The Tenant (3 page)

Mason ruffled her hair. “Maybe he didn’t want to upset you.”

“That went down like a lead balloon,” she muttered. “I only want things to be perfect for me and you. Why can’t anything be easy?”

“Easy is for sissies. Don’t blame your father. He probably honestly thought the guy would have left by now.”

“He could’ve checked. Gotten the keys back. No, I bet he knew and hoped things would magically work out.” Tears stung her eyes. “I never asked for the apartment in the first place. Dad was the one to insist Alice and I had a place each, in the same building.”

Alice had moved into her Cole Valley apartment as soon as she had a job that would cover utility bills and cost of living, but Amanda hadn’t made any demands. When Mason had asked her to marry him, her father passed her the keys and title to the apartment and promised to make sure the tenant was out well before the wedding.

The wedding that would take place in only eight weeks.

Just when the notice would be in effect, if she filed it tomorrow.

Great!

She was back to being horrified. “If the guy decides to challenge the notice and take us to court, we won’t have a place to live even after we’re married.”

Mason kissed her above the ear. “If we have to, we can put off the wedding.”

What?
“That’s out of the question, Mase. I’ve put so much time into planning the perfect day for us. And the guests…” Not to mention the even longer period between her and sexy-times. “No! We’re not changing a thing.” Oh, how she hated that guy with the great abs and cheekbones, and the huge…

Attitude problems.
He had huge attitude problems, and his attitude problems were screwing up her plans to get screwed.

There was a funny somewhere there, but Amanda didn’t feel like laughing. She felt like going back to the apartment, letting herself in with her keys, and emptying a bucket of water on the man who stood between her and her happily-ever-after.

Instead, she went back to the place she was renting, said good night to her fiancé and her dreams of passionate sex, and climbed into bed. She couldn’t believe Mason had suggested postponing the wedding. She couldn’t believe her present and future depended on a stupid naked guy.

She needed to sort things out when she and Mason went to her parents the following evening.

But first, her battery-operated-boyfriend would have to help her calm down.

•●•

Saturday, April 26
th
2014

Mason led her around the corner with an arm around her waist, and her parents’ place came into view. Had they already walked for twenty minutes? She hadn’t noticed. Her mind was still occupied by the memories of the previous night, as it had been for most of the day.

Her feet felt heavier with every step up the porch, and she was dragging them by the time she and Mason reached the front door of the house where she’d grown up. She had to do something, damn it.

“You don’t need to cause a scene.” Mason rang the doorbell. “You scared me last night. I’ve never seen you like that.” Of course not. She usually tried to be quiet and gentle around him. It was what he wanted in a woman, and she wanted to be perfect for him.

There was a reason she never invited him to work, to watch her wipe the dojo floor with her students.

“I wouldn’t do that. I’m sorry I lost my cool last night.”

She plastered a cheerful smile in place just in time to greet her mom with a kiss on the cheek. “Where’s Dad? Need to talk to him.”

“Hello to you too, Amanda. Your father is making us something to drink. He will be right out.” Her mom stood on her tiptoes to give Mason a brief hug, then ushered them both in.

“I’m sorry. It’s just… Ugh! You cannot imagine what happened last night. I’d have called but wanted to talk about it in person.” Amanda sunk into one of the leather armchairs, while Mason took up more than half of the matching couch.

“We know all about it,” her mom said. “Derek called your father this morning, and they cleared the air.”

“Derek?”

“Derek Arbore? Your tenant, honey. He’s really a nice boy. Felt bad about coming off so rude to you, despite you being the ones who broke into his place in the middle of the night.”

“Mom, he wasn’t even supposed to be there. And it was barely eight o’clock—hardly the middle of the night. And did I mention he shouldn’t even be there?”

“Don’t you think you’re overreacting, sweetie?” Her mother spoke in that voice meant to indicate she both cared and wouldn’t accept any disagreements. “The young man has his reasons for not having moved yet. He told me he found an apartment to rent, but it doesn’t have electricity yet. He’s expecting that to be sorted out this coming week.”

Amanda let out a frustrated sigh. “This coming week is already too late. I’m having a refrigerator, a stove, an oven, a washing machine,
and
a dishwasher delivered on Monday.
This
Monday, Mom. Day after tomorrow.” Okay, so maybe she’d failed to keep a calm tone, but this was her life people were messing up. Things had seldom been easy for her—and she admitted she’d been to blame much of the time—but maybe this once everything could go according to plan, so she could finally be happy.

“I’m sure Derek won’t have a problem making some room for your appliances until he moves.” Amanda’s father walked into the living room, holding a tray from which wafted the most delicious chocolaty smell. He placed a steaming cup in front of Amanda and moved to serve some to Mason.

Mason held up a large palm. “I’ll have some coffee, if Carol feels like making me some,” he said with a smile.

