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We both turned to the TV for a second as it looked like the Dodgers might actually make it on base. But the shortstop made a heroic catch and threw it to first. Damn.
So far, it was a rather boring game with zero hits or runs. When the Dodgers struck out, Josh turned his attention back to me. "And if it helps, I decided this morning that I was going to start being celibate."
I had to stop myself from spurting out my beer. "What did you just say?" I managed to ask once I'd recovered.
His laughing eyes only added to my confusion. He had to be kidding.
"Yeah, I need to forget girls for a while and just focus on getting my shit together."
I rolled my eyes. "Mm-hmm. I'll believe that when I see it."
"I'm serious. And do you know how much you roll your eyes? I've never seen the whites of someone's eyes so much in my life."
Oh, my Lord. I fought yet another eye-roll. Maybe he was right. But something about Josh compelled me to do so. He was kind of ridiculous. "So what's this 'shit' that you need to get together?" I asked.
His face serious, he studied the TV. "I need to focus on my work. I just lost a stream of income."
I felt a little bad for teasing him. "Oh, I'm sorry. What stream of income did you lose?"
"Just one freelance gig I had. I'm a sports writer."
Why did that not surprise me? "Very cool."
"Yeah, I think so. And I just started my own podcast, and it's doing all right. But if that took off, man, I'd be set. So I need to keep a clear head and not even think about the ladies."
I couldn't help giggling. "Well, the poor ladies out there. I'm not sure how they'll survive it."
This time he threw a peanut at me, and Magic caught it mid-air. "I'm not sure they will survive it. That's why I need to stay focused so I can get back out there."
My jaw dropped at his cockiness, but then he laughed, and I realized he was just joking around. I resisted yet another eye-roll. Boy, Josh was right about that. It was a bad habit of mine.
"So tell me," he said, "is this something you do regularly, sneaking into your neighbors' apartments?"
"We're back to that again, huh?"
"Yeah, it's just weird."
I stretched my neck to the side, trying to relieve the tension. Glancing around, I also looked for hidden cameras. "Do you have some kind of surveillance system in here or something?"
Josh scoffed. "No! That's gross."
"Well, you never know. All the crazy shit you hear about."
"I'm not a creep if that's what you're worried about."
"I'm not really worried, honestly."
Josh gave me good vibes, and I knew that the gut feeling you had about someone was usually correct. Besides, I realized, if Josh did have cameras in here, he would have known exactly what I did in his place. Even if he only had them in his bedroom, he would have seen me checking out his headboard. Okay. So now, I knew he wasn't that kind of person. Thank God.
"Well, good," he said.
"But I am sorry. I don't know what's going on with me. I'm making the worst decisions lately. My sleep is just awful since I moved in here."
"Because of me?"
"No, no, not really." I didn't want to admit he actually made me feel better, to have him on the other side of the wall.
"Because you miss your fiancé?"
