes it’s just nice to escape it.”

“So, visit Mom more.” He chuckles. “She would love that.”

“I visit Mom plenty. No, I want my own place, away from the city that never sleeps. Iwantto fucking sleep once in a while. Preferably in a place that isn’t in major need of fixing up. Even though growing up like we did—struggling to make ends meet, having that house in a friendly neighborhood—it’s important to me. Someday, when I settle down and start a family, that’s where I want to raise my kids. Not in the city. City kids are spoiled little shits.”

He laughs at my last point. “Aw man, when you have kids, your little shits will be spoiled to hell by Mom, and you know it. It doesn’t matter where you live, it’s how you raise them.”

I eye him. That was rather profound for a twenty-six-year-old with no goals of settling down anytime soon.

“Huh. Didn’t know you were that deep, little bro.”

“I’m as deep as the ocean. And if anyone knows what it’s like to be raised in a shitty situation, it’s us. But Mom raised us, and she did a fucking amazing job. And you know we would have turned out the same way whether we grew up in a shitty apartment in Queens, a high-rise on Madison Avenue, or the tiny three-bedroom on Staten Island.”

Stunned by the revelation, I sit back in my seat. He’s so fucking right.

“Shit. That’s true. I feel like I need to buy Mom a medal or something.” We both laugh. I run a hand through my hair and think about the larger than normal hug she’s getting next time I see her.

“So, new plan?”

“Nope, I’m still buying a house on the island. Your revelation was good, but not that good.”

He mutters something under his breath as I buy him another drink.

I’ve got a busy week ahead. I’m back on call for the next six days. Three of those days I’m on call overnight. So, after we make plans to meet up again for another game in a couple weeks, we go our separate ways.

Chapter 5

Emmy

“Oh,hey, Olivia! I have some new samples for you. We were prepping for a trade show and just restocked our samples and all that fun stuff. I brought you some.” I hand a small, Envirogal tote full of samples to her. I was planning on running it down to her apartment tonight after dinner, but since we are both checking our mail, it’s perfect timing.

“Ooh, thank you, Emmy. You know how much I love this stuff. You’re so good to me.” She takes the bag and peers in.

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