Page 63 of Hard Rock Love

21

When the bill came, Seth tried to pay, but I wouldn’t let him.

“You paid for dinner the last time we went out, plus you’ve bought me tons of sandwichesandyou got me that wand,” I reminded him. “Let me get this.”

His lips twisted, looking displeased, but didn’t fight.

“Next time I’m taking you to a place that has thousand dollar steaks,” he said. “That’ll make up for it.”

“You can’t just start blowing your money on me.”

“Who else am I going to blow it on?” he asked. “I already paid off all my parent’s debts and got them a house. I already own a fancy condo with priceless art on the walls, every video game system ever made, and a luxury car.”

“Your car is expensive?”

In all the times he’d given me rides, I hadn’t once thought about how much money the car must have cost. It was shiny and black and smelled like leather, but that was all the thought I’d given it.

“I’m running out of things to spend my money on here,” Seth continued. “Technically, you’re doing me a favor.”

“I don’t think it works that way,” I started to say, but he’d already stood from the table and offered me his hand.

“Look, I’ll show you,” he said. “Come with me.”

When Seth pulled up in front of a tall building with a vast circular driveway, I realized he was taking me back to his place. A spike of anxiety tinged with nervous anticipation fluttered inside me. I forced myself to stamp it down. We were going to take it slow. There was no reason to get flustered.

“This is where you live?” I asked as we walked in. I surveyed the front foyer with marble floors and pillars, the waiting valet and modern art paintings on the wall.

“Told you,” he said with a nudge of his shoulder.

We rode the elevator to the top floor penthouse suite. To my relief, the interior of Seth’s apartment looked the way I imagined any twenty-something’s apartment looked like, albeit the furniture came in color-coordinated matching sets. Video games were strewn across the floor and the front closet was a mess.

“Home sweet home,” he said as he kicked off his sneakers and headed into the kitchen. “How about I make us some coffee?”

“Do you buy expensive kinds of coffee, too?” I asked. “Like the kind that comes from cat poop?”

Seth popped his head out of the kitchen.

“What?” he asked.

“There’s a type of coffee that’s made from coffee beans that have been eaten and then excreted by some wild cat-like animal,” I explained.

Seth grimaced.

“I can safely say that no, I do not buy cat poop coffee,” he said. “I do, however, buy coffee that might make you cringe anyway.”

“Don’t tell me you drink instant?”

“I know, I’m a terrible person,” he said. “I’ve got some tea in the cupboard if you’d rather have that.”

“Herbal?” I asked hopefully.

Seth grabbed a box from a shelf and brandished it.

“Peppermint okay?” he asked.

“It’s perfect.”

I sat at the kitchen table and watched as Seth went about making our drinks.