Yeah, I know. This isn't what you all want.
I'm in a writer's block that you wouldn't believe, and I apologize for that. I promise to try to get out of it ASAP.
In the meantime, I was looking back on a few chapters, and I thought some could've been better, so I did some editing. It kills me that all your lovely, wonderful, stupendous reviews are going to go away, but as a writer, I felt it was necessary to do some editing.
A bit of reworking on this first chapter…hope you like it!
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Jude Feeney eagerly walked into his new bedroom. He glanced about the quaint room, and couldn't help but grin. Three months into the country and he inherits a rambunctious best friend, the possibility of a having his beautiful sister as more than a friend, this comfortable little flat in New York, and a sexy landlady.
Speaking of his new rambunctious friend, Max Carrigan strolled grandly into the room, his aviators slid down to the end of his nose as he surveyed the room, that familiar smirk of his growing on his face.
"Man…this place is-"
"Fucking incredible?" the blonde finished for him. "No shit. No nagging parents, no grade reports, no curfew…" He trailed off, shaking his head a little in wonder.
The Englishman shrugged off his coat, throwing it on the old, creaky mattress. Sure enough, as he sat on the bed, the springs groaned underneath his weight. Jude was hardly perturbed. Lord knows his bed back in Liverpool wasn't any more comfortable than this was.
"If you'll excuse me, Mr. Feeney," Max started, sliding his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. "I really have to take a piss. I'll be back momentarily."
After giving him a cheesy thumbs-up, he sauntered out of the bedroom and into the bathroom adjacent to it.
Once the door opened, he was greeted by a startled yelp. He whipped his head in the direction of the shower, and though it was difficult to see in his tinted glasses, he could make out a person, no doubt a woman, standing in the shower. There was no cover, and it was clear the girl was desperately trying to cover herself with a thin towel she had grabbed off the floor once he had walked in.
Max, being the womanizer he is, pushed his glasses to his hairline, taking in a good look of this acquaintance. It was indeed a girl in the shower, a good-looking black girl at that, and she couldn't be older than 21.
Her pretty face, which had been one of shock for quite some time, was now scrunched into a disgusted scowl.
"Do you mind?" she hissed through clenched teeth.
"Oh…" He stopped his gaping for a moment and turned his face away from her. "Sorry…suppose I should've knocked. Well, carry on with whatever you need to do."
She glared at him again, expecting him to leave anytime now. To her surprise and horror, he shuffled over to the toilet, unzipped his pants, and, well…
"What're you…doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing, babe, I'm taking a piss. It's what I came in here for..." He looked over the rims of his glasses. "Though it looks like I got way more than I bargained for."
She shifted uncomfortably and attempted to cover more of herself with the small towel. She couldn't believe his audacity to get smart. "First of all," she said coldly. "My name's Ellie. Second of all, were you too deaf to hear the water running, or are you just stupid? And third of all…would you stop looking at me?!"
He chuckled and zipped his pants up, heading towards the sink to wash his hands. "I'm of the male persuasion, Eleanor. You happen to be an attractive girl, so pardon me for me not being able to control my manly urges. Blame the testosterone."
She turned pink at his comment. While he had been spouting off his smart remarks, she had taken note that the boy was quite attractive himself. But attractive or not, she'd really rather not give a stranger a peep show, and he seemed to think otherwise.
"What's your name, anyway?" she asked after a while.
"Me? I'm Max. I'd shake your hand but I have the feeling you want to keep that hand firmly attached to that towel. And as much as I'd like you to move it, I'm not going to dig myself a deeper hole."
"Well…see you around, Eleanor," he said with a smirk, flushing the toilet before he left. Of course this turned the shower water scalding hot, causing her to yelp loudly in pain.
As Max heard her yelps through the now closed bathroom door, he smiled a little. But he also thought to himself that he'd better watch out, because he was pretty sure there was nothing more that girl wanted to do than kick his skinny ass.
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Later that afternoon, once Jude and Max had fully settled, they, a few other tenants, and Sadie all sat down for lunch. Someone had been adventurous and made some sort of vegetarian tofu dish. As Max scooped a spoonful of the brownish-green looking stuff onto his plate, he couldn't help but think it more like vomit than anything else. The American was down with the hippie trend and the spiritual wave going on was kind of cool, but the food seemed to be becoming more and more…interesting.
"So…" Jude started, turning his attention away from the food. "…are there any good pubs around?"
Sadie chuckled. "Honey, you're in New York. Of course there are good bars around. Actually, I'm doing a gig down at Café Huh? tonight if you want to come."
"What do you sing?"
"Mm, a little bit of everything," she said with a smile. "Not to blow my own horn, but I'd say I've got a pretty good group of fans. I guess you'll just have to see."
As the tenants continued to converse, Ellie padded into the room, her dark waves still damp. The landlady glanced up at her, then turned back to her newest tenants.
"Oh, guys, this is Ellie. She was taking a shower when you first got here. Ellie, this is Jude."
