"The home is on an expansive, secluded .52 acre lot! There are no square rooms. As you can see, the main floor of the home features an inviting foyer, an open living/dining concept with a corner gas log fireplace, French doors, laminate flooring, and a fully equipped galley kitchen with granite countertops. There's also a comfortable bedroom, a full hall tiled bath, and a large tiled laundry/mudroom," the woman, Ella, explains to me as we tour the house.
"Wow," I say softly.
"If you follow me as we travel up the captivating spiral staircase, you'll see an exquisite bright and airy master loft with soaring cathedral ceilings, three skylights, and a stunning private tiled bath with a double vanity and tiled walk-in shower. The property also features three separate decks, a 3+ car attached garage, and TONS of recent updates," she finishes.
Ella's been helping me throughout the process of buying my first home.
"This place is amazing. The color especially. You don't see too many black and white houses. What was the price again?" I ask.
"The sellers are asking $119,000. You won't find a deal like this just anywhere. Not to mention the uniqueness of this property," she tells me.
"Why so cheap?" I ask her curiously. "This is a nice place. You'd think it would go for much more," I add.
"It's listed at that price because the current owners are anxious to sell. They are moving to another state and simply want to sell as fast as possible so that they can put the money towards their new home," she explains with a kind smile.
"I see. I'll take it," I tell her.
"Excellent. Shall we meet tomorrow to finalize the sale?" she asks.
I nod in agreement, and we leave the house. I walk over to my car and climb in. Once I start it up, I pull away from the curb. I make my way back to my apartment. I'm so glad I found a place. My lease is up in a week.
Since I'm now a rather successful writer, I decided it was time to buy a house. I've been saving for a couple of years now. I also still have most of the money left to me by my parents.
A few years ago, when I first decided to publish my book, I never in a million years thought it would become so popular. Even after buying this house, I'll still be pretty well off. I'm almost finished with my second book as well.
My life is looking up. I've now got everything I've ever wanted.
Well, almost everything. I'm still single. Not that I need to have a partner, but it would be nice. Plus, I want a family of my own someday. I have time. Although, I am 28 years old.
I'll admit it will be hard for me to find someone when I rarely go out. That and there's the matter of having a huge crush on one of my friends. I'll never do anything about it because I don't want to lose his friendship. It's quite annoying that I can't just turn my feelings for him off. I mean, he's amazing and everything I want in a partner, but it would never happen. My stupid heart doesn't seem to grasp that, though.
I let out a sigh as I pull up to my apartment building. I park my car and get out. After locking my doors, I head over to my apartment. I'm on the second floor.
As I unlock my door, I hear the one behind me open and close.
"Oh. Hey Virgil," a familiar voice says.
"Hey, Roman," I say as I turn to look at him.
Roman Adams. My heart beats a bit faster. He's beautiful as always.
"How'd it go?" he asks me.
"Great. I decided on the house I went to see today. It's perfect," I tell him.
"Perfect? Well, now I'm curious to see it. You wouldn't show us pictures," he says with a chuckle.
"Yeah, well, I wasn't sure which one I wanted. I want you guys to come to see it once I finalize the sale tomorrow, though," I say with a smile.
He smiles in return.
"I'm looking forward to it. Well, I'll see you later. I'm almost late for a date," he says and starts walking away.
"See you," I say after him.
He walks over to his car and smiles at me one more time before getting in. I turn around and head into my apartment. The first thing I do is make myself something to eat since it's about lunchtime. Nothing fancy. Just a turkey sandwich.
When I finish eating, I clean up and then head to my office. It's the second room that's in my apartment. I turn on my laptop as I pull out my notebook and a pencil. I have my main outline on my computer, but I write down little notes or things I want to remember in my notebook. I get to writing, and after a few hours, I make dinner before heading to bed.
The next morning I wake up around 7 am, like always. I gather some clothes and head to the bathroom to shower. When I'm done, I get dressed. I make a quick breakfast and clean up afterward. Finally, I'm leaving my apartment. I walk over to my car and open the door. Once I'm in my car, I back up before pulling out of the parking lot.
