Page 8 of Give Me Forever

I straightened up, taking a step back. I had this unbelievable feeling that I'd gone back in time.

"Are you ready to go up?" she asked. "We’re supposed to be there in two minutes."

"Still a stickler for time, I see," I said, motioning for her to go in first.

"Do you still have a penchant for being late?"

"No. Being a doctor beat that out of me. Being late is not allowed. Ever."

"I can't believe you went through with it and became a doctor," she said as we entered the building. The door was wide open, which I didn't like. Did they leave it open on purpose for us, or was it an issue? It could become a security problem. I wasn't worried about myself, but if Avery did move in, I wanted her to be safe.

"Why not?" I asked. "I always said I would."

"I know, but we all dream about things when we're in high school." She looked over her shoulder. She was smiling, but it was tinged with resignation. "And then we change our dreams.”

I had the sudden urge to bail on the open house and instead take her out for a drink and ask her about every detail of her life since the last time I saw her.

There was a sign in the inner courtyard with an arrow that said Open House. Good. That meant the door had been left open on purpose. We went up a staircase that looked old but was well maintained. It didn't smell moldy. It only went up six steps before the door of the apartment came into view. It was open, too, and I saw the realtor through it.

"This place is amazing," Avery marveled. "It has so much light."

"I agree," I said. It was four o’clock in the afternoon in October—not a bright month in Chicago, but being in here, you wouldn’t know it.

The realtor came up to us. "Sam Maxwell and Avery Sinclair?"

"Yes," we said at the same time.

"Welcome. My name is Mal Dinklage, and I’ll be showing you the property today."

"Are there others coming?" I asked.

"You've got a twenty-minute slot before the next appointment."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You said I was the first one who contacted you."

"You were."

"Then I want the right to decide first."

He looked at me, stunned.

"Okay, that’s... all right," Mal stumbled through his words. "Do you want me to show you around?"

I looked at Avery. "I think we can look on our own first and then come back with questions."

"Okay." He scurried to a window, looking outside. Avery was looking at me incredulously.

"What?" I asked.

"I don't know. The way you sounded earlier made it seem as if he didn't have a choice but to agree with you."

"And he didn’t," I replied.

"Yeah, well, I'm still digesting how you went about it."

"Come on, let's look around," I said.

She walked in front of me. On instinct, I started to put my hand at the small of her back but stopped myself at the last possible second.

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