Bachelor Number Five (The Bachelor Series, Volume 1) by Kenneth Rosenberg Page B

Amanda.  “This way I can skip through the commercials.”
    “As long as you don’t mind,” said Lauren.
    Without the show on, Amanda was able to relax.  She let go of the armrests and picked up her slice of pizza to take a bite.  She didn’t care at all about the basketball game, but when she looked around at the other people in the room she was struck by an emotion that had eluded her for a very long time.  Amanda felt… happy.  She had friends.  She fit in.  She was accepted.  Here in this city so far from home she was carving out a whole new life for herself.  It was what she’d yearned for all along.  A big part of it anyway.  The rest couldn’t be all that far behind.

Chapter Nine
     
    Amanda was walking up the stairs in her complex with a laundry basket in her hands when she saw the door to apartment number eight swing open.  She slowed her gait to watch as a woman emerged and then ducked her head back inside momentarily.  Kissing Peter goodbye?  When the woman came back out again, the door closed behind her and she moved toward Amanda along the landing.  She wore a short black skirt with long, thin suspenders that came up over a white cotton blouse.  Fishnet stockings covered her legs, barely, and she stumbled on shiny black stiletto heels.  “Good morning,” Amanda said.  The woman managed a half-hearted smile in return, her mouth smeared with red lipstick, as she hobbled past and on down the stairs.
    Inside Amanda’s apartment, Lauren sat in the kitchen eating fried eggs and toast.  Amanda put her basket on the floor and then moved to the refrigerator, opening the door to pull out a carton of yogurt.  “I think I just saw Peter’s girlfriend,” she said.
    “Ha!  I doubt it,” Lauren replied.
    “Some girl just came out of his apartment.  I think he kissed her.”
    “So what?  They probably met last night.”
    Amanda opened the silverware drawer and took out a spoon before sitting at the table.  She peeled open the top of the yogurt container.  “What’s the story with you two, anyway, if you don’t mind me asking?”
    “What do you think?”  Lauren smirked.
    “You were one of those girls?  Coming out of his apartment in the morning?”
    At this, Lauren shook her head in dismay.  “I’d like to think it was a bit more than that.”
    Amanda ate a spoonful of yogurt.  She didn’t want to press too hard, but if she was going to be living in the middle of something she deserved to know what it was, at least on some level.  “So what happened?”
    Lauren put her knife and fork on her plate.  “Look, Peter is an asshole, end of story.  He’s handsome and slick and he makes women feel special but they’re not.  Not to him.  They’re conquests and nothing more.  A way to stoke his ego.  My one piece of advice to you living here is to stay as far away from him as possible.”  With that Lauren lifted her plate and carried it to the sink where she washed the last of her eggs down the disposal before putting her plate and utensils in the dishwasher.  She lifted the skillet from the stove and rinsed that as well before putting it in and closing the dishwasher door.  “Darren and I are going for a hike out in Malibu today if you want to come,” she changed the subject.
    “I’d like to but I think I should keep looking for a job until I find one.”
    “Oh, come on, it’s Saturday!”
    “Restaurants are open on Saturdays.”
    “Fine, suit yourself.”
    “Anyway, I have to finish my laundry.  Maybe next time.”
    “Sure.”
    Lauren disappeared into her room to get ready for her hike and Amanda moved to the lounge chair in the living room.  She put her yogurt on the table and picked up the remote, clicking on the television.  She found The Bride on the DVR and hit Resume Play before putting the remote down and picking up her yogurt once again.  Now she could settle in and watch with no distractions.  Her one hour of the week with Bachelor Number