Page 63 of Daring the Hockey Player
I grab the keys to the Porsche and the apartment keys. There's a spare in the drawer, and I grab it on its lonesome keyring. "The key to your new home," I say, handing her the spare.
"I really thought when I'd move in with a guy, it wouldn't be like this, with us." Amber blushes.
I lead her out into the hallway, down the elevator, and to the car.
"Can I drive?" she quips, wagging her eyebrows at me.
I don't know whether she has a driver's license or not, but I don't think my brother would appreciate me handing over the keys to his Porsche to my roommate.
"How about you ask Kyler, when you see him at dinner, if you can borrow the car?" I open the passenger side door for her and gesture for her to climb inside.
"It was worth a shot," she says, smiling weakly as she steps down into the car.
I shut the door and hurry around to let myself in, start the engine, and we head toward my brother's place for dinner.
"Are you going to tell them, or am I?" Amber asks.
"Tell them what?"
"That we're living together." The way that she says it makes it sound almost scandalous.
I bite down on my bottom lip, glancing at her. "We're just roommates," I remind her.
"I know that. We could play with them and tell them we're seeing each other."
"No," I snap, putting a pin in her idea before it gets wildly out of control. "We're not doing that with Kyler. You can tell Emerson whatever you want, but I'm not telling him I'm banging his fiancée's sister."
She has no idea that Kyler asked me to have Amber move in with me, and I wasn't on board initially with the idea.
But it's grown on me today, having her around, realizing that she needs someplace to stay, and I want her as a roommate.
Amber grins, staring at me. "I dare you to do it."
SEVENTEEN
AMBER
Livingwith Jasper has been easier than I imagined, probably because I see him far less than I see my own sister. Well, that's not exactly true.
We run into each other on occasion. But with his early morning practices and game nights staying out until late, we run different schedules.
I have school and three shifts a week at Mad Tea House. I've picked up an extra shift to make sure I have enough to cover my portion of the rent, which I know isn't anything close to what Jasper actually pays, but my rent has been depleting my savings account.
Jasper won't let me pay a cent more, and I honestly can barely make ends meet as it is with having to replace what I lost in the fire, including my laptop, which cost nearly as much as my rent check.
My phone buzzes, and it's Charlotte, letting me know that she's outside. I head down to the elevator to greet her. She's standing outside in the cold when I step onto the sidewalk.
"You can come inside," I say, throwing my arms around her for a hug.
We haven't caught up since the fire. I've been working like crazy, trying to catch up with my studies. I missed a couple of days after the fire. One of those days was easily excused. The other two were because I didn't feel like catching the subway to go to class. It was raining and dreary.
Lame excuse, I know. I did the reading and assignments that were posted online for the class.
"You did well for yourself," Charlotte says. "Is the boyfriend home?"
"He's not my boyfriend, and yeah, this place is amazing. Come on up. Besides, it's freezing out," I say. Charlotte isn't shivering, but I am, wearing a sweater and jeans. I'm going to need to buy a winter coat soon, but I've been putting it off, waiting for my next paycheck to cover the cost.
We head inside, and I lead her to the elevator and then to the enormous two-bedroom apartment.
