I started something. *grin*
This is just a little something I've been meaning to start for a while. I don't even think this is one chapter yet, but I thought I'd share.
This is for sinadino, ml_spikie, and for Uncle E.
The dull glow of the laptop on her face was the only light in the room. Tara knew she should probably shut it down and go to bed, but even in the middle of the night, her body didn’t feel like it was time to sleep. She sighed, typing a few words and clicking the “send” button before rubbing her eyes. Time zones were not kind to her, and, even though she had been in Germany for a week, her body had not yet adjusted.
She had thought to give herself time before the new semester started, but a few weeks now didn’t seem like it was going to be enough. Leaving New Jersey had been hard enough, and now she was reconsidering. Her body wasn’t adjusting, her thoughts were continually on the people she had left at home, and she was lonely. Glancing around the house she had inherited from her great aunt out of the blue, she once again wondered if moving out here was a good idea.
The computer beeped, letting her knew there was a new response in her instant messaging box. Running a hand through her long, curly brown hair, she turned back to the glowing screen. Great, she thought, reading the message. Her ex was flirting with her - again. She groaned and shook her head. Of course she’s flirting with you, her brain told her, that’s what she does. Tara couldn’t help but think these late night computer conversations were only making things worse between them, even though they had agreed to remain friends. It was too much, too soon. They talked nearly every day now that Tara didn’t have anything else to distract her.
Blinking a few times, Tara made a decision. Instead of replying to Marianna, that oh-so-cute peppy lesbian who always had a smile and a smart retort ready, Tara clicked instead on the document she had been working on before Mari had sent the first instant message. It was a flyer she had made up, one for a roommate. She had considered it from the beginning. Her meager salary as a graduate assistant wasn’t going to pay all the bills, and besides, it probably would be a good idea for her not to be alone all the time.
Still, the idea scared her. Living with a stranger was hard enough, but the thought of living with a stranger in a strange country was even more daunting. Sighing again, Tara shook her head and hit the print button with determination. She would get through this like she did everything else - making it look easy, but all the while she was freaking out on the inside. Her carefully constructed shell would remain intact, and she would be fine. Eventually.
When she had finished printing ten copies, she leaned back in her chair and looked them over. Yes, they would do. She would start putting them up in the morning, she decided as she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and realized that she was actually tired. Saying a few parting words to her ex, she shut down the computer and headed to the bedroom. Even the dark, she knew the way. All those summers she spent visiting came flooding back to her, and she knew she’d never be lost in this house. The thought caused her smile as she pulled the covers up to her chin and laid her head on the pillow.
*
Jo Bennett found it hard not to stare at the bulletin board in the Post Office. She had traveled from base simply to mail some letters back to the US, but she found herself staying, watching as the curly haired brunette who had immediately caught her attention was trying to hang a flyer in the one empty place left on the bulletin board: the very top. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as the six foot two Air Force officer realized with amusement that the shorter woman, five foot six, maybe seven, was in no way tall enough to reach it. Jo loved it when her height helped her to meet attractive women.
She was almost to the bulletin board when the struggling brunette tried jumping up to reach the top. Not only did she fail miserably, she lost her balance and fell backwards, right into Jo’s waiting arms. The pieces of paper she had been holding fell, fanning out over the floor.
“Oh,” the brunette said, practically springing from Jo’s grasp. “I…” She looked as if she was trying to remember something for a minute before she said, the words coming out in a rush, “Es tut mir Leid.” From her limited German, Jo thought the woman was trying to say “I’m sorry”, but the words all ran together, and it was a little hard to make it out. Jo assumed the woman didn’t know very much German, but she thought Jo spoke it.
Jo laughed and shook her head. “I’m American,” she managed to say, bending down to help the other woman pick up the dropped papers.
“Oh,” the woman repeated, a blush starting to appear on her cheeks as she accepted the papers from Jo. “Thanks,” she murmured, not meeting Jo’s gaze and tucking some hair behind her ear. Jo couldn’t help but think the embarrassed/shy demeanor was incredibly cute on this woman.
