Dare Me(10)

I jog home and quickly shower, throwing on a black suit with a gray shirt, no tie. Dressy, but not too formal. It takes me less than fifteen minutes to maneuver Chicago’s back streets to get to Saige’s uptown condo. This is an area that’s up and coming and, while lots of younger people are moving to the area, there is still quite a bit of crime. Strike one. I park curbside outside her building and find the secured main entrance doors propped open so anyone can enter her building. Strike two.

I take the elevator to the fifth floor and follow the numbered doors to unit five-eleven. The halls are well lit and the floor is quiet, the only positive so far about this building and location. I knock on the door, expecting to wait, but it opens almost immediately.

“Sweet baby Jesus,” a woman says as she pulls the door wide open and stares at me. She’s dressed in scrubs and her dark hair is pulled back into a long braid.

I smile politely. “I’m here for Saige.”

“Oh, yes! Please come in.” She steps aside, and I step into the condo. It’s small but modern. From the front door, you walk right into the main living area. A small galley kitchen is off to the left, full of modern appliances.

“Saige!” the young woman yells but doesn’t move from the doorway. Women tend to do this from time to time and, while certainly flattering, it makes me extremely uncomfortable.

In an effort to stop her staring, I reach out my hand for introductions. “I’m Holt Hamilton.” I shake her hand. “You are?”

“Evelyn Lopez. Saige’s roommate.” She grins.

My smile deepens. At least Saige doesn’t live alone. “Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” she says and fidgets with her braid.

“So how do you know Saige?” I ask. I do realize that I’ve been here for less than thirty seconds and I’m already prying into both Saige and Evelyn’s personal history. Not that I really care, but I don’t want to look creepy either.

“We went to college together,” she says as she finally closes the door and steps into the kitchen.

“You went to college in North Dakota?” I ask, surprised at this information. She didn’t strike me as the North Dakota type with her feisty Latina attitude. But then, neither does Saige.

“I did.” She nods. “We were roommates our freshman year in the dorms. We’ve been friends ever since.” She pulls a bottle of water from the fridge and offers it to me. I politely decline. “I moved here first,” she says, twisting off the bottle cap. “Saige used to talk about how much she missed Chicago. She lived here when she was younger.”

I already know Saige’s story, but I’m interested in hearing what Evelyn has to say about it, so I stay quiet and nod for her to continue.

“She always talked about how she would love to move back here, so when your company expressed interest in her, I told her to jump at the opportunity.” She smiles warmly to herself. Clearly, she cares for Saige. Another plus.

“Well, I’m glad you did. Saige is a phenomenal employee.” Understatement of the century. “We’re very pleased to have her.”

Just then, I catch Saige out of the corner of my eye. She’s wearing black skinny pants and a top with sheer accents on the sleeves and around the waist. Her dark hair hangs in long, loose curls and her perfect lips are painted bright red. She’s stunning.

“Saige.” I turn and address her, keeping it together on the outside while my insides thrum wildly at the sight of her.

“Mr. Hamilton.” She smiles warmly at me.

“Holt,” I correct her.

“Holt,” she acknowledges, and damn if my name doesn’t sound like perfection coming from her lips. “I see you’ve met Evelyn.”

“I have.” I turn back to see Evelyn leaning against the kitchen counter, grinning at us.

Saige shakes her head, and Evelyn lets out a little laugh. “I have to get my purse. Let me show you our place.” She leads me to the living room. They have a comfortable set up. A small plush sectional sits in the middle of the room, and a flat screen TV rests on a wooden stand with glass doors. “Living room.” Saige gestures to the room we’re standing in. “Down that hallway is Evelyn’s room.” She points down a small hallway off the opposite end of the living room. “And my room is down here.” She begins walking down the short hallway she just pointed to and into her room. I follow, and just inside her room I notice a huge window overlooking a small city park tucked away behind their building. I guess that’s another plus. “It’s small, but it works for us.” A queen-sized bed with a bench at the foot sits against the largest wall. The bench is covered in clothes that spill onto the bed. On her nightstand is a paperback romance novel and a pack of birth control pills.

“Sorry about the mess.” She laughs and pulls her purse off her bed. She walks over to a tall chest of drawers covered in small containers of make-up and bottles of perfume, grabbing a few items off the top and shoving them into her purse.

“Your home is beautiful,” I tell her. Not as beautiful as her, but I will say her condo fits her. Simple yet beautiful.

“Thanks.” She smiles, pleased. “You ready to go?”

I nod and follow her out of the room. Evelyn waits for us in the living room and sees us out. “Now, Holt,” she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I expect you’ll have our little Saige home by midnight.”