AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You still off the clock?"
"Depends. Do you want me to be?"
I sighed. "Maybe. I don't know."
She turned a corner into a residential street of small one-story houses. "You're coming to my house."
"Thanks. I wasn't really sure where I was going to go." She pulled into a small driveway of one of the houses.
"It's not much, but it's close to work and the beach, and I can afford it." She smiled and got out of the car.
I grabbed my bag from the back seat and followed her to the front door. It was cute. The door was painted with a crackled white finish, and vines with bright pink flowers crawled up and around it from pots on either side.
Once we got inside, I could see why she was fine with the size of it. It was right on the beach and had a magnificent view of the ocean. The house itself was more of a bungalow with a sitting area attached to the kitchen and one bedroom and bath. It couldn't have been more than a thousand square feet, but it was warm and inviting and newly upgraded.
"I'm in love with this view. It's everywhere I go,” I called into the kitchen after her. I had planted myself inside the front door, completely mesmerized. She popped out of the kitchen with two mugs and handed me one.
"I hope you like tea. It looks like you could use this."
"I don't know if I do, but it smells delicious." I took a big whiff as the steam rose from the cup.
She led me to the couch that was positioned for the view and not the flat screen that hung on the wall. "Not much of a TV watcher?”
She looked up at the flat screen. "Oh, yeah. I only turn that thing on when I have friends over to watch a game or play Dance Revolution."
"What's Dance Revolution?"
"You're kidding me, right? It's only the best game, ever. I can't believe you've never heard of…" She stopped short.
"It's okay. My memories actually don't work that way. I remember that kind of stuff. I just don't remember people and events. Really, anything associated with an emotional attachment."
"Dissociative amnesia. That sucks."
"Yeah, so, I really don't know what Dance Revolution is."
"That's just not right. It's a shame, really."
We laughed in unison. I really liked Nichole. Her looks were intimidating as hell and finding out she was smart on top of it was enough to have guys running for the fences, but she was real, and I liked that. "How long have you worked for 'the boys' as you call them?"
"About a month. They really have a great thing going. Being eco-friendly and eating healthy and organic is the thing right now, so they're hitting it while it's hot. Before they bought the restaurant, it was going downhill fast."
"You seem to know them pretty well." I took another sip of tea.
"Not really, actually. I dated Grady for a millisecond when they first hired me. It was more of an employee with benefits type of situation."
"Oh, wow, okay." I was slightly shocked.
"Come on. Don't be such a prude. We're all adults. Neither one of us was looking for a relationship, but we all have needs, and he is not hard on the eyes. To be honest, I'm surprised he's not taken."
"No, he's definitely not hard on the eyes," I said quietly.
"I'm sorry. Are you guys a thing or something, because it really looked like you and Brandt…"
"No. Not with either of them. Just friends. I think. Well, I mean, we just met, and I'm staying in Grady's house." I stopped to think about how to explain us, but it was impossible, so I gave up. "I don't know what I am. I'm a stray with no memories, and they were kind enough to take me in."
"Then why did you leave?"
"They're really intense," I blurted out, causing her to laugh.
