By the time Andy woke up the next morning, the sun was already pouring in through the windows of his posh
hotel room.
"Damn, nine o'clock already." Andy said as he attempted to untangle himself from his sheets.
After struggling with them for a few minutes, he finally managed to free himself. Slightly embarassed, he walked
into the bathroom where Jessica had left a note for him on the counter.
Went for breakfast at the Starbucks around the corner. Then I'm gonna go for a run in Central
Park. Come join me if you want :) ~J
Deciding against a shower, Andy went and grabbed a white Reebok hat and some gray sweats from his suitcase
before he headed down to the lobby, where he grabbed the classifieds section of the New York Times that was on a table.
As he approached the cafe he spotted Jessica sitting at an outdoor table, quietly sipping coffee while circling things in
a newspaper.
"Trying to disguise yourself or something?" she asked him without even looking up.
"And you're not trying to do the same?" he said pointing at her large sunglasses.
"Eh, it's no use anyway." she said as she turned around in her chair and waved at several paparazzi
who were rapidly clicking away photographs now that Andy was there.
"Is it like this everywhere you go?"
"Yep."
"Are these pictures going to be in the tabloids tomorrow?"
"Probably." she replied as she continued nonchalantly circling things in her paper.
"And it doesn't bother you at all."
"Sure it bothers me, but it comes with the territory." she replied with a huge fake smile.
"Whats with the face?"
"If we appear happy, they will leave us alone soon. If it looks as if we're about to have an argument
then they'll follow us all day."
"I see. So what are you looking for in the paper?" he asked her as he sat down in the chair
next to her.
"Actually, I'm looking for a roommate to live with in this new apartment that I really want to rent."
"No shit." Andy laughed as he held up the classified section of the Times, unable to hide his amusement.
"I'm looking for an apartment."
"What are you going to be doing in New York?"
"Just working on my tennis. I hired a new coach, he lives in New York, so I've gotta go where he is.
What are you going to be doing here?"
"Nothing special. I'm starting my own production company, and according to my manager, New York is
the place to do it."
"Found anyone worth looking at?"
"Not really. I'll never be able to find a roommate who will be able to pay half the rent of this place...and
I don't want to live alone in it, it's too big."
"Well, what if you and I got this place together? It would make a lot of sense. Neither one
of us wants to live alone and you can't find a normal everyday person who will be able to pay a lot of money for rent."
"Have you LOST YOUR MIND?!? When Mandy sees those pictures in the tabloids tomorrow, she is already
going to kill us both dead. Do you REALLY think that we should top off that conversation off with, 'by the way, I know
he's your ex-boyfriend and I'm your best friend, but we're gonna be moving in together'?" she questioned, noticeably
raising her voice. She immediately regretted doing so as the paparazzi began snapping pictures in rapid succession.
"Come on. Don't talk to me like I'm nuts. It's a great idea and you KNOW it." Andy replied
back.
"Um...I think that it's about time that you and I go for that run..." she suggested as more and more
paparazzi began showing up.
"Shit! What are we going to do?"
"Just hold my hand and kiss my forehead as we're walking away. That should satisfy them for today."
"OK." Andy agreed as he did exactly what she told him to do. However, this just further enticed
the photographers.
"Alright gentlemen, thats enough for today." she said after they continued following them.
"Come on guys, just one kiss and then we'll leave you alone." one of the photographers urged.
"Alright guys, you heard what the lady said." Andy said as he tried to move the photgraphers to the
side.
"Come on guys, just one nice one." a photographer shouted as he continued taking pictures. Before
Andy could say anything else in response, Jessica's lips were on his for a few brief seconds.
"Alright guys, you got what you wanted. Now leave us alone." she said, slightly blushing as the photographers
finally let them walk by. "I think we should forget the run and just head back to the hotel.
"No kidding." Andy chided, still holding Jessica's hand. "So seriously though, we should atleast
go and look at this place. What's the worst that could happen by me looking at it? I might not even like it."
"I told you, Mandy would kill us. She's already going to have a stroke when she sees the tabloids
or turns on the evening news and sees her ex-boyfriend and her best friend KISSING."
"Hey, I had nothing to do with that kiss. That was all you."
"Do you think that she's going to care who started it?"
"Probably not. But you said yourself. She's great. She's in love. She's moving in
with another guy next month. Why should it matter who I'm with? Or who you're with? And we're not even together!
This is ridiculous! We barely even know eachother. We're just going to be two almost strangers living together
in an apartment in New York in a completely platonic situation. People do it every day."
"I'll make a deal with you. We can go and look at the apartment today. And IF you like it, YOU
can talk to Mandy and see how she feels about it."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Fine."
"Are we having an argument already?"
"No, because I'm leaving!" He said as he stormed into the bathroom.
"Good! You NEED to take a shower! You smell! BAD!" she yelled back as he slammed
the door.
20 minutes later, he emerged from the bathroom, his hair still damp, beads of water streaming down his bare
chest, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
"I called my realtor. He can show us the apartment in an hour." she choked out, noticing Andy's
bare chest.
