Bachelor Number Five (The Bachelor Series, Volume 1) (18 page)

Peter laughed in disbelief.  “Um… yes?!” he said.  “You’re a beautiful and talented girl.  Why are you so timid?  You’re practically afraid of your own shadow!”

“I am not!”

“You are!”

“How can you say that?”

“Because, look at you!  You won’t even play for me in the safety of your own apartment!”

“It’s just a hobby.”

“So why worry about it, then?!  Just go out there and have some fun!”

Amanda knew he was right.  It would be good for her confidence and she might even enjoy herself to boot.  “Do a lot of people show up there?”

“I don’t know, maybe 20 or 30.  Probably five or six people play.  It’s a very supportive environment, I promise.”

“How often do you go to this thing?”

“I’ve been a few times.”

Amanda bit her lower lip.  “Can I just play a song or two?”

“You can do whatever you want.”

“All right,” Amanda nodded.  “I’ll do it.”

Peter broke out in a smile.  “Great!  You better not try to back out.  I’m going to hold you to this!”

“I’m sure you will…”  Amanda slid his jacket off of her shoulders and folded it in half before handing it over.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Thank you,” Amanda replied.  The evening was over.  It was time to part, but Amanda was seized with terror.  It came from nowhere and engulfed her completely.  She was afraid of what she might say next, or what she might do.

“Good night,” said Peter.

“Did you mean what you said just now?” Amanda asked.

“What did I say?”

“That I’m beautiful?”

Peter froze where he was, gazing at Amanda in the moonlight.  “Of course.”

Amanda stared back.  It was the moment of truth.  She reached into her purse and pulled out her keychain, preparing to flee.  With her front door key in her right hand, Amanda took one step closer to Peter.  “Good night,” she said, and then she did it.  She leaned forward and kissed him, right on the lips.  Before he could even reply, she darted across the landing, unlocked her door and bolted on through, closing it quickly behind her.  Once on the other side, she stood where she was in the darkness, her heart racing as she caught her breath.  Amanda could hardly believe what had just happened.  What a foolish impulse that was.  She had to wonder, though, how timid did he consider her now?

Chapter Nineteen

Amanda woke up Sunday morning to the sounds of Lauren making breakfast in the kitchen.  Her head felt slightly numb.  Was this from two mixed drinks and a limoncello?  Then there was the sparkling wine, of course.  The thought of Peter brought a wave of humiliation washing over Amanda.  Had she really done that?  Had she planted a kiss on his lips, right out of the blue?  That realization filled her with regret.  What must he think of her now?  She was just like Lauren in his eyes, no doubt.  Maybe he was right. 

It occurred to Amanda that Lauren might know everything about her big night out.  She could have heard Amanda come in, possibly even smelling of Peter’s cologne.  Then again, Lauren might not suspect a thing.  Either way, Amanda didn’t want to face her roommate’s inquisition.  What answer could she give if asked what she got up to the previous night?  Amanda didn’t want to lie about it.  Avoiding the topic altogether seemed like the best tactic, if she could manage it.  She took her time in the shower and then dawdled as she got dressed, hoping that Lauren would be gone by the time she emerged into the living room.  When she did finally make her way out, however, Lauren was still there, reading her tablet at the kitchen table.

“Hey, what’s up roomie?  You slept late!”  Lauren looked up.

Amanda walked on into the kitchen.  “Do you have any coffee brewed?”

“Yeah, there’s still some left.  Help yourself.”

“Thanks.”

“I thought you were going to bed early last night?  What happened?”  It hadn’t taken long for Lauren’s questions to come.

“I ended up going out with some friends.”

“What friends?”

Amanda wanted to just come out and say it, but she couldn’t.  Sometimes dishonesty really was the best policy.  “Just some work friends.  You don’t know them.”

“Oh.”  Lauren seemed unusually chipper.  “Well, I’m glad you’re meeting people.  Where did you go?”

“Some horrible club.  I don’t know what it was called.”  Amanda took down a mug and then lifted the coffee pot and poured herself what remained.  Two-thirds of a cup.  It would do.  “How about you?  Did you have fun?” 

“The movie was ok.  I thought so, anyway.  Darren didn’t like it.  Not enough action for him.”

“What about Markus?”

“Markus thought it was great.”

Amanda pulled down a box of cereal and began pouring some into a bowl.  She felt a minor sense of relief.  She’d avoided the Peter question so far, though she knew that if she kept hanging out with him, eventually it would come up.  Would she keep hanging out with him?  After that bombshell of a kiss, she wasn’t at all sure.  Most likely he wouldn’t want to have a thing to do with her anymore.

“What are you up to today?” Lauren asked.

“I don’t know.  I need to wash some laundry.  After that I might go sightseeing.”

“Let me know if you need any advice.  Have you been to Venice yet?”

“I went to Santa Monica.”

“You’ve got to check out Venice.  It’s crazy down there!”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

When her breakfast was finished, Amanda gathered her dirty laundry and made her way down the stairs.  Both washers in the laundry room were occupied.  She should have expected as much on a Sunday morning.  Amanda stood where she was, trying to decide what to do.  One of the machines was on the spin cycle.  Nearly finished.  Amanda put her basket on the ground and stood outside to wait.  Within a few minutes the machine slowed to a stop.  She went back into the laundry room, opened the door to the washer and pulled out the laundry, moving it to an empty drier.  It seemed so personal, touching a perfect stranger’s wet clothing like this.  As she passed the individual items from one machine to the next she couldn’t help but look at them.  It was a dark load.  Lots of black.  T-shirts mostly, but underwear, too.  Women’s underwear.  Lacy thongs and bras.  When she had it all moved into the drier, Amanda added her soap to the washer and loaded her own clothes.  She put her quarters into the slot and pushed the start button.  Amanda hoped she wouldn’t run into Peter again this morning.  She wasn’t sure she could face him just yet.  When her load was going, she put her basket on top and moved out the door where she spotted Markus walking past on his way to the street.

