Green All Around Me

"What's with the frown?" Sara lifted her hand to my face, her fingers grazed my jaw. "Is something wrong honey?" She wiggled closer to me, her other hand coming to rest on my thigh.

"I thought you were....staying?"

Her nose crinkled, she tilted her head a small fraction and gave a tiny chuckle. "I am staying Tanner but I have to move out of the house - the new owners aren't going to want me living with them."

"Your mom sold the house," I stated unnecessarily.

"Yes," she grinned. "Now I get to look for a new place to live -" nodded to the paper. "I'm getting a moving van for mom and then, after I get all her stuff out of the house, I get to pack my stuff and -"

"Call all your strong male friends, offer up beer, bat your eyes and then, your stuff will magically appear at your new place," Billy rambled as he casually flipped the newspaper page. "Maybe wear a tight revealing shirt and you don't even have to provide the beer."

Sara laughed, "How many times have you done that Billy?"

"I don't need a revealing shirt," he informed her. "I don't wear one," he grinned up at Sara. "You could try that -"

"Hell no!" I snapped, slapping my hand on the tabletop. I glared at Billy and thought, no one is seeing that but me.

"Easy big guy," Sara teased as her hand slid over my thigh. "I'm not that desperate for help moving - pizza and beer is all I'm about to offer anyone - unless...." she caught her bottom lip between her teeth and gazed up at me.

"Unless what?" I asked the same time Billy jabbed at the newspaper and told her he found the perfect place.

"Ooohhh, let's see," she turned her attention to the ad Billy was talking about. "Three level duplex, two bedrooms on upper level, two in finished basement. Two and half bathrooms. 5 appliances. No pets. Non smoker. $1600/month, includes all utilities. Available April 1/08. Phone Alvin at blah, blah, blah..." Sara sighed and shook her head. "That's not perfect Billy, I don't need 4 bedrooms."

"No," Billy shook his head at her. "You weren't reading the ad I was. Here what I saw," he pulled the paper back and started to read. "For rent!" He exclaimed and grinned at Sara. "Three level duplex with finished basement that can comfortably house very hot male friend who really wants out of his current living arrangement. Said friend is more than willing to pay half the rent and doesn't mind if your boyfriend comes over, stays, or whatever as long as you don't mind if his boyfriend stays over as well." Billy put down the paper, smiled. "What do you say? Perfect, right?"

"Billy..." Sara hesitated.

"Come on Sara," he pleaded. "You know I have to get out of that apartment and we did talk before about possibly becoming roommates before. I think this would be the perfect place and -" he pointed to the ad. "There's room for the both of us to live separate lives if we don't want to see each other." He watched her for a moment and then asked her what she thought.

Slowly, she turned and looked at me; she looked unsure. I shrugged, it didn't matter one way or another to me. I just thought that the rent was ridiculous and I told them that.

Billy laughed, "I'm sharing a three bedroom house with two other guys and I pay $600 plus utilities."

I turned to Sara and she just shrugged. "I'm not too worried about the rent," she informed me. "When my dad died, he left me quite a bit of money."

"I still don't understand why you just don't buy a house," Billy glanced at the paper again. "You could easily buy a house and rent a room out to me."

Laughing, Sara told him she was looking but haven't found anything that she was really interested in. "That's why I'm looking to rent right now."

Just after she said that, Pete walked up to the table and said that they were done what I had asked of them. "Are you gonna come check it out so I can go home?"

I told him I would.

"Right now?" He motioned towards the kitchen.

"In a minute," I said and suggested that he get back to work. After Pete went back to the kitchen, I turned to Sara. "Tell me why I took this job."

"Oh Tanner," she started to rub my back. "You wanted to get back into the food industry because you missed it." She glanced towards the front counter where the girls were all gathered in front of the coffee machines, talking.

"Yeah," I laughed. "I missed asking people to do something and having them ignore me."

Sara gave me a confused look as her free hand reached for my name badge. "I always thought that's what you did when a manager speaks to you," her finger traced the 'manager' part of my engraved name badge. I didn't need the naughty grin that followed her 'if you were my manager, I'd do your bidding' to tell me that she wasn't thinking along the lines of work.

"I have to get back to work," I growled as I removed her hand from my chest. "I would rather be asking you to do stuff than dealing with those slackers."

"Tanner!" She pulled back, looking a little ticked. "Don't call them slackers, that's not very nice."

"What would you call them?" I nodded towards the front where they were still standing around talking.

With a shrug, she said that she just didn't think I should be saying stuff like that about my staff. "But we should hurry up and finish our burgers and head out," she sighed as she glanced at her watch.

"I'd love to sit with you as you do that but I have to get back to work if I want to get out of here tonight." I kissed her cheek and slid out of the booth. "You were coming over in the morning, right?"

"Yes," she grinned. "I've been looking forward to it all week."

"Good, I'll see you then," I leaned down and gave her another kiss and then said bye to Billy before making my way to the back to see what the guys were up to.

The kitchen was cleaner than I expected, I told them this and thanked them for the great job they did. "So I can go home?" Pete asked, his apron half off already.

"Yes," I threw over my shoulder as I unlocked the office door.

Ten minutes later, Kay poked her head in the door again. "Hey Tanner?"

"Yeah?" I was counting so I didn't look up.

"That girl," she paused. "She wasn't your girlfriend, was she?"

"Yes," I glanced at her. "Sara is my girlfriend. Why do you ask?"

"Oh," she frowned. "Is that guy related to her?"

"No," I laughed. "He's a friend of ours."

"A friend?" She looked surprised. "And you believe that?"

"Ah, yeah. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well," she shifted from one foot to the other as if she had something to tell me that she wasn't sure she should. "Do you trust her?"

"Sara?" I nodded slowly, wishing she would get to whatever she wanted to say. "Yes, I trust her."

"Do you think you should?" She asked as she played with her fingers.

"Kay," I spun my chair around and stared at her. "Would you just say what it is you came back here for so I can get on with my work."

Huffing, she gave me a dirty look and told me that I was a fool if I trusted Sara. "I think she's cheating on you with that guy - she kissed him and left arm in arm with him."

With a laugh, I told her that her concern was nice but it wasn't necessary.

"You mean you don't care that she's cheating?" She was shocked.

"Sara isn't cheating on me, especially not with Billy."

"But I saw -"

"Kay!" I stood up and reached for the office door. "It's not really any of your business but I know for a fact that Sara isn't doing anything with Billy because Billy has a boyfriend."

"You mean girlfriend," Kay said with a smile.

"No," I shook my head. "I meant what I said, Billy has a boyfriend. Now," I started to close the door. "I have lots of stuff to do and I know you do too."

I was really glad to get out of there that night.