Glancing down at the last paper she picked up off the floor, Jo stopped to read the flyer. Roommate wanted. Rent negotiable. Prefer female who speaks English and could help with upkeep. Jo let out a soft whistle. “That’s quite a specific list,” she commented, looking over the paper at the woman before her. Gorgeous green eyes finally rose to meet Jo’s hazel ones.
The brunette shrugged as she reached for the paper. “It’s what I want,” she said softly, looking somewhat annoyed when Jo held the flyer out of her reach. “Give it back,” she demanded.
“What if I wanted to help you hang it?” Jo asked, smiling again. “I couldn’t help but notice you couldn’t quite reach.”
She watched as the shorter woman scowled and reached for the paper again. “Thanks, but I think I’ll just ask a worker to hang it.”
“And what if I don’t want it to be hanged?” Jo asked, once again holding it out of the shorter woman’s reach.
“And why wouldn’t you want that?”
Jo shrugged. “Maybe I don’t want anyone else to answer it.”
Green eyes narrowed in Jo’s direction. “You’re looking for a place to live?” she asked, sounding very skeptical.
“As a matter of fact,” Jo replied, “I am. The base has a few rules that I’d have to keep on breaking if I stayed there. Are pets welcome at your place?”
“The base?” The brunette asked, looking slightly confused. “You’re military?”
Laughing, Jo nodded and replied, “Air Force.” She cocked her head to the side and regarded the woman closely before sticking out her hand. “Captain Jo Bennett. I’d like to say nice to meet you…” she trailed off, waiting for the handshake to be accepted, the woman to fill in her name, or both.
Switching the papers to her left hand, the woman tentatively reached out and shook Jo’s offered hand. “Tara. Tara Carafello,” she said with a small smile. “Just moved here from New Jersey. Where are you from?”
Their hands dropped to their sides as Jo answered, “Mississippi.”
“Ah, thought I detected a southern accent,” Tara replied, and Jo could have sworn there was a slightly teasing note in her tone.
Jo cocked one eyebrow in response. “Is that a problem?”
Tara shook her head. “Not to me.” She wrapped her arms around the small stack of papers and drew them to her chest. “So, you were saying something about pets?”
It took Jo a minute to remember what they were discussing before she had seen the shorter woman smile, but finally it came back to her. “Oh, yeah, I have a dog and two cats I’ve been trying to hide in my quarters. Not the easiest task in the world.”
“Um, okay. How big is the dog?”
“He’s, uh, kind of big. Sixty, seventy pounds, maybe.” Jo saw the flash of something, maybe uneasiness or even fear, cross over Tara’s face, and she quickly backpedaled, “He’s the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet. Wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Tara shrugged. “Well, I like dogs. Cats, though, are another story.”
Jo immediately lost her smile. “I can’t live without at least one cat. Curse of my existence?” she said, holding up her hands.
“I’m allergic,” Tara replied. “I mean, you seem really nice and all, but cats are a deal-breaker.”
It was Jo’s turn to scowl, and her brain went to work thinking of solutions. While she was quiet, she noticed Tara turned to go. She didn’t reach for the flyer again, though, so maybe there was still hope.
Jo followed her out the door. “I’ll keep them away from you,” she tried. “They could stay in my room, or in another room…we could work it out,” she said, hoping that she wouldn’t have to beg.
Tara snorted. “You haven’t even seen the house yet.”
“I really need to find a place sooner rather than later,” Jo replied, not mentioning that she really wanted to live with this interesting, attractive woman she’d just met. That sounded a bit creepy, even to her. Then, remembering something else on the flyer, she added, “I can fix things. Your flyer said ‘help with upkeep’. I can definitely do that.”
