lay for you, huh?”
“Yup,” she immediately piped back. “And I would’ve made your eyeballs roll back in your head, but your loss. The offer has been rescinded now that we’re both in the right state of mind.” She laughed when giving him a playful wink, and Tristan couldn’t help but join her.
“And for the record, Tristan, you’re not fucked up in the head. I’d reserve that kind of label for some poor soul who has schizophrenia, paranoia, delusions of grandeur and maybe manic depression thrown in there. Even then, I wouldn’t call them fucked up…just different.” She was smiling the whole time she explained and patted his hand before adding, “Everyone has their own cross to bear, Tristan. Doesn’t make you any less of a person.”
He’d made a big deal out of things when there was no need. Susy was pretty easy going about things when you got to know her, unlike the bitch with claws persona he’d met the first week he’d worked here. Plus, she wasn’t hung up on him nearly banging her up against the wall like most women rightly would be, and she’d given him an easy out. He really, really liked her…as a friend.
After a pause in conversation as Susy texted back and forth with someone for a while, he asked her, “So what are your plans? If things suck at home, could you afford to move out? Or are you saving up for school or something equally important?”
Not answering right away, Susy played with the straw in her drink for a bit before finally answering, “I’d like to go to school, but things keep getting in the way. I’ve been helping my mom and dad pay the bills at home, and there is never enough money to go around.”
Tristan pinned her with a glare. “You pay rent to your own parents? Plus you have no privacy and they treat you like shit? You know that’s fucked up, right?”
Susy just nodded before taking a deep sigh. “I know, but I’m not exactly the epitome of standing up for myself. I kinda have an issue with change, and right now, this works for me.”
Tristan gave her a questioning look. “Being taken advantage of by your own family works for you?”
“What do you suggest then, Tristan? I don’t exactly have many friends who would be willing to take me in, and I don’t have enough money to live in an apartment on my own.”
Tristan nodded along in agreement for a few seconds and thought about his own living situation. He was thankful to Gabriel for letting him live there for as long as he had, but he needed to get his own place again. One that he was responsible for, and his name was on the lease; not some crummy rat-hole apartment above a stinky garage.
“Let’s move in together, Susy.”
Tristan couldn’t move to the side fast enough to avoid the spray of Southern Comfort that came out of her mouth as she nearly choked on the swallow in her mouth. After coughing for a minute, and Tristan laughing as he wiped the drink off himself, she asked incredulously, “You want to move in together like boyfriend and girlfriend? I thought you said you didn’t want to use me? I think that is getting close to using someone, Tristan.”
He dramatically rolled his eyes before answering. “How about we move in together like two friends, Sus? Or like buddies? Roommates even if you need to label it…I don’t care. But I can keep my dick in my pants with a hot woman around, yanno…”
She glared at him for a moment, but there was humor in the softening of her face as she asked, “You sure? You’ll not try to shag me every chance you get? Because that would be a total pain in my ass.”
Tristan knew she was joking, but he needed to make sure she understood what he was offering, so he didn’t flinch at all as he answered. “Susy…I’m not above asking for help at this point in my life. I’ve fucked around enough lately, and I think we would be a good match for each other. We both need some direction in our lives, and maybe we can figure this shit out together.