When I arrived, the entire staff was there. The pub was closed, and I took my seat in an empty chair and waved to Paisley across the room. Our boss held these meetings once a month, which were always incredibly dull for me. He mostly went through what changes were going to be made, most of which never happened, and detailed how the previous month had been in terms of sales. I don’t know why he thought we cared. Sure, he ran the pub, so it was important to him. But most of us were just working to make some money until we found something else to do with our lives. Nevertheless, I did what I normally did at these meetings. I plastered on a smile and nodded throughout his speech as if it were the most interesting topic in the world. I kept eyeing the drinks behind the bar and wondering how much better the meeting would’ve been if we had all been allowed a glass of wine to see us through.
When the meeting was over, I went to speak to Paisley. I made a face.
“I hate meetings,” I said.
“Same. Talk about a snooze fest. So, tell me everything!”
I frowned. “Tell you everything? About what? The meeting? Weren’t you listening? Although, I’m not the best person to ask. I wasn’t really listening much myself,” I said and giggled. I looked around to make sure my boss wasn’t close by.
She rolled her eyes. “Not the meeting! I want to know all about your new roommate.”
I laughed. “Oh. Sorry, I’m clearly not thinking straight. Well, he seems nice. I don’t know him very well yet. He only moved in today. But we already get along. He’s cool. He seems like a very genuine guy. I get a good vibe from him.”
“Is he good looking?”
I immediately thought of those green eyes and the beautiful lips that were always turned upwards, and smiled. “Oh yeah. He’s gorgeous.”
“And you’re sure he’s not some weirdo?”
“I’m not sure. I mean. He doesn’t seem like one. He seems nice. But I guess you never know.”
“Riley! You’re not supposed to say that to me. You’re supposed to reassure me that he’s fine. Now I’m going to be worried again. What if he really is some complete weirdo and you’re going to be all alone with him at night. What if right now he’s going through your underwear drawer? What if he is a serial killer and he wants your skin to make a lamp to add to his collection?”
I burst out laughing. “Paisley! Your imagination is beyond wild. I have no idea what he’s really like but I seriously doubt that he is any of those things. I think it’s safe to say he’s probably sitting in his room right now going through his boxes. If he is snooping around the house, I wouldn’t blame him, though. It’s the sort of house that makes you want to snoop.”
She sighed. “Well, I hope you’re right. I’m going to have to come over one of these days to meet him. I need to give him a talk so that he understands that as your best friend I am going to be watching his every move.”
“Don’t scare the poor guy. Just come over and talk to him like a normal human being. Just now he’s going to be the one scared of living with me.”
“Good. We must keep him on his toes.”
I chuckled. “You’re crazy.”
Our boss suddenly appeared behind us and made me jump. Thankfully he hadn’t walked in earlier when we were talking about him.
“Okay, you two. Enough chatting. Time to get to work.” He smiled at Paisley and frowned at me as if I were the culprit and she was the innocent one.
The moment he was out of earshot, I turned to Paisley. “That man loves you.”
“Only because I flirt with the men. It’s good for business. Although, there is something to be said about your method too. Some of the guys like the chase that you provide.”
“I don’t do it so that they can chase me. I do it so that they can leave me alone.”
She laughed. “Trust me, some of the guys like that about you. Come on; we better get to work. Doors are open.”
I peered toward the front door and groaned. How were there already so many people streaming through when the pub had only just opened? Did they queue outside? I still had no idea what was so special about this pub over all the others. It just had a good reputation, and because of this, it was always busy. A guy came up to me and smiled, asking for my number.
“I can give you a drink, but not my number,” I said and smiled sweetly at him. “What will it be?”
He grinned. “How about you get me whatever you want,” he said and handed over some bills to me, “And slip in your number without your boss seeing? I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”
I took the bills and walked over to the bar to get him a drink. Did he really think that I was just going to give him my number like that? I was impressed with his confidence but not enough to make me want to go out with him. I came back and handed it to him and told him that my number was nowhere to be found behind the bar.
“You’re a funny one. It’s okay. I don’t really need your number because I know where to find you. I’m more than happy to follow you around and pretend like this is our first date.”
I laughed. “That’s the strangest first date I’ve ever heard of. I’m sure you’ll find someone here that will actually go on a date with you, though. No offense or anything, but I have to work. If you need something else to drink, just call me.”
He started to protest, but I quickly moved away. I knew it wouldn’t be the last time that I heard from him. Paisley was right: the guys here loved chasing after me when they thought they couldn’t get me. I don’t know why they bothered. I’d never once given into any of their flirtations. It wasn’t that I was a prude or anything, but I knew that they were the sort of guys that would get with any girl that came their way. I didn’t want to just be some random pick for a guy. I wanted a guy to want to be with me because he actually liked me. I often felt like working at the bar had put me off guys for life. I’d seen far too many things I wished I hadn’t seen.
It was a long night, but I made some good tips. I knew I would. Friday was the best night to work to make money, with most of the staff fighting for a spot. We locked the door, and I sat with Paisley going through our tips.
