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 8
Annie had thought of little else by the time she arrived at lunch on Monday. Weighing heavily in Kit’s favor was the fact that the apartment seemed so empty when she got home at night. At this point, it was a roommate or a dog—and a roommate didn’t need to be walked.
And he wasn’t a complete stranger. She’d seen him off and on for years and knew his family.
Still, he was a guy. And that would be entirely different from living with a girlfriend. Dante had never had a problem with underwear hanging in the shower to dry and make-up on the bathroom counters. They’d taken turns doing the laundry and knew when the other one needed space or wanted to talk. With two sisters and four nieces, Annie had had little experience with prolonged exposure to guys, and she’d never had to live with either of her brothers-in-law.
There was Dad, of course—but he didn’t count as a guy. He was just Dad. And she couldn’t imagine he’d be happy with her new living arrangement.
Then there were the girls. Kit was Dante’s cousin, Olivia’s brother, and she knew Erin had spent a lot of time with him at the wedding. How were they going to react to this idea? She smiled as she spotted Olivia waving at her from a corner table. No time like the present to find out, she thought.
* * * *
Dante was the center of conversation during lunch as they passed around honeymoon pictures and talked about the wedding. They’d only been apart three weeks, but there was a lot to catch up on. It wasn’t until they’d ordered dessert that Dante casually said, “Kit called me for your number the other day, Annie. What did he want?”
The other two girls were suddenly very interested and leaned in to listen closely to Annie’s answer. “It’s not what you’re thinking,” she said quickly. “It’s much more complicated. He wanted to know if I’d consider taking him on as a roommate.”
Her statement was greeted with laughter and raised eyebrows and a heartfelt “Eeuuww” from Olivia.
“So what did you say?” Dante asked.
“I said I’d think about it. And part of that thinking involves your opinions. I really need some input on this.”
“Well, as his sister,” Olivia said, “my first response is you would be crazy. I’ve lived with him all my life and put up with his sports gear all over the house and his underwear on the bathroom floor. I can’t imagine anyone wanting to be that close to him. That said, though, I haven’t lived with him since he left for college seven years ago, and he seems to have grown up a bit. I know he’s serious about school and responsible in paying his bills. He doesn’t go home to sponge off Mom.”
Dante added, “We’ve always been close and have seen each other more these last few years since we go to the same school. He’s a good person and could probably be trained to pick up his clothes if you want to take him on.”
“So neither of you would mind?”
“I don’t think it should matter that much what we think,” Dante said. “We like him, but we aren’t the ones who are going to have to live with him.”
Erin asked, “Is this just as roommates, like you and Dante, or is there something you’re not telling us?”
“Just roommates. I’m not interested in dating him, and I think he’s seeing someone right now. This would be strictly platonic.”
“Hmm,” Dante said, “that does bring up the question of dating. Wouldn’t having a male roommate cramp your style a bit? Not everyone is going to believe that you’re ‘just friends’.”
“Since I have no ‘style’ as you so cleverly put it, I can’t see that as being a problem. If I should get involved with someone in my copious spare time, that someone would have to be adult enough to accept that Kit and I are just friends.”
“Sounds to me like you’re leaning toward doing it,” Olivia commented.
“I am,” Annie said with a sigh. “I miss having someone around when I get home late at night. Since Dante won’t give up Avery and move back in, I think I’d really like to have the company. And, while I don’t have to have help with the rent, it would be nice to keep some of that money for shopping!”
“All those in favor of Annie giving Kit a home, raise your right hand,” Dante said as she waved hers in the air. Olivia and Erin quickly raised theirs, and they all looked at her expectantly When Annie raised her own, Dante said, “The ‘ayes’ have it,” just as their waiter returned to see why they were waving at him.
(October 29)
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