Sam blew out her cheeks. “Oh, it’s fine. We aren’t going to kill each other.”
“I’m not ever going to kill anyone,” Dorian said, his face contorting. “I bring bugs outside.”
“Well, that’s just silly,” Sam said. “They’ll just find their way back in.”
“You’re sure it’s okay?” I asked.
Sam nodded. “I’ll teach him how to grill fish properly.”
“You don’t know how to grill fish properly,” I said, shaking my head.
“I watched a video tutorial one time,” Sam said with a snort. “Pretty sure that makes me an expert.”
“Okay,” I said, glancing over my shoulder as I followed Erik into the house.
Erik placed his hand on my back and guided me inside. He brought his ears to my lips as he kicked the screen door closed behind him. “She chugged a glass of wine before we went out.”
“I see,” I said, taking another sip. “That’ll help. Although, she can be a mean drunk.”
“Can’t imagine,” Erik said, smirking slightly. He threw out an arm to his side. “This is my home.”
My eyes moved over the open floor plan. I could see every room from where I stood. The entire place was expertly decorated with the finest items and immaculate.
“This is amazing,” I said, sucking down a bigger drink. The embarrassment over letting him into my mother’s house had resurfaced. “You did all this?”
Erik laughed. “Oh, of course not. I hired a professional.”
“I guess that’s why it looks like it’s straight out of a magazine.”
The wooden end tables and coffee tables in the living room were made of real wood. Each lamp matched, unlike how each lamp my mom had owned came from a different time period.
Erik had a tall white candle placed on nearly every surface, but none of them had been lit. There was more than enough sunlight making its way into the home.
In the dining room, there was a large wooden table that was so polished I could see my reflection. There were six chairs, all perfectly set in place.
“Do you even live here?” I asked.
The kitchen had all stainless-steel appliances. None of which had looked as though they’d ever been used.
“Not much,” Erik admitted. “This is my vacation home, and I didn’t get to use it as much as I would have liked. I had hoped to retire early and move here.”
We turned back through the dining room and headed down the hall. There was a massive bathroom and two bedrooms.
“There are two bedrooms and another bathroom upstairs. Downstairs is where I keep the mess,” Erik said.
The main floor of the house wasn’t that much bigger than my mom’s house, but it felt huge. My mom’s home had a basement, but it was full of more junk.
“It smells like flowers in here,” I commented.
“What were you expecting? Fish? Give me some credit. I knew I was having guests,” Erik said, bumping me lightly with his elbow. “Want to see the basement.”
“Sure,” I said.
Erik lightly held my arm as we walked down the stairs. “They’re a bit steep.”
And they really were. If I would have any more than two glasses of wine, I’d be tumbling down them. I’d be doing it while giggling, but still, I’d fall.
“Wow!” I said as we stepped down into the wide-open basement. There was a pool table, darts, several TV screens, a bar… it was truly every man’s dream.
“The man cave,” Erik said.
“What did you do for a living?” I asked.
Erik laughed. “Nothing you’d find even the least bit interesting.”
He walked over behind the bar and opened two big doors, and revealed a walk-in pantry stuffed with food, snacks, and of course, alcohol.
“You’re set then, huh?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t say it’s the most nutritional, but it’s better than nothing.”
“It’s better than soup and beans,” I said.
Erik met my gaze. “You’re more than welcome to stay here.”
“Sam won’t.”
“She doesn’t trust Dorian.”
I nodded. “She kind of doesn’t trust a lot of guys.”
“You don’t say?” Erik said, raising a brow.
“She’s a really good friend,” I said, snapping my mouth shut at the sounds of giggling coming from the stairs.
Erik gestured to the door, and I stepped out. He closed them as Sam and Dorian erupted from the stairwell.
“There you two are all hiding and sneaky,” Sam said.
“How much wine have you had?” I asked, both curious and finding Sam’s red cheeks and lack of balance amusing.
“Let’s just say I opened the second bottle,” Sam said with wide eyes as she tapped her finger to her lips.
Dorian cleared his throat and straightened his spine. His cheeks were just as rosy as Sam’s and his eyes even glassier.
“Fish is done,” Dorian announced. “No thanks to either of you.”
We started up the stairs, but I suddenly stopped. “Wait. Why do you have lights down here?”
“Are they restoring power?” Sam asked, suddenly sobering.
“I wish I could say that they were. I have a generator,” Erik said, letting out a heavy exhale. “And not a lot of gas, so I need to conserve what I do have.”
“Aw, bummer,” Sam said.
Dorian turned toward us when he reached the top of the stairs. “I didn’t even know he had it until today.”
We ate our meal outside, talking and laughing about stories from before. After Sam finished all the wine, she started in on some of Erik’s fancy beverages from the shelf in the basement.
Erik had placed several candles on the bar. The dim lighting gave the feel of being in a real bar. The only thing missing was music so loud I wouldn’t be able to hear anything.
Dorian was outside throwing up, unable to keep up with Sam. Erik had nursed the same drink since we’d arrived.
He leaned forward across the counter and smiled. “I think you two should probably stay
