Chapter 10

 

After the cute girl scampers off downstairs in a hurry, I trudge back to my master bedroom, turning back into a recluse. Plopping down on my bed with a sigh, I grab the remote off my night stand and turn on the fifty-inch flat screen that hangs on the opposite wall of my bed, directly above the master bedroom fireplace.

I absentmindedly shuffle through the channels, going from one thing to the next, but my mind is adrift, wandering without paying attention to what’s on screen. The cute girl with the blonde bob cut is front and center in my brain. She reminds me of a younger version of Kelly Ripa or something, maybe just by looks. But she’s cuter. She’s got this innocence about her that really turns me on.

I reflect on the fun we had playing air hockey, and I know she’s probably fun to hang out with, but something in her eyes made her seem a little sad. Usually, I have a knack for reading people’s emotions by the way they talk, or simply by looking into the window to their soul…the eyes.

She spoke in a reserved tone. Sure, that might be springing from a deep-rooted shyness or something, or perhaps there is something more. Something bothering her. Maybe I reminded her of an ex, and that’s why she was a little reserved and more than willing to get away from me after only a quick game.

I shrug and flip the channels until I land on ESPN. Oh well, I’m not sure what’s wrong with the poor girl, but either way it’s not my problem, nor is it any of my business.

I glance over to the alarm clock on my bedside table. Over the dull hum of the TV, I can still hear a few people chatting downstairs. I hope this book club won’t run into tomorrow morning. I can’t go to sleep until I’ve locked up the doors and made sure the house is secure for the night.

I want my house back but I’m not going to impose on the fun down there. Alexa can have her night, and tomorrow everything will be back to normal.

The blonde chick really acted like she was hiding something shitty, a secret that threatened to push her over the edge. I could tell she was using incredible effort to shield her emotions and hide behind whatever troubles she had.

I heave a dramatic sigh and lean back into the pillows, allowing them to swallow me while I watch the ceiling fan spin around. I don’t know why the cute girl is consuming my mind. I don’t have time to take on a charity case. Besides, with the way I’ve been screwed around lately, maybe she was only pretending to have a problem in the hopes that she could swoop me up and use me for all I’m worth.

Yeah, that’s probably it.

I guess I drift off to sleep for a little while because when I wake up, the TV is still on. One of those late-night talk show hosts is on, buttering up a celebrity I don’t recognize as they laugh hysterically at a joke that’s not even slightly amusing.

Blinking, I rub my groggy eyes and turn over to check the time again. It’s after midnight. Surely book club is over by now. I smack my lips, feeling the parchment of thirst in my throat after my little nap. I need to grab some water, so I throw the sheets off and climb off the bed, relishing in a lengthy stretch.

Yawning, I pull open my bedroom door and find the house quiet and still, completely empty at last, to my relief. I venture downstairs, flicking on the light above my head so I don’t trip and fall.

When I get to the kitchen, the lights are still on and there is a fresh batch of cookies on top of a cooling rack on the island. Peanut butter cookies. The best kind. There is another gigantic tray of them on the opposite counter and I find Alexa not far off, scrubbing a few remaining dishes from her party.

Before she notices me, I pop a cookie in my mouth and holy hell, it melts perfectly on my tongue. It’s the perfect blend of creamy peanut butter flavor and delicious sugar. I could live on nothing but these cookies for the rest of my life.

Alexa’s talents exceed anything I’ve ever seen in my life, and I can’t believe how lucky I am to have scored her in the genetic gene pool as a cousin. Her back is turned away from me, and the water makes a hissing sound as it streams from the faucet above.

I don’t want to startle her, so I glance around and notice that the kitchen is sparkling clean. I could probably eat a meal off the hard wood floors, they are gleaming so freshly. She wasn’t kidding about cleaning up after herself.

I crane my neck to look into the living room and everything is tidy and put back in its place. The dining room chairs are neatly tucked back in their home under the table. Seeing my house so spotless like this is more than just a polite gesture on Alexa’s behalf. This kind of clever exertion can only mean one thing.

Alexa wants something else from me.

A smile stretches across my face. I’m not annoyed in the slightest. If anything, it’s entertaining and I appreciate Alexa’s initiative to take it that extra mile to get what she wants. I clear my throat to announce my presence and Alexa spins around after jumping an inch or so in the air.

I grin at her. “I tried not to startle you, but I can see that idea didn’t pan out so well.”

She places a shaky hand over her chest and takes a deep breath. “I’m not scared,” she says unconvincingly.