The brunette stopped walking and turned to face Jo. She seemed to be thinking about that last offer as she studied the tall woman closely. Jo knew exactly what she was seeing, the broad shoulders, the short brown hair, and the oval face that she had always thought too pointed, not feminine enough. Still, other women had found her attractive enough to date her. Of course, she wasn’t asking Tara for a date, so she really had no idea what the other woman was thinking when she looked at her.
Jo knew exactly what she was thinking when she looked at the shorter, and probably younger, woman with long, curly hair that was being blown to one side with the wind. There was something about her, other than being attractive, that drew Jo to her. Somehow Jo couldn’t help but fight to spend more time with her.
Finally, Tara sighed and turned back around. “Do you want to see the house?” she asked, and there was something in the way she asked it that Jo just knew it was as good as an invitation to move in.
*
The lock was stuck again, something that infuriated Tara to no end. She really would have to get someone out there to fix it. Then that woman who had followed her dutifully from the Post Office gestured Tara aside and managed to open the door without a problem. Jo merely shrugged and said softly, “You must have loosened it for me.”
Tara narrowed her eyes on the taller woman’s face before brushing by her into the house. She barely knew this woman, but she could have sworn Jo’s tone bordered on flirting or at least teasing. It was all a bit unsettling, but for some reason, she felt like she could trust Jo. It could be that she had always respected and liked women in the military, but she felt it was more than that.
“Well, here it is,” Tara said, flipping on the light in the living room. “It isn’t much, but I like it.”
Jo followed her in, nodding as she looked around. “Spacious. I wouldn’t have thought that from the outside.” She smiled. “Love the woods out there. Lots of space for a dog to run around.”
Tara nodded, moving towards the hall and gesturing to the first closed door. “That’s my room. No offense, but that’s my space. I have to have something to call my own, you know?”
Jo nodded. “No offense taken. I completely understand,” she replied as she followed Tara down the hall.
Opening the next door, Tara stepped inside. “This is the other bedroom.”
The taller woman followed her in, once again looking around. “Nice. I think my quarters on base are only a little bit bigger.”
Tara barely heard her, her attentions on the taller woman’s fit body and how muscular her arms were under that gray t-shirt. Tara always knew she had a weakness for women in uniform, but she hadn’t even seen Jo in uniform yet. She took a deep breath and turned away, admonishing herself silently. If Jo was going to live with her, she would need to learn how to not check out the Air Force woman.
Nodding, Tara motioned Jo to follow her, hearing as Jo fell into step behind her. Her thoughts in a whirl, and she kept wondering why Jo elicited this sort of response from her. Tara thought she had a type: exotic, most of the time Latina, with full lips and some sort of accent. Well, Jo had an accent, but it wasn’t the kind that usually made Tara swoon, and she wasn’t exotic at all. She was…well, fit, tall, and mysterious.
“This is the kitchen,” Tara said when they entered, flicking on another light and leaning against the middle island counter. She looked out the window before taking a deep breath and glancing back at the strange woman she had met only an hour before. Jo was still taking in everything, but she looked pleased.
Geez, Tara thought, running a hand through her unruly curls, this was going awfully fast. She thought that she would interview a few possibilities and pick one roommate from them. Instead, she was seriously considering letting this very attractive, intriguing woman move in with her - with two cats! She never thought she would accept living with cats, but the more time she spent with Jo, the more she thought she could deal with it.
Hazel eyes turned and locked with Tara’s. “When can I move in?” Jo asked, smiling that same damn smile Tara remembered from the Post Office. It looked like Jo knew she was going to get something she wanted, almost smug but not quite. It reminded Tara of a character on one of her favorite TV shows: Xena. And it made her head spin.
“We haven’t even talked about price yet,” Tara replied, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. She didn’t want this woman to know the effect she was having on her.
Jo shrugged. “Money’s not really that big a deal to me.” She rolled her eyes and leaned her upper body over the counter across from Tara. “I have pretty much no social life to speak of and living on base is free for me, so I’ve saved up for the past few months.” Tara found it hard to breathe under the intense gaze Jo was fixing her with. “So how much are you wanting?”
