skirt. Even her hair had come out of that ponytail I made her wear, just to avoid a free haircut should she have gotten a lock caught between the rope and the descender.
I was even more impressed with her already. Kelsey was the perfect complement to the wonderful scenery Angela so generously provided. But I wanted to know what else she could do for me. I just had to figure out what I could do for Kelsey to strike a deal.
I parked and got out. As I smiled and pulled the tail of my shirt down, the ring chimed in. You're very close to what she wants. Watch how she presents the house.
Angela was ready to make a friend, already trotting ahead of me. Those cut-off jeans barely kept her ass contained. I already knew what I wanted besides a bigger place to live.
“Hi, I'm Angela. Adam told me you thought this place would be perfect.” She took Kelsey's hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “I like it already.”
“It's four bedroom, two and a half bath. But don't expect the world of it. It's a vacation house the owner can't use anymore, so it may need a little work.” They definitely weren't the words of an agent wanting to move a rental.
I put my mind in touch with the ring. “Care to tell us why you don't sound too excited? Anything we should know before going in there?”
“I'm not supposed to tell you this, but the owner will go as low as five hundred a month. I really wanted to steal it for myself.” Defeat was all over her face. I felt bad for her, but it didn't mean someone had to end the meeting unhappy.
“I know a way to make this work for everyone.”
Angela took my arm in her own. “What are you talking about?”
I made sure to address both of them as the ring heated up. “There's plenty of room for all of us, and five hundred split up two ways is less than what I thought I'd be paying.” Angela didn't work, but I made sure to replace Stuart as a sugar daddy. She earned her keep in her own way.
It was on Kelsey. “Let's head inside. We can talk about that after you see the place.”
Give Angela what she wants, and give Kelsey what she wants. Great rewards await if you do. I couldn't argue with it. Life had already turned around for me, but I wasn't willing to settle for 'pretty awesome.' I was chasing dreams at that point.
We followed Kelsey onto the redwood deck. She unlocked the front door and held it open for us as she said, “Well, let's take a look.”
I wiped my shoes on the doormat. “How many square feet?”
Angela stepped in as Kelsey shut the door behind herself. Kelsey looked at me and said, “Eighteen-hundred.”
Plenty for my tastes, but I glanced over at Angela. She was already smiling, excited enough over the living room already bigger than my entire apartment. “I like it so far.”
Kelsey walked us through the kitchen and on to the dining room. There was a little age and wear to the place, but it wasn't nearly as bad as she had warned. A good weekend and a few cans of wood polish would have had the place in far better shape.
She came to the spiral staircase. “Three of the bedrooms are down here, but the master bath and bedroom are up this way.”
I motioned for Kelsey and Angela to go first, not necessarily out of courtesy. The tight spiral guaranteed a bitch of a time moving, but it did give me a great view on the way up. Before I hit the last step, I was harder than the cast iron handrail.
The landing in front of the master suite was bigger than my current living room. I was already imagining a furniture layout for the spot, everything being a great platform for getting busy as the first criteria. And with three other bedrooms, Angela and I had room to grow our 'family' beyond just adding Kelsey.
We walked through the open doorway and into the bedroom. The ceiling peaked with the roof, bare cedar beams crossing the whole expanse gave it the feel of a stadium. Even empty, the built-in bench lining the entire back wall of windows already gave the room an option.
I
MR. PINK-WHISTLE INTERFERES