Page 55 of Definitely Not a Thing
“No shit,” she quipped. “Why do you think I was ready to wring your neck when you were on that kumbaya shit after ol’ girl was copying my videos bar-for-bar and making more money off them than I was?”
“Uh, in my defense, you developed a stress ulcer and had the scariest panic attack I’ve ever seen before in my life – I thought you were going to die, friend.”
“Fair enough,” Claire admitted. “But can you see how that wasnotit now?”
I nodded. “Grudgingly, I do. And I’m sorry.”
“No worries – we’re all just muddling through the best we can,” she said, then glanced at her own phone as a notification came in. “Oh, my Proxy ride is here – are yousureyou won’t just share the ride with me?”
I sucked my teeth. “It’s the complete opposite direction, and besides – it’s only like a ten minute walk from here.”
“Yeah, at night, in Old Heights.”
“Old Heights,” I mimicked, wrinkling my nose. “Okaysnobbery.”
“It isnotsnobbery, thank you, it is simply common sense,” Claire argued. “Babe, there’s parts of Blackwood I don’t go without that thang on me either.”
I smirked. “Not gentrified enough for the big city girl?”
“Okay can you stop, with thebougieedit on me? Like I don’t literally make my living building and repairing stuff on camera?I’ll actually have you know, I’m looking at a rowhome… inOld Heights.”
My eyes went wide. “Reallllly?! We’re gonna be neighbors?!”
“I don’t know… it’s inreallybad shape, but it would make great content,” she mused.
“Worse than the building I’m in?”
“Ames!” she laughed. “You’re in the Foundry – it’s a perfectly fine building, just old. It’s in good shape mostly. Just a little bit down Timberline though…those.”
“The rowhomes the teenagers around here claim are haunted?!”
“Yessss,” she replied. “Tell me that series wouldn’t go crazy!”
“Yeah, I see it now – you in your pink hard hat and belt… getting carted off to hell by Casper. That shit will instantly go viral.”
“Bye!” Claire laughed, standing from her seat. “Let me get out here before my ride leaves – also… bring your ass. We had one too many drinks for me to feel comfortable with you walking. And I’mnotarguing with you, just come on.”
I rolled my eyes about it, but stood too, taking her up on the offer to share theProxyride. When I was already stepping through the door of the building five minutes later instead of just being halfway through my walk, I wasveryglad i had.
Maybe even more so when I rounded the corner for the elevator just as Calvin was stepping on.
He saw me as he turned to put his back to the elevator wall, grinned, and immediately reached out to press the button.
To close the elevator.
“Seriously?!” I yelled as he cackled loud enough for me to hear him through the metal doors. It didn’t take long at all for the elevator to come back since it was just one floor up, but it was still annoying.
Especially since I’d been lowkey happy to run into him.
Especiallywhen his grinning face was the first thing I saw when the elevator opened on our floor.
“Boy get the fuck on somewhere,” I told him, pushing past his open arms as I silently warred with myself over the smile threatening to break free.
“Wait, don’t be mad,” he laughed as he followed me. “What’s the matter, you not in a playing mood?”
I huffed. “I was in agreatmood, actually, until you pulled that shit.”
“Daaamn, I killed the vibe? My bad,” he told me as we reached our adjacent doors. “How can I make it up to you?”
