Page 45 of No One Like You

“Yeah, some Dio-era Black Sabbath.”

“I think I’ve only listened to the original line-up.”

“Those Ozzy-era albums were awesome. Here, listen to this.” Tasha pulled out the headphones and hit play. “This is the title track of the Heaven and Hell album.”

“Oh, my god… that bass line. Wow. I’ll have to check that out later. Sophia, come join us for lunch, sweetie.”

After lunch, Tasha took Sophia to the cat shelter for a few hours while Megan went out to find presents for Sophia. Tasha texted to make sure that Megan was home and that the presents were well hidden before returning. Once home, she and Sophia changed clothes to keep from spreading anything to Nocturne. Tasha then showed Megan and Sophia how to make samosas.

All in all, it was a very pleasant day for all three of them. Once Sophia was in bed, Tasha went back to work, hoping to finish before she went to sleep. She felt in the mood for some sleazy-good rock and roll. Hmmm, AC/DC? Crüe? KISS would work. Oh, there. Kix it is. Tasha kept working until Megan headed to bed. Eventually, she laid down to sleep on the couch. How do I tell her that I am sleeping out here because I’m thinking really inappropriate things about her?

CHAPTER 28

SWITCH 625

Megan didn’t sleep well that night. She still hadn’t decided if she was going to take Tasha up on her offer to meet with Brad on Sunday afternoon. Worrying about that meeting made it hard to even get to sleep, and then she didn’t sleep well. Sophia sleeping next to her was a comfort. She had grown accustomed to Tasha sleeping in the bed with the two of them, but for some reason Tasha had never come to bed, so now that was worrying her, too. Once she did finally wake up on Sunday morning, Megan did not feel well-rested at all.

As she headed for the bathroom, Megan saw Tasha sitting on the couch, apparently working. Not smelling coffee, her next move once she was finished would be to start that. Weird. Whoever is up first always starts on coffee. Maybe Tasha is planning to go out for coffee? I should check on that first.

Megan sat down on the arm of the couch and said, “Good morning, Tasha. Do you want me to make coffee, or are you going out for some?”

“Oh, I forgot. If you could make some, that would be great.”

No eye contact. I hope she’s not sick or something. “You didn’t pull an all-nighter, did you?”

“No, I was just too tired to move, so I slept on the couch.”

“How did you sleep?”

“Meh, it wasn’t great. Now I’m working on the last freelance project.”

“I didn’t sleep well, either. This meeting with Brad has me really wound up.”

“I get that.”

Megan sat down on the couch and watched as Tasha shifted away from her. “I’m sorry. You’re working and here I am interrupting you.”

Tasha looked up. “Hey, no. I’m sorry. I’m just… I’m just feeling off.”

“Are you sick?”

“No, it’s not that. Physically I feel fine.”

“Are we crowding you? You’re used to living on your own and now there are two other people living with you. We’re all practically on top of each other.” Tasha made a strange face at that last sentence. Megan thought her expression looked like a combination of embarrassment and humor. “I can start looking for a new place.”

“No! Megan, it’s… it’s not that. I really like having you and Sophia here. You’re right that I’m used to living alone, but I feel like this change has been so good for me. I think that maybe I’m struggling a bit to adjust to the new circumstances, but that’s a good thing. I just need to adjust a bit more and everything will be fine. I promise. Plus, work has been a grind.”

Megan wasn’t entirely convinced, but she didn’t want to press things. Instead, she changed the subject. “Does your offer to meet Brad still stand?”

“Of course!”

“Thank you. I’m already worried about being too trusting, and feeling as tired as I do… I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“I’ve got you.”

“Hey, don’t feel like you have to. I can call him and reschedule. He’d probably rather watch football anyway.”

“Megan, it’s fine. I’ll meet with him today.”

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