As Sadie motioned toward the Englishman, Ellie smiled politely at him, giving him a little wave, which Jude kindly returned.
"And this is Max."
The moment her dark brown eyes met the blonde's bright blue ones, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed. He beamed sheepishly at her.
"Yes. We've met."
She took a seat next to one of the other tenants, saying she wasn't hungry when asked if she wanted some of the vegetarian tofu dish.
"So, are you coming to the show tonight, Ellie?" Sadie asked.
Ellie sighed. "I don't know…I was thinking about sitting this one out."
"Come on, you'll have fun."
Max swallowed the forkful of tofu dish he had finally taken (it actually wasn't bad.) "Yeah, come on, El. I'll make it up to you for earlier."
She raised her eyebrows. "How?"
"Beer on me."
"If I wanted one of those, I could look in the refrigerator."
Sadie continued to nudge her. "Ellie, go. You'll have fun. You can show Max and Jude around…"
"Oh goody…" she muttered under breath, but she replied audibly. "Alright, alright, I go."
"Good. The show starts at seven. You better be front-row center."
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Sadie wasn't kidding when she said there were plenty of good bars around in New York City. Café Huh? must have been the hippest place to be in the East Village, because when they got there, they had to wait in line with at least fifty other people. It was surprising, because when they finally got in, it was clear the café couldn't hold more than two hundred people at the most. Sure enough, tables and bar stools filled up fast, and before long, the entire place was packed.
The group of tenants didn't end up being front and center, but they did get a nice, front booth on the left side. Unfortunately, the booth was not built for six people. All of them were squished shoulder to shoulder, and Max's long legs tangled with many others. Finally, he muttered "Screw it…" and swung them up so that they rested on top of the table.
Sadie and her band, at last, sauntered on the stage. She grinned and acknowledged the applause and cheers that greeted her entrance. After a quick mic check, she gripped the microphone, announced to the packed house her first song, looked to her guitar player, and then the song started.
Once the landlady opened her mouth, both Max and Jude felt their guts clench and the area south of their waistlines grow uncomfortably alert. Holy shit, could this woman sing. Her smoky alto voice glided effortlessly through the notes, only really letting loose on the growling, high notes. And when she did, the whole room could feel the electricity. Neither the American nor the Englishman thought anything could make their landlady sexier, but they now stood corrected.
When the song ended, the entire room erupted into vociferous applause, but none cheered louder than Jude and Max.
"Amazing, isn't she?" a voice said behind Jude after things had quieted down a little.
He turned and saw Ellie smiling back at him. He returned it and nodded vigorously.
"How long have you been in New York?" he asked.
"Not long, only a couple months."
"Are you a singer, an artist…?"
She laughed ruefully. "Neither, or anything of that sort. I just wanted out of my house. I never really had any rebellious teen moments in high school, so this was my time to do it."
"I feel you, sister," Max commented, as he had been half-listening to the conversation.
"I can't help but think you had plenty of rebellious teen moments in high school."
He scoffed. "If you call smoking a few joints and knocking up one maybe two girls 'rebellious'…now college, on the other hand…" A smirk twitched at his lips. "…that's a completely different story."
"College? You? Where?"
"Perhaps I don't feel like telling you, but if you must know, Princeton."
Her jaw dropped. "Princeton?" she spat, flabbergasted. She tittered a little. "How long did you last there?"
"Not long. A year and half. I just couldn't take it anymore. It's not like I want to be lawyer or anything, though I'm sure my dad would love me forever if I did."
Ellie shook her head, still not able to get past the fact that this guy, who honestly seemed like a lazy ass dope fiend, went to Princeton. Max noticed this and pretended to take offense.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just…you don't seem like that kind of guy."
"Well, you don't seem like the kind of girl to judge people."
She gave a hint of a sardonic grin. "You see me naked in the shower, and suddenly, you know what kind of girl I am?"
"Come again?" Jude interrupted, his eyebrows raised.
She rolled her eyes. "Your friend over there decided it was perfectly fine to walk in on somebody taking a shower without even knocking, then used the bathroom when I asked him to leave!"
"Mate…" Jude groaned with exasperation.
"What? I had to take a piss!"
Ellie and Jude exchanged glances and sighed.
"Fine, we'll start over," Max said. He grinned brightly and stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Max!"
She rolled her eyes again, but extended her hand to shake his. "Ellie, such a pleasure to meet you. Oh, don't call me Eleanor. Please. I can't stand it."
"I'm not sure you should've told him that," Jude murmured in her ear, but his friend overheard, causing a wicked smirk to pass across his face.
"Well, the pleasure's all mine. If you'll excuse me, Eleanor, I'm going to get a refill."
He stood up from the booth, starting to head over to the bar. But before he could leave, Ellie's voice stopped him.
"Don't forget about the free beer you promised me, Maxwell."
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As you can see, I didn't change much.
But I thought it could've gone a little more depth, so yeah…
I hate that all your lovely reviews went away, but please, tell me if you thought this was better! I might do this with a few other chapters.