It takes me about ten minutes to reach Ella's office, where I'm to finalize the sale. I park, climb out and head inside.
"Nice to see you again. I've got all the paperwork here. All that's left to do is go through them and sign," she says with a smile.
I nod, and we do just that. She explains everything to me. I'm grateful I got such a nice real estate agent.
When it finally comes down to signing, I'm excited. I glance up at Ella right before I start to sign and notice she looks almost as eager as I feel. I find it weird, but I just shrug and sign the papers.
"Perfect! Here are your keys," she says, handing them to me.
"Thank you. For all your help," I tell her with a smile.
"Of course, Mr. Dames. It was my pleasure," she says as she hands me a copy of everything.
Now I need to do a change of address with everything—my bank, insurance, the DMV, etc.
I head home to my apartment. I've got half of my stuff packed up. I have until the end of the week before my lease ends. Then I have thirty days to move out. Since I packed half my stuff already, I doubt I'll need those thirty days. I should be ready to go the day before my lease ends. I'm going to take a break from writing for a few days to get packed up.
Since I've got nothing better to do, I decide to get some packing done.
A few hours pass by when I get a text message. It's from my friend Logan King. He's asking how things went yesterday. I tell him that it went great and that I've got the place. He congratulates me before offering assistance to help me move. He says that his truck is better suited to transfer my stuff than my car. I thank him and accept his offer. He adds that his fiancé, my friend Patton Sullivan wants to help too.
Pocketing my phone, I look around my apartment. Now all that's left is my furniture, a few blankets, some clothes, a couple of towels, my toiletries, stuff I use in the shower, and a few other things that I need. There are a couple of pots and pans so I can cook. I packed up all my dishes and stuff, though. Instead, I bought some paper stuff to use until I move.
After a moment, I head to my room. It's practically bare now, but I don't mind. I lay down on my bed and cover-up.
The end of the week finally arrives. It's around 2 pm. I'm currently moving some boxes from my room to the living room while I wait for my friends. They offered to help. Logan, Roman, and Patton. I have to wait for Logan to get off work.
Today I'll finally start moving my stuff to my new house. I lift a box and turn towards the door, only to see Roman right behind me.
"Holy shit!" I say and drop the box.
His fast reflexes kick in, and he catches the box.
"Sorry. The door was open. You didn't hear me come in, so I thought you were listening to music," he explains with an amused smile.
I let out a breath of air and put a hand to my chest in an attempt to calm my racing heart.
"I was just lost in my thoughts. Thanks for helping out," I tell him.
"Sure thing. Anytime," he says.
"Where to?" he says as he lifts the box a bit.
"Just in the living room," I tell him and turn to grab another.
As I make my way to the living room, I spot Logan and Patton walking in.
"Hey guys," I say as I set the box down.
"Virgil," Logan greets me.
"Hi, Virgil," Patton says before asking, "Are we taking the boxes first?"
"Yeah. Unless you think we should take the furniture first?" I respond.
"It may be easier to take the furniture first. Who knows how long moving everything will take? We don't want to be trying to carry furniture down the stairs once it starts getting dark," he says.
"Good point," I say with a nod.
Then we get to work hauling out my furniture.
We fill the back of Logan's truck. We even put a few boxes in my car.
Once it's full, I lock the apartment and walk to my car. I gave Logan the address, and he drove ahead. Roman climbs into the passenger side as I climb into the driver's side. I pull out of the parking lot and drive to the house.
As we pull up, I hear Roman chuckle. I park and give him a questioning look.
"It's just so you," he says with amusement. "Be honest. Was the color the main reason you chose this place?" he asks.
"Maybe," I say as I climb out.
He laughs lightly.
"Wait till you see the inside. It's gorgeous," I say with a smile.
We walk over to where Logan is parked.
"This place looks great, Virgil," Patton says with a smile.
"Thanks. I'll get the door open, and then we can start taking things inside," I tell the three of them.
They nod, and Logan opens the back of his truck as I head up to the door. I unlock and open the door before heading back to the truck.
"Let's get everything inside," Logan says.
Patton and I grab the first piece of furniture—a small couch. We make our way to the house, and after a few moments of trying, we manage to get it inside.
