The Seven 1: Vacancy

Oaklynn

“I’m not saying I want you to go. I love having you around—I really do—you’re like a sister to me,” Jaylani promised as she clasped her hands together and sent me a fake, begging smile. “But…”

With a groan, I threw my head back to wince up at the clouds before finishing the question for her. “But when the hell am I going to get off your couch and finally find a place of my own already, huh?”

“Seriously, it’s been three weeks,” my best friend shrieked, clutching her French coils in agitation. “I mean, come on, O! You said you’d be gone within a couple of days, tops.”

“I know! And I’m sorry,” I whined. “Trust me, I’m just as sick of encroaching on your and Scarlett’s love nest as you are of me being there.”

Jaylani blinked her extended eyelashes drolly. “I highly doubt that. Scar wouldn’t even go down on me last night, worried you might hear us through the walls.”

“Really?” I lifted my brows in surprise. “That didn’t seem to bother her the night before.”

Jaylani’s gaze narrowed. “Because she didn’t know you could hear us until you just had to go and mention it at breakfast the next morning.”

“Whoops.” I winced and cleared my throat. “Sorry about that. But…” I shrugged.

If they didn’t want commentary, they should’ve been way less loud.

I didn’t say that, though. Instead, I swore, “If I’d known rent in this town was going to be so astronomical, I would’ve applied for a dorm room much earlier. Now I’m stuck on a waitlist, and it’ll probably be next semester before something opens for me.”

“What? No…” Jaylani groaned. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

I scoffed and uncapped the bottle of water I was carrying. “I wish.” After taking a long drink, I dropped the water back to my side and lifted my eyebrows in interest at the guy who came jogging toward us down the trail that Jaylani and I were currently power walking. “Well, hello, handsome.”

He didn’t hear me, of course, since he hadn’t reached us yet. But he did skim his gaze down my black shorts, over my legs, then back up again to settle on my sports bra that zipped up the front, checking me out just as hard as I was checking him out. I winked when we made eye contact, and we kept looking at each other until he passed, where I turned to walk backward beside Jaylani so I could keep ogling.

Because, mmm, that tight ass…

Yes, please.

Okay, so the city of Westport, Texas might’ve ended up being a little costlier than I’d been prepared for, but the sights here were definitely worth the price of admission.

Haverick University housed some grade-A hotties.

“Damn, Jay,” I said, shaking my head to clear all the stirred-up hormones from it before I spun around to continue walking forward again. “I thought we were friends. ~Yet you never once mentioned you had all ~that~ walking around campus. I mean… Have you ever seen so many beautiful men in one town before?”

Jaylani glanced back at the disappearing runner and shrugged out an uninterested, “Meh. Too penis-y for me. Besides…” Sending me a stern glance, she added, “Ain’t you supposed to lay off the guys this year?”

Ugh. She was right. I’d gotten overly boy-crazy during the last half of high school and let them—plus a lot of parties—distract me too much, landing me in this situation in the first place because, apparently, when your grades slip, you don’t immediately get accepted into your dream college.

So I’d finally sworn myself off men, focused solely on my community college classes, and vowed to stay away from the party life until I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in hand.

But still…

“I was just looking,” I defended.

A girl could still enjoy the scenery, couldn’t she? I mean, Jay and I had gone to the beach just yesterday to take in the natural beauty of the Gulf. This was basically no different.

Except I hadn’t dropped three-fourths of a grade point average from sleeping with too many pretty sunsets.

“But I’ll stop looking and behave.” I lifted a hand solemnly. “I swear.”

Because I was here for school, setting up my entire future, and beginning the rest of my life. I didn’t have time for fun this semester.

Screwing my priorities on straight, I glanced over at Jaylani as she snorted, letting me know how little faith she had in me.

“Hey, I don’t mind you looking,” she assured. “Just as long as it’s for a new place to live.”

“Oh…snap.” I laughed at her evil humor, only to moan pathetically a moment later. “I just wish I knew ~where~ to look. I only want ~one~ place that’s under five hundred a month, in a neighborhood that doesn’t make me fear for my life, and is also ~not~ a million miles from campus. Is that too much to ask for?”

“Uh…yeah.” Jaylani patted my shoulder dolefully. “Because you’re dreaming if you think anything within ten miles of here is going to be that cheap.”