“Wow, you made a lot today,” she said as she admired my pile.
I laughed. “Yeah, more than usual. But still not as much as you.” As usual, she had made probably double the amount that I had. She was so good at this job. I had told her on so many occasions that even when she stopped bartending that she should make sure she dealt with people. She was good at it.
“What can I say? Some of us know how to flirt.”
“That one guy was flirting with you a lot,” I said. “And I must say, you’re my friend, and even I thought you looked like you were enjoying it.”
“Where do you think I got most of this money from?” she said and chuckled. “And yeah, he was actually one of the better ones of the night. Although, he got to be a bit much near the end. I hate the end of the night. The drunk guys are the worst. That’s when I stop enjoying the job. So, are you ready to go home to your new stranger?”
I laughed. “I’m sure he’s fast asleep. It’s pretty late.”
“Or maybe he’s sitting in your room without any clothes on, just waiting for you.”
I laughed. “You seriously need to stop watching these creepy movies.”
“Okay, but call me if you suspect anything strange going on. Promise me?”
“I promise you.”
I tried to be extra quiet when I got home, although I was sure it wouldn’t really matter if I made a noise in that big house. Still, it was my first night with Silas as a roommate, and I didn’t want to wake him up. I made my way to the kitchen to do the dishes I’d left before leaving. I couldn’t sleep until the dishes were done, and I had intended to do them before leaving for work, but my conversation with Silas had been too interesting to just leave. But when I got to the kitchen, I saw that all the dishes were already done. Everything had been washed, dried, and put away. I smiled. How nice of Silas. I had not expected that at all. It hadn’t been
just the lunchtime dishes that were there, but he’d washed everything even though the messy kitchen hadn’t been because of him. The thought of him standing in the kitchen and making sure that everything looked good made me feel happy. I would have to thank him in the morning. As I turned around, I jumped when I saw him standing in front of me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to give you a fright,” he said. “I probably should’ve announced that I was coming. I thought you heard me.”
I laughed. “I’m not used to someone being here. I thought you would be asleep.”
“I was. I just came down to get a glass of water. How was work?”
“Exhausting. The place was packed. But it was fine.”
He smiled sleepily. “You must be happy to be home then.”
“So happy. I always am. How was your first evening here? Everything go okay?”
“Yeah. It was great. I met a friend for dinner, so I wasn’t here all that much. But otherwise, I had a pretty chilled night. It’s a great space.”
“It is. Listen, thanks for doing the dishes. That was such a nice thing to do. I really appreciate it. Although, you didn’t have to.”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all. You’re the one that made me lunch. Really, it’s no big deal.”
“Well, thank you anyway. It was a nice thing to come home to. Uh, well, have a good night. I hope you sleep well.”
“The bed is amazing,” he said and grinned. “Good night, roomie,” he said and chuckled.
“Good night, roomie,” I said back.
Paisley was wrong about Silas being trouble. On the contrary, in fact. I felt safer with him in the big house. And I liked the idea of him sharing the space with me. I took a shower and climbed into my bed, thinking how nice it was that I was finally not stressing about money anymore. I just needed a better job, but at least I had a great house and a really nice roommate. Things were looking up for me.
Chapter Nine
Silas
Gary called me that morning and asked me to do another site managing stint for him. He had heard what a good job I had done and said he wanted me on the job again. It had been a long day, but I’d enjoyed it. I was starting to prefer working as a manager more than doing the construction work, so I hoped he would have more work like that coming my way. I hadn’t seen him yet, as he hadn’t been there when I arrived. But he came just as I was packing up.
“Good day?” he asked. He looked around, and I saw his eyes widen as he took in what we had done. “You guys did all this? Wow, the boys work faster when you’re in charge. I must say, you did a great job.”
“Thank you. Yeah, it went well. I like working with these guys.”
“And, from what I hear, they like working with you.”
“Oh, Gary, I wanted to thank you for showing me that advert in the newspaper. I moved in.”
“What? Are you serious? Wow, that was quick.”
“Yeah, actually I’ve been there for almost a week already. I’m very happy with the move, and I now don’t have to worry as much about getting the rent out on time. I cannot believe how little she wants for the room. I know it’s a house share, but I am paying so much less on rent now. And the room is huge.”
“I can imagine. That place is massive. Is it as nice inside as it is on the outside?”
I smiled. “It’s better. There’s something about that place. They should film a movie inside it. That’s how interesting it is.”
“And what about the lady she owns it? Is she okay? She must be old.”
I chuckled. “Riley is definitely not old. She’s probably about my age, maybe a bit younger even. Her grandmother left her the house when she passed away.”
“Are you serious? That’s cool. And the two of you get along?”
“Yeah, she’s great. It’s been very easy living with her.”
“Well, I’m happy for you. I’m glad you don’t have to stress anymore. Any more gigs?”
“Actually, one later tonight.”
“Ooh, good luck, Silas. Things are looking up it seems.”
