Page 10 of Fall With Me
I bristle. “Pardon me for loving what I do and having a hobby millions of other people also enjoy. Besides, I do more than those two things.”
“Whoa, chica. Chill. I was teasing.”
I roll out my shoulders.Relax. No need to be defensive. This is Kate.“What do you have in mind?”
“Shopping and pedis.”
Because I can’t help myself, I smugly say, “Oh look. More things I like besides my job and the Utes. Yes, I’ll happily go shopping and get pampered.”
Pedicures are slightly wasted on me. I wear tennis shoes ninety percent of the time. Not many people get to see my painted toes. But I love getting them done and having my feet look cute.
“Excellent. I’ll pick you up at three.”
I wiggle out of my bike shorts. “I’ll be ready. Have fun with Boston.” Or not. She needs to find someone who can support her and be a partner. Not someone who can’t keep a job.
“Have fun with your dinner and movie, babe. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Very funny,” I deadpan.
“Love you, boo. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Byyee,” I sing before hanging up my phone and heading to the only bathroom in my half of the duplex. The shower surround is old and more gray than white despite how often I clean it. The green and white tile on the floor is a throwback to the early nineties when Grammy and Papa bought and updated the duplex. They’ve painted the walls and cleaned the tan carpet since they acquired the two units, but it’s all they’ve done for upkeep.
If they had money to spare, I’d recommend gutting the whole place to make it more modern, but they don’t care too much about what it looks like as long as it’s functional and renters pay their dues on time. Considering I don’t make a ton of money, the discounted rent they offer me means I can’t be too picky about color and flooring.
After showering, I change into joggers and an oversized tee. Dinner tonight is Lunchables for grown-ups. Also known as a charcuterie board, but I prefer the authentic name, not the bougie term. I have whole wheat crackers, slices of lunch meat, Swiss cheese, cucumbers, and strawberries. My only problem is figuring out what to watch.
Do I go for a romance, further hammering my loneliness into my brain, or a drama?
I settle on something that has both.
Downton Abbey.
Grabbing my plate of food and a tall glass of ice water, I head into my living room and settle into my comfy couch. Next weekend, I’ll pull out all my pumpkin and leaf decorations. After I’m done, my house usually looks like Hobby Lobby exploded in here and I can’t wait to usher in the autumn vibes.
As the movie plays, Lord and Lady Grantham are in bed talking. My heart pangs. The longer I watch, the more I wish I could have a relationship like that one day.
I’m by myself on a Friday night with no one besides Kate or my brother to hang out with. Is this really the life I want?
Yes, because the alternative is not an option. I refuse to do to anyone else what Mom did to Carter and me.
Chapter 6
Dawson
The Friday after Labor Day, I’m sitting in my home office on a mandatory staff meeting before the weekend hits. With the workload on our plates, I’m fairly confident almost everyone will put at least a few hours in sometime over the weekend. Myself included.
I’m waiting for everyone else to sign off. I have an update to give Carter on a client completion date.
One by one, my coworkers leave until finally I’m left alone with my boss. His face, that looks a lot like Chloe’s, stares at me. The skin below his amber eyes is dark and puffy. Wonder if he’s slept as little as I have this week.
“Hey, Dawson. How’d your first week go?”
Like drinking from a fire hose. “Great.”
“Any questions? Concerns?”
Looking down at my notes, I read off what I wanted to tell Carter today. “I spoke to Creative Source about their racing game. They want a completion by February 28th. I told them we’d have it done by then. I finished codingBustedand sent it over to Jeff. I’m reading through what’s been done onCode Breakers: Magical Editionand plan to start that on Monday.”
