Eventually Annie decided to buy the painting from the art gallery. It arrived almost two weeks later via courier. The amount of fuss Giselle's lover had made about this painting was hard to understand. Laury had just shrugged and smiled awkwardly, too. Yet once it was set up, the living room looked different. The former vibe of old vases and lingering incense got pushed into the background. Suddenly the room emanated an abstract warmth. Usually paintings are an immediate eye catcher, but this one only presented itself properly once seated on the sofa and taking in the whole room. It was wonderful, Giselle had to admit that much.
During those two weeks of waiting, the brunette had all but moved in with Annie. They ate together, did laundry together, cleaned the space together and spent their evenings and nights together. More often than not, they had an adventure in the evening. An erotic one. Giselle couldn't remember anyone who had learned so much about her body in such a short time. Annie was a great lover. Skilled and patient. And definitely not shy.
As both women sat on the sofa in their nightgowns and looked appraisingly at the painting on the wall, Annie leaned her head against Giselle's shoulder and twirled her glass of wine between her thumb and index finger. The brunette watched and stroked her fingertips through the blonde hair. "I met Ian at the bank today. We wanted to register me as the sole debtor of the apartment. The bank didn't agree to it.", she sighed and felt her eyes tear up. Both arms hugged around her lover and she squeezed tight.
"What are they suggesting? That Ian and you both keep the debt?", Annie raised her eyebrows and glanced into a grimace. "Oh come here, sweetie!", she said, put the glass aside and pulled the brunette into a tight hug. "It's okay, we'll figure it out, okay?". Giselle's sobbing grew louder. Before she realised it, she was crying a waterfall. One that didn't seem to stop. She had kept in all that was bothering her since the meeting with Ian, bottling it up somewhere deep inside. Now the box had opened and wouldn't close any time soon. "I… I… Ian doesn't want to. So the bank… the bank wants us to sell.", Giselle explained quietly, but went back to sobbing deeply.
The blonde woman whispered softly, "That wouldn't be the end of the world. You'd have money to pay rent, or you could move in with me?". The sobbing stopped and Giselle shifted to glare into the other woman's eyes. No hint of mockery, it was an honest proposal. It wasn't something Giselle had considered as she liked the apartment. Selling it wasn't exactly on her agenda. Maybe it should be on her agenda. "I don't know, Annie. You'd just have me here, because I need it. You wouldn't have offered this early in a relationship.", she stated bluntly and the blonde nodded, