Chapter 6
Tyler
This was it. I took the whole day off my jobs so I could apartment hunt or roommate hunt, in this case. I hoped the rain forecast didn’t foreshadow how the day was going shape up. The first apartment on my circuit was in one of the new condos, and it had a great view of the waterfront. It was on the second floor and I tromped up the stairs. Why take the elevator if I’m only going to the second floor? I knocked at the door. The distance between doorways meant this was a pretty small apartment.
A young hipster opened the door and ogled me.
“You must be Taylor.”
“Tyler. Looks like a small place. I thought you stated this was a two-bedroom?”
“I did, but it’s a one bedroom with a living room.”
“So where would I sleep?” I asked, growing cautious.
The hipster ogled me again and lifted an eyebrow. “Wherever you want.”
The next interview was across town through honking, pissed-off people who had to drive in the rain and made it miserable. I saw a bodega clerk chuck someone out of the store as I drove by in my Ford Escape. I liked my little SUV. I didn’t like big cars in the city, and not being a small man, a car would be too small or hard to park.
Down the road, I jockeyed for a parking spot. The area wasn’t too bad, but it also wasn’t too nice. Garbage was out here and there, and it looked like it hadn’t been picked up for a bit. I walked up four flights – no elevator– and knocked on the door.
No one answered, but the big mutt on the other side terrified me. If I went by his bark, he must be ten feet tall. I was glad there was a door between us. I waited a few more minutes with Spot behind the door.
I wasn’t opposed to someone having a dog because dogs are great. However, I didn’t want to lint brush hair off my suits, listen to howling at all hours of the night, or from the sound of Spot, the beast attacking me when I came home from work at three o’clock in the morning. Or better yet, “Please just take him for one walk,” then I end up being the one walking the dog for the rest of the time I’m there.
I waited about ten minutes and cursed myself for not double-checking before I walked up the four flights. I texted a terse message back and went to the next apartment about thirty minutes away.
Apartment number three was on the sixth floor, and once again, no elevator. I started to sense a pattern here. As I knocked, I heard about thirty locks being undone. A woman’s face peeked out.
“You’re a man.”
“Yes, yes, I am.”
“I thought your name was Taylor.”
“No, it’s Tyler.”
“I don’t want a guy.”
It didn’t matter how much money I made or the fact that I threw in free fitness sessions. She wasn’t budging.
As I drove off, fuming, I kept getting pinged for other apartments. Some were bad neighborhoods, some had noisy neighbors, a couple were just too darn far away from any of my jobs.
There were a couple of more memorable visits as well. One was small and dank and had a distinct tang of curry, so strong that it had seeped into the apartment I was visiting. When I asked about it, the man shrugged and said he didn’t notice anything. Some, like the first one, were one-bedrooms looking for someone to couch surf, but I wasn’t interested. Others were nice, but I didn’t feel it from either the area or from the people who I would be rooming with. Didn’t they know I was interviewing them as well?
I was heading to my last house and Shane called. “We still on for tonight?”
“Yes, it’s all set,” I replied.
“How’s the apartment hunting going?” he asked hopefully.
“It’s coming along nicely,” I lied. I wasn’t about to tell him it was sucking balls. “Looking forward to tonight? Last night as a single man?”
“I don’t want to stay out too late.”
I rolled my eyes, glad he couldn’t see. “It’s a strip club, Shane, we’ve been there many times.”
I wanted to make sure as best man he would have a good time, but I could see he only had eyes for Becky. I was going to make this short and sweet for him, but well worth his while.
“I’d like Becky to come, too,” he blurted.
“You know, Shane, this is a guy’s night out. Doesn’t she have a bachelorette party she’d rather go to?”
“She does. It’s at La Bare’s, next door. Afterwards, all the girls want to come over.”
I thought about it and it wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe I could have an enjoyable evening as well. “Let her know I’d be happy to have her lady gang come over.”
After I hung up with Shane, I received a call from Steven.
“Tyler, sorry to ask on such a short notice, but I need to know if you can come in tonight.”
I reminded him tonight was Shane’s bachelor party and I was all booked. “Kelly’s back from vacation so I’m sure he needs to make up the money he spent.”
Steven was quiet for a second. “I could, but now that your picture is up in Time Square, and you’re the one everyone is asking for at the front door.”
I sighed. I realized that from the previous night when all the girls, and some of the guys, kept touching me.
“I just need you out front checking ID’s.”
“Can’t. You got me from Friday on. Just not the next two days.”
“Damn. Sure you don’t want twenty-one-year-old groupies hanging around?”
I really did not need that type of drama in my life. I lived in a drama-free zone. I’d had too much of it over the past few years. “Not really, Steven.”
“Twenty-one-year-olds are my bread and butter,” said Stephen. “Anyway, have a good time with Shane and give him my best.”
“Sure thing.”
“Oh, one more thing.”
“What’s up?”
He snickered. “Can I have your autograph?”
“Fuck off.” I hung up and continued the drive through the worst New York had to offer. I caught a glimmer of a lavender coat on the sidewalk and my mind went back to the woman I apparently had scared off. She hadn’t been back to the gym since. I would really have wanted to get to know her little better. I had no idea why my mind went back to those beautiful blue eyes, tight ass, and gorgeous brown hair. Beautiful girls were a dime a dozen in the city, but there was something about her that was different.
At the stoplight, I looked down at my list. All of the apartments were crossed off. I didn’t want to fail at this and I didn’t like the prospect of living in a hotel for a week while I found someplace to live. I shrugged mentally. It might be where I would end up anyway.
The traffic was horrible, New York at rush hour, by the time I maneuvered to the last place on my list. When I got closer, it seemed that the traffic had died away and the sound of the honking horns were miles off.
As I got out, I noticed the quaint little park across the way filled with babies and moms. Due to the late hour, it seemed like they might be having a little mom and kid time before dinner.
I looked up at the building. It seemed decent and the people at the park didn’t look like axe murderers – it had that going for it. It was my last apartment of the day. Do or die time. I was hoping that whoever was looking for a roomie or would at least be willing to do a short-term arrangement for a few months, just so I could get a place to live and figure where I was going from there.
I got out and walked toward the building, looking around at how nicely landscaped it was. For the first time as I walked into the lobby, I worried that maybe this one was out of my league. The pricing was at the high end of what I wanted to pay, and I still didn’t know what I was getting for my rent.
I took the elevator up to the third floor. As I got out, I noticed the clean carpet and nice warm paint job. My hands sweat just like they did before a big audition when I was nervous. I walked down the hallway to apartment 306. If it was any indication by the length from the doorway to the end of the hall, then the apartment was a pretty big place.
I wiped my hands on my pants, ran them through my hair, and knocked on the door. I sent up a silent prayer that everything would work out right and this person would take pity on me and let me stay at least a week.
When the door opened, I was speechless. Not only was it not what I expected, I felt the very air leave my body as my temperature spiked.
“Hi, I’m Tyler Becker,” I said as the woman stared wide-eyed back at me.