Page 72 of One More Round

I just laugh. “I know there are a lot of things to see, but you guys are only here for a few days. I don’t want to fill it up with way more than necessary.”

“While I so badly want to see the theaters and the Hollywood sign, I would be one hundred percent happy hanging out in your apartment all weekend catching up with you, Gia,” Morgan says, and I know she means it. We’ve never needed to be doing a planned activity to enjoy each other’s company. Camping out on the couch and binge watching Netflix has always been something we love doing together.

Hours later, after an enjoyable dinner we are back in my tiny studio apartment.

“So, I’m not going to lie, this place is tiny,” Ruby states from the kitchen bar as she looks around the room.

“Yeah, how much are you paying for this a month?” Morgan cringes. “Maybe I don’t want to know.”

I chuckle, “Well, I get a stipend through TVEdge for my first six months of living here, but I pay nine hundred dollars. That covers fifty percent of the rent.”

Ruby lets out a low whistle.

Laughing, I say, “I know, things cost more out here, but wages are also higher.”

“I do like what you’ve done with the place though,” Morgan says.

The entire space can be seen from the front doorway. My bedroom, or I should just say my bed area, is to the right. On the same wall as the door is my TV. There is a small closet there too, near my bed. Right across from the door on the other side of the room is my couch, a coffee table, and my bathroom, which is surprisingly nice-sized. To the right of the living room, there is a small half wall that juts out creating a barely there divide where I have a four-seat high-top table. Then from there, walking toward the door is my small kitchen. There is a two-person island which I’ve turned into a makeshift desk area. But most of the time, I work on the floor between the couch and coffee table.

“It’s tiny, but I don’t have a lot of stuff and I don’t need a lot of space,” I say, trying to imagine what they see when they look at the space. I’d love to say that it suits me or that I’m happy to call this place my own, but it would be a lie. So, I use this as a segue to bring up my news.

“Actually, I was wondering, Morgan,” she looks over from the other end of the couch. “Is my room still open?”

She looks startled and I see a smile creep over Ruby’s face while she makes herself a drink.

“Yes, and we will come back to why you just asked that question in a moment, but I should tell you that the room won’t be available for long. I’m actually moving out,” she says with a hint of excitement in her eyes.

It takes me only a millisecond, then I gasp, “Are you and Dex moving in together?” A huge smile spreads over my face when the pure look of happiness radiates from hers.

“Yes, we are,” she says excitedly.

“Oh my gosh. I’m so happy for you. When? Where? Oh my—how did the guys take the news? I assume you are getting your own place?” I ask, my own news falling by the wayside.

“Thank you. And we are moving into a unit in the same building they are in now, so Dex will still be close to the team. We move in next month. And they took it as you’d expect.” She giggles.

“We all think that Link will end up crashing in their second bedroom because he’s too attached to Dex,” Ruby explains. We all laugh because we can totally see this happening.

I lean back and look at her knowingly. “You know what this means, right, Morgan?”

“What?”

“It means before long he’s gonna get down on one knee and give you a ring.” I can’t stop the smile as she blushes.

“He’s totally going to do it sooner rather than later, I can feel it,” Ruby agrees.

“Come on, guys, stop. It’s not something I want to dwell on,” she says.

“Have you talked about it?” I ask. She blushes again.

“Oh my gosh, they have!” Ruby giggles.

“Morgan?” I push.

“Yes, we’ve talked about it. But we haven’t looked at rings or anything. We’ve talked about them, but not looked. So, I doubt it’s soon. Don’t couples usually look at rings first?”

“Not necessarily. Sometimes, but not all the time,” I tell her.

Then I jump up and tackle her with a hug. “Aagh, I’m so excited for you, Mo.”

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