Chapter 10
I was planning on telling him the next day. Becker made plans to pick me up at six. I was full of mixed emotions. I didn’t want to say goodbye, but yet I did. It was best to end it now before it went any further. I could never accept his way of living. No sense in stirring soup I wasn’t going to eat.
“I’m not even kidding with you, Cassie. You end that shit now!” Matt threatened, dropping me off at my car.
Thank god I had the entire day to clean my house before Becker got there. Hopefully, I had time for a nap, too. It was nearly three in the morning before cheater guy showed up drunk with his girl-thing. I’m not so sure he was cheating on his wife with another woman. Her gender was questionable to me.
“Whatever. Go to hell,” I countered, knowing I’d do just what he told me to do. I had to. He would go to my dad. Besides the fact that Matt was an ass, and had no business telling me who or what I could do, it was best I stopped it anyway. I didn’t give Matt time to answer. I slammed the door in his face. That would teach him.
My brows lowered as I walked up the four steps to my townhouse. The steps were swept. All the tiny pieces of concrete and paint were gone. Who did that? I didn’t do that. My brows rose when I saw the pretty new rug beneath a white Bistro table and chairs. The lavender cushions matched the rug. Becker. That was the first thing that came to mind. Nobody else would have done this for me. Nobody I knew could afford to do that. Good thing my dad never came around. He’d be on to me in a heartbeat.
“Oh, my god!” I said out loud. My house. It was. Oh my god. It was. Beautiful. Someone broke into my house, painted the walls from the ugly turquoise my grandmother had done—probably in the sixties—to a bright white. The room looked twice the size as it did before I left the previous morning. How the hell did he pull this off in twenty-four hours? Money and manpower. That’s how. Money always talks. That’s one of the first life lessons anyone learns.
My twenty-year-old tweed sofa was replaced with a dark burgundy leather couch with a matching chaise. My grandma’s boxy television was gone and a—well, I don’t know the measurements, but it was huge—flat screen took up the center wall. I couldn’t wait to watch it. Wait. Don’t like any of it, Cass. I talked down my excitement with facts. None of it is yours. He’s going to take it all back as soon as you tell him your interest in him has changed. It’ll all be gone. The TV, the dining room set, the OH MY GOD! The bedroom set!
My grandma’s metal bed frame was replaced with a black, shiny headboard and matching dressers. The walls were painted gray with a silver tone. The tightly pulled covers went perfect with the modern décor. I loved this house. I felt like I was on that show that used to be on HGTV. What was it? The homeowners would leave and the crew would come in and remodel their rooms, surprising whomever the room was for? Anyway.
My mouth fell to the floor when I saw the bathroom. It was an imposter. There was no way that was the same bathroom. Ha! You can’t have the tile back, I boasted. Surely he wouldn’t take the beautiful tile, would he? Turning the handle on the faucet, I smiled. The sink illuminated purple. I was in love. Everything was neatly in a place. Everything had a home. I could see my grandmother grinning from ear to ear. She would have loved to have done this for me. I was just happy she left me her house. I would have committed suicide if I was still under my dad’s roof.
I hadn’t heard from Becker at all that morning. The last message I got was at ten the night before when he said he was tired and would see me around six. I wanted to call him, yell at him for all this. I couldn’t. I was too happy and excited.
Lying on my new, comfortable sofa, I sighed, feeling how tired I was, too. Stupid Matt. Snowball curled between my feet and we both slept. I was glad I was tired. I didn’t want to think about what I had to tell Becker. I would never be this comfortable on my couch again. I would be lounging on my broken down plaid couch the next night.
I felt much better after a nap, excited even. I didn’t know why. It was the shower. That’s what it was. I had water pressure. Real water pressure and the massage. Oh my god, the massage on that thing…
Searching through my clean, organized, structured closet, I wondered what I should wear. He did mention going to his house for supper. I presumed a nice pant suit would suffice. I was dressed in black slacks with a white shirt. I should have gone shopping. I needed nicer clothes if I was going to continue impressing Becker. No, Cass. You’re not impressing Becker. This is it. The last night you’re seeing him. Shaking my head, I reminded myself what I had to do.