Page 13 of Take My Heart
‘Here.’ Brody takes my sneakers and tosses them on the floor, then goes around me to the hall.
It leads to the living room, where there’s a black leather couch that looks old and worn. In front of it is a wood table that’s scratched up on top. Next to the couch is a black chair that looks like it reclines.
‘It’s not much,’ Brody says. ‘But it’s good enough for me.’
He walks to the kitchen, which is open to the living room but has a row of base cabinets dividing it. The cabinets are light oak and give the place a dated feel. My mind’s already imagining the kitchen with updated cabinets, maybe ones in a dark-stained maple. Next to the kitchen is a small dining area with a table and four chairs. The table is covered with mail that hasn’t been opened.
‘You want something to drink?’ Brody asks, opening one of the cupboards and taking out a glass.
‘No, thanks,’ I tell him.
He turns to the sink and fills the glass with water. ‘The bedrooms are just down the hall. Go ahead and pick one. Just not the big one. That’s mine.’
‘Aren’t you going to give me a tour?’ I ask, standing by the couch.
He turns back, setting the glass down. ‘You want a tour? There’s not much to see.’
‘I feel kind of odd walking around your house without you showing me around first, like I’m overstepping my boundaries.’
He walks over to me, laughing a little. ‘There’s no boundaries. Do what you want. Help yourself to whatever’s in the kitchen. Take a shower. Watch TV. As long as you don’t trash the place, I don’t care what you do.’
I’m not used to that. When I was first dating Cam and went to his apartment, he laid out a list of rules to follow before I evenwent through the door. Rules about where my shoes and coat go, what I was allowed to have in his fridge, what I could and couldn’t touch on his shelves, what towels to use in the bathroom, and the list went on. I went along with it, telling myself he just knew what he wanted. But later, after I moved in with him, it felt controlling. We were sharing an apartment and I still had to follow his ridiculous rules.
‘You coming?’ Brody asks. He’s standing in the hallway and I’m still by the couch.
‘Oh. Yeah, sorry, my mind wandered.’ I walk over to him.
We go down to the bedrooms and Brody points to one of them. ‘That’s mine. It’s a mess. I’m not great at cleaning, especially my room.’
It’s not that messy, just some clothes on the floor and stuff piled up on his dresser. It’s what I’d expect for a guy living alone. Most guys aren’t like Cam, obsessed with having everything neat and clean.
‘These are the guest rooms,’ Brody says, continuing to the two smaller rooms at the end of the hall. Only one of the rooms has a bed. It’s a twin bed with a quilted blanket on it. Next to it is a small nightstand, but that’s it for furniture.
‘I’ll take this one,’ I say, motioning to the room with the bed.
‘You sure you don’t want this one?’ Brody smiles as he points to the other room, which is filled with tools and building supplies. ‘You could help me out with some projects if you can’t sleep.’
I go past him into the room. ‘So what exactly are you working on?’
‘Everything,’ he says, sighing, as he joins me in the room. ‘The place needs to be totally redone if I want to sell it.’
‘Have you hired a designer yet?’ I ask, looking around the room. ‘Because they should be getting involved now, before you do too much.’
Brody laughs. ‘Designer? Yeah, I don’t have money for that.’
‘You should seriously consider hiring someone, even if it’s just on a consulting basis. Their advice could make you a lot more money when you go to sell the house.’
‘How is having someone put knick-knacks on a shelf going to make me more money?’
‘Designers do more than that. They can help you pick paint colors, cabinet pulls, the tiles for a floor or backsplash. Those details are the things that really sell a house.’
‘How would you know?’ Brody asks, folding his arms over his chest.
‘I’ve watched hundreds of hours of home makeover shows. People really do make more money when a home has the right colors on the wall and is staged right.’
‘Staged? What’s that?’
‘It’s making the house look finished, like adding furniture and rugs and putting stuff on tables. It’s more of the decorating stuff, the last minute touches that really make a house feel like a home people want to live in.’