Turning away back to the window, Tara took in a deep breath and thought about it. There were the utilities, insurance, and the Internet to think about. She wouldn’t bring her phone into it, and of course she wasn’t paying rent or anything, having inherited the house outright. There had been inheritance taxes, but her parents graciously paid those, stating that Tara had other things to worry about. She took a deep breath.
“Well, how about we split the bills 50/50? Electric, water, gas, Internet, and insurance?” She smiled a little and glanced at the woman again. “I inherited the house from my great aunt, so there’s no rent, but the insurance might as well be with how high it is.”
Jo nodded. “Sure.” She cocked her head to the side as if studying Tara for a moment before asking quietly, “You didn’t think up a price before you put up the flyers?”
Tara could feel herself blushing again. Taking a deep breath, she answered, somewhat embarrassed, “I didn’t expect it to happen this fast.” She chuckled, mostly to herself and shook her head. “Hell, I hadn’t even put up a flyer yet,” she admitted.
She watched for Jo’s reaction. The taller woman had long since folded the one flyer she still had and placed it in her pocket. Obviously she thought there were more out in the town because she looked rather surprised and somewhat amused. “So…” Jo said, grinning, “The Post Office was your first stop?”
“Yep,” Tara replied, unable to stop herself from grinning back.
“So no one else is going to answer your ad?” Jo asked, looking positively pleased with herself.
Tara feigned annoyance, but knew Jo probably saw right through it. If she was honest with herself, she was practically giddy at the attentions the tall, attractive soldier was showering upon her. Not a good reason to let someone move in with you, her mind told her, but she pushed the thought away. It was easy. It would probably be fun. They seemed to get along great…now if she could just pretend she wasn’t interested in anything other than friendship, things would probably turn out just right. She could do that. Yeah, she thought as she looked into Jo’s eyes and shook the woman’s hand again, she could definitely do that.
*
This is for sinadino, ml_spikie, and for Uncle E.
The dull glow of the laptop on her face was the only light in the room. Tara knew she should probably shut it down and go to bed, but even in the middle of the night, her body didn’t feel like it was time to sleep. She sighed, typing a few words and clicking the “send” button before rubbing her eyes. Time zones were not kind to her, and, even though she had been in Germany for a week, her body had not yet adjusted.
She had thought to give herself time before the new semester started, but a few weeks now didn’t seem like it was going to be enough. Leaving New Jersey had been hard enough, and now she was reconsidering. Her body wasn’t adjusting, her thoughts were continually on the people she had left at home, and she was lonely. Glancing around the house she had inherited from her great aunt out of the blue, she once again wondered if moving out here was a good idea.
The computer beeped, letting her knew there was a new response in her instant messaging box. Running a hand through her long, curly brown hair, she turned back to the glowing screen. Great, she thought, reading the message. Her ex was flirting with her - again. She groaned and shook her head. Of course she’s flirting with you, her brain told her, that’s what she does. Tara couldn’t help but think these late night computer conversations were only making things worse between them, even though they had agreed to remain friends. It was too much, too soon. They talked nearly every day now that Tara didn’t have anything else to distract her.
Blinking a few times, Tara made a decision. Instead of replying to Marianna, that oh-so-cute peppy lesbian who always had a smile and a smart retort ready, Tara clicked instead on the document she had been working on before Mari had sent the first instant message. It was a flyer she had made up, one for a roommate. She had considered it from the beginning. Her meager salary as a graduate assistant wasn’t going to pay all the bills, and besides, it probably would be a good idea for her not to be alone all the time.
Still, the idea scared her. Living with a stranger was hard enough, but the thought of living with a stranger in a strange country was even more daunting. Sighing again, Tara shook her head and hit the print button with determination. She would get through this like she did everything else - making it look easy, but all the while she was freaking out on the inside. Her carefully constructed shell would remain intact, and she would be fine. Eventually.
