Amanda Jason: Lucky Number Four

I watch as Colin takes a step forward. “Pandora, I humbly apologize for our intruding. Drew is stubborn, and when he makes up his mind and then ultimately makes us make up our minds, well…” he says, spreading his arms out and shaking his head. His English accent has me mesmerized, and all anger flees my body. A warmth starts to build inside me. “We would really love for you to consider moving in with us. But it will have to be your decision,” he finishes and steps back as Drew opens his mouth.

“Yeah, what he said. Besides, we really like Julie and Kevin, and we asked them to move in too. Oh, not in our apartment,” Drew hurries, seeing my confusion. “No. Remember I own the building? We have several lofts empty, so we offered them one.”

Colin rolls his eyes and Liam shakes his head. What the hell? I feel my anger returning.

“Okay, so you bribed my friends with a dream loft just to force me to move in with you. What kind of freaks are you? I’m sure they turned you down. They did, didn’t they?”

From the looks on their faces, even Liam’s, I realize I don’t need an answer. Of course they didn’t! The silence is deafening. We stand there awkwardly with Drew being the only one looking me in the eye.

“Pandora, I’m sorry. I can be a little pushy.” The two beside him make sounds in agreement. “But I felt we had a connection yesterday, and we will make things as easy as we can for you to say yes. Please say yes.” He gives me puppy-dog eyes and Colin smiles, which makes my legs a little weak, and even Liam is now wearing a ghost of a smile.

“I guess I’m stuck. If I don’t give in, I’ll be homeless.” My voice is weary.

“Fantastic!” Drew moves forward, but stops as I put my hand out. I have no idea what his intentions are, but I’m not in the mood to find out. “Here’s your key! Let’s go, guys,” he says, handing me an antique-looking silver key. “Oh,” he says over his shoulder as he hustles the others across the fallen leaves covering the dying grass, “the movers are at your apartment right now, so just meet up with us at our apartment.” His last words float on the breeze as they quickly round the corner.

Sons of bitches. How dare those conniving behemoths assume I would consent to move in? I’ve been played. I’m perfectly happy with my life the way it is, now it’s going to have so much drama. I don’t like drama. Why me?

Turning around, I see the five female faces still pressed against the windows with those silly dreamy looks still present and accounted for. I huff as I storm off back toward my class. I’m pretty sure my blood pressure is sky-high at the moment.

I don’t pay attention in the remaining few minutes of class. I can’t wait until I can leave. By tomorrow, the whole campus will find out what happened to the short, plain, little redheaded Dora. I know most women would love to be in my position, but all I want to do is finish school, get a job, and find a sensible man to settle down with. Is that too much to ask? No

I take a deep breath as I prepare to enter the building. A young, fresh-faced guy behind a desk quickly stands up and smiles. “Ahh, Ms. Phillips, so happy you’re joining us. I live here too. Drew—I mean, Mr. Johnson—rents me the apartment here on the first floor,” he rushes. “I man the desk when I’m not in school. I believe we both go to the same one.”

He finally takes a breath and I return his smile. It’s not his fault I’ve been ambushed.

“Call me Dora. And you are…?”

“Brad. Bradley Mason,” he replies.

“Nice to meet you, Brad. Well…” I hesitate.

“Your stuff has arrived and your friends are in their apartment. If you need anything, just ask.”

“Thanks, Brad. I better go up and unpack. Later, okay?” I say, my teeth clenched as anger flows through me again. Brad presses the elevator button and it dings, the doors open and I step inside.

“See you around, Dora.” Brad grins as the doors shut.

It seems like forever until the door opens again. I feel my hands tingling and look down to realize I’ve fisted them and they are stark white from the pressure. I relax them and step into the hallway. It’s quiet and kind of spooky. I walk to the huge front double doors and go to knock, only to remember the key in my pocket. I quickly insert it and am slightly surprised when it clicks and I push the door open.

The huge living/dining room is morgue quiet. All the doors off the room are closed except for one, and I move forward to peek inside. The room is as big as my mom and dad’s living room, and that’s pretty big. A familiar queen-size pedestal bed is centered on one bright white wall, with the other three walls a light tan color. My feet sink into the rug that matches the walls as I walk across the room. The rest of my bedroom furniture, which isn’t much, is dwarfed by the room. I look around, but spy no boxes.

Off to the side of the bedroom is a sitting area with a couch, a couple of chairs and a large, closed armoire that probably hosts a TV. There are two doors in front of me, and I open the first and inhale deeply at the sight. It’s a bathroom, but not like any bathroom I’ve ever used. It’s massive and looks like something out of a high-end magazine. The tub is so huge it could hold at least four people, maybe more, and the walk-in shower is amazing.

There’s even a bidet. Yes, I know what that is. My grandmother has one in each of her bathrooms. But that’s a story best left for later.

Exiting the luxury bath, I open the other door and my jaw almost hits the floor. It’s a closet. At least, I think it is since my clothes are hung up inside of it on two long metal rods. Built-in drawers and a massive, oval-shaped mirror hang opposite the door. My shoes are placed in little cubby holes built into the wall.

“What the hell?” I say to myself while plopping down on the bed, overwhelmed by it all.

I know the story of Pandora from Greek mythology very well. She was so curious she opened a box (it was really a jar) which she was told never to open. Of course she opened it and allowed evil to fill the world. At the bottom of this jar was hope. So that’s how we have hope. I’m not saying I’ve opened Pandora’s box and now have evil in my life, or anything. It’s more like I’ve opened a freaking can of worms…and I hate worms, like, really hate them.

I jump as my phone buzzes from my backpack. Pulling it out, I see it’s Julie.

“Hey,” I say, testing the waters.

“Hey, yourself. So, first, I almost fucking dropped dead when I opened the door and saw not one, but three of the hottest guys I’ve ever seen. I swear, Dora, my heart actually leaped out of my throat,” Julie whispers before her voice picks back up. “Okay, honey, see you in a few.” She must be talking to Kevin. “He’s gone. Dora, what the hell? I’m so pissed you didn’t tell me you were looking to move. We’ve been friends since diapers, and I had to find out from…three totally fuck-worthy, gorgeous male specimens,” she blurts. “I swear, I almost wet my pants. And then they asked about you and told me your little secret, and next thing I knew, Drew is offering Kevin and me an apartment at a fucking unbelievable amount a month. I thought I was hearing things. Then the movers came in and moved all of our shit—I mean, stuff. Kevin said we moved uptown so I have to watch my fucking cussing, but hel-lo, I feel like we won the lottery! But you are not off the hook about this secret, and we will most definitely be having a little chat about that soon. Now, go take a bath in that ginormous fucking tub, and I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Dinner?” I say.

“Yes, dinner! Drew invited us to come over at seven. I’ll have to have a snack before then, or I’ll pass out from hunger. Did I tell you how the movers did everything? There must have been ten of them, and they were finished in no time at all.”