Page 15 of When the Walls Come Down
“Maybe Clarke gets my jokes better than you do.”
“As long as that’s all he’s getting, then I’m not too worried.” I slid my key into the lock. If she lived on the same floor, there was only one more unit that could be hers. The tiny corner one I shared a few walls with.
Neighbors.
Reggie was going to love that. He and Nora had started as neighbors once. Although there wasn’t a single thing coincidental about their situation, and for whatever reason, this whole thing with Maggie felt more like luck. Or serendipity. Or some other word people used when stars aligned and things just seemed meant to be.
“Well, Maggie, as much as I’d like to stand out here and chat about my weight loss journey, it’s getting a little late for this old man. Thanks for making sure I made it home safely.”
The smile that grew on her face nearly knocked me on my ass. Wide grin. Flushed cheeks. Bright blue eyes I wanted to dive into without looking back. That smile, the one she was freely giving me at my doorstep, was the highlight of my day. Hell, my year—maybe even longer than that.
I’d basically been told I was being slowly fired earlier, but somehow, as Maggie and I parted for the second time that night, I didn’t have it in me to feel anything but fortunate.
It was just the nudge I’d needed to see that there was more to my day-to-day life than work.
Son of a bitch. Blake and Casey were right.I tossed and turned. Thought about the things we’d said. Thought about her being only feet away in the apartment next to mine. Racked my brain about what I was going to do to not fuck up the next day. Because for a guy who was hell-bent on taking her out on a date, I didn’t have the faintest idea of what that was going to be.
I didn’t know much more about San Francisco than she did. I’d need help. Major Heaven-sent help.
After dozing off and on, I gave up on sleeping in that Saturday morning and found myself showering and grabbing my gym bag. Full of unspent energy and tension, I needed to lift, run, and sweat until I could form a decent plan.
Yet, after two hours in the gym, I was still nowhere near sure about what to do. So when my phone rang as I was standing in line for a coffee, I gladly answered. “Good morning, Blake.”
“You wanna tell me what you were doing with that chick at the bar last night? I didn’t get a good look at her, but you two seemed to be cozy.” Her tone oozed sarcasm and contriteness.
“Oh, her? Just some woman I met now that I’m—how did you guys put it time and time again—getting a life.” I needed help, but dangling this whole thing in front of her was too much fun to pass up at the moment.
“And? What happened?”
“We had a few drinks. Talked a little. We may or may not have a date later.”
“Later? That’s vague as fuck. Later next month? Later this year?”
“Later today,” I answered while adding cream and sugar to my coffee at the fixing station.
“What time? What are you doing? Jesus. How are you this calm?” Her voice had elevated to freak-out Blake levels, and I had to admit, as an older brother, hearing her lose her shit was fun as hell.
Then again, she was bringing up some very valid points, and even with as good of a performance as I was giving for my own enjoyment, I still hadn’t the first fucking clue what to plan.
“Yeah, about all that. I might need some help.”
“You’re talking to the wrong Moore. You need date help, talk to your brother-in-law. Jesus, when we dumped all that on you yesterday, I didn’t think you were going to be on board. Especially this soon. Thought you’d fight us on getting out more, but hell, it was more like we just let you out of your cage. You certainly aren’t wasting any time.” She blew across the speaker. “Damn. But yeah, you need Casey.”
Perfect. She was already seeing how I could get out more and therefore didn’t need a permanent sabbatical. “Fine, put him on.”
“Can’t. He took Maddox with him to the brewery to check a few brews that are about to batch out. He’ll be there for a few hours.” That was just as well; the brewery was only down the boulevard.
“I’ll catch him down there. Talk to you later.”
“Wait! I will literally kill you in your sleep if you don’t call me tomorrow and let me know—down to every single detail—how it goes. I’m not jokin’, bitch. And you know I won’t do well in jail.” Her tone changed. “Or maybe I’ll just call Mom if I don’t hear from you.”