“No…” I sobbed imitation tears. “But I can’t afford any more than that.”

“I know, baby doll.” She wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I know. And I’d tell you that you could keep staying on my couch for as long as you like, but…well…you can’t.”

“Wow. Thanks.”

She beamed cheerfully. “Any time.”

I blew out a long breath.

Last month, I thought I’d been so lucky, finally managing to get into the English program at Haverick this semester. The undergraduate acceptance rate here was, like, fifteen percent, and their Journalism program was to die for. I’d seriously been on top of the world to finally make it in.

But this having-no-place-to-live nonsense was kind of squashing the dream.

“Maybe I could sell my plasma or find some escort service to hire me,” I started teasingly. “Or ooh… I keep seeing these posters all over campus from some professor seeking human test subjects for this lab research he’s doing. They claim he pays well.”

But Jay made a face. “You mean, Professor Zweifel? The crazy chemistry guy? No. I’ve heard rumors about his research. I’d stay away if I were you.”

Well, that sounded juicy. I opened my mouth to ask what kind of rumors she’d heard, only for music blasting from an open, second-story window of one of the fancy-schmancy brownstones we were passing to catch my attention instead.

The song was “Somebody That I Used to Know,” and it immediately distracted me from my current curiosities.

“What a blast from the past,” I said, glancing up to see bits of a gossamer curtain billowing from the open window in the breeze. “Remember when you and I—and Lizzy Maine—choreographed a dance together for this song when we were, like…”

“Ten? Eleven?” Jaylani guessed, letting go of my shoulder so she could clutch her face in horror. “Oh my God, yes. It was… awful.”

“So awful,” I agreed with a laugh as my gaze returned to the window. I swore I could make out movement in the room beyond, someone creating their own dance routine to the beat, and this urge rose inside me, wanting to join in and move along with them. “Good song, though,” I mused nostalgically.

“Hey, check it.” Jaylani nudged my arm.

“What?” I followed the direction of her finger as she pointed to the ground level of the place. And right there in the main front window sat a sign that read One Room Vacancy Available. Under that was simply a phone number to call for details.

“No way,” I murmured, not even daring to hope.

Because the entire neighborhood was top-notch. All the townhouses connected on this block were decorated in a matching pattern and were either multicolored sandstone bricks, a light tan exterior, or dark brown. This particular apartment was bricked and located at the end. A wrought-iron balcony wrapped around the second story, and a third story of windows told me it probably had a pretty sizable attic up there.

The whole place made my skin buzz with eager anticipation as if my body thought it was actually possible for me to live there.

Except, I’m sure it wasn’t.

“I think it’s a sign,” Jaylani coaxed, lifting her eyebrows at me encouragingly.

I snorted. “Literally.”

She rolled her eyes, and I chewed on my lip thoughtfully as we both stopped in front of the brownstone to inspect it from roof to doormat.

It seemed too good to be true. I mean, it was located right along Bridleway with a straight shot to campus in a very nice neighborhood.

Bridleway was the university’s famous pedestrian trail that wound through town, named so because of HaveU’s stallion mascot—not because actual equestrians used it. It linked up to pretty much all the major stops in Westport. Everyone on campus used it. And I couldn’t get luckier than to find a place to rent directly ~on~ Bridleway.

“They can’t be asking anything less than fifteen hundred a month,” I decided, talking myself out of even the possibility. “I mean, look at it.”

“Well, you won’t know if you don’t ask,” Jaylani prodded. “You should call.”

I shrugged because, yeah, I guess I could at least ask. And it appeared as if I’d just be renting a single room from an already established roommate, not the entire place for myself. Maybe it wouldn’t be as steep as I was convincing myself it must be.

“Actually,” I said, nodding in agreement. “It sounds as if someone’s home. I’m just going to ring the doorbell. This way, I can meet the potential roommate, tour the place, and get the rental details all in one shot.”

“But I need to get back and ready for work,” Jaylani argued, biting her lip with worry.

“That’s okay.” I waved her on. “Go ahead and go. I’ll check it out myself.”

“You sure?”

“Definitely. I got this.”

“Okay, then…” She held up both hands, waving a set of crossed fingers. “Here’s hoping it works out with a super awesome roommate and low rent.”

