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WHEN JANAE WOKE UP bright and early the next day the house was quiet. So she made breakfast and decided to set up her work in the living room. It was almost noon before she heard any movement from upstairs, and another half an hour before he came down. Janae gave him a distracted greeting as she was reviewing her outline, and heard him grumble something back. She could feel him staring at her, but when she finally turned around he was gone. The man had proceeded to putter around in the kitchen for a while and then the office door shut hard. Four hours later he stomped upstairs.
They saw each other again around seven that night and she tried to be polite and was greeted with gruffness for her efforts. Figuring it was for the best, she parted from his abrasive presence as soon as possible. Glad that at least he wasn’t trying to kick her out anymore. Janae could be reasonable and admit they both had cause to be annoyed. Besides she needed to be thinking about her own issues, like finishing this book.
This was her first solo work, but that wasn’t enough to explain why she was so discombobulated. Her topic was on aggression in society through the lens of nature vs. nurture, nothing that hadn’t been done before. So there was plenty of source material she could look at, not to mention her own data. At the moment it just felt like her passion for the field of study had gone AWOL. Didn’t she want to stay on track to reach tenure?
She could leave education and go strictly into research. Earlier in her career she had interviewed for a marketing company, but didn’t feel right helping already rich companies take more of the American public’s money. Had her goals changed? Janae enjoyed teaching at Eastern Michigan University. Expanding and helping to shape young minds, even as she struggled to hold their attention outside social media. The latter was changing her field of study drastically. Frankly, she and her colleagues were lagging behind in tracking and studying the effects of social media on behavior. But social media was like a genie in a bottle, you couldn’t put it back in once it was out. In fact that was going to be her next major research topic. Right now she put the thought of where her career was going out her mind. She had a book to put together.
* * *
IT WAS SATURDAY, THE fourth day after her arrival and the best she could say was they hadn’t murdered each other yet. Janae tried to focus but it was hard going, her notes and outline were pretty solid, but very little new progress had been made on the actual book. She hadn’t found a place in the house that seemed to get her energy going. Going as far as setting up her writing in different places, like the basement and the kitchen. She hadn’t lasted more than a few hours in both.
She felt like she would be better served writing in the office, as that had been her work space at home. But of course that space was taken...or was it? Maybe it was time she started using her expertise on her unwanted housemate. Shamefully, it was beginning to look like all her training went out the window when around Damond. Leaving her work, she padded down the hall in her sensible plain slippers, giving a little knock before opening the door.
“Hi, do you have a few minutes to talk?”
He was scribbling in a small notebook she had noticed once before. He didn’t even look up at her entrance, but she noticed his forehead wrinkle and his mouth tighten.
“I asked if you-”
“I heard you the first time.” Damond finished his last line and tossed the pocket-sized notebook on the desk. “Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of psychologist?”
“How do you know that?” Janae asked startled.
“I know people too. My guy talked to your guy. So are you going to answer the question?”
“Yes, I’m a social psychologist. I study the behavior of people and groups including how people behave in social settings and how groups or individuals can influence behavior.”
“Then you must suck at your job because your interpersonal skills and non-verbal cues are horrible”
“And you’re a very rude man!” Was the best come back Janae had for that, particularly since she had just been thinking close to the same thing.
“Lady, you have a lot of nerve calling me rude when you just barged into my house, bedroom and now my office. You don’t know what you could have walked in on.”
“You know the bedroom thing was a mistake.” Frowning Janae wrinkled her forehead. “And the only thing I expected to interrupt today was your writing.”
Letting out a little amused laugh, she pointed at the bookcases around the room. “I mean there's not much else you could be doing in here...reading isn’t scandalous.”
“I could have been jacking off for all you know Professor.”
Heat crawled across her skin, and her brain scrambled to make sense of his words. Damond’s hand doing the up and down motion made her powers of deduction easier.