When she had finished printing ten copies, she leaned back in her chair and looked them over. Yes, they would do. She would start putting them up in the morning, she decided as she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand and realized that she was actually tired. Saying a few parting words to her ex, she shut down the computer and headed to the bedroom. Even the dark, she knew the way. All those summers she spent visiting came flooding back to her, and she knew she’d never be lost in this house. The thought caused her smile as she pulled the covers up to her chin and laid her head on the pillow.
*
Jo Bennett found it hard not to stare at the bulletin board in the Post Office. She had traveled from base simply to mail some letters back to the US, but she found herself staying, watching as the curly haired brunette who had immediately caught her attention was trying to hang a flyer in the one empty place left on the bulletin board: the very top. A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips as the six foot two Air Force officer realized with amusement that the shorter woman, five foot six, maybe seven, was in no way tall enough to reach it. Jo loved it when her height helped her to meet attractive women.
She was almost to the bulletin board when the struggling brunette tried jumping up to reach the top. Not only did she fail miserably, she lost her balance and fell backwards, right into Jo’s waiting arms. The pieces of paper she had been holding fell, fanning out over the floor.
“Oh,” the brunette said, practically springing from Jo’s grasp. “I…” She looked as if she was trying to remember something for a minute before she said, the words coming out in a rush, “Es tut mir Leid.” From her limited German, Jo thought the woman was trying to say “I’m sorry”, but the words all ran together, and it was a little hard to make it out. Jo assumed the woman didn’t know very much German, but she thought Jo spoke it.
Jo laughed and shook her head. “I’m American,” she managed to say, bending down to help the other woman pick up the dropped papers.
“Oh,” the woman repeated, a blush starting to appear on her cheeks as she accepted the papers from Jo. “Thanks,” she murmured, not meeting Jo’s gaze and tucking some hair behind her ear. Jo couldn’t help but think the embarrassed/shy demeanor was incredibly cute on this woman.
Glancing down at the last paper she picked up off the floor, Jo stopped to read the flyer. Roommate wanted. Rent negotiable. Prefer female who speaks English and could help with upkeep. Jo let out a soft whistle. “That’s quite a specific list,” she commented, looking over the paper at the woman before her. Gorgeous green eyes finally rose to meet Jo’s hazel ones.
The brunette shrugged as she reached for the paper. “It’s what I want,” she said softly, looking somewhat annoyed when Jo held the flyer out of her reach. “Give it back,” she demanded.
“What if I wanted to help you hang it?” Jo asked, smiling again. “I couldn’t help but notice you couldn’t quite reach.”
She watched as the shorter woman scowled and reached for the paper again. “Thanks, but I think I’ll just ask a worker to hang it.”
“And what if I don’t want it to be hanged?” Jo asked, once again holding it out of the shorter woman’s reach.
“And why wouldn’t you want that?”
Jo shrugged. “Maybe I don’t want anyone else to answer it.”
Green eyes narrowed in Jo’s direction. “You’re looking for a place to live?” she asked, sounding very skeptical.
“As a matter of fact,” Jo replied, “I am. The base has a few rules that I’d have to keep on breaking if I stayed there. Are pets welcome at your place?”
“The base?” The brunette asked, looking slightly confused. “You’re military?”
Laughing, Jo nodded and replied, “Air Force.” She cocked her head to the side and regarded the woman closely before sticking out her hand. “Captain Jo Bennett. I’d like to say nice to meet you…” she trailed off, waiting for the handshake to be accepted, the woman to fill in her name, or both.
Switching the papers to her left hand, the woman tentatively reached out and shook Jo’s offered hand. “Tara. Tara Carafello,” she said with a small smile. “Just moved here from New Jersey. Where are you from?”
Their hands dropped to their sides as Jo answered, “Mississippi.”
