Page 11 of A Roommate for Christmas
As much as Paige had planned double dates, the couples never quite jived the way she had wanted.But she was blinded by her love and infatuation for Chance, so she always shook off the lukewarm feelings from all parties.
But once Chance was out of the picture for good, Nadia didn’t shy away from letting Paige know she thought he was a loser with little ambition and a bland personality.And Paige couldn’t help but agree.
Still, as much as her logical brain knew it was for the best that the relationship was over, she had been crushed in the weeks and months that followed Chance and Diana’s office debut.Seeing the man she believed she would marry walk hand-in-hand through the office with a new girlfriend made her question everything about the validity of their relationship.Had he even cared about her at all?It hurt her to see how much it looked like he wasn’t hurting.
So, dating had been off the table.
She told herself she was fine on her own.She still had Nadia as a roommate and best friend, and Linus was always kind, warm, and thoughtful towards her.But as she sat in the empty apartment, she realized maybe she was lonelier than she thought.
Should I download the apps?She thought to herself.It’s been almost a year now ...
As she switched the TV on to watch Netflix, an automatic preview forToo Hot to Handlestarted playing.Paige couldn’t help but stare a bit too intently at the handsome shirtless men with washboard abs that flashed on the screen.
She clicked on it, and while the intro played, she went to the app store on her phone, searched for Hinge, and hit download.
***
The following days had Paige feeling hopeful.
She had some newfound confidence after spending some time swiping on the dating apps and receiving some flirty messages.
But while she had been scanning through Chicago’s dating pool, she had received another message in the housing Facebook group from a promising lead.
Her name was Allison, and she had been living in Chicago for a few years, originally from somewhere in southern Illinois.Her lease at her current house was about to be up, and she said she was ready for a change of scenery.The big plus was that she worked as an engineer at a tech company and didn’t scoff at the price.
No forceful diet restrictions, check.No pets, check.Has the funds to pay the rent, check.Allison just might be the one, Paige thought.
They set up a time to meet on Thursday during their lunch break, and Paige woke up that morning with an optimistic feeling that this would be the day she found her roommate.
Allison arrived on time, smiling and politely shaking Paige’s hand.Paige had suggested the same Starbucks she met with the other roommate prospects hoping none of the employees would remember her from the day of Noodles’ incident.
“It’s so great to meet you,” Paige said before the girls joined the line for a coffee.
Allison looked—and smelled—normal, and as far as Paige could tell, she didn’t have any surprise toy poodles hiding in her purse.
After a few minutes of small talk while they were waiting for their drinks, they found an empty table and got into house details.
“The building is great—not too old, nice amenities, and the handymen I’ve found are quick to fix anything that happens,” Paige said proudly.“So,” she continued, “tell me a little more about your routine and living style.”
She sipped her coffee, waiting anxiously to confirm that Allison was indeed as good a roommate choice as she hoped she’d be.
“Yeah, I’d be happy to,” Allison replied.“I am in the office every day from about eight to five.I try to cook most dinners at home and then pack a lunch each day before work.I’m very tidy and clean my dishes almost immediately after using them.I’m used to splitting house chores, but don’t mind doing some extra cleanup if it’s needed.”
Paige couldn’t believe what she was hearing.Was Allison the perfect roommate?She was tidier than Paige was, check.She cooked, which would help her save money, check.There were no red flags in sight.
“Well, it sounds like a great match so far!”Paige couldn’t keep the smile off her face.“So, your current lease is up.Are your housemates just not renewing?Are they all moving out too?”
“Oh no, they are all staying.But I just had to get out of there.”Allison appeared to shudder just thinking about it.
“Yikes, they’re that bad, huh?”Paige asked, awaiting the juicy details.
“There are three other girls and they are just super annoying.It’s like, every morning before work they stand around the kitchen recappingLove is Blindor some other crappy TV show.”
Paige’s face went pale, and she looked down at her coffee cup to try and avoid eye contact.She didn’t want her facial expression to give away the fact that she was a major consumer of reality TV.
“Like, can’t I just make my lunch for the day in peace without hearing about who kissed who and who is causing all this made-up pointless drama?”Allison seemed truly irritated by the idea.
Paige didn’t know what to think or say in response.How many evenings and mornings did she and Nadia spend talking about which men from their favorite reality dating show were the hottest, or about the petty things the women on the show did to stir the pot?And don’t even get her started on all their other “crappy” TV shows, as Allison had called them.
