Page 3 of Under the Radar

“Charly—she’s Maxx’s wife, right?”

I nodded. “My pseudo-sister slash mother too. She gives me advice—whether I want it or not.”

Hannah laughed. “Sounds about right.”

I opened the door in the hall. “This would be your room.”

“For now,” I added silently.

She walked into the room, peeking in the closet, pleased to see she had her own bathroom. “Can I paint?” she asked.

I looked around, seeing the plain beige walls, scuffed and dull in some places. “Yeah, of course.”

“Great. My mom will help.”

“I was thinking of doing some painting too. We can help each other.”

“Awesome.”

I showed her the backyard, and she eyed the overgrown garden with pursed lips. “I’d want to clean that up. I love to garden in my downtime.”

“Sure.”

We returned to the living room, and I offered her a glass of water or coffee. She grinned and accepted the coffee, then followed me to the kitchen and sat at the table while I dropped a pod into the machine and hit the button. Luckily, I had cream and sugar. She mixed hers, and I noted the half teaspoon of sugar she added and the more than generous splash of cream so I could make it for her while she waited for me in bed.

Then I shook my head.

I sat across from her and added cream to my cup. We sipped for a moment before I spoke.

“Hannah, I want to apologize about the first time we met. My memory is rather foggy, but if I was disrespectful, I’m sorry. You were like an angel, and I thought you were very pretty. I know it’s not an excuse, but I’d had a shit day. You were very kind, and I want to thank you for that. I rarely ever drink to excess, I promise you that.”

She shook her head. “I understand bad days, Chase. I’m glad I was there. And you weren’t disrespectful—you were adorable. I’m glad your friends came to help you.” She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think anyone has ever considered me an angel. And you thought I was pretty?”

I only meant to nod. Instead, my mouth took over. “I still do. That’s how I think of you. An angel in my dreams. And you’re very pretty.”

“Oh,” she said and took a sip of coffee.

I ducked my head.

Angel in my dreams.

I had just made it awkward. I was an idiot.

But she smiled at me and acted as if everything was good. “What is the rent?”

“Two thousand plus utilities. At least for now. My lease is coming up, but Old Man Hyde has always been fair. If he raises the rent, it’s nominal. I think because Brett and I do repairs and mow the grass, that sort of thing. So, you’d be half that.”

She nodded. “And how would our relationship work?”

I almost choked on my coffee. “Re-relationship?”

She frowned. “Yes. For a while, I had a great roommate. We split all the chores, but if one of us was extra busy, we helped the other out. We often took turns cooking if we were both there, and we got along really well.” She paused, taking a sip of her coffee. “When she got married a couple of months ago, I got a new one, and she’s been a nightmare. She insisted that we each had to have our own shelves in the fridge and cupboards. She measured everything and often accused me of taking her food. When I would remind her I’d been gone all day on shift, she’d remember she ate it. She was a total space cadet. The day she informed me she knew I’d dipped into her shampoo, I lost it. She refused to move out, so I got my name off the lease and I moved out a month ago. Last I heard, her boyfriend moved in.”

“I hope he’s eating her.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“Her stuff, I mean,” I quickly added on. “And using her shampoo. Her razor too,” I added for good measure.