“Why...would you be doing that in the middle of working? You’re just trying to be shocking.”
“Why?” Damond let out a genuine laugh. “The why is simple—I’m a man. Two, it relieves stress and can get the creative juices flowing. Maybe you should give it a try.”
“I don’t appreciate you being deliberately crude, just to try and run me off.” Janae crossed her arms, taking a step closer to the desk. “It’s not going to work.”
“You think too much of yourself.” Standing he leaned forward. “I was being deliberately honest and making a point that you need to stop walking uninvited into rooms I occupy. Now, what exactly do you want?”
Janae swallowed the biting words racing up her throat and tried to focus on her goal.
“I apologize. We should be respectful of each other’s personal space. On a related space note...I was coming to talk to you about our work areas. I’m having a hard time finding a place that seems to, as you said, ‘get my creative juices flowing’ and I was wondering-”
“Have you tried masturbating?” He asked seriously.
“That...is not an option I’m willing to consider,” Janae said tightly.
“Suit yourself. So what does your inability to write have to do with me?”
“I work in my office at home, so I was wondering if I could use this one.”
“Hell no!”
“Come on! Why not, since you seem to be able to get your juices going wherever.”
“Lady, why don’t we all stop saying juices. It sounds really odd coming from you.”
“You started it.” Had she really just devolved into childish bickering? “Okay, can we at least share the space? Maybe I get the morning til early afternoon and you have the rest of the day?”
“No,” Damond declared resolutely pointing to the cluttered desk. “As you can see, I have tons of notes laid out. I have no intention of packing up my stuff every day to make room for you.”
She still didn’t want to give up. “Well...what if I set up over on the sofa, maybe I can pull in a table-”
“No. First come, first serve. I have the office, deal with it. You have plenty of other options. There’s a really good one if you don’t like these accommodations...leave.”
Janae sniffed, turned on her heel and didn’t feel guilty for slamming the door on the way out. The man was insufferable. She always seemed to lose her footing when it came to him which just aggravated her more. If only he behaved like a civilized man, instead of throwing around masturbating like another person might say “I had eggs this morning”. Maybe she would try one of the upstairs bedrooms for work, anything to stay away from him.
* * *
THAT’S HOW SHE ENDED up co-opting one of the upper bedrooms that had good morning light as her makeshift office. Rotating between it and the living room over the next week. Their different schedules contributed to keeping them out of each other's way. Which was why when she heard him jog upstairs a little after two, then stop outside her door, she became confused.
No knock came but she knew he hadn’t gone to his room either. A full ten seconds later it was starting to freak her out that he was just standing there, when he suddenly knocked hard. Even though she was expecting it, she still jumped. Now she was considering whether to answer or not when he called out.
“Open up, or do I have to do one of your numbers?”
Being petty, Janae still took her time getting up and didn’t answer.
“My bad,” Damond yelled through the door again. “Maybe you finally took my advice and are getting yourself off.”
“What do you want?” Janae flung the door open on a soft growl of irritation.
“Ahh, guess I was wrong, otherwise you’d be in a better mood,” he teased her.
“I’m busy. What can I help you with Mr. Hall?”
“I’m running into town to pick up groceries. Wanted to know if you needed to join me. And you can stop looking at me so suspiciously. I won’t drop you off in the middle of nowhere and leave you...though it is a thought.”
“Can you blame me? The thought of you doing a kind gesture puts me on alert.”
“I don’t know why, you still being here makes me the kindest man you know. I just figured it would make sense to do a supply run together, but it’s up to you.”
Janae thought about it, at least she wouldn’t have to drive, and with being stuck in the cabin for almost two weeks she was itching to do more than just stand outside.
“Okay, I’d like to go. Thank you for thinking about me. When do you want to leave?”
“In fifteen minutes. I came up here to get dressed.” Damond turned away, heading towards his door. “So if you’re coming, meet me by the door. If you’re late I’ll be leaving without you.”
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