SugarCOAT

122. Tough Act to Follow 🍩

Not long after hitting the snooze button on my alarm, a smile appeared on my face. "A.B.," I whispered to myself.

"Unh-unh! What you in here dreaming about?"

I opened my eyes to see Monica smiling at me. Then, she crawled in my bed.

I whined as I picked up my phone and looked at the time - 6:31 a.m. 

She chuckled, "Cousin, I have a favor to ask you."

I closed my eyes. "What is it?"

"Okay so... You told me that A.B. bought you a house not too far from here, right? I was wondering if..."

She waited so long to finish her sentence that I dozed off.

Monica shook me.

I quickly sat up. "Oh, my gosh. What time is it?" I asked her.

"You didn't hear me?"

I grabbed my phone, again. It was now 6:36 a.m.

"I just spoke about three paragraphs long, and you didn't hear any of it?" Monica asked me.

 "Woman, you cut into my sleep-after-alarm-goes-off time." I pushed the cover off my body before getting out of bed.

Monica asked, "Can I move into to your house until E buys us one?"

I nearly tripped over the purple rug on my floor. Why wasn't it lying flat? I bent over to straighten it out. Then, I looked at my cousin. "No, ma'am. It's my house from my future, soon-to-be man. I haven't even moved in it, yet. Can I enjoy my house first?"

Monica hopped out the bed. "I'm moving to L.A., but I am not temporarily moving in this house. And I don't want to live in an apartment staying on floor 100. Do you know how much stuff I have to buy? Moving would be a nightmare. I figured E can pay you rent money for letting me stay at your house."

I glanced at my cousin. "Actually, that's a great idea. We can move in together and be roommates."

"Really?" She asked me.

I nodded my head. "I'm gonna have a busy schedule in the coming weeks, but if you can get my things moved, too, I'll lower the rent."

"How much?" She folded her arms.

"I have a house with a pool. You'll have your own room, bathroom, and walk-in closet," I continued, "Three grand."

"Per month?" She inquired.

I narrowed my eyes at Monica. "You know Zeke has the money."

"Fifteen hundred," she offered.

"Oh, no! Not in this L.A. market. Twenty-eight hundred."

Monica huffed, "Two thousand."

I shook my head. "You're gonna be there by yourself most of the time. Twenty-seven fifty."

"Jamie, c'mon!" Monica pleaded.

"Okay. Twenty-five hundred."

"Twenty-one hundred," she countered.

"Monica, you're man is paying. Help me out. I got parents to feed."

She chuckled, "Twenty-two fifty..."

I exhaled as I thought about it. "First month two thousand and each month up to six months is twenty-three hundred. After six months to a year, twenty-six hundred--"

"Deal!" She shouted.

I snickered, "Deal."

We shook hands.