Page 26 of The Winning Ticket

“Hello?” Jake’s voice comes through.

“Hey, it’s Bri. I think I left my car keys up there.”

“Sure, come back up - I’ll see if I can find them.” He buzzes me in, and I head back up via the elevator.

“Hey, found ’em.” Jake waves the keys at me when I walk back into the apartment.

Maddie jumps up on him again, and he crouches down to pet her.

“I think you’ve got a fan.” I smile when he roughs her up before grinning back at me.

“Yeah, well, she’s got a fan too.” He stands up and hands me my keys.

“Thanks.”

“No worries. Actually, it was good you came back. I wanted to chat with you about something, but your sister was being weird.” He crosses his arms and shifts his weight, looking almost nervous.

“Yeah, sorry about that. She saw me leave your room on Sunday morning and accused me of taking your honour.” I roll my eyes.

Jake’s eyes widen, and he coughs. “Seriously? So that’s why she was being so painful this afternoon? Sorry, Bri. I should have told them I’d offered you the bed. I copped some flack from Chris about it last night but didn’t realise it was Morgan, too.”

“Never mind, I set her straight. So what’d you want to chat to me about?” I ask, leaning my hip against the kitchen bench.

I drop Maddie’s lead, and she wanders off to make herself comfortable on the couch again.

“Well, Chris mentioned you weren’t exactly loving being with your parents, and I need someone living here full time, so I thought I’d see if you’d maybe consider moving in here?” Jake asks.

I stare at him for a moment. “Wow… I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Yeah, what were you expecting me to say?” Jake leans back against the dining table and crosses his arms while he surveys me.

“I honestly had no idea. Why me? Why not Will and Annelisa? Or Chris and Morgan?”

“Chris and Morgan are starting to look for a place to buy now, and honestly, I don’t know that I’d want to impose on Will and Annelisa whenever I wanted to come back,” Jake says.

I cock my head to the side. “Why not?”

“Cause I don’t want to intrude on coupledom. Besides, they like their place now, and I figured you were probably over living with your parents already, so this would be better all around.”

He’s clearly given this a lot of thought, but for some reason I can’t explain, I’m not sure it’s such a good idea.

“I don’t want to be anyone’s charity case, Jake.”

“I didn’t say you were,” Jake says, lifting an eyebrow.

“I don’t need saving, then.”

“Bri, seriously. I don’t think you’re a charity case, and I’m certainly not saving you from anything. I just figured, I know you. You need somewhere to live, and frankly, I’d rather have someone who I know will take care of the place.”

I look at him for a few moments before I say anything.

“Can I think about it?” I ask, and he nods.

“Of course. I wouldn’t expect you to make a decision that quickly. Take some time to think about it. But I think it’ll be good for both of us. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live in a place like this?” He opens his arms wide.

I smile at him. “I lived in a place like this for the last four years. It’s not really anything new to me.”

“Exactly! You’ll fit right in,” he says with an eager grin.

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