“Ah, thought I detected a southern accent,” Tara replied, and Jo could have sworn there was a slightly teasing note in her tone.
Jo cocked one eyebrow in response. “Is that a problem?”
Tara shook her head. “Not to me.” She wrapped her arms around the small stack of papers and drew them to her chest. “So, you were saying something about pets?”
It took Jo a minute to remember what they were discussing before she had seen the shorter woman smile, but finally it came back to her. “Oh, yeah, I have a dog and two cats I’ve been trying to hide in my quarters. Not the easiest task in the world.”
“Um, okay. How big is the dog?”
“He’s, uh, kind of big. Sixty, seventy pounds, maybe.” Jo saw the flash of something, maybe uneasiness or even fear, cross over Tara’s face, and she quickly backpedaled, “He’s the sweetest dog you’ll ever meet. Wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
Tara shrugged. “Well, I like dogs. Cats, though, are another story.”
Jo immediately lost her smile. “I can’t live without at least one cat. Curse of my existence?” she said, holding up her hands.
“I’m allergic,” Tara replied. “I mean, you seem really nice and all, but cats are a deal-breaker.”
It was Jo’s turn to scowl, and her brain went to work thinking of solutions. While she was quiet, she noticed Tara turned to go. She didn’t reach for the flyer again, though, so maybe there was still hope.
Jo followed her out the door. “I’ll keep them away from you,” she tried. “They could stay in my room, or in another room…we could work it out,” she said, hoping that she wouldn’t have to beg.
Tara snorted. “You haven’t even seen the house yet.”
“I really need to find a place sooner rather than later,” Jo replied, not mentioning that she really wanted to live with this interesting, attractive woman she’d just met. That sounded a bit creepy, even to her. Then, remembering something else on the flyer, she added, “I can fix things. Your flyer said ‘help with upkeep’. I can definitely do that.”
The brunette stopped walking and turned to face Jo. She seemed to be thinking about that last offer as she studied the tall woman closely. Jo knew exactly what she was seeing, the broad shoulders, the short brown hair, and the oval face that she had always thought too pointed, not feminine enough. Still, other women had found her attractive enough to date her. Of course, she wasn’t asking Tara for a date, so she really had no idea what the other woman was thinking when she looked at her.
Jo knew exactly what she was thinking when she looked at the shorter, and probably younger, woman with long, curly hair that was being blown to one side with the wind. There was something about her, other than being attractive, that drew Jo to her. Somehow Jo couldn’t help but fight to spend more time with her.
Finally, Tara sighed and turned back around. “Do you want to see the house?” she asked, and there was something in the way she asked it that Jo just knew it was as good as an invitation to move in.
*
The lock was stuck again, something that infuriated Tara to no end. She really would have to get someone out there to fix it. Then that woman who had followed her dutifully from the Post Office gestured Tara aside and managed to open the door without a problem. Jo merely shrugged and said softly, “You must have loosened it for me.”
Tara narrowed her eyes on the taller woman’s face before brushing by her into the house. She barely knew this woman, but she could have sworn Jo’s tone bordered on flirting or at least teasing. It was all a bit unsettling, but for some reason, she felt like she could trust Jo. It could be that she had always respected and liked women in the military, but she felt it was more than that.
“Well, here it is,” Tara said, flipping on the light in the living room. “It isn’t much, but I like it.”
Jo followed her in, nodding as she looked around. “Spacious. I wouldn’t have thought that from the outside.” She smiled. “Love the woods out there. Lots of space for a dog to run around.”
Tara nodded, moving towards the hall and gesturing to the first closed door. “That’s my room. No offense, but that’s my space. I have to have something to call my own, you know?”
Jo nodded. “No offense taken. I completely understand,” she replied as she followed Tara down the hall.
Opening the next door, Tara stepped inside. “This is the other bedroom.”
The taller woman followed her in, once again looking around. “Nice. I think my quarters on base are only a little bit bigger.”
