“I found out that he had five younger siblings and his mother couldn’t really keep a job because the young ones needed someone to look after them,” I continued, ignoring Amber’s comment and her advances.
Amber was flirty by nature, that was something I’d realized the first time I met her and in a sense, I was the same too which was why we hit it off that time, had sex, and then officially dated right after. She knew who I was but I didn’t really know much about her except she was this gorgeous blonde with an amazingly sexy body that kept on flirting with me. A 19-year old hormonal male couldn’t really ask for much.
It was a brief relationship because I got tired of her eventually. She wanted to have the real deal when it came to having a relationship and all I could really offer was a good fuck. Sometimes she would force me to talk, stating that she wanted to learn more about me than I let on hence why she was aware of this project.
I guess I could say that I did develop some kind of friendship with Amber. It wasn’t the kind of friendship that provided intimacy between friends where one could be vulnerable to the other though because I always felt like Amber was forcing me to have that kind of relationship with her. She wanted me to have my walls down, even if hers was thickly cemented in layers.
Amber wanted to change me. She wanted to be the girl that turned the bad boy into a good guy. She didn’t achieve what she wanted.
I suddenly came to a stop when I saw two big moving trucks in front of the bungalow house. I had called Gold last night and told him that it was time to transfer the furniture. I couldn’t help but grin and I turned to Amber, grabbed her hand and pulled her along.
She may have wanted to change me but if there was anyone else in the world beside my family who knew how much I wanted to change a family’s life by providing them an actual home, it was her and to be honest, I was kind of happy that she was here to see this.
“He has a step-father who’s an asshole. Before I bought the house, I found out that the step-father cheated and left them alone and he’s been trying to figure out how to get food for his siblings without stealing,” I explained and then shrugged my shoulders, subtly peaking at Audrey who stared at the bungalow in confusion.
“What’s all this?” Audrey asked loudly, looking around the house and then at the moving truck. “You’re moving?”
Beside me, Amber laughed and approached her, finally letting go of my arm and then wrapping her arm around Audrey. “When I told you that Julian’s a good guy, I wasn’t kidding, Aud. When we dated, he told me that he had this dream of providing a house for the homeless and here we are now, five years later, ready to move in the furniture to actually make this a home for a homeless family.”
Audrey stood where she was and stared at Amber for a little while and I knew she was processing everything that Amber just said. I watched as she licked her lips and felt a shiver go through me as I witnessed the sight, remembering the way her lips felt against mine. Jesus, here I was again wanting to have her in that way knowing that I couldn’t.
And then her brown eyes turned to look at me, the curiosity clear in them. “I never knew you did these kinds of things.”
I shrugged, wanting to act casual but hoping that it impressed her. When I realized this morning that today was the day the family moved in, I wanted Audrey to help me out and witness it with me. I wanted to celebrate it with her and I wanted her to see me the way I really was, not the cocky musician who likes breaking women’s hearts and preferred one night stands.
Amber wanted to change me. I wanted to change myself for Audrey and I didn’t really know why.
“I never had it publicize. What’s the point of wanting to help when you simply want to receive compliments for doing so?” I said quietly and took a step closer to Audrey and motioned at the house. “What do you think?”
She tilted her head to the side and then scanned the area, opening the rooms one by one. “How many are they?”
“Six people. Five kids and their mother,” I answered as I watched Audrey look around. Amber was eyeing her too and I could see that she was wearily doing so, as if she expected her best friend to say something insulting to me.
Audrey nodded her head and then stopped back in front of me. “You provide them a house to live in. Rent-free, I’m assuming. What about their food? Does the mother even have a job? What are the ages of the kids?”
“Aud, the least you can do is actually commend him for helping a homeless family-,”
Amber didn’t get to finish her sentence because I knew she caught me smiling. I expected this reaction from Audrey. I didn’t want her to turn to me and clap her hands in awe at how charitable I was. I wanted her to dissect my intentions and see if there were things that I missed out on. “I’ll provide them with food for a month because I’m using that month for the mother to find a job.”
“What about the younger kids? The ones who can’t look out for themselves? Their mom wouldn’t be able to leave them so how do you suggest that she work?”
I let out a deep breath and then walked closer to Audrey, placed my palms flat on her shoulders and then lowered them down until I held her hands. “The social worker and I have discussed everything when I told them my plan on giving the family an actual home to live in. There are jobs that the mother can do whilst being at home and watching her kids.”
“She’s going to be a blogger or vlogger?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle and shook my head. “No, Aud. There are other online jobs that she’s capable of and the youngest will start school soon anyway. It won’t be a hassle. I’ve thought of everything.”
Audrey was quiet for a moment and I waited for her to say something else but Amber cleared her throat and I quickly let go of Audrey’s hands and I wasn’t sure why I did so. Amber eyed us and then I could see the amusement dancing in them as she took my hand and pulled me outside, telling me that it was time to unload the truck.
For three hours, the three of us, along with the truck drivers, unloaded every furniture in the house and the two ladies argued about the arrangement but it was fun to watch. The two of them had very different taste but it was clear that Amber had a lot more idea with the matter than Audrey did. At around three in the afternoon, I started cooking dinner for the three of us and for the family. the family finally arrived at six.
Amber was all over the kids and they clung to her like moths drawn to the flame. Audrey, on the other hand, seemed to be talking in-depth with the mother and I was just in the background, watching everything unfold until it was time to go home. When we stepped out, Amber reached for my hand held it close, she rested her head on my shoulder as we walked back to Audrey’s car.
“You’re amazing,” Amber announced the moment we reached Audrey’s car and I opened the door for her. She leaned over to me and kissed me on the cheek, “and I’m really glad I got to witness this.”
“I am too, and I actually have you to thank for this,” I said softly, reaching out a hand and touching her face gently. When I told Amber about this dream, albeit I did so forcibly, she had genuinely supported and encouraged me to do it. She actually was a very supportive girlfriend when we were dating, sometimes overbearingly so. “You believed that I had the kindness in me to do this even if it meant you were the only one.”