about I keep it at my place until you make your decision about moving here. If you decide not to stay, I can ship it myself, ” he offers.
I stare at him for a moment, speechless. I ’ m not too sure if this is a set-up or just a kind gesture. Tessa waits quietly for my answer. “ Um, yes, I think that should be fine, ” I respond, still unsure.
“ Okay, great! I will have Stan wrap it up for you, or I could deliver it personally to your place, Kyle? ” she offers. I see the lust in her eyes.
Oh hell no! Just because I like her does not mean I am going to play wingman to a hookup. “ No, that ’ s quite alright. You can wrap it up now, ” I answer.
She smiles. “ It was great meeting you, ” she says to me. She turns to give Kyle a lingering kiss on the cheek. I pretend not to notice and walk over to the cashier to pay.
Once the photo is wrapped, Kyle carries it to his car. I follow. He ’ s a gentleman — something you don ’ t see often these days.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kyle
It was nice seeing Tessa. It ’ s been a long time. We were friends back in high school — almost had a romance before leaving for college but never actually got the chance. Life kept getting in the way. I knew I would get that reaction from her, but what I wasn ’ t expecting was Max ’ s reaction. I did hope for that, though.
My answer was confirmed once Tessa offered to stop by my house. Max went on claiming-stakes mode. I laugh to myself because I ’ m not quite sure she even realized she did it.
I drive us back to my apartment to unload the artwork. It ’ s an expensive piece, and I would hate for anything to happen to it. I run through my checklist in my head. Bed made? Check. Dishes done? Check. Kitchen clean? Check. Bathroom picked up and plugin inserted? Check. Phew! I think that about covers it. I just never know when I might bring somebody back to my pad, so it ’ s always been important for me to keep up with the housecleaning.
“ Here we are. Do you want to come up? ” I ask. I ’ m expecting a no, but to my surprise she says yes.
I carry the art to the elevator and give her the keys to open my apartment door. I hear her gasp quietly. Not the response I was looking for.
“ Is something wrong? ”
She continues to look around. “ No. I guess I was expecting something completely different. ”
“ Different how? ”
“ I don ’ t know. More like a bachelor pad: beer cans and pizza boxes strewn about. Maybe a messy bed and some dirty laundry on the floor. ”
She walks around and examines things, picking up knickknacks and putting them back. “ I guess I ’ m not the average bachelor now, am I? ”
I place the artwork against the wall in the living room.
She laughs. “ No, I guess not. ”
“ Do you want a beer? And yes, I do have beer in the refrigerator, but it ’ s in a bottle, not a can, ” I say, teasing her. She laughs.
“ Sure. I could go for an afternoon drink. ”
I pop the top and walk over to the window she is looking out of to hand her the beer. The view from my loft is sort of amazing. I ’ m on the top floor, which towers over most of the buildings in the area. In the mornings, the sun hits my window just so, and the whole place lights up. I had to buy the thickest drapes I could find to keep it out.
The evening sunsets are why I rented out this place. How could I pass up a view like that? The ladies love that sort of stuff. Plus, this building was just newly renovated. They stripped it and rebuilt it from scratch. It was calling my name.
We both take a nice long swig of beer. “ This view is definitely one-of-a-kind. I bet the girls love it, huh? ” she teases again with an adorable, wicked smile.
I love it. I love when she lets her hair down. She ’ s spunky and can take my bullshit. A match made in heaven.
“ Well, you seem to. ”
She laughs. “ Yes, yes I do. So, what else do you have in store for me today? I think we got side-tracked with the photo I bought.
I stare at him for a moment, speechless. I ’ m not too sure if this is a set-up or just a kind gesture. Tessa waits quietly for my answer. “ Um, yes, I think that should be fine, ” I respond, still unsure.
“ Okay, great! I will have Stan wrap it up for you, or I could deliver it personally to your place, Kyle? ” she offers. I see the lust in her eyes.
Oh hell no! Just because I like her does not mean I am going to play wingman to a hookup. “ No, that ’ s quite alright. You can wrap it up now, ” I answer.
She smiles. “ It was great meeting you, ” she says to me. She turns to give Kyle a lingering kiss on the cheek. I pretend not to notice and walk over to the cashier to pay.
Once the photo is wrapped, Kyle carries it to his car. I follow. He ’ s a gentleman — something you don ’ t see often these days.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kyle
It was nice seeing Tessa. It ’ s been a long time. We were friends back in high school — almost had a romance before leaving for college but never actually got the chance. Life kept getting in the way. I knew I would get that reaction from her, but what I wasn ’ t expecting was Max ’ s reaction. I did hope for that, though.
My answer was confirmed once Tessa offered to stop by my house. Max went on claiming-stakes mode. I laugh to myself because I ’ m not quite sure she even realized she did it.
I drive us back to my apartment to unload the artwork. It ’ s an expensive piece, and I would hate for anything to happen to it. I run through my checklist in my head. Bed made? Check. Dishes done? Check. Kitchen clean? Check. Bathroom picked up and plugin inserted? Check. Phew! I think that about covers it. I just never know when I might bring somebody back to my pad, so it ’ s always been important for me to keep up with the housecleaning.
“ Here we are. Do you want to come up? ” I ask. I ’ m expecting a no, but to my surprise she says yes.
I carry the art to the elevator and give her the keys to open my apartment door. I hear her gasp quietly. Not the response I was looking for.
“ Is something wrong? ”
She continues to look around. “ No. I guess I was expecting something completely different. ”
“ Different how? ”
“ I don ’ t know. More like a bachelor pad: beer cans and pizza boxes strewn about. Maybe a messy bed and some dirty laundry on the floor. ”
She walks around and examines things, picking up knickknacks and putting them back. “ I guess I ’ m not the average bachelor now, am I? ”
I place the artwork against the wall in the living room.
She laughs. “ No, I guess not. ”
“ Do you want a beer? And yes, I do have beer in the refrigerator, but it ’ s in a bottle, not a can, ” I say, teasing her. She laughs.
“ Sure. I could go for an afternoon drink. ”
I pop the top and walk over to the window she is looking out of to hand her the beer. The view from my loft is sort of amazing. I ’ m on the top floor, which towers over most of the buildings in the area. In the mornings, the sun hits my window just so, and the whole place lights up. I had to buy the thickest drapes I could find to keep it out.
The evening sunsets are why I rented out this place. How could I pass up a view like that? The ladies love that sort of stuff. Plus, this building was just newly renovated. They stripped it and rebuilt it from scratch. It was calling my name.
We both take a nice long swig of beer. “ This view is definitely one-of-a-kind. I bet the girls love it, huh? ” she teases again with an adorable, wicked smile.
I love it. I love when she lets her hair down. She ’ s spunky and can take my bullshit. A match made in heaven.
“ Well, you seem to. ”
She laughs. “ Yes, yes I do. So, what else do you have in store for me today? I think we got side-tracked with the photo I bought.
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