Fighting Silence (On the Ropes #1)(23)

“When can I move in?” I gritted through a fake smile.

“You don’t want to look around first?”

“Nope. I’ll take it. How much do I owe you for this month?” I had two hundred dollars to my name, and that included the fifty bucks in my pocket. There were three weeks left in the month, but I got paid in two days. I could swing the rent as long as I ate at the gym every day.

“Just give me two twenty-five when you move in. Daniel already paid this month’s rent, so you can ride out his dollar this month, and I’ll use your first payment to cover next month.”

I blinked at him and my smile broke free—big time. “Yeah. I can do that,” I answered.

“All right. Welcome home, Till. I’ll get the sublet form for you to sign.” He extended a hand to seal the deal, and I couldn’t shake it fast enough.

Eliza chose just that moment to start singing at the top of her lungs. A smile instantly spread across my lips as I listened to her less-than-stellar solo performance.

Yeah. Welcome home, Till.

“Can you give me just a second?” I excused myself and hauled ass down the stairs and around to the side of the building.

I shoved her window open and then crawled inside, rushing through her small apartment to find her. She was standing in the kitchen, singing and shaking her ass, but her head was down as her hand was moving over a sketchpad.

I leaned against the wall for a few seconds, watching the show she was unknowingly putting on. I tried not to envision her body naked as she moved with the rhythm of the music. Her breasts swayed with her hips, and just knowing that the f*cking freckle was swaying too was more than enough to stir my cock to life.

“Shit!” she screamed when she finally noticed me standing in the hallway. “Damn it, Till,” she cursed, trying to catch her breath.

“Come here for a second.” I grabbed her hand and dragged her to bedroom, but not for the horizontal purposes I truly wanted. “Wait right here.” I headed for the window, clicking her music off before I climbed out.

“What are you doing?”

“Just wait.” I smiled then jogged toward the stairs.

I threw the front door to my new apartment open and then rushed right past Scott. Once I entered my new bedroom, I stared at the stained-carpeted floor.

“Doodle!” I yelled unnecessarily loud.

“Uh, Till? What are you doing?”

I wasn’t sure how much she could hear, but her voice hit my weak ears as if she were standing only a few feet away. It was clear that I would, in fact, be able to hear everything.

“Oh, nothing much. Just chilling in my new apartment.” I played off my excitement, but her squeal let me know she wasn’t even trying to hide it.

“I’m coming up!” she yelled.

I rushed to the front door to meet her. Scott watched from the couch as I snatched the door open. It didn’t take but a second for her to come plowing through it.

“Are you serious?” She laughed as happy tears glistened in her eyes.

“Completely,” I confirmed, which caused her to launch herself into my arms.

God, it felt good as she wrapped her legs around my waist. She laughed loudly into my ear, and I couldn’t help but join her.

I glanced over at Scott, who had the good sense to look surprised, and even a little embarrassed, as he watched me hold her tight. I gave him a pointed look when I remembered his comments about Eliza from earlier. The last thing I needed to do was get into an argument with him before I even signed the lease. But thankfully, he immediately lifted his hands in surrender and mouthed, “Sorry.”

I lifted my chin in his direction then went back to holding her.

“You’re going to live upstairs!” she exclaimed, sliding her feet to the ground and stepping away all too soon. “I want to see your room.”

I led her down the hall to the small, empty room that would just fit the bed and a dresser I didn’t have.

“It’s only two twenty-five a month. I shouldn’t have any trouble affording it.” I leaned against the doorframe as she looked around.

“What if he’s a weirdo?” she whispered.

“Who?”

“Your roommate. I met him once, but I can’t swear he’s not a serial killer.”

“I think I’ll be okay. His name’s Scott and he seems nice enough. I’ve been over here for an hour or so. Daniel gave me fifty bucks to help him move out.”

“So that’s what it was! I heard something going on up here.”

Just then, something started beeping. We both looked around the room, trying to find the source, but came up empty. When we left the room, the sound grew louder as we got closer to the kitchen.

“What is that?” Eliza asked.

Luckily, Scott was there to answer. “Your oven timer.”

“My oven timer? No way. It’s barely that loud in my apartment.”

“Way. We can hear pretty much everything through the floor.”

Eliza’s eyes grew wide.

“Wait. You can hear us too, right?” Scott asked.

“Well, I mean, yeah. I guess. I just assumed you were really loud.”

“Nope. Just cheap floors.” He shrugged. “So . . . whatcha cooking?” he asked with a smile.

“Oh shit! My pizza.” Eliza bolted to the door, and I followed because . . . well, pizza sounded good.