“Hey Amanda!” he said.

“Good morning Markus.”

“Good morning to you.  I heard you had fun last night!”

“What?”  Amanda’s eyes opened wide.  “Who told you that?”

“Sabrina said she saw you out with Peter at the club.”

“Oh.”

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.  I’m surprised she’s up this early.”

“It’s not that early.”

“Yeah.  Hey Markus, could you do me a favor?”

“I guess…”  He seemed suspicious.  “What is it?”

“Could you not mention to Lauren that I was out with Peter last night?”

Markus gave her a wry smile.  “Sure....”

“It’s not a big deal,” Amanda tried to explain.  “You know how things are, though.  I don’t want her to freak out about it.  Nothing is going on with me and Peter anyway.  She’d just draw the wrong conclusion.”

“Mum’s the word.”  Markus was beaming, overjoyed to be the holder of this incriminating inside information.

“Thank you Markus.”

“You might owe me sometime.  I’m just sayin’.”

Amanda scowled at him.  “Fine.  I owe you one.”

“See you later.”  Markus moved on down the path, happy as could be.  Amanda shook her head quietly before heading back up the stairs.  This was far too much drama.  Partly it was her own fault.  Kissing Peter was a mistake best forgotten.  If she were smart, she’d stop hanging out with him altogether, though she did still want to go to that open mic night.  The prospect of playing live music again, and to an entirely new audience, was thrilling.  If only she could invite Lauren along, and Darren and Markus, and Aaron too.  Unfortunately that was not an option.

Back in the apartment, Amanda plopped herself down on the couch and turned on the television.  She flipped idly through the channels, all the while wondering what Peter must have thought of that unexpected kiss…

Chapter Twenty 

Amanda sat on her bed with her guitar in her lap, strumming a few chords and singing quietly to herself.  The idea of performing at the open mic night had grown and expanded.  It wasn’t only the opportunity to sing in front of an audience that appealed to her.  Amanda also realized that this was a chance to meet like-minded people and maybe begin to develop a social network of her own.  Not just her neighbors, or Peter’s nightclub friends, but aspiring singer-songwriters like herself who she might actually have more in common with.  Unfortunately, the likely repercussions of spending time with Peter loomed over it all.  Amanda didn’t want to be at the center of a neighborhood soap opera.  She didn’t like being talked about behind her back.  Even more than that, if she wanted to keep on living here, she had to stay on good terms with Lauren.  Amanda didn’t want to be kicked out and have to find a new place to live all over again.  And for what?  The friendship of a guy who went through women like most guys go through underwear?  There was no future in it.  Maybe if she hadn’t kissed him it would be different, but the sad truth was that she had.  That was the reason she’d snuck up to his apartment an hour earlier and slid a note under his door. 
Sorry, I can’t make it tonight.  Amanda.
  The time had come to forget about Peter.  In the meantime she could still play her guitar and sing her songs, to herself.

When she heard the doorbell ring, Amanda stopped mid-song and froze.  She listened as Lauren walked through the living room to the front door.  There was a pause as she opened it and spoke to someone, though Amanda couldn’t hear who it was.  Thirty seconds later there was a knock on her own door.  “Hang on!” said Amanda, anxiety rising within her.  She put her guitar aside and hopped to her feet.  When she opened her bedroom door, Lauren was standing on the other side.

“It’s for you.”  Lauren made no effort to hide her disapproval.

Amanda nearly asked who it was, though that was clearly unnecessary.  “Thanks,” she said instead, and then hurried past.  She found Peter standing just outside the front door with a vaguely perplexed expression on his face.

“Hey Amanda, what’s up?” he said.

“Hey.  Did you get my note?” she asked.

“Yeah, I got it.  Why don’t you want to go?”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea,” she lowered her voice and peeked around to see if Lauren was behind her.  She wasn’t.

“Come on, Amanda, you’ll be great!  I told you, the people there are very supportive.  Honestly, you have nothing to worry about.”

“I’m not worried about that.”

“What’s the problem then?”

Amanda stepped outside and closed the door behind her.  “I just don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Does Lauren have that much power over you?”

“It’s not like that, exactly.”  Amanda kept her voice down.  This was a conversation she wished she wasn’t having.  Why couldn’t Peter just go away and leave her alone?

“What’s it like then?” he pressed her.

“She’s my roommate.  I think it’s best if we try to get along.”

“And getting along means she gets to determine who you can hang out with?”

The words stung, but they were true.  “In this case it does.”

Peter let her answer settle in.  He was disappointed, she could tell.  “I guess there’s not much else I can do, then.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me, too.  See you around.”  He moved on down the landing.  Amanda watched until he’d walked into his apartment before she opened the door and went back in her own.

“You know how I feel about this.”  Lauren was standing in the hall entryway with her arms crossed and an antagonistic look on her face.

“I know, Lauren.  It was nothing, really.”

“That’s not how it seemed to me.”

Amanda felt her anger rising.  “I said it was nothing.”  There was a hint of challenge to her tone, as though she were daring Lauren to say anything more.

“Good,” Lauren replied with a smug self-confidence.

As she moved toward her room, Amanda knew she should keep her mouth shut.  She should just let the whole thing go, yet she couldn’t help but defend herself.  “Not that it’s your business,” she said under her breath.

“Excuse me?!” Lauren blurted out in astonishment.

From her bedroom doorway, Amanda turned back.  “Just because I’m renting a room from you doesn’t mean you have a right to tell me who my friends can be.”