Page 29 of My Rock Star Neighbor
“Because we’re both writers, we should agree that we will try to be nice to each other when if we break up.”
“Agreed,” I say.
Maddie bites her nail.“I’m not sure we need to add these last clauses to the contract.I trust you.”
“Anything else?”I ask.
“The confidentiality clause,” she says.“I already told Iris, Bella, and Lily, and your bandmates know, so we should exclude them.And I will have to tell Jing and my family as well.”
“And my friends Luca and Tristan know as well.”
“Oh, and you need to make sure I’m seated next to the deputy commissioners at your Parks Department concert,” she says.
“How am I going to do that?Like I have control over seating.”
“I’m sure you can insist on your girlfriend sitting with the rest of the dignitaries.I read somewhere that some band has a whole list of requirements, including that they get M&M’s—but no green ones.”
“You would remember that detail about M&M’s.And they do that for safety reasons.Because if there are green M&M’s, then maybe something else on the safety checklist was also missed.”I lean forward.“Should I insist that all my concerts provide M&M’s backstage for you?”
Maddie’s eyes widen, her gaze briefly drops to my lips, and she pulls back to put some distance between us.Hmm.She’snotimmune to me.
“I’ll do my best to get you seated there,” I say.“Do you want to add that to the contract?”
She shakes her head.“No, I trust you.”
I am oddly touched that she does, so much so that she said it twice.
“Let’s also remove fake from the first line,” she says.“I don’t want to be involved in anything fake.This is a dating contract.”
“Agreed.”
She prints out two copies, and we each sign them.I photograph the final copies.It feels oddly formal, especially when she places the original in a folder in her desk drawer.
“My spare key.”She hands me a key.
I look at it, confused.
“For when you’re cleaning Sherlock’s litter tray, remember?Every day.”
“Right.”
“A huge contract benefit,” Maddie says.
Great.Scooping the litter is the winning contract clause.Not dates with me.
I disappear into my apartment and return with my spare key, which I hand to Maddie.“You can also have my spare key.In case I ever get locked out, I can knock on your door.”
Our hands briefly touch, and we both pull back as if shocked.
“What’s our backstory of how we came to be a couple?”Maddie asks.“People tend to ask that question.”
“We met as neighbors.We were friends at first, and then we started dating about two months ago, but we didn’t want to be public about it to preserve our privacy.”
“But how?”Maddie asks.
“How would you like it to happen?”I ask.
“I’m not a romance writer.I should’ve asked Bella,” Maddie says.“Let’s say we were watching a movie late at night, and then I snuggled into you, and you kissed me.”
