ANNIE'S SONG
copyright 2007 by Sabra Brown Steinsiek
Whiskey Creek Press
ISBN
E-Book 928-1593-74-810-4 Paperback 928-1593-74-810-8
ATTENTION: Only the first nine chapters will be posted here before Annie’s Song is released by Whiskey Creek Press on November 1, 2007. Reading this excerpt may be addicting and you may feel compelled to buy the book (I hope!). No amount of whining or gifts of chocolate will make me reveal anything past the end of Chapter 9!
You’ve been warned!
Chapter 5
Kit woke to the sound of his housemate barfing in the bathroom. The guy had been out partying—again—last night, staggering in about two o’clock despite the fact he had an eight a.m. calculus class.
“I have to get out of here,” Kit muttered. It had become his morning mantra and his nightly prayer. What he wouldn’t give to live in a place that didn’t smell like an old gym and where the food in the refrigerator didn’t always consist of leftovers from the restaurants where Jerry and Paul worked. And privacy! A place to work where he could hear himself think and wasn’t constantly interrupted— someplace like Annie’s loft.
He knew the other guys in the house thought he was a loser. They only kept him around because he carried his share of the rent and didn’t nag at them about cleaning up all the time. They hadn’t objected when he cleaned out a closet, installed a lock on the door, and created an office space for himself. But the paper-thin walls didn’t shut out the noise, and working in the “black hole” wasn’t exactly conducive to creative thinking.
He heard Ed stagger out of the bathroom and jumped out of bed before one of the others could claim the bath. Grabbing a can of air freshener he kept nearby, he entered the bathroom with the button already full depressed.
Knowing someone would be along any minute to bang on the door, Kit jumped in the shower—in and out in three minutes flat. His timing was perfect. He opened the door and nearly got punched in the face by Jerry, who had his hand raised to pound on the door. Kit sidestepped him and was back in his room before Jerry even realized he’d seen him.
* * * *
He escaped to a nearby coffee shop where they didn’t mind him sitting for hours while he wrote. He picked up a newspaper left behind on a table and turned to the classifieds, hoping to find something decent and remotely affordable in the “for rent” sections. A couple of prospects looked promising but were gone by the time he called about them. Everything else was too far away from his job and school, or the rent was too high to even consider. He sipped his coffee while he stared out the window at the world passing by. After a few minutes, he reached for his phone and dialed a familiar number.
“This is Dante Huff. How may I help you?”
“The Dante Huff? Didn’t take you too long to get used to that name,” he said.
“Kit! How are you?”
“I’m good. How was the honeymoon?”
“Magical. I highly recommend having one.”
“Not anytime soon, Dante.”
“You never know, Kit. Love could be waiting right around the corner.”
“What’s waiting right around the corner is my novel. And I really need to move someplace quieter.” He paused, unsure how to go on from there.
“The only place I know of right now is Annie’s loft. And I’m not sure she’s looking for a new roommate—let alone one of the male type.”
“Do you think she’d consider it? And, if she did, is there any chance I can afford it?”
“I can’t speak for Annie, but she’s pretty open minded and the rent is reasonable. You’re not a complete stranger, so she might be open to the idea. Are you sure this is just about a place to stay and not a plan to put the moves on my best friend?”
“Well, I won’t deny she’s gorgeous, but this really is about a place to live. If I don’t find someplace quiet where I can write, I’m not going to get my master’s.”
“Wait,” Dante said. “How do you know that Annie’s place is quiet? You were never over there when I lived there.”
“I was there last night. Mom had tickets to Annie’s show and couldn’t go. She gave them to me, and I took a friend.”
“But how did you end up at Annie’s if you were on a date?”
“She invited us back to the loft after the show. We picked up Chinese and ate dinner and talked for a while. Dante, that loft is just about as close to heaven as I could get: private space, quiet, a civilized roommate. What more could anyone ask?”
“Want me to ask her for you?”
“No! That would look totally lame. I can ask her myself if you’ll give me her number.”
“I guess it won’t hurt to give it to you,” she said before she read it off to him. “Now, who is this girl you took to the theater last night?”
“Thanks, Dante. Gotta go!” He hung up before he could get pulled into that particular conversation.
* * * *
Dante was sorely tempted to call Annie and warn her that Kit was going to be calling. But they were both adults and didn’t need her to act as a go-between. Monday’s lunch with the girls would be very interesting.
(October 15)
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