Tara barely heard her, her attentions on the taller woman’s fit body and how muscular her arms were under that gray t-shirt. Tara always knew she had a weakness for women in uniform, but she hadn’t even seen Jo in uniform yet. She took a deep breath and turned away, admonishing herself silently. If Jo was going to live with her, she would need to learn how to not check out the Air Force woman.
Nodding, Tara motioned Jo to follow her, hearing as Jo fell into step behind her. Her thoughts in a whirl, and she kept wondering why Jo elicited this sort of response from her. Tara thought she had a type: exotic, most of the time Latina, with full lips and some sort of accent. Well, Jo had an accent, but it wasn’t the kind that usually made Tara swoon, and she wasn’t exotic at all. She was…well, fit, tall, and mysterious.
“This is the kitchen,” Tara said when they entered, flicking on another light and leaning against the middle island counter. She looked out the window before taking a deep breath and glancing back at the strange woman she had met only an hour before. Jo was still taking in everything, but she looked pleased.
Geez, Tara thought, running a hand through her unruly curls, this was going awfully fast. She thought that she would interview a few possibilities and pick one roommate from them. Instead, she was seriously considering letting this very attractive, intriguing woman move in with her - with two cats! She never thought she would accept living with cats, but the more time she spent with Jo, the more she thought she could deal with it.
Hazel eyes turned and locked with Tara’s. “When can I move in?” Jo asked, smiling that same damn smile Tara remembered from the Post Office. It looked like Jo knew she was going to get something she wanted, almost smug but not quite. It reminded Tara of a character on one of her favorite TV shows: Xena. And it made her head spin.
“We haven’t even talked about price yet,” Tara replied, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. She didn’t want this woman to know the effect she was having on her.
Jo shrugged. “Money’s not really that big a deal to me.” She rolled her eyes and leaned her upper body over the counter across from Tara. “I have pretty much no social life to speak of and living on base is free for me, so I’ve saved up for the past few months.” Tara found it hard to breathe under the intense gaze Jo was fixing her with. “So how much are you wanting?”
Turning away back to the window, Tara took in a deep breath and thought about it. There were the utilities, insurance, and the Internet to think about. She wouldn’t bring her phone into it, and of course she wasn’t paying rent or anything, having inherited the house outright. There had been inheritance taxes, but her parents graciously paid those, stating that Tara had other things to worry about. She took a deep breath.
“Well, how about we split the bills 50/50? Electric, water, gas, Internet, and insurance?” She smiled a little and glanced at the woman again. “I inherited the house from my great aunt, so there’s no rent, but the insurance might as well be with how high it is.”
Jo nodded. “Sure.” She cocked her head to the side as if studying Tara for a moment before asking quietly, “You didn’t think up a price before you put up the flyers?”
Tara could feel herself blushing again. Taking a deep breath, she answered, somewhat embarrassed, “I didn’t expect it to happen this fast.” She chuckled, mostly to herself and shook her head. “Hell, I hadn’t even put up a flyer yet,” she admitted.
She watched for Jo’s reaction. The taller woman had long since folded the one flyer she still had and placed it in her pocket. Obviously she thought there were more out in the town because she looked rather surprised and somewhat amused. “So…” Jo said, grinning, “The Post Office was your first stop?”
“Yep,” Tara replied, unable to stop herself from grinning back.
“So no one else is going to answer your ad?” Jo asked, looking positively pleased with herself.
Tara feigned annoyance, but knew Jo probably saw right through it. If she was honest with herself, she was practically giddy at the attentions the tall, attractive soldier was showering upon her. Not a good reason to let someone move in with you, her mind told her, but she pushed the thought away. It was easy. It would probably be fun. They seemed to get along great…now if she could just pretend she wasn’t interested in anything other than friendship, things would probably turn out just right. She could do that. Yeah, she thought as she looked into Jo’s eyes and shook the woman’s hand again, she could definitely do that.
*