Manuela silently closed the door to her room. She could hear her roommate Montez and his girlfriend Bianca laughing in the living room and she didn't want to draw any attention towards her. She locked the door and tiptoed through the apartment. The front door betrayed her with a loud creaking sound when she opened it.

"Manuela?" Montez called.

For a second she thought about just slamming the door behind her and hurrying away while pretending not to have heard him but she knew it wouldn't fly over well.

"I was just leaving!" She called back.

He showed up in the open door and cracked a devious smile at her. She had nothing good to say about this man. It had all been a lie when she signed the lease to a clean apartment a year ago. Montez had made it seem like he and the other two roommates were great people and that everyone did their share to maintain the place and do the chores. He had also made it sound like at least one of the other two roommates was a woman which was what had made her sign the lease. It turned out she was living with three men. Montez and his two best buddies Angelo and Bobby. All three of them treated her like their personal maid. If she didn't clean around the apartment, it simply didn't get done.

"I need you to sign a new lease," he said.

Her lease was up in three weeks. She had been doing her hardest to avoid the subject while trying to figure out what to do. She didn't want to live another year with these men.

"Right," she put on a fake smile. "I'm late for a meeting but let's talk about it when I get back."
"Got it, girl," he grinned. "You look amazing in light blue, by the way. If I was single..."

He left the sentence hanging open while wiggling his eyebrows. She turned around so he didn't see the look of disgust that came over her face. She closed the door and walked away. She didn't have a meeting but she was seeing her boyfriend Finn. He had only been to the apartment once around half a year ago. The way her roommates had mocked him for days afterwards made her never bring him back. She went to his house instead. They all thought she had broken up with Finn, and she did nothing to correct that idea. She didn't want them to know what she did in her personal life.

Finn smiled at the black and fiery red messy bun he could see from afar. His girlfriend had natural black hair but recently she had bleached the half underneath and dyed it fiery red. She looked amazing with that color combination. She wore a light blue maxi dress with thin straps. For some reason he loved seeing her shoulders bare. He loved playfully sinking his teeth into her shoulders and hearing her moan in return.

"Hi, love," he said.

He leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head before moving around to sit across from her. Her chestnut brown eyes looked sad. He was getting used to seeing that look more often and he didn't like it one bit. He knew of her shitty living situation but she always tried to be brave and told him she could handle it.

"Is Montez acting up again?" He asked.
"Yeah," she sighed. "He's the worst. The other two follow his lead and he doesn't have a single fuck to give."
"You can't keep living there," he said.
"I know," she said.

The waitress came over and asked for their order. They quickly placed their lunch order and she went away again. Finn reached over and took Manuela's hand.

"I love you," he said.
"I love you too," she said. "And I've found a new place to live."
"You have?" He asked.
"I haven't signed yet. It's basically the same situation but at least this time I know from the start I'll be living with three women. A set of twins and their childhood best friend," she said.
"And what will happen if you have a disagreement when those three have known each other all their lives?" He asked.
"I guess I'll have to bend a little," she said.
"Again," he said. "You always fucking bend, Manuela. It's not okay. Your opinions and feelings matter too."

She nodded since she couldn't find any words to say. She didn't like making her problems his problems too. She was an adult and should be able to handle her own business.

"Move in with me," he said.
"What?" She asked.
"Move in with me," he repeated.
"Just like that?" She asked.
"I don't see why not," he smiled. "We've been together for eight months. I'd like to think this is the direction our relationship is heading unless you're planning on breaking up with me soon."
"No," she quickly said.
"I didn't think so," he chuckled. "I love you and you love me. So let's just fucking do it. Why wait another year?"

The waitress came back and placed their plates down in front of them. It gave Manuela a moment to think about the offer.

"I don't know, Finn," she said.
"It's completely up to you but the offer stays on the table," he said.
"I just need to think about it," she said.
"Of course," he said. "Take all the time you need."
"Which is only a few days since I promised to come back and sign with the twins plus one Saturday, and I told Montez we can talk about me resigning when I come home later," she said.
"Good thing you're spending the night with me then," he grinned. "You're good at dodging them but time is running out. I won't be mad if you sign with those three women. Maybe they're lovely ladies and things will run smoothly. I hope so if that's your choice. I'm not leaving you no matter what you choose."

He gave her a reassuring smile that made her feel calm.

"Thank you," she said.
"You're welcome," he said. "Let's eat lunch and then go back to my place and run a bath. You deserve to relax today."