Page 18 of First Comes Forever

“So?” she asks, cocking her head to the side. Even in the aromatic haze of smoke from the restaurant, I still smell her perfume. It’s less triggering now. More pleasant than anything else. I’m slightly tempted to bury my face in her neck to see where she’s dabbing it on.

“I fed you. My guy from the repair shop is picking up your car as we speak—”

“I didn’t ask you to do that.”

“You didn’t have to.” Leaning to the side, I pull a key out of my pocket. “Last order of business.”

“Business? Okay…you fed me, took my car, and now you’re giving me a key.” Her sassy, smart-ass smile is contagious. “Adam Montgomery, did you just kidnap me?” She takes in a panoramic view of the restaurant. “The food was so delicious, I didn’t even realize. Well, you win, I’m stranded and helpless,” she says, then puts her wrists together and holds them out to me. “Lock ’em up.”

“Hilarious. I’ll keep bondage in mind for yet another one of your interesting kinks.”

“Ha. Tip of the iceberg, my friend,” she says with a half-hearted chuckle.

I don’t understand her playfulness. When I left the leasing office, I thought someone was being stabbed. Based on the blood-curdling screams, I looked around for a victim being chased by a large man in a hockey mask. Instead, I saw Amani having the literal definition of a complete mental breakdown in her car. And when I caught her, she tried, with great effort, to play it off like she was fine. At least until she mentioned a baby…

“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Jessie at the leasing office. Do you really want to move back to Denver?”

There’s a flicker of surprise on her face, then her eyes drop to her lap. “I honestly don’t know. I wanted to, then I had a change in plans. But I already lost my place, and the rental market here is a nightmare. I can’t drain my savings and move all my shit into a hotel room.”

I place the key on the table and slide it in front of her. “Would you move your shit up to the third floor?”

“You’re between tenants?”

“Um…sure.”For almost seven years now, since I moved out.But I don’t tell her that.

“Adam,” she scoffs, unconvinced. “You’re not going to kick renters out just because of a little crush.”

I clutch my chest and give her my most offended expression. “Just because I asked you out, told you you’re gorgeous, bought you lunch, handled your broken car situation, and now am offering you my condo—free of charge, by the way—you think I’mcrushingon you? That’s mighty forward of you, Amani.”

She laughs so hard, she snorts. I wait until she has her cackle under control. “Fine. But not for free. I insist on paying. Full price. And ten percent on top of the monthly price for you accommodating me on such short notice.”

“I have a three-bedroom in building A with an ocean view. You really want to pay full rent?”

“Building A?”

I nod. “Correct.”

She clears her throat. “Then yeah, I’m going to need that friends and family discount you’re about to offer me.”

“It’s a favor between friends. You can stay as long as you need for free until you figure out your next steps.”

She shakes her head. “No dice. I’m no mooch.”

I let out a hearty laugh. “If you insist on paying, how about thirty percent off?”

She points her thumb up to the ceiling and jabs a few times. “Too generous.”

“Ten percent off?”

She frowns and turns her thumb downward. “Eh, I’d really like to be able to afford groceries.”

“Twenty-five percent off. Final offer.”

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ears and bats her eyelashes at me. “Oh my God, Adam, that was so generous and unexpected,” she says, her voice teeming with more sarcasm. “But I don’t know about all this. Can I think about it?”

I balk at her in confusion. “Where are you going to go? Your lease is up in a couple of weeks, right?” I think I remember Jessie telling me all rental agreements run on the first of the month.

“There’s a lovely bridge on the West side, near Riverlakes. Very little graffiti and there’s a community bonfire every night. Are they burning old tires for warmth? Yes. But I like to focus on the positives, like all the free malt liquor that gets passed around in brown paper bags.”

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