Walk With Me Part 15

Chapter 11.

Eli Block.

"h.e.l.lO."

"Hey, it's me," I said. "Were you serious the other night when you were talking about buying a house?"

"Uh-huh," Seth mumbled. I could tell he was chewing something, and then he swallowed and said, "I've been living in this tiny apartment for six years. I think I'm ready for a little more s.p.a.ce and a yard and walls I'm allowed to paint."

"Cool. I'm having brunch with David Miller today, so I'll ask him to put together a list of places and call you to go see them. Sound good?"

I heard a door close. "David's your Realtor friend who owns a bar, right?"

Over the years, I'd taken Seth with me to the occasional dinner or movie or brunch with my friends. He was never a big talker, but everyone liked him and, most importantly, I liked having him around. Seth had met David more than once, so I found it amusing that he described my friend based on his job. Every other guy I knew would have described David based on his appearance (the man was drop-dead gorgeous) or his d.i.c.k size. I'd never had the privilege of getting a firsthand view, but by all accounts, his piece was legendary.

"Yup, that's him. Noah and Clark are coming and probably some other people too. Do you want to join us? I'm sure everyone would love to see you." And by everyone, I meant me. Not that my friends wouldn't like having him around, but saying they'd love love to see him was stretching it. to see him was stretching it.

He sighed. "I wish I could, but today's the first day of Sunday school and I want to be there to greet the kids."

Of course he did. Seth truly cared about every member of our congregation; it was what made him such a great rabbi. I loved that about him.

"Don't worry about it. You'll come with us next time. What day's good for you to go see houses with David?"

"Umm," Seth said distractedly. "I'm pretty flexible. Let's choose something around your schedule. Between your cla.s.ses and your social life, it's not easy to get an appointment with you."

"Whatever. I see you almost every day." I paused the second the words left my mouth. Huh. Seth and I had always spent a good bit of time together, but since I'd moved back to Emile City, we rarely went two days in a row without hanging out. Then the other part of what he'd said registered. "You want me to go house hunting with you?"

"Of course." He sounded surprised by my question. "I'm buying a house; I have to make sure we both like it."

My heart warmed in reaction to how much he valued my opinion, and I smiled to myself. "Okay. I know your schedule, so I'll set everything up with David and let you know the date. Sound good?"

"Yes. Thanks, Eli. I'm heading over to the temple now." I heard a door and then the familiar beep-beep sound a car makes before you put on a seat belt. "I'll call you when I'm done and we can hang out, okay?"

"That's perfect."

"SURE THING THING. I'm happy to help Seth find a place," my friend David said. "I need to send him a card to thank him for referring Micah Trains to me." I'm happy to help Seth find a place," my friend David said. "I need to send him a card to thank him for referring Micah Trains to me."

I snorted, knowing from Seth that his friend Micah was not an easy client.

"Seriously. He's a good guy. I like him a lot, and I know I can find the right place for him." David paused and quirked one side of his mouth up. "Eventually." He took another bite of his breakfast and asked, "Anyway, do you know what Seth wants in a house?"

"Well, he likes to be close to work, so something in EC West. And he said he wants a yard and a little more s.p.a.ce. He's in a one-bedroom now, so I don't think he needs anything huge."

David ate the last piece of his egg-white omelet, then got his phone out and started typing up notes. He glanced at me. "Does he want it to be move-in ready or is he okay with doing some remodeling?"

"Hmm, I don't know. He's pretty busy and I don't think design's really his thing. I can help a little, but with school and work, it's not like I have a bunch of time either."

"Let me know if you need help," my decorator friend Caleb said. "I'm happy to do it."

"Thanks, Caleb."

"No problem." He furrowed his brow in thought. "I don't think I've met Seth, have I?"

I shrugged and took a bite of my pancake. "I don't know. Probably. I've brought him around a bunch of times."

Caleb turned to his roommate and said, "Drew, do we know Seth?"

"He's that guy Eli's always rattling on about," Andrew said. "The, uh,... Noah, what do you call him?"

"HCC. Hopeful childhood crush," Noah supplied easily.

I tossed a fried potato at my friend, stuck out my tongue, and said, "Screw you, Noah. And I think you mean hopeless."

He shook his head and smirked. "No, I don't."

"Show me a picture," Caleb said. "I'm sure I'd remember if I'd met this guy."

I got out my phone and scrolled through the pictures. Seth was gorgeous. That wasn't just my opinion-everyone thought so. His soft, curly hair, his kind, warm eyes, his smooth, perfect skin-it was indisputable. But the photographic evidence didn't support that fact.

"Here's one." I handed my phone to Caleb. "It's from a wedding last month, but he doesn't look anything like this. I swear, it's like he goes out of his way to find the worst lighting."

Caleb looked at the picture and frowned. "Why are the people you're with wearing dirty clothes?"

"It was a zombie theme."

He darted his gaze up from the phone and stared at me. "For a wedding?"

I nodded.

"I guess that explains the red teeth."

I leaned over and looked at the picture. "Uh, nope. The red teeth are from the food coloring in the cake. I'm pretty sure that wasn't on purpose."

Caleb arched his eyebrows.

"Hey, I didn't bake it and I didn't eat it. Don't give me that look."

Andrew glanced at the phone, sneered, and said, "And they say letting us us walk down the aisle would mock the sanct.i.ty of marriage." He shook his head in disgust. "What f.u.c.king sanct.i.ty?" walk down the aisle would mock the sanct.i.ty of marriage." He shook his head in disgust. "What f.u.c.king sanct.i.ty?"