"Wow," Patton says when he sees the inside.
"I know, right," I say with happiness.
We set it in the general spot that I want it. Then we head out of the house. We meet Logan and Roman halfway. They're carrying my full-sized mattress.
"Where do you want this?" Logan asks.
"Upstairs in the loft. That'll be my bedroom," I tell him.
He nods, and they head towards the house.
A few hours and a few trips later, we managed to successfully move me in. My friends even helped me decide where I should put my furniture.
"You guys are the best. Thank you so much for helping me," I tell them once we're officially done.
"Sure thing," Roman says.
"Yes. We were happy to help. Buying a house and moving in is a big thing, after all," Logan says.
"When do you plan on having us over?" Patton asks me with a smile.
"Not sure. There's no hurry, though," I tell him with a smile of my own. He nods.
"We should get going. It's late," Logan tells me.
"Yeah, Of course. Thanks again," I say hugging Logan and then Patton.
They hug back before heading to Logan's truck.
"Let's get you home, yeah?" I ask Roman since he rode here with me.
Plus I have to return my key. He nods with a smile. We walk over to my car and climb in.
"So. How's your writing going? You're working on your sequel, right?" he asks me as I start driving.
"Yeah. It's coming along. I'm currently on the second draft. There are a few things I've changed or reworded already," I respond.
"I'm looking forward to reading your next book," he tells me. "Your first one is one of my favorite books of all time," he adds.
"Really?" I ask, a bit surprised.
"Of course. I'll admit I was surprised that after high school, you decided to publish your work. I mean, I know it's always been your dream, but you used to hate showing people you didn't know your works," he explains.
"You're not wrong. I am and have probably always been my biggest critic. I never liked showing people my work because none of them I liked that much. That is until I wrote 'Shadow of the Reaper.' Once I finished it, I knew that it was the one I wanted to share with the world," I respond, stopping at a red light.
"I liked quite a few of those short stories you used to write," he tells me.
I look at him skeptically.
"I'm serious. I think 'Rouge's Mask' was my favorite," he says.
I look at the road and start driving.
"I'll admit I'm happy that you liked it so much, that you liked any of them. I can't completely write them off. They helped improve my writing a lot," I say with a small smile.
"I still have them, you know?" he says.
I quickly glance at him.
"You do not," I say in disbelief.
He laughs lightly.
"I do. I have a copy of every one of your short stories. I even have your very first one. 'Love in the Dark'", he says in a teasing tone.
"Oh, gods. Not that one. It was so cringy. I still can't believe I wrote that," I say as I feel embarrassment creeping up on me.
"Yet I kept it. I think it was nice. A young man is in love with his best friend but unable to share his feelings. Then having to go through the heartache of thinking his love was gone and he'd missed his chance. It was good, considering it was your first," he tells me.
"So, how was your date with that guy? I think his name was James," I ask him and he chuckles.
"Smooth. Changing the subject," he says.
I softly smile as I glance at him. He smiles back.
"Honestly? It was really bad. The main thing he talked about was his ex. When he wasn't talking about that, he was gloating about how rich he was. Yet I still ended up paying for our meal after he said he forgot his wallet," he says.
"That bad?" I ask.
"Yeah. I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not meant to fall in love," he says, and I can hear the sadness in his voice.
"Nonsense. You're a great guy. You'll find someone to love and who will love you back. It will happen. I'm sure of it," I tell him.
I ignore the pain in my chest because I know it will never be me.
"Thanks, Virgil," he says, and he sounds happier.
We continue talking until we reach his apartment. I park in my old parking space.
"I'll see you later," he says with a smile.
I nod and pull out. I stop by the office before I leave. To return my apartment keys. When I'm done with that, I head to a nearby fast food restaurant and get some food. Then I head back to my new house.
When I get inside, I look around. I need to get the few kitchen appliances that didn't come with the house. The ones I had before came with the apartment. So I couldn't bring them.
I eat my food before getting my laptop. I begin looking for appliances. I could have everything delivered to my house. I don't need much. I also start looking for some random stuff I'd like to have. Eventually, though, I close my laptop and head to bed. I'll shower in the morning.