Rural Romance by Alexa Riley

Chapter Three

Lux

Irub my eyes, still feeling beyond tired. If I could I’d pull the covers over my head and go back to sleep. I’m not used to the sounds of the city, and when the car alarm goes off outside my window I know it’s not going to happen anytime soon. Plus, I have an appointment with a temp agency in a few hours. My plan is to be an hour early so that for once I’m not late.

Tossing the blanket back, I crawl out of bed and almost trip over a pile of clothes before getting to my bedroom door. I pause when my phone starts to ring, and I glance over to the stack of boxes I put next to the bed as a side table. The only piece of furniture I have right now is a bed that was delivered late last night.

“Crap!” I yelp as I stub my toe on something and grab my phone. “Hello.”

“Why are you all breathy? Already meet some hottie out there?” Juno teases. I fall back onto my bed.

“I wish.” She snorts and I rub my foot. “I stubbed my toe.”

“Of course you did.” I can see her smiling face now. “So how's the new roommate? Should I be jealous? Is she stealing my best friend title?”

“No one could ever take your spot, but it’s okay, I guess. I still haven't met her.”

“What the hell?”

“The management office gave me a key to get in.”

I may have forgotten to mention to Cooper yesterday that I haven’t actually met Avery. When I came out here with Juno, the maintenance man showed us the place, saying Avery was in class. I did run a quick background check on her, and she’s in college, but I didn’t see a job listed. Going off the way the people in the management office talk, she’s some kind of model.

“Hmm. That’s twice she hasn't been there. I’m thinking she’s probably a drug dealer.”

“You know, if you’re that much in need of excitement, maybe it’s time to come back to the city,” I suggest.

“Maybe.”

I’m surprised by her response, but I don’t push. I’m going to let her settle into the idea because Juno can get scared easily, and I’m not trying to make her do something she doesn’t want to.

“I have to get ready. I have an appointment with a temp agency.”

“All right. Text me after because I want to know how it goes.”

“You know I will,” I tell her before we say our goodbyes.

I grab everything I need for a shower and head into the hallway. There’s only one bathroom, so we have to share. Everything is clean and put away, so that’s nice, but I have seen a few men’s items here and there. Especially in the bathroom.

Maybe Avery’s boyfriend stays over. I never thought about the possibility of one of us having a man over, and now I’m wondering if that would be awkward. No, this is what grownups do, and it’s totally normal stuff. If anyone can deal with a bunch of boys, it's me, and I’m determined to shake my small-town mentality and live the big city life.

I take my shower, making sure to clean up everything after myself. Once I’m finished I wrap my towel around myself before exiting the bathroom. As soon as I step through the door, I freeze. A guy about my age is standing at the end of the hallway and he looks up when he sees me. He’s got wavy blond hair, blue eyes, and looks like an Abercrombie and Fitch model.

“Hey!” His smile is so big and his teeth are so white. “Sorry we’re only just meeting. Between shoots and classes my schedule can get crazy.” He walks down the hallway toward me and holds his hand out. “I’m Avery.”

What. The. Hell.

I’m going to be in so much trouble.

His eyes soften a little and he asks, “Are you hearing impaired?”

“No! Sorry.” I take his hand, realizing I’m being rude.

“Oh, okay. My mom is and wears hearing aids, so you just never know.” He releases my hand and then cocks his head to the side. “Is everything okay?”

“Honestly?”

“Yeah, I think if we’re going to be living together we should be honest with each other. If one of us has a problem we should put it out there.”

“I thought you were going to be a girl.” I’m really going to have to look back over that background check. How did I miss that? Juno is going to have a good laugh about this one, but my brothers won’t think it’s funny at all.

“Sorry to disappoint,” Avery chuckles.

“It’s fine,” I rush to say, and he lifts his eyebrows in disbelief. “Really it is. My brothers might flip, but other than that it's totally cool.” Why am I talking so loudly?

