Page 33 of Clean Out of Luck

Scarlett was right. I did break up with my girlfriend three months ago, and I haven’t bothered to get back into the dating field.

Because none of it feels right.

Because who I imagine having this with? Yeah, she thinks of me like an annoying big brother.

It’s late by the time I get home from my babysitting stint—I was beginning to think they’d decided to jet to Hawaii by themselves.

I head to the fridge and pull out the stuff to make a sandwich. I feel like I should be getting interviewed as the winner ofSurvivor. I don’t know how Ashlyn is doing it. But dang, Carson had better step up. I’ll make sure he does.

I pull out my phone and text Scarlett.

WADE

Are you still mad at me?

No response. And I’m left going to bed worrying that something bad has happened to her…or that she’s so mad she’s refusing to speak to me.

Chapter Eleven

Scarlett

Lilly is comingto my apartment tonight, and we’re going to have a girls’ night. Normally, we would do a girls’ night with Ashlyn, but she said she has a teething baby, and Carson is working late tonight.

Ashlyn, Lilly, Carson, and I were all in the same class. When Carson and I were younger, we played together some, but as we got older, we got busy with high school extracurriculars and other friendships. Since then, I haven’t spent as much time around Carson. But my friend Ashlyn ended up dating and then marrying Carson when they were just twenty years old. They have two kids now and seem very happy.

A chime catches my attention, and I unlock my phone.

LILLY

I’m standing in front of The Serendipity. Do I just knock on the front door?

I’ve been a terrible friend and haven’t actually hosted anything at my apartment yet, so Lilly doesn’t even know how to get into The Serendipity. I text her back and tell her to wait there—I’ll come get her. I run upstairs and down the hallto the front door. I let Lilly inside, and she walks in with her eyes fixed on the interior of The Serendipity.

“I have never been in here,” she says. “Oh, wow, look at that staircase!” She gestures to the grand staircase that leads all the way up to the fourth floor.

“Please tell me your apartment is up those,” she says with a smile.

I laugh at the awestruck tone in her voice. “Actually, no. I live in the basement.”

She frowns at me. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope, not even a little.”

“So I don’t even get to go up the beautiful staircase and pretend like I’m someone from the roaring twenties?”

“Actually, it would be more like the thirties.” I look back at the grand staircase with new appreciation. It’s funny how looking at something through new eyes reminds you of the beauty you get to see every day.

“Well, if you’d like the grand tour, I can take you all the way up those stairs and to the roof. There’s a little area up top with a garden space.”

Lilly nods eagerly. “Do you even have to ask? I have been so curious about this building, especially with the way you’ve talked it up. I want to see everything!”

“Well, then, follow me—your favorite tour guide.”

We start up the grand staircase, and she looks at me. “Wait, did you say there are four floors?”

“It’s too late to back out now,” I tell her. “You wanted to see it all, and now I’m going to drag you all the way up to the top floor to see it.”

“I always thought it was just a random building.”

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