Lifting my eyebrows in agreement, I snapped my fingers and pointed back at her. “For sure.” Then I blew her a kiss. “Alright, I’m going in.”

“They’ll love you,” she called, waving me on.

Hell, yes they would. I’d make sure of it.

I sucked in a bolstering breath and started toward the front door.

The outside really was in spectacular condition. Even the concrete of the sidewalk and the miniature front porch looked to be poured recently, while the flowers in the small garden had to have been professionally planted and arranged.

I took the two steps up, then balled my hand into a fist and knocked.

From inside, a female voice called, “It’s open. Come on in.”

Alright, time to pour on the charm. After shaking out my hands to dispel my nerves, I opened the door.

As I did, the song streaming from the window above changed over to Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.”

The first thing I noticed once I was inside was a beautiful hardwood floor.

The entrance led straight into the kitchen, where the counter of a granite-top island bar stretched out to greet me with a fancy sink in the center on one side and three metal-back bar chairs on the other. The rest of the kitchen wrapped around the island with gourmet-styled and top-of-the-line stainless steel appliances.

“Wow,” I croaked before I even stepped over the threshold to behold the rest of the first floor. And then I did, only to be blown away with awe.

It looked like a freaking display home that people didn’t actually live in, but rather something architects showed you to help you imagine how your own unbuilt dream house could look.

Decorated in varying tones of brown and tan with white borders and white doors, there was a leather wraparound couch with a huge rug sitting at an angle in front of it and a coffee table like nothing I’d ever seen before. It all faced the opposite wall that had a hanging large-screen television over an inlaid electric fireplace.

The only thing that detracted from such utter perfection was a clear plastic painter’s sheet laid out on the floor with a small can of paint sitting on top of it. The dark tan wall there had some white spackling spots as if a few holes had recently been patched over.

Against the far wall was a metal staircase that matched the design of the balcony outside and disappeared up a stairwell. And as I was taking in the intricate design on the banister, a bare foot appeared with toenails covered with blood-red polish.

I held my breath as that foot took a step down the stairs, followed by another until they revealed toned and tanned legs, and then shorty shorts in that style that usually said something like Juicy on the butt. A slim, feminine hand latched around the railing—its long nails also bathed in piercing red—before a worn HaveU shirt with paint splatters along the chest came into view.

And then, there she was. A woman about my age appeared, dark curls piled on her head in a sloppy ponytail as she fisted her hand like a microphone and sang along to the song.

“Ripped jeans, skin was showin’. Hot night, wind was blowin.’” Then she paused with flair, striking a pose in the center of the staircase. She bent out her knees and rose onto her tiptoes while throwing back her head to belt out, “Where you think you’re going, baby?”

I laughed outright and had to clap, cheering her on. “Brava! Brava. Very nice.”

With a jaunty grin, the girl fell back onto the balls of her feet and returned to her natural stance as she finished jogging down the stairs.

“Thank you,” she greeted good-naturedly. “And sorry for the show; I just had to get that out of my system.”

“Oh no,” I lifted my hands to pardon her. “No apologies necessary. You totally rocked it.”

“Sweet.” She beamed appreciatively as she strolled over.

And the closer she came, the more flawless she grew. I mean, this girl was gorgeous.

It was a good thing Jaylani hadn’t come in with me; she might’ve forgotten she was already in a committed relationship with someone else.

“The name’s Thalia,” she greeted with a bob of the head and a wave of her hand. “Thalia Archer.”

I waved back, answering, “Oaklynn.”

Her eyebrows rose with interest, and she tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Oaklynn, hmm? Yes. I like it. I like it a lot.” Sitting on the armrest of the wraparound couch, she crossed her legs and kept eye contact as she smiled. “So what can I do for you today, Ms. Oaklynn?”

I nearly bounced on my toes with excitement as I clasped my hands together and answered, “Well, I’m hoping it’s something I can actually do for you. Like…” Biting my lip with an influx of hope, I added, “Take that spare room you have available off your hands…maybe.”

Thalia’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You want to move in with me?”

“I mean…” I wobbled my head in indecision and then grinned beseechingly. “Possibly. Hopefully. If everything works out okay. I can already tell I love the place.” I swept out my arms to encompass all the glorious perfection surrounding us. “But I’m fairly certain there’s no way I can actually afford the rent.”

