“Better than I thought it’d be,” Daniel replied. “I expected it to be boring or overwhelming, but it was fun. Everyone was nice, even the staff working the party. I’m glad to be home though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m not happy my boss forced me to take the weekend off, but it’s kind of nice. It’s been forever since I could go to a party or hang around the house. I’m actually looking forward to doing nothing for the next couple days.”
Jensen frowned and flipped over to his other side. “Speaking of work, I got some news today. Not good news.”
“Okay?”
He didn’t want to sugarcoat it, and wouldn’t know how to anyway. He owed Daniel the untainted truth. “The firm in Sevier doesn’t have any openings for me.”
“Oh,” Daniel breathed out, disappointment heavy in the one syllable. “So you aren’t moving?”
“I still want to move there,” Jensen rushed to reassure him. “It just might not be as soon as we talked about. I’m going to start looking for jobs tomorrow.”
“No, it’s fine.” Daniel’s tone suggested it was anything but fine. “I don’t expect you to move across the country. I get it.”
“Daniel, the plan hasn’t changed. I promise. I’m going to figure something out. You have to trust me.” Anxiety nudged at the back of his mind. “You trust me, right?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Yeah, I trust you, Jensen,” he whispered.
“We’re going to figure it out,” he promised both of them. Jensen wasn’t sure what else to say. He could admit to his outburst at work, but that would just worry Daniel even more. He could offer more promises and hope that Daniel believed them, but he didn’t think that was what either of them needed in that moment.
“Yeah, we’ll figure it out.” Daniel cleared his throat and thankfully changed the subject. “Hey, what is your opinion on the pendulum swing from maximalist to minimalist trends in the past few decades?”
Jensen groaned. “Don’t get me started.”
“And if I were to?”
“It’s not about stuff, or the lack of stuff. It’s about wealth disparity and people’s outlook on the future. But first, you have to understand, what most people consider minimalism these days is actually aesthetic brutalism.”
Daniel hummed. “Tell me more.”
With a smile, Jensen shifted further into bed to get more comfortable. This was going to be a long conversation.
20
“Hey, Daniel.”
Casey’s voice stopped him from his dash out of the house. He was going to be late for work and should have left ten minutes ago. Like always, he’d lost track of time while talking with Jensen and probably would have missed half his shift if his bladder hadn’t protested at being ignored a moment longer. Ending the call with Jensen had revealed just how late it had gotten, which had Daniel sweating. He didn’t have time for a roommate chat before getting in his car, especially since the last time he’d seen his boss, she was telling him to get the fuck out of her hotel for the weekend. Being late wasn’t a good way to get back in her good graces. Which he desperately needed if he was going to survive.
“Yeah?” he asked, keeping his hand on the door so he could make his escape the moment Casey stopped talking.
“I haven’t seen your portion of rent being transferred over. I’m sure you’re already planning on sending it, just thought I’d give you a reminder that I need to get it in by midnight.”
Daniel’s hand tightened on the doorknob. Rent. Of course. Because it was the first of the month again. Which meant his car insurance would have been transferred out of his account thatmorning. Along with his student loan payment. And his phone bill. And his gym membership. All out of his savings account that had less money in it than it needed.
He didn’t have his credit cards set to automatically pay out like his other bills as a precaution to make sure he had enough for everything. A late payment on his cards only cost twenty-five dollars, and that was so negligible compared to the ocean of debt already on them that Daniel had just stopped caring.
But he couldn’t get out of paying rent. He didn’t think his roommates would kick his ass to the curb if he was late; at least, he hoped they wouldn’t. Daniel still didn’t want to be a burden to them.
Besides, he was a grown man, dammit. He didn’t need his roommates covering for him. It would be endlessly humiliating to tell them he couldn’t balance a fucking checkbook and needed them to pay his portion until he could come up with the funds like a grifter.
No way. He wasn’t going to put that on them. No, he’d get to work, check his bank account, and figure out a way to send Casey the rent payment.
“Yeah, I’ll get that over to you.”
“Thanks, doll. Don’t have too much fun at work!” Casey shouted over his shoulder as he left the hallway leading to their front door.
