Page 40 of Riverside Reverie

“Are you sure your sister would be okay with that? She doesn’t know me.”

“She trusts my judge of character,” Baz replied confidently. “I think you’re alright,” he winked.

“It’s settled then!” Jasmine declared happily.

“Not really,” I frowned. But if I was being perfectly honest with myself, Jasmine’s idea didn’t sound half bad.

“Don’t you want to get the hell out of Dodge?” Jasmine asked lowly, arching a brow.

“Well, yeah. But moving twice sounds like a lot of work, and what if I don’t find a job?”

“With your grades and the glowing recommendations you have from your professors, you will. I have complete faith in you,” Jasmine assured me.

“You’re welcome to come check it out,” Desmond interjected. “If you want it, it’ll save me having to find another renter.”

“I thought you rented out to college students?”

“We do, or we used to, but it’s exhausting vetting people that frequently, and with Theo gone as much as he is, it usually falls to me. I wouldn’t mind getting more stable tenants in.”

“We don’t really care, so long as the rent’s paid,” Theo winked.

“You’re the other owner?” I asked, surprised.

He nodded. “Yeah, but I’m hardly around. Desmond works a lot too, so you don’t have to worry about landlords intruding all the time.” His smile put me at ease. “However, we are just next door, so if there’s any issues, we’re on top of it, so to speak.”

“Not that there will be any issues, we’ve done a lot of renovations on the place and pretty much everything is new and up to code,” Desmond added reassuringly.

“I approve, you’d make a great addition, Princess. College students were fun when we were college students. Now, well. That season of time is over, and I don’t think a college student will jibe with us as well as you do,” Talia interjected with a grin. I’d forgotten she was Jasmine’s roommate too, but I felt touched she seemed as into the idea as Jas.

“We could make a pit stop in Sudbury on our way home so you could check out the place and see for yourself,” Jasmine said.

They were all dangling a huge, juicy carrot in front of my face. I had to admit, it’d be a great opportunity to get out of my parents’ house and away from Brinley, and to spend more time with Jas. This trip had made me realize how much I missed having her as a constant in my life.

“Alright, fine. We’ll check it out and I’ll think about it,” I said. Talia and Jasmine immediately let out a cheer, and I shook my head, trying to hide the grin.

As pathetic as it was, it felt good to be wanted. I mean, I knew my parents loved me and enjoyed having me around, but they were consumed with their own lives and Brinley’s antics—and Brinley certainly didn’t like having me around, unless she was actively tormenting me. Then I supposed I served some purpose for her, but that wasn’t something I wanted.

I wanted an environment that felt like home; an environment I could be myself in. One that I wouldn’t be walking on eggshells, constantly wondering when the next hit would come.

Of course, Theo being one of the landlords complicated things a little. It made me hesitate to want to start anything physical with him. Would that be blurring the lines too much? I knew he worked a lot, and was often out of town for work. But I didn’t want him to think I was moving to Sudbury to chase whatever this thing between us was.

“You don’t have to make any decisions right now, Lux. It’s an option to have, and I’d say it’s a damn good one. Call me biased all you want,” Jasmine said quietly, grinning at me.

I shook my head, lifting my apple cider to my lips for a sip. “I do think being roommates with you would be fun, but…” my gaze cut to Theo, who was involved in a conversation with Desmond, Kai and Baz about fishing, and not paying attention to us. “I think it complicates things.”

“No, it doesn’t,” Jasmine batted away my concerns with a wave of her hand. “It makes it more accessible.”

“Exactly, I don’t want him to think I’m considering it because he’ll be there. I’m not following him,” I whispered.

“Believe me, he knows that. Theo is not Scott; he doesn’t believe everything revolves around him.”

“Who’s Scott?” Talia asked, picking up on a little of our conversation.

“My ex,” I frowned, shooting Jasmine a look that told her to knock it off. The last thing I wanted was for Theo to overhear us talking about him and our…situationship, if that’s what it even was. Could a few epic kisses be considered a situationship?

“Sounds like a tosser,” Talia said.

“Oh, he is,” Jasmine snorted. “The biggest tosser I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a fair amount of them.”

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