With a shrug, Thalia made a “Meh” sound in the back of her throat to disagree with me before she said, “How does four hundred a month strike you?”

My jaw damn near dropped to the floor. “No way?” I blurted.

Thalia grinned back and started to nod slowly. “Way…” she countered.

“Wow,” I breathed before shaking my head to clear it back into focus. “There’s a catch, though, right? There’s got to be a catch. Like awful plumbing or horrible smells from a nearby sewer plant.” As Thalia started to shake her head, I kept going. “Loud noises of planes flying overhead or nearby train tracks, or…”

When I took a breath, Thalia answered, “The plumbing’s great. And there’s no sewer treatment plant, airport, or train tracks nearby. Though, I guess, sometimes…” She leaned forward as if she was fixin’ to confess a grave secret before she added, “Late at night…”

“Yeah?” I encouraged with a wince before biting my lip to brace for the worst.

Then she smiled. “I play music at full blast so I can sing and dance around the apartment in nothing but a shirt and undies.” She shrugged unapologetically. “What can I say? I’m a free spirit.”

I laughed because I’d been known to do the same thing a time or two in my life.

Thalia might be a free spirit, but she seemed like a kindred one, and I wanted to live here more than I thought was humanly possible.

“I think I can handle that,” I said.

“Though I have a feeling you’d rarely see me,” she added with a thoughtful frown. “So you probably wouldn’t be graced with the pleasure of my midnight serenades all that often, if ever. I’ll be gone a lot, so I’d really like someone trustworthy that could act as a caretaker of sorts to watch the old place for me when I’m not around.”

And… That’s when I started to drool.

Not only was the place way too affordable, and in spectacular condition, but it’d basically be all ~mine~?

“That’s me,” I volunteered. “I’m as trustworthy and responsible as they come. And clean too. You can always count on me to leave stuff better than when I found it.”

“Well, that’s good to hear. But do you already have furniture? I’m not sure where we’d put it if you did. The room comes fully furnished with a private bath; it probably can’t accommodate a lot of extras. And I don’t do pets.”

I’d brought a total of three suitcases to Westport with me—sans animals—and no furniture at all. So hearing that it was already furnished was a dream come true.

Plus, having my own bath…

“Okay, who do I need to sell my soul to in order to stay here?” I begged as I lifted my hand, not even playing.

Thalia laughed and popped perkily to her feet. “I’ll tell you what. If you help me paint this here wall—because I know next to nothing about painting—and we get to know each other enough to bond by the time it’s done, the room’s yours.”

“Sold,” I cried, lifting a fisted hand into the air triumphantly.

I was so going to get this place.

***

“So I’ve been staring at this paint can for, like, the past hour,” Thalia explained as she led me over to the plastic-covered section of the floor. “And I still have no idea how to even open it.”

“Have you tried a…paint can opener, perhaps?” I asked, amused by her cluelessness.

She glanced back, blinking blankly. “A what?”

With a laugh, I motioned toward the white plastic sack lying next to the cans. “Let’s see if there’s one in here, shall we?”

“Good idea. Let’s.” She stepped back for me to take the lead. “Have at it.” She even sat back on the couch’s armrest to watch, swinging one foot lazily as I knelt and opened the bag to peer inside.

“Ah. Here we go.” I lifted a bit of metal barely bigger than a key. “One opener.”

“Yay.” She raised both hands and shook them in congratulations.

I guess she hadn’t been the one to buy the supplies. Curious.

“Looks like you have about everything else you need too,” I said as I continued to snoop through the bag, pulling out a stirring stick and then some new paintbrushes.

The section that needed to be touched up didn’t seem large enough to require rollers, a tray, or even edging tape, so we looked to be good to go.

“Great!” Thalia said and splayed out a hand before her. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

As the song ended and switched over to “We Are Young” by Fun, she glanced up with a slight frown. “No… Go back to Call Me, Maybe.”

I returned my attention to the paint set, and the song switched back.

“Hope you don’t mind,” Thalia called from behind me. “I have to repeat my favorites when they come on.”

“No worries,” I assured. “I can dig it.”

With a content sigh, Thalia added, “I just love Carly Rae so much.”