"Sounds good." he said as he grabbed some clothes out of his duffel bag and headed back in to the
bathroom. "And take a picture, it'll last longer." he said, causing her to blush feverishly. He emerged
a few seconds later, this time fully clothed in a pair of torn up jeans and a green John Deere T-shirt. Jessica walked
over to him, sniffing the air around him.
"Much better. Now you smell like a human person instead of barnyard animal." she teased as she
took off her T-shirt.
"What are you doing?!" Andy shrieked as he quickly covered his eyes and turned around.
"Oh would you relax! I've got a tank top on underneath. What did you think I was doing?
A little striptease for you?"
"NO! I just...OK, so maybe I thought you were gonna change right in front of me and I was a little
uncomfortable with it."
"Kid, you need to chill out. You're way too up tight." she said as she put on a zip-up hoodie
and zipped it up halfway.
"Are you ready?"
"Yep." he said.
"You forgot your hat."
"Oh yea, forgot about that." he said as he grabbed a hat off the dresser in the room.
"Sunglasses?"
"Oh yea, those too. Sorry, I'm not used to having to disguise myself."
"It's alright, it'll grow on you."
The pair headed downstairs where they hailed a taxi.
"So just how ritzy is the place?"
"It's about five grand a month."
"That's reasonable."
"Each. Five grand a month for each of us."
"Wow."
"More than you can afford?"
"No. It just seems like a lot. How big is it?"
"Not that big. It overlooks Central Park though, so it's obviously gonna cost more."
"I see." Andy said as the cab pulled over next to a brick monstracity. He handed the cabbie
a ten and got out. Standing outside the building was a well-dressed, clean cut man in his mid twenties talking on his
cell phone. As soon as he saw them approaching he folded up his phone and put it in his inside suit pocket.
"Jessica!"
"Stephen!" Jessica said as she ran up to him and kissed him on each of his cheeks.
"I didn't realize you'd be bringing someone else along." he said motioning towards Andy who stood
uncomfortably with his hands stuffed deep in his pockets.
"Oh, sorry, Stephen this is my friend Andy, he's thinking about rooming with me here."
"I see." he said raising his eyebrows at Andy. "Alright, well lets go inside then."
~*~
"Oh my God! This place is INCREDIBLE! It's perfect!" Andy said looking up in awe at the
large vaulted ceilings, spacious rooms and picturesque views that the apartment provided. "Stephen, could you give us
a minute to talk it over?"
"Sure. I'll just be outside. I needed to make a phone call anyway."
"What do you think?"
"I think we should make an offer?" she said, a little unsure of herself.
"Me too."
"Wow...I feel like I just got married or something."
"Oh come on, its not that serious of a commitment. People become roommates everyday."
"I still don't know though...I mean, once we sign the lease there isn't any turning back. We're stuck
with eachother. It's really worse than a marriage because we can't move out if it starts sucking when the honeymoon
is over."
"Relax. Take a deep breath. Don't have a panic attack or anything. If you decide later
on that you hate living with me, you are free to move out, or kick me out, and I will either stay here and foot the entire
rent bill, or continue to pay my share if I need to move out."
"Alright...lets make an offer." She said as Andy smiled.
"STEPHEN!" Andy bellered. The realtor emerged from the hallway.
"Yes?"
"We'll take it."
"That's wonderful. Do you want to sign the papers now or wait a few days?"
"Is now good for you?" Andy asked Jessica.
"I'm going back to LA the day after tomorrow for two weeks. When is best for you?"
"I'm leaving for Florida at the end of this week, so I guess we should sign them now."
"Alright then." Stephen said as he produced a stack of papers from his briefcase and set them on the
marble countertop in the bare kitchen. "This is your lease agreement for one year. At the end of the year you
have the option to renew the agreement, or move out. There's one copy for the two of you and one copy for me."
he said as he handed them each a pen. After each of them signed where required, he shook both of their hands.
"Alright, you're free to move in as soon as three weeks from today. You can stop by my office whenever is most convenient
for you to pick up your keys."
"Thank you." they said in unison.
"Feel free to look around a bit more. Just be sure to lock the door on your way out."
"Alright." Jessica said as Stephen left.
"Do I atleast get a 'welcome home' hug?"
"Of course!" Jessica said running over to him and jumping up on him, causing him to fall back against
a conveniently placed wall.
"I think I should get to be welcomed home like that every day." Andy said placing a kiss
on her forehead.
"Well, I'll see what can be done about that." she said, childlishly pinching his cheek as she climbed
down.
"Wanna go out tonight and celebrate?"
"You read my mind."
"Club?"
"Positively."
"Alright, well, then I suggest you head back to the hotel and take a nap."
"A nap? I don't think I've taken one of those since I was about six."
"Yeah, but you've never gone clubbin' with A-Rod before."
"Alright...I'll go take a nap." Jessica conceded, remembering the many times Mandy arrived home from
the clubs with Andy as the sun was rising.
