The space was filled with beautiful plants and flowers, along with stunning patio furniture. A two-person wooden swing sat facing the most perfect view of the city, leaving her in awe. You could see every single light that twinkled in the distance.
“The city lights,” she whispered, placing her hands over her chest as she stood close to the edge of the railing.
“I know how you love the views,” I said as I walked over toward her with my hands in my pockets. “There are no lights in the world like the eastern lights.”
“That’s the truth.” She smiled as she stared into the night. The sky was fast asleep, yet the city was vibrant with life. “When I was a kid, I used to run away from my foster home whenever I felt overwhelmed and alone. I used to climb up the fire ladders of this one building in Queens, where I could see all the city lights. I’d stand there and breathe in and out as I stared into the night. I don’t know why but seeing the city lights brought me an odd sense of comfort.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s silly and probably doesn’t make much sense, but I always felt alone as a kid. I didn’t grow up with friends, and I had no family. Lonely was something I thought I’d always be. But it was different when I saw the city lights. It reminded me that even though I felt alone in the world, I wasn’t alone in a sense. Every light stood for a person to me, someone out there who felt love, felt pain, felt life. It was a reminder that even when my life felt dark, there was light around the corner.”
Staring out into the night, I remained quiet, seeing what she saw and loving the way her mind worked.
“As I said, it’s silly,” she whispered, seeming nervous about her confession.
“No, it’s not that.” I shook my head. “I’m just trying to figure out how Jason was stupid enough to let you go.”
Her cheeks reddened as she bashfully fiddled with her fingers. “It wasn’t just Jason—every guy before him. Maybe some girls are simply meant to be temporary things.”
“Maybe,” I agreed. “But I don’t think that’s what you are.”
She smiled. “Everything’s temporary. We just wish it weren’t.” She shifted around and released a soft sigh. “This is quite the view.”
“If you think this is something, you should see it in the fall,” I offered. “And in the winter, and the spring, and as long as you need to see it, you should see it.”
“You really mean this, don’t you? You’re actually offering for me to move in with you?”
“Yes. Of course, you don’t have to say yes, but I want to help. I have the ability to offer this to you, so that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
“That Southern boy heart.” She lightly laughed.
“You can take the boy out of the country,” I said as I shrugged, “but you can’t take the country out of the boy. Take some time to think about it. No rush and no pressure—I just wanted you to have the choice.”
She nibbled her bottom lip. “If we do this, we have to have rules.”
I perked up. “I’m fine with rules. Rules and me go hand in hand. Shoot them my way.”
“Okay. For starters, if it ever gets to be too much for you, you have to tell me.”
“Easy.”
“And if you have a girl over, I am more than willing to go stay at my best friend’s house, so I don’t cock-block.”
Mirth filled my smirk. “Did you just say cock-block?”
“I did, and I mean it. I’m sure you have a rotating list of women you keep in contact with.”
I gasped, and my hands flew dramatically to my chest. “Okay, did you just call me a manwhore? Red, I’m hurt.”
“Hey, you said it, not me. I’m just saying I don’t want to get in the way or change your life too much. I don’t want to be a burden.”
“Nothing about you is a burden.”
“Please stop doing that, Connor.”
“Doing what?”
“Being so ridiculously kind to me.”
“Well, okay, now it’s time for me to be a hard-ass and not so kind, because I have a few ground rules, too.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“For starters, ESPN is the background noise during dinnertime.”
She laughed, and I wanted to dive into the sound and allow it to swallow me whole. God, her laughter was addictive. “I think I can do that.”
“And you can’t get mad when I leave my socks around the apartment.”
“I think that rule should go both ways,” she agreed. “Also, you can’t laugh when my socks are mismatched—which they always will be.”
“Okay, and the last rule: you have to let me know when I’m talking to work Aaliyah or roommate Aaliyah. I don’t want you to quote me on something in an article that I meant to say to my roommate and work Aaliyah got a hold of it.”