Well, shit. I want nothing more than to jump out of my seat and give him a big hug, but I don’t think we’re quite there yet. The man just denied my high five, for god’s sake. But this is clearly a hell of a lot more than just not needing to work. If all this financial security came with the price tag of losing his parents, I can only imagine the guilt. And the grief. I don’t know how far I can push him, given the whole known-him-for-two-weeks deal. Even if we are living together now, something is telling me it’s time to back off.

So I do what I do best: deflect the conversation by talking about myself. “Well, I think my first few hours of the first day of the rest of my life went swimmingly. I found some bars I’m going to hit up for a potential part-time job—see, told you I’d manage to pay my rent. And I did all kinds of research about what I’ll need to get Bridge and Blooms—isn’t that like the most perfect name? I’m obsessed—up and running. And now I’m going to dive into one of my favorite things ever, spreadsheets. I’m not even lying about that. Finance might be boring as fuck most of the time, but I make one kick-ass spreadsheet.”

A teeny-tiny hint of a smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “Something tells me you kick ass at anything you put your mind to.”

My instinct is to refute the compliment, but experience has taught me that never works. So I go for casual-if-fake arrogance instead. “See how well you already know me?” I hold up my hand for another high five, and this time he slaps his palm against mine in return.

Six

By the end of my second week living with Jack, I’ve found a bartending gig, gained three hundred new followers on Instagram, and managed to completely clear out the backyard. And that’s just the fun stuff. I also managed to put together a mini business plan and build a website, all by myself. Okay, Nick actually came over and helped a little with the website, but the ideas were all mine.

Jack and I have kept our conversations light and simple, and it probably comes as no surprise, but they’ve mostly consisted of me talking about myself and my new kick-ass life goals. I still know next to nothing about Jack, but he could probably give a TED Talk on the life of Sadie Green. The surface life anyway.

I wake up Saturday, ready to take my backyard plans to the next level. Time to germinate some seeds, mothafuckas!