Yeah, no.
Something was just not adding up. Why did she even have a goddamn attorney, anyway?
But I was going with it. Not gonna analyze it to death. Shit, that’s what I did every day at work. And it was sucking the life out of me.
Maybe the other guys would be cool. At the very least, I hoped they wouldn’t be douchebags. I was still traveling all over the place, so I wouldn’t see a lot of them anyway.
So I was giving it the old college try. She’d convinced me to try it for a couple weeks. It sounded crazy as hell, but you know, YOLO.
* * *
“Nat! Nat, over here!” Garnet called from inside the freaking huge mansion that was going to be my home for a week or two. The place was stunning in a Downton Abbey sort of way, which I’d watched once on an airplane somewhere. It was situated on a point in Belvedere stretching into San Francisco Bay, with the kind of views of the city that I didn’t even know existed.
She rushed up to me, out of breath. And beautiful, of course.
“Nat! I’m so happy to see you.” She planted a nice kiss on my cheek and grabbed my hand. “C’mon. Follow me,” she said, leading me up a crazy wide staircase that went from the house’s foyer to the second floor.
“You’re the first here, so you get first pick of the bedrooms.” She was clearly hoping I’d be happy with this unearned advantage. And I guess I was.
“Cool. What are the options?” Actually, I really wanted to ask her where her room was, but I didn’t want to come off as an ass. After all, I did hope to spend some time with her. Some quality time.
“Well, this is the second floor, and then there’s another one up above. All the rooms have their own bathrooms. At least the ones I’ve seen.” She dropped her head back and laughed at the absurdity of a house with too many rooms to visit. I had to admit, that made me laugh, too.
Garnet’s phone rang, and she fished it out of her pocket.
“Oh, it’s my mother. Huh.” She looked at me and excused herself.
From around a corner, I heard her. “Mom? Hi…” and then I didn’t hear anything else I could clearly make out. Not that I wanted to.
So I took the chance to poke around on my own. I dropped my duffel bags at the top of the stairs so I could wander unencumbered. She was right—each bedroom had its own bath, which made me really happy. God, I hated sharing bathrooms. I guess I’d been staying in hotels so long, I wasn’t used to sharing much of anything. Each room was beautifully furnished with huge beds, sitting areas, walk-in closets, and dressing tables. Whoever owned this house was one lucky—and rich—bastard.
Speaking of which, how Garnet came to inhabit this house was a total mystery to me. But again, I reminded myself, relax and go with it. Someone like her could be a good influence on me with her carefree approach to life.
I climbed the staircase to the third floor and found that each bedroom up there had a killer view across the Bay of San Francisco. I figured I had to grab one of those rooms, even if I ended up being miles from Garnet. I’d make it work. I headed back down to gather my bags and stake my claim in a room with a huge balcony, when I overheard her still on the phone with her mother.
“Mom, I’m sorry, but this is not a good time to visit. I’m…um…very busy. Yeah, with work and um…everything. Mom, you never want to visit me. What’s so urgent about coming now?”
I grabbed my bags and headed to my new room, not wanting to eavesdrop. I could certainly understand Garnet’s not wanting her mom to come right about now. I mean, she was pretty darn busy, about to be juggling four guys who each wanted her. And whom she wanted in return, I supposed.
I began to empty my bags into the dresser and armoire in my new room when I heard a sound at the door.
“Hey there. Sorry I had to abandon you for a bit. Looks like you found a place to call your own,” she said.
I looked around the room, which was nicer even than any of the five-star hotels I’d ever stayed in. She walked in and plopped on the edge of the bed.
“It’s pretty awesome here. Should be a good time,” I said.
She smoothed her hand over the comforter she was sitting on. “Yes, I really hope so. This is quite the experiment.” She laughed like she was nervous.
“It is indeed. When will the other guys be here?”
She looked at her watch. “Soon, I think. Really soon.”
I sat down on the bed next to her. “So we have a bit of time alone, then?”
Her face brightened. “Yes, I think we do.” She crossed the room to close my bedroom door and headed back to me.
“Why don’t you lay back and let me take care of you?” she asked.