“
Carol
is talking to her daughter now,” Amanda said, irritated. She turned to her father. “Will you make some? Please?”

“Of course. How do you take it, son?”

Sourly, apparently. Amanda didn’t miss the moue of distaste that scrunched Mason’s mouth when the man of the house didn’t get his little wife to serve guests.

Little wife?
Where had that thought come from? Mason wasn’t like that. Sure, he had some old-fashioned attitudes, but Amanda would keep working on them. It wasn’t as if he didn’t respect women. Certain archaic notions about gender roles had been instilled to him in childhood, but he was improving by the day. He hadn’t been that bad to begin with; he’d always supported her independence, even if she was the exact opposite of what his mother had taught him to look for in a woman.

But maybe she hadn’t exactly let him see that.

With her father back in the kitchen and Mason watching whatever was on TV, Amanda focused on making her mother grasp the severity of the situation. “He needs to move before Friday, the latest. I’ll be homeless after that! Can you talk to him?”

Her mother smiled, and for a moment, Amanda was sure her answer would be,
“Of course I will. I will fix this.”
Because that’s what her mother had always done: she’d fixed things for her daughters, always making sure they were safe and happy.

“I think you should call him, honey. You obviously got off on the wrong foot, and you need to make nice.”

Amanda was left blinking with confusion. “
I
need to make nice? Why’s that?” She’d done nothing wrong. She’d simply tried to use what was hers and found it usurped by someone else. “He’s squatting in my apartment, and he should be the one playing nice. He didn’t even try to be understanding, Mom. He could at least have apologized for staying longer than he was supposed to.”

A snort made her look up. “I seriously doubt this’ll happen any time soon,” Mason said with a rueful smile. “He has his pride.”

What about her pride? Still, she needed that Derek guy out, and was prepared to make a concession. “I’ll call him,” she said with as much superiority as she could muster, “but only because I can’t wait for him to haul butt by himself.”

“Oh, I’m sure that’s not the case.” Her dad returned, a cup of java in hand. “The house he just bought had its basement flooded last week. They’ve already mended the burst pipes, and he’s waiting for the cleaning crew to be out of there before he moves. He’s expecting everything to be fine in the next few days.”

Amanda looked from her mother to her father. Were they that oblivious? The guy was lying through his teeth to both of them. “He told Mom he’d rented an electricity-less apartment. I’m starting to think he’s playing you both and isn’t planning on moving out at all!”

There. She’d burst their bubble. Now they had to realize their Derek was a no good bastard with no intention of letting go of what was rightfully hers. They had to be on her side now—even if she was just a tad overly dramatic.

“Maybe I remembered wrong,” her mom said, averting her gaze.

“I’m sure he had his reasons, if he lied,” was her dad’s response. “He’s been having a rough time lately.”

“
If
he lied?” What on earth was going on? “Have you been taken over by pod-people?” She sounded shrill even to her own ears. That was it: she was turning into the Bridezilla she’d sworn to never become. She could see it, yet she
still
couldn’t tone it down. “I am getting
married
in less than two months. I already have enough on my mind, with planning a wedding and organizing a move, without you two being on his side. He’s taking advantage of your kindness.”

She pressed the heel of one hand on the center of her forehead, where a bright ball of pain was beginning to form. “I am your daughter, but you’d rather make up excuses for him than support me.”

She finished her rant and ducked her head, expecting her mother to admonish her or maybe her father to say he resented her implication—or something else that sounded just as upper-class, snooty, and hurt at the same time. Neither of them said a word.

“Mandi, that’s unacceptable.” Mason scowled and actually wagged his index finger in front of her face. “You apologize to your parents. This behavior isn’t like you. Are you expecting your period?”

Unacceptable?

Her period?

And why couldn’t he get her fucking name right? She’d repeatedly told him she preferred “Amanda!”

Her first instinct as she turned to him was to punch him in the face, but she had no right to blame him for not knowing what was like her and what wasn’t. It was all her fault, for trying so hard to fit into the mold he’d made for her—any
her
who’d be by his side. Mason had been honest from the beginning about his expectations in a relationship, but she’d needed acceptance so much she’d lied and kept on lying. She couldn’t really blame him for expecting her to be more mellow, when she’d never let him see her livid.

Her mother approached and wrapped an arm around her, perhaps having sensed her need to dole out some violence. “I know you’re swamped, and you know we’re here to help you. All your father’s saying is that maybe Derek lied because he’s embarrassed by the truth, and not so he can hurt you. I’m sure everything will work out. You’ll see.”

Amanda nodded. “Give me his number,” she told her dad. “I’ll settle this as soon as I get home.”

“Do I need to ask you to be civil? His father is a client, and I’d hate for this tiff to ruin our relationship.”

“I promise to try my best to be polite.”

Her father gave her a cell phone number, and she stored it on her phone under
Naked Asshole
.

•●•