“Don't worry, sunshine. You’re not my type.” He winks at me before heading toward his bedroom.

“Sunshine?” I ask, and he turns back around to face me.

“Lux, it means light, right?”

“Right.” He shuts the door to his room, and I lean up against the wall. That went great for a first impression. An alarm on my phone goes off, reminding me to get moving. I’d set a few to be safe and keep me on task.

I’ll make it up to my new roommate later by ordering a pizza or something. Wait. Can models eat pizza? Everyone eats pizza, right? I think getting him a salad would be weird. I would assume the person thought I was chubby or something. I’ll have to ask Juno later.

“Shit.” I start pulling open boxes, realizing I’m not staying on task. I find a pair of wide-leg slacks and a button-up shirt before grabbing some strappy sandals. It never takes me long to do my hair and makeup, so I quickly braid my hair and put on lip gloss and mascara. Once I grab my phone and purse, I rush out the door.

Not wanting to get lost, I call for a Lyft. I’m still so new I’m sure it would take me twice as long to find the temp agency on my own. Once I learn my way around, I might feel better about driving in the city or even taking public transportation. I’ll explore later, but I should probably finish unpacking first.

“Lady.” Someone whistles loudly. I snap my head in the direction of the voice, seeing a man in his car.

“Are you catcalling me?”

“Did you call for a Lyft or not?” he asks dryly.

Oh. Heat rushes to my face and I realize I’m not starting out today with much grace. My first day in the city is going to be a bust if I don’t turn this around soon.

“Sorry!” I run over, open the back door, and hop in. He takes off so quickly that I go sliding across the seat and everything in my purse spills out.

“I charge a ten-dollar clean-up fee if you leave crap back there.”

“I’m not doing it on purpose.” I start tossing everything back into my bag as fast as I can. Thankfully the place isn't too far, and I let out a sigh when I see that I’m right on time.

After checking in at the front desk, I take a seat in the waiting room. As I look around, I wonder if I’m in the right building, but I have to be. I watched her check my name off the list, but this waiting room is filled with beautiful women. Maybe this temp agency does modeling too, or maybe the city is filled with gorgeous women.

When a woman calls my name, I hop up from my seat, eager to see what they’ve got for me. She motions for me to follow her and then points down the long hallway. “The door on your left.”

“Thank you,” I tell her. I enter the office and see a woman is sitting at her desk. She’s reading over a file with my name on it and doesn’t look up from it as I walk in.

“Come sit.” She points to the chair in front of her desk. “I’m Rebecca Simms.”

“I’m Lux.”

“I see that.” She picks up the folder. “You’ve got on here that you have serving experience.” She gets right to the point, and I like that she’s all business.

“Yep.” She looks up from the folder, and her eyes run up and down my body.

“You’re different, but sometimes that works.” I’m not sure how to respond to that, so I press my lips together. “All right, so the number one thing I tell all my girls is that if I call you for a job and you turn it down, you go to the bottom of the call list on the next job. So keep that in mind when you get an offer.”

“Okay. I completely understand.” Although it really sucks if I don’t want to take the job she’s offering, I'm desperate and this place pays immediately after a job is finished.

“Great. I’ve got a job for you then. It’s this Friday and I’ll need to know your sizes, waist and bra.” She tosses me a pen. “Write it here.”

“Okay.” I pause with the pen in my hand. “Can I ask why?”

“Uniform.”

“Right, of course.” I scribble it down for her and then hand the paper back.

“You’ll be serving at a cocktail party. I’ll email you all the information you’ll need.”

Oh wow. That was easier than I thought it would be. “Awesome.”

I leave the temp agency with a little pep in my step thinking that even though today might have started out weird, it’s already back on track. I’ll be a city girl by the end of the week.

With that thought in my heart, I miss the curb and fall right on my ass. I hear a few people laugh, including my Lyft driver that just pulled up. Okay, I’ll be a city girl by the end of the month. I just know it.