“Yeah,” I murmured with a nod. “It’s too bad she was basically only a one-hit wonder.”

As I picked up the small can and began to shake it, Thalia sniffed. “What’re you talking about?”

I glanced back to find her sending me a funny look.

And she appeared to be dead serious when she answered, “I’m sure she’ll come up with something just as popular soon enough.”

My brows lifted over such loyal devotion, and I refrained from disagreeing in any way as I concentrated on getting the paint shaken properly.

Then I sat the can down, kneeling next to it as I started to pry the lid loose with the opener.

Thalia leaned forward with interest as she watched. “Well, you really do know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

I laughed as I popped off the lid and set it safely out of the way. “I should. Every time I broke a poor boy’s heart in high school, I needed to repaint my walls. It was a very cleansing process.”

“Hmm.” Thalia plucked at a stray hair that had fallen from her ponytail and started to wind it around her finger. “I usually just got a new hairstyle.”

I shrugged. “That works too.”

Bobbing her head in agreement, Thalia tipped me a curious glance and asked, “So… Is there anyone promising in your life now? Nosey prospective roommates want to know…”

“Not currently, no,” I said with a depressed sigh as I dunked the brush in and then ran it against the lip of the can as I pulled it out to minimize drippage. “I just transferred to Haverick this semester, so I decided to take a sabbatical from the party scene in order to focus on my studies.”

“Commendable,” Thalia praised with a thoughtful nod. “I wish I’d done that. So you’re a… junior then?”

Standing, I lifted the can with me as I surveyed the wall. “Yep. And a journalism major in Broadcasting.”

“In the English sector.” She whistled as if impressed. “Nice. You know, there’s a hot, young professor that just started this year, teaching Technical Writing.” Rubbing her hands together, she added, “And, mmm, he is quite the treat. It’s almost enough to make me want to switch majors to something over in English myself.”

Pausing from my project, I glanced over. “So you’re attending HaveU too?”

“Yep.” She lifted her hands to put herself on display. “I’m a junior, like you. But I hail from the drama department. Of course.”

“Of course.” I nodded, thinking that made sense with the amazing flair for life she had, even as I wondered how the heck she was able to attend classes and keep up a GPA that didn’t get her kicked out if she didn’t expect to be around town all that often. But then I figured it was none of my business.

“So… Transfer student,” Thalia was saying to herself before she lifted her gaze to me. “You’re not from Westport?”

“Nope.” I lifted my brush and started applying paint to the wall. “I’m actually from Dallas… or near there. On the northern outskirts.”

“Leave a big family behind?”

“Not really. I’m an only child, but my mom has a sibling and Dad has two, so I have aunts and uncles and cousins spread across the country.”

“I only have my parents and a younger brother,” Thalia said. “Damien,” she added with an adoring smile. “He’s such a sweetheart. So cute, and oh my God… shy.” She pressed both hands to her heart. “If you ever have to have a little brother, I recommend the shy kind. They never annoy you, are great for fetching things you don’t want to get up and get yourself, and oh Lord… All you have to do is give them the simplest compliment, and they blush for days. I just want to squish his adorable cheeks every time I see him.”

“Aww,” I said, actually feeling a little jealous. I’d always kind of wanted a sibling.

After miming the act of pinching her brother’s cheeks, Thalia sighed and dropped her hands into her lap, where she sent me an adoring smile. “Damien’s the best.”

I nodded as I concentrated on making smooth, even strokes. There actually wasn’t all that much to paint, just a few white patches to cover. The wet stuff was obviously darker than the drywall around it, but I figured it would dry and lighten to match spot-on, so I didn’t bother painting the entire section.

When I finished covering the last patch, I stepped back to survey my work before glancing over at Thalia. “What do you think?”

“I think…” Sliding off the chair, she wandered over to study the wall before turning to me severely. “Your key’s in the cookie jar on the counter,” she answered. “And rent deposit information is tacked on the refrigerator. Welcome aboard.”

“Oh my God!” I yelped, physically hopping in excitement. “Are you serious?”

This was so awesome. My stars were finally aligning.

Thalia nodded slowly as she watched me. “I think it’s imperative that you stay, actually,” she said thoughtfully. “Because I have this sense about you, Ms. Oaklynn. Someday, I think we’re going to be, like, sisters.”