Page 2 of Stuck On Them

I accepted the call from my best friend. “Thank God, Nora. You will not believe what just happened.”

Nora hummed as if thinking. “You met a dashing young prince who made up for all the orgasms you’ve been missing out on?”

“I wish.” I shut my door and locked it before staring at the loveseat and deciding to sit on one of the small stairs going up to the bed loft instead. “There was a rat in my apartment.”

She laughed. “What I would pay to have seen your reaction.”

“Hey, that’s not nice.” I cradled the phone against my ear and shoulder and leaned back on my elbows, my eyes scanning the room just in case my mortal enemy was back. “He almost ate my face off.”

Nora and I laughed and then both fell silent. We’d been best friends since we’d been roommates in our freshmen year of college. My moving across the country had not only been a big decision but one I made rather impulsively. It was completely out of character for me, but I’d also never had my heart ripped out and put through a paper shredder before.

“You know you can always come back and live with me until you figure things out,” she said softly.

My chin quivered, and I bit down on my lip. Enough tears had been shed over the past week to fill a small swimming pool, and I refused to cry anymore. “I can’t be there right now. Maybe in a few months once this short-term lease is up.”

“Well, if that’s the case, then you’d better be living it up and not just stay holed up in that-”

I screamed, nearly dropping my phone as I scrambled up the steps. The rat was back, this time running across the small space and going under the couch. The broom was still on the floor where I’d left it, but I was too scared to step foot off the stairs.

Nora was laughing her ass off on the other end of the phone. “He’s your new roommate. Or maybe it’s a she and she’s trying to find somewhere to have her little rat babies.”

“Nora!” The tears I’d been holding back finally broke free. It figured I’d trade living with one rat for another.

“Hey… I was just teasing, Paige.” Nora’s voice softened, and I wished she was with me. “Pack a bag and I’ll get you a hotel for the weekend, okay? It’s Friday night, and even if the super was around, they probably wouldn’t do anything right now.”

I sniffled and wiped my tears, not taking my eyes off the couch. “You don’t have to do that.”

“I am. So go pack a bag and make sure to take a dress because you’re going to go have some drinks and find yourself a man to hook up with.” She spoke so nonchalantly that I had to laugh. “I know it’s never been your thing for one-night stands, but a good orgasm from a man who knows what they’re doing will help you relax and clear your head.”

While considering her words of wisdom, I climbed the rest of the way up what could hardly be called stairs to my loft. Nowhere was safe from the rat, but there wasn’t anywhere it could hide with my mattress taking up almost the entire space. In the corner, I had one of my suitcases still packed while the other lay open at the foot of the bed. I hadn’t exactly figured out storage solutions just yet, and I was glad I hadn’t spent the money. I was quickly realizing my mistake in running away to New York City and already wanted to go home.

Nora had gone silent besides the clicking of her typing. She’d tried to convince me to stay when she’d dropped me off at the airport just over a week ago, but I couldn’t find it in me. Something inside me snapped when I found out what my now ex-fiancé had done. I’d thought he loved me, but boy was I wrong. Never again would I put myself in such a vulnerable position.

“Paige? You there?” Nora’s voice snapped me back into action and I yanked my unopened suitcase onto the bed with one arm.

“Barely,” I grunted. “I got this damn thing up here, but now I don’t know how I’m going to get it down.”

“You can just slide it down the stairs; maybe it will squish the rat at the bottom.” She laughed as I gagged at the thought of having to deal with the aftermath of that.

Cradling my phone between my shoulder and ear again, I maneuvered the bag so it was lying flat on the stairs and let go. I flinched at the noise it produced.

“I probably just scared the shit out of my downstairs neighbor.” I turned sideways and went down the stairs, leaping the last two steps to avoid the suitcase. “Phew, that was a workout.”

“That can be your warmup for later. I booked you a room for three nights at The Bella Grand Hotel. They’re sending a car to pick you up in fifteen minutes.”

“That’s way too expensive!” I kept my eye on the couch as I shoved a few pairs of shoes in a plastic bag and squeezed them into my suitcase.

“Only the best for you, babe. Just send a thank you note to my dad since I put it on his card.” Nora’s dad was a former hockey superstar who had traded in his stick for a whistle. To say he was generous to his daughter was an understatement.

“Nora,” I admonished as I quickly grabbed my laptop and charger from the table and put it in my tote along with my toiletry bag.

“He said I could use it for emergencies, and this is definitely an emergency. I can’t have my best friend being eaten alive by rats.” A car door slammed in the background. “I’m headed to work. Text me if you need to, okay?”

“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

We hung up, and I rolled my bag into the hall. At least all the excitement had made me forget why I was there, even if it was just for a minute.

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