A Second Chance at Submission: Chapter 2

Chad seemed fine with my staying with them, even helping me unload my stuff from a storage place and getting it inside. That meant a lot to me, but I also was assuming Rachel had told him about our brief time together. If she hadn’t, well, I wasn’t going to bring it up, especially now that I was in and had no other living options.

She had also told me that they agreed to split the rent three ways, which made my portion eleven hundred a month, including utilities. That was less than half of what my own place would cost. Plus, the location was only ten miles from my work. Granted that, in Los Angeles, that could be an hour’s travel by bus or bike, it was still a bargain for the days I had to go in. They also said that I could decide whether to contribute to the groceries, or just buy my own.

I spent the rest of the day unpacking and sorting. When Rachel got home around ten that night, I was done and ready to crash when a pair of knuckles rapped on my door.

“Are you decent?” Rachel called out.

“Predictably,” I called back.

“Shame,” she answered with a giggle in her voice. “We’ve got wings and beer out back if you’d like to join us.”

“Are the wings from Richie’s?” I said in an upbeat tone.

“Sure are,” she responded, then walked away, saying, “but they won’t last long!”

“Then you know...