Page 34 of Emergency Exit
“Well, but… how many clothes did you buy?”
“Um… the first three scrolls.”
“The first three scrolls!” Harper’s voice jumped an octave. “That is a lot of money!”
She wasn’t sure how much because she didn’t check prices unless she was absolutely in love with a piece.
“I have a lot of money,” he said with a shrug. “I said I would buy you things. And I know you like these things, so I bought them. And if they don’t fit, you can just borrow some sweats. What do you think?” asked Ash, glancing over at her as they pulled into the parking garage of his building in the Denny Triangle. The garage was full of expensive cars. Harper guessed Ash’s car was also expensive—Porsche was a name that was synonymous with money—but she thought he’d probably gotten the practical kind because it was a hybrid.
“That it sounds like Christmas before Halloween?” she said guiltily, and Ash grinned.
On the way up to his condo, Harper tried to think about the situation logically. She had the nagging feeling that her mother would disapprove, but Ash did like to buy her things. She was really enjoying her new handwriting tablet and Post-it notes. And networking with Ash was like window shopping. As a result, she had pinned a lot of great clothes recently. She wondered which ones he’d bought.
“Do I get to open boxes?” asked Harper as he unlocked the front door.
“You can unbox all the things,” said Ash. “And my job will be to pour wine and watch you try things on.”
Harper tried not to skip into the foyer. She thought that letting boys buy her clothes was supposed to be bad, but that was only if boys were going to expect sex in return, so she thought this didn’t count. Harper would have liked some sex, but while Ash seemed to think their agreement covered cheek kisses and hand-holding in public, he’d been determinedly hands-off in private.
He pulled off his coat and held out his hand for hers. He had a very strict entering and exiting routine that Harper liked. He said he needed to put all his things in the right spots—otherwise, they disappeared, and he’d waste hours trying to find them again later. Harper found the ritual reassuring.
“I know it’s a little weird,” she said, blushing as she handed over her coat. “But I really like opening things. I find it very satisfying.”
“Hm. How are you existing at my house? I never met a cabinet I was going to shut.”
The foyer opened into a vaulted great room with the kitchen and a hall to the bedrooms beyond. Harper liked Ash’s condo; it always felt welcoming. She thought it was because he’d picked colors and textures that were the right emotions for the activities that happened in them.
“Opening cabinets is annoying. Opening boxes is a surprise.”
“Ah. Well, that works out for my object impermanence then.”
Harper made a confused noise.
“The phraseout of sight, out of mindwas invented to describe me. If it’s behind a door, I forget that I own it. That’s why I have all open shelving in the kitchen. OK, I’m going to change into the sweats Emma hated.”
“I like them,” said Harper. “They’re soft.” He was definitely still in the phase of the breakup where he enjoyed doing all the things his ex hated.
“I shoved everything I bought you into the front closet over there,” he said, heading for his room but waving toward the living room.
“I find your open shelving really convenient,” said Harper, slipping out of her heels and leaving them in their usual spot by the front door.
“You do?” he called over his shoulder as he entered his bedroom. Harper knew she was a little pathetic to follow him, but sometimes he’d leave the door open, and she’d see him with his shirt off.
“I’ve been trying to figure out how to remove my cabinet doors since I saw your kitchen,” said Harper. Then she realized that probably sounded weird. “I mean, I know how to take cabinet doors off.”
She paused to look at one of his art pieces—a Japanese woodblock print of a kabuki actor playing a samurai. She found the colors amazing, and the intricate lines were easy to get lost in.
“I got kind of woodworking obsessed for a while,” she said, remembering that she had been explaining about the cabinets. “Although, I did leave most of my tools back in Denver. But I could pick them up at Thanksgiving.”
“Cool,” he said, pulling on a t-shirt as he returned to the hall,and Harper tried not to drool over the brief glimpse of his chest.
“You don’t think it’s weird?” she asked hesitantly. Cooper had said it wasn’t a feminine hobby and refused to tell everyone she made their coffee table.
“Why would that be weird?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “Some people thought it was strange.”
“Well, some people obviously don’t have anything interesting going on in their lives and should shut the fuck up,” said Ash which made Harper laugh.
