“Screw off, Harp. It’s Maggie. She’s been a friend far longer than I’ve wanted something else with her. I’m not leaving her without a place to sleep, especially when she’s having my baby.”
Max’s grin widened. “Not saying you should, man. Just pointing out how you’re using this situation to your advantage.”
I sighed and stood up, whistling Ranger back to the house. Looking at Max over my shoulder, I asked, “Ride?”
Max rose to standing. “Just screwing with you, Sullivan. I know you’re not taking advantage of Maggie.”
I walked up the stairs to let Ranger into the house and grabbed my helmet from the bench by the door. Pulling the door shut behind me, I followed Max onto the porch. “It’s just, I’m out of my comfort zone here. I want to do right by her, by my kid. I’m just not sure what the right thing even is at this point.”
Max walked over to his bike and leaned down, grabbing his helmet, and looked my way with a shit-eating grin. “It will work out, Sully. And I can’t wait to watch the two of you navigate this possible platonic friendship while living in your place. Being roommates with the woman you’re interested in? Should be fun to watch.”
Helmet on, I swung my leg over my bike and raised a one-finger salute back to Max as I started it up and pulled out onto the road into the quiet spring evening. I said a silent prayer that this ride would clear my head because my conversation with Max certainly hadn’t done the trick.
10
Roommates
Maggie
After a full day with kids, all I really wanted to do right now was curl up on my couch and watch TV. Today we’d headed on a walking field trip to the library in all my classes. It was maybe a five-minute walk from the middle school, but good Lord. Five minutes of walking each way with around twenty-four kids per class, three days left of the school year? It was exhausting.
I reminded them that we didn’t need any signs of affection as we walked to the library, that it wasn’t time to take selfies for social media, and that we should stay on the sidewalk and didn’t traipse through people’s yards, et cetera. It was a miracle we all survived. Sometimes I thought corralling cats must be easier that teaching middle school.
Emma and the folks at the library had been amazing, as usual. Emma had Tim, one of the guys that she worked with, book talk some of the new releases in young adult literature, specifically highlighting the authors who would be visiting next year. Tim often hung out with us at The Homestead, along with his partner, Eric. To say he was like a one-man comedy routine would be an understatement. He had the perfect level of snark that made the seventh graders howl with laughter but also pay close attention to everything he said.
Emma had gone through the summer reading program the library was hosting for teens. The kids seemed a bit disengaged until she explained it was all about reading minutes, not a prescribed list of required texts. And they were pumped when they heard that if they hit sixteen hundred minutes of reading over the course of the summer, they’d get a small gift card to the new bookstore. Many of my students were voracious readers, so just the idea of a new bookstore was enough to excite them, much less some free cash to spend. The kids scribbled down a list of books to read from the stack Tim had shared and took the flyers Emma handed out that listed the website they could sign up on and track their reading. It looked like she might have a lot of interest.
They were all on my mind as my Jeep made the final turn into Sully’s drive. Glancing at the clock on my dash, I knew I’d likely beat him here. He’d been working at the brewery, but he’d invited me over for dinner to talk through our plans. He’d said the back door would be open, and I’d need to let Ranger out. I was happy to do it. Ranger was one of the most chill dogs ever. I’d always wanted a pup. I guess if I actually moved in with Sully for the summer, I’d get my wish.
Ranger greeted me just inside the door, jumping up to greet me. Sully would order him down, but I loved the greeting. He wasn’t aggressive at all but almost leaned in to hug me. I ran my hands along his sides, giving him a good rubdown.
“Hey, pup. You lonely?”
Ranger panted back at me, seeming to be overcome with happiness. After allowing another lick, I leaned over to open the door. Ranger took off into the yard, and I turned back to the kitchen.
Sully had told me to make myself at home. I thought about starting dinner, but I wasn’t sure if he already had something planned. Looking around, I admired the space. Sully’s place wasn’t huge, but it was a gorgeous old farmhouse.
Looking around the kitchen, I took in the clean lines. It was lined with white cabinets on the lower half of the walls, open shelves with a live edge on the wood. There was a massive island in the middle with a butcher-block top. Over the sink were huge windows looking out to his driveway and a small barn to the side that he used as a garage.
As I moved through the house, I came to the living room. There he had more open space where he used one half of the room for a dining room table, the other half for his leather couch and flat screen. There were tons of windows in there too, along with the door to the front of the house and the porch. Upstairs he had two guest rooms, one bath. I figured either room would work for me for a few months, though I hadn’t really looked closely at them before.
A noise brought me back to the kitchen. Ranger stood on his hind legs in the doorway with a tennis ball in his mouth. Well, I guess Ranger had other ideas as to how I’d spend the time until Sully arrived.
After about twenty minutes of throwing the ball for the pup, I was grateful to see Sully pull into the drive. Apparently, yoga hadn’t built my upper arm muscles sufficiently. I’d be feeling that tomorrow for certain. Sully’s bike came to a stop, and he pulled off his helmet as I admired him from a distance. He headed my way, leaning down to pick up the ball Ranger dropped and throwing it long for him.
“How long has he had you at it?” he asked, reaching my side.
“Only about twenty minutes.”
That earned me a grin as he took the returned ball from Ranger and threw it once again, the dog bounding off with joy radiating with every bounce. “I bet you’ll be a bit sore tomorrow.”
“Bite me.” I shot back.
He chuckled in response and moved us up the steps and in the back door. Ranger decided that he’d rather be inside with us than outside with all the smells. I wondered how long that would last. The pup entered the kitchen and slurped up enough water that I figured a return trip outside would be sooner versus later. Then he collapsed on the floor in an exhausted heap, his mouth practically grinning as he lay there, panting at us. I smiled and caught Sully’s eye. He just shook his head at the dog and headed toward the fridge.
“Are you in the mood for anything in particular?” he asked, scanning the contents of the refrigerator.
“What? You mean you hadn’t planned an elaborate meal?” I replied.