Things were looking up. And as I made my way back to my new house, I realized how happy I was with everything. The construction work was finally starting to make me some money, especially now that I wasn’t throwing it all into my rent, and I finally had another gig to go to. I’d been feeling down for a while, but I felt a new sense of hope take over me. When I got home, I saw that Riley was in the kitchen, stirring a pot on the stove. The food smelled incredible, and she looked very pretty with her hair tied up into a high ponytail. As she stirred the food, her ponytail swayed from left to right. She turned and smiled when she saw me walk in.
“Oh, hey. You’re just in time. I’m almost finished with the dinner. I thought I’d make us both something tonight. I mean, if you’re not going out or anything.”
“I’m going out later, but I’m home for dinner. You cooked for us? Thank you. It smells incredible, by the way. What is it?”
“What isn’t it?” she said and chuckled. “There are so many ingredients in this dish. I have no idea what it is. Some sort of stew, I guess. It’s a recipe I made up a few years ago, and it always comes out well. Although, I don’t have the recipe written down, so it changes each time I make it. Hopefully, this one will be good.”
“I’m going to have to make you dinner sometime too. You’ve cooked for me way more than I’ve cooked for you.”
“I don’t mind. I like cooking. You?”
“I’ve lived on my own for a long time, so my cooking skills are not the greatest. It’s easy when you’re only cooking for one. I probably ate more bread than anything else.”
“Nothing wrong with that. I happen to love bread,” she said as she poured the food into bowls for us. “Ready to eat now? I’m starving.”
“I’m always ready to eat. Thank you, Riley.”
“So, how was your day? Busy, I’m sure. Construction work sounds pretty intense.”
“It is. But they put me on as the site manager today, which was great. It’s the second time they’ve asked me to do it, and I’m starting to think I enjoy it more than the construction work itself.”
“Oh yeah? Think you’re going to get promoted to that full-time?”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I’m not sure I want to though. I mean, I don’t really want to do this for the rest of my life. It’s just a nice way to make money on the side.”
“Speaking of, any more gigs coming up?”
“Yeah, actually, that’s what I’m doing tonight. I’m playing at one of the smaller pubs in the area.”
“Really? That’s great news. Can I come?”
I was hoping she wouldn’t say that. I didn’t want her to see me singing in front of an empty crowd. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel sorry for me. I wasn’t sure why I cared so much. But I did.
“Uh. Well, it’s not going to be very interesting. Trust me; this is nothing like the pub you work at. I doubt anyone will be there. It might be me singing to an empty room. You’ll be bored.”
“I like the idea of a small, quiet pub, to be honest. I’m so sick of busy places. And I’d love to hear you sing. Anyway, I have nothing else to do tonight. It’s my night off, and I haven’t been out in ages.”
“Okay then. But if you’re bored, I won’t be offended if you leave.”
We finished our dinner, which was absolutely amazing, and then I went to get ready for the pub. I hadn’t even thought about what I was going to eat that night, so it was nice to come home to Riley cooking. She had been right about the meal; it was hard to know exactly what I was eating, and I had no idea what I would call the dish, but it was great. As we made our way to the pub, I asked her if she had ever considered being a chef. She chuckled and shook her head.
“Definitely not. I like cooking, but only for me. And I don’t like following recipes. I’d get so bored if I had to cook the same meals each night.”
“So, what is your dream then?”
She sighed. “I’d love to be
a writer. And an illustrator. Both would be great. One would be amazing too.”
“Children’s books?”
She smiled. “That would be incredible.”
“You should go for it, you know. Don’t let things hold you back. Life is far too short. Although, who am I to talk? I’m about to sing for a crowd of one.”
“But at least you’re singing. And you’re right. I need to get out there and do something about my dream. You’re very inspirational, Silas.”
“Thank you. But let’s see how you feel after you hear me sing.”
As expected, the venue was small, and the crowd was almost nonexistent. I usually didn’t mind, and I also usually didn’t worry about how I was going to sound. I was confident in my singing. But, as I got up on stage, and saw Riley standing and looking up at me, I felt nervous. What if I was actually a terrible singer and I’d just been fooling myself all these years? What if she heard me and felt embarrassed for me? I tried to put the thoughts out my head. I took a deep breath, smiled, and introduced myself. Then, I forgot about everything around me and began to play.
My set was an hour long, and the time went by quickly. So quickly that I almost forgot where I was. When I got to the end of my last song, I saw Riley beaming up at me. She clapped and shouted my name, and I noticed a few others around her clap too. I thought I should bring her out to more of my gigs. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and it was nice to see a few others following her lead. I stepped down, and she ran up to embrace me. I was so surprised by her actions that I stood there limply, unsure of what to do.
“Sorry!” she said. “I’m a hugger. I just felt so excited. I cannot believe that I am sharing a house with a talented singer like you.”
I smiled. “Really? I was okay?”
“Are you kidding me? Silas, you were incredible. Come on; I’m buying you a beer.”
Dirty Roomie Page 5