Turning back around, I drove the rest of the way back to our home, parking on the street in front of the house. A two-bedroom brick home located on a corner with tall oak trees providing shade. The home belonged to a woman named Samantha…or more accurately, it belonged to her parents. Located within walking distance of the university we both attended with a full, finished basement her parents had converted into a two-bedroom apartment, complete with a separate entrance at the side of the home. Samantha rented the basement apartment out to me, which was small, but suitable for my needs.
As the two of us got out of the car and headed to the side entrance, Samantha pulled up behind me, getting out of her car and grabbing her book bag from the back seat. Her black hair, cut in a pixie-style and she had the lithe form of a dancer, even though she had told me she had no sense of rhythm whatsoever.
“Hey, where are you coming from?” I asked. Being a Sunday, I knew she didn’t have classes today.
“Study group,” she said, ruffling Gavin’s hair as she approached.
He grumbled under his breath in response.
Samantha was studying engineering and dedicated to schoolwork, pushing herself hard to succeed. It had been part of the reason her parents had converted the basement. Samantha lived off the rent I paid her, so she didn’t have to get a traditional job and could focus on her studies. I also paid her to watch Gavin for me while I worked evenings, but she didn’t charge much, so it was a good setup for everyone. I didn’t have much money to spare.
“You’re going to wear yourself out with all the studying you do,” I told her with a grin.
“No way. I feel completely focused.”
I had noticed she never seemed tired or sick of studying. I wished I could say the same. It’d been more of a struggle for me to balance everything. Maybe because of the differences in our ages, with her being in her early twenties, almost ten years younger than I was. Or maybe it had to do with the fact that I had to work hard to support myself and Gavin, while she was able to fully focus on school. I had to admit to myself that I was a little jealous at her ability to stay so chipper.
“You still need me to babysit tonight?” she asked.
“Yes, if you don’t mind. I have to leave around six.”
“Great. I’m going to go inside and work on a paper for my English lit class.” Samantha walked around to the front of the house.
Gavin and I went in the side door, down the concrete stairs and into the basement. I opened the door at the bottom of the stairs and walked into the living room. The furniture was second-hand, but in good shape. When Samantha’s parents renovated this space, they added new carpeting that was thick and grey. I wanted to keep it nice, so the two of us kicked off our shoes at the door, and I placed them under a small table up against the wall where I put my purse and keys.
Gavin went to the couch, picking up a game controller. I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to tell him that he needed to empty the dishwasher first. I tried to set strict rules about doing chores before screen time, but I decided to make an exception in this case. I knew he was going through a lot. Meeting his father was a lot of pressure. So, I chose to leave him alone for now, giving him a chance to take his mind off everything. Besides, I had laundry to do before work tonight.
Three days later, I anxiously waited for Smoke to arrive. He’d texted me the day before, asking if it would be okay to come over on Wednesday after work, which worked out well for me, since I didn’t work tonight. So, after my early math class this morning, I’d spent the whole day alternating between cleaning and studying for a test I had coming up in my economic class on Friday. Gavin had stayed in his room for the most part, and I could tell he was nervous. I wasn’t sure how this visit was going to go, but it had to be better than last time.
I couldn’t see how it would get worse.
I’d strictly kept myself dressed casually, resisting the ridiculous urge to dress up. I knew I must be crazy to even think Smoke might care about how I looked.
It’s been too long since I dated.
Thinking back, I realized it was well before I moved back to Holbeck. I needed to put myself back out on the market more.
Like I have time for that.
The doorbell rang, and I stood up from the kitchen table, glancing around to check the place out one last time. It wasn’t the nicest apartment in the world, and there were definitely signs that I lived on a tight budget, but at least it was clean. I’d noticed this about Smoke’s place. He didn’t live like a typical bachelor without a woman to impress. His house had been spotless. No dirty dishes in the sink, no dirty clothes strewn anywhere.
It was harder to keep a home that nice with a kid, but I did the best I could.
Crossing the room, I pulled open the door, my eyes sweeping over Smoke quickly, taking in the cut-off black leather jacket he wore. It suited him well, and I felt a stirring of desire once again.
Yep, I need to find a man. Especially since Smoke didn’t look at me with an ounce of warmth in his eyes. A hardness seemed to be etched into his expression, so I knew he was still unhappy with me. “Hi,” I said awkwardly, opening the door wider to let him inside.
He looked the place over and frowned. “Is Gavin here?”
“Oh, yeah. Of course. I’ll show you his room.” I knocked on Gavin’s door in two short taps and pushed it open.
Gavin sat cross-legged in the middle of his bed, reading a comic book I had bought him yesterday.
“Gavin, your…” I hesitated. Gavin didn’t seem quite comfortable with referring to Smoke as his dad yet. “Smoke is here.”
“Hey, G,” Smoke said. “How you been?”
For some reason, my heart seemed to melt as I heard him give Gavin a nickname and finally there was warmth in his voice.