Caleb squeezed Andrew's shoulder and handed me back my phone. "He looks sort of familiar, but I can't place him."

"YOU GOT GOT the door?" Caleb asked Andrew. the door?" Caleb asked Andrew.

"Yup."

Andrew held the door to Seth's new house open, and Caleb and I shuffled in holding the huge painting I'd bought him as a housewarming gift. It was an abstract with different shades of red and some gold undertones. The second I saw it, I knew Seth would love it, so I ignored the price and plunked down my credit card.

"Where are we putting it?" Caleb asked.

"I was thinking in the living room, right over the fireplace. What do you think?"

We got the painting into the room, leaned it against the wall, and then Caleb looked around, a.s.sessing the s.p.a.ce.

"Yeah, that's a good spot for it," he said. "You're sure Seth won't mind us hanging a picture on his most prominent wall without asking him?"

Andrew snorted.

Caleb snapped his head toward him, narrowed his eyes, and said, "What?"

"It's a painting, Cae. A, he can move it. And two, do you see what I see?" He motioned to each of the walls. "It's not like there's anything else hanging in here."

"That's because he closed on this house on Tuesday, moved in on Wednesday, and flew out to LA on Thursday so he could be there for a tux fitting and rehearsal dinner on Friday. He was a groomsman in his friend's wedding," I said. "You should have seen this place when he left. There were boxes everywhere. I think the only things he set up were his bed and the coffeemaker."

"It doesn't look bad," Caleb said. "A little empty, but not bad."

"That would be because I've spent the last three days unpacking," I explained.

Andrew arched one of his pierced eyebrows. "That was nice of you."

I shrugged. "I'm house-sitting for him, so I'm here anyway. Might as well make myself useful."

"This is a great s.p.a.ce," Caleb said.

"I think so too. I like how you can see all the trees through the big picture window."

"Uh-huh. And the rounded ceiling's a great architectural feature too."

I looked up. "The ceiling's rounded?"

"Yeah, see how it curves down on the exterior walls?" he said as he pointed at the juncture where the ceiling met the wall.

"Oh. I hadn't noticed that. I'll have to point it out to Seth when he gets home."

"How long's he in LA?"

I sighed. "Until next Monday. His friend got married yesterday, and it didn't make sense for him to come home and then turn around and fly right back out again on Wednesday to spend Thanksgiving with his family. Plus, his uncle is getting married next Sunday, so...."

"Wow, look at you pouting," Andrew said. "Noah's nickname for this guy is spot on. He really is your HCC."

I didn't bother denying what Andrew said because he was right, but it was silly for me to be upset about going a week and a half without seeing Seth, especially because I talked to him at least twice a day. Besides, with as hard as he worked, he deserved a vacation.

My father thought so too, which was why he'd insisted Seth take the time, even though it meant my dad had to officiate-no joke-three weddings in one week. There was one that afternoon, another on Monday, and a third on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Apparently everyone had the same idea of getting hitched when people were already in town for the holiday. Amazingly, none of the weddings had themes. I was pretty sure Seth thought my dad had found some way to work that out.

Thinking about Seth's paranoid suspicion made me laugh, which helped me shake off my no-Seth doldrums. Forcing myself to focus on the positive, I said, "On the plus side, I get to stay here, so I have a reprieve from living under my parents' roof."

"I don't know how you do that," Andrew said with a shake of his head. "We're going to New York for Thanksgiving, which means I have to spend a meal with my parents. I'm considering self-medicating just to get through that. If I had to live with them, I'd lose my mind."

"It'll be fine, Drew," Caleb said gently. "I'll be with you the whole time."

Andrew grunted.

"My parents aren't bad," I said, feeling guilty for complaining about them when they did so much for me. "And if I live with them, I can use whatever money I make to pay for school, which means no debt when I graduate."

"That's good," Caleb said.

"It is," I agreed. "But it's still nice to get a little break, which is why I don't mind house-sitting, even if it means unpacking a million boxes."

"Speaking of unpacking," Caleb said. "Let's get this picture hung so I can poke around." He glanced at me. "That's okay, right? I love these old houses and I always like to see what people have done to them and what's still original."

"Sure," I said.

We had the picture centered over the fireplace a few minutes later, and then Caleb was off, commenting about molding and windows.

"You want something to drink?" I asked Andrew.

"Sure. What do you have?"

I headed toward the kitchen and he followed me. "I picked up some Diet c.o.ke, water, and-"

"Eli, I know you have a major crush on this guy," Caleb said as he walked into the kitchen waving something. "But I think framing a picture of the two of you and putting it on his nightstand is a little much." He held up a picture of me and Seth that my mother took a couple of years earlier. "And, by the way, I remember where I know him from."

"I didn't put the picture up. It was already there when I got here on Thursday. And what do you mean you know him? I thought you said you hadn't met Seth."

"I didn't think I had, but remember how I told you he looked familiar? This picture looks more like him than the zombie wedding one you showed me, so it hit me. I met him when I lived in New York. He was seeing my friend Nate Richardson."

I felt like the world fell out from my under my feet.

"What do you mean seeing?"

"Well, maybe not seeing seeing." Caleb furrowed his brow in thought. "I don't remember exactly. I just know Nate brought him dancing one night. I remember because he looked really out of place there."

My heart started beating again once I heard Caleb's explanation and realized he had misconstrued the situation. "That's because he's straight," I explained.

"Uh, no, he's not," Caleb argued.

"Trust me. Seth's been my best friend for years. I know him better than anyone. Just because he went to a club with your friend Nate doesn't mean he's gay." I scoffed. "He's been to Two of a Kind with me and-"