“You are a great housekeeper. Maybe you should open a cleaning business instead of your bakery.”

I’m only kidding, and Alexa recognizes my teasing by playfully splashing a few suds on me.

“Hey there!” I exclaim and flick the ones that land on my bare chest right back at her.

“I do appreciate you taking extra time out of your night to make the place shine like a new penny,” I tell her. “But you didn’t have to go to all this trouble. The place wasn’t super clean when you got it.”

“I’m willing to go the extra mile for my cousin,” she says with a grin before turning back to the last few dirty dishes in the sink.

“So, what’s the catch?” I smile at her and toss her a smug look while crossing my arms over my chest.

“Catch?” Alexa doesn’t glance up and apparently is deciding to play dumb.

I gesture around the immaculate kitchen. “Oh, come on.” I chuckle. “You can’t tell me you went the extra mile for nothing.”

 “Okay fine,” she says, caving instantly. “You got me.”

Damn, I’m good at this game.

“So…do I need to guess what this additional favor is going to be, or do I get some clues?” I joke.

Alexa rolls her eyes and shuts off the faucet. She dries her hand on a dish cloth and turns to face me with a feigned look of annoyance on her face. She leans against the counter and places her hands behind her, propping them up on the ledge of the sink.

“So, spit it out,” I grin at her. “What else do you need? It must be something epic, for all this cleaning.”

“Oh, stop making fun of me,” she whines but she’s smiling.

“You know I love messing with you,” I say.

“Well…” Alexa begins. “I found a tenant for your old apartment!”

I take a step backwards and shake my head. That is the last thing I would have ever thought she’d say. “No…” I say flatly. It’s not up for debate. “I’m not looking to rent the place out.”

“Just hear me out…” Alexa says and leans in closer to me.

I take a deep breath and run a hand through my hair. This is just what I need right now, more bullshit and having to deal with a tenant who won’t pay. I’m not doing it.

I bought the apartment a few years back after high school. It sits on the outskirts of town and is only one bedroom. It’s a craphole to put it nicely, but at the time of purchase, I was proud to call the place my own and ruled it like a bachelor pad.

The intentions of buying the place was mainly for the sole purposes of impressing my high school sweetheart at the time. Yeah, it was totally a chick magnet and girls love it when guys are thrifty enough to fend for themselves. The fact that I had my own house that I actually owned gave me major props as boyfriend material.

In my eyes, me and my new house were destined to have a perfect summer after high school graduation, that is until she cheated on me and shattered my heart.

I hadn’t even moved into the place before I found out about her going behind my back with another guy. I was enraged. I had to move in by myself which was gut wrenching. I was heartbroken and reminded of her cruelty every night that I had to go to sleep there alone. I’d bought the place for us. Not for myself.

I lived there a couple of years, until my twenty-first birthday and I got the enormous trust fund that I never knew I had until the day it landed on my doorstep. Now, the apartment sits vacant, as empty as my heart was when I left a few years ago. I stop by there every now and then to check in on the place and make sure there’s no squatters living in it or anything, but other than that it needs some TLC to say the least.

It’s in poor shape, in disrepair and in desperate need for a renovation. I’m not talking about the kind of renovation where you slap a coat of paint on the walls and call it a day. It would be a massive undertaking to get the place back in a condition to where it would resemble anything like a decent place to live and not in complete squalor.

I can’t bring myself to sell it and renting it out has never been on my agenda, much less ever grazed past as a thought in my head. I don’t know why it’s occurring to Alexa now.

“The place is in bad shape,” I explain to Alexa. “To rent it out would mean I would have to go over there and put it back in working order.”

“It’s for a good cause.” Alexa says, bracing herself for more protests from me as she wrings her hands together.

“I don’t want to have to deal with the trouble,” I confess.

“Please big cousin, help out your little cousin,” she begs with a pitiful expression on her face. “You can’t say no to me, I’m too cute and sweet.” She bats her eyes for added flare.

I roll my eyes and shake my head…smiling at her because she knows she’s cracking me. “Alright,” I finally say after making her squirm for a few moments.

Alexa squeals with delight and bounces up and down on her heels. “Thank you so much Mason. You will not regret this, I can promise you that much.”

“Fine,” I huff back with fake annoyance. “I’ll rent it out, but the guy you have in mind better be good at renovations because the place is a mess. I mean, it’s a total wreck. I just hope they are handy because I’m too busy these days to fix it up myself.” 

Alexa smirks at me as if she’s got another trick up her sleeve. “I’m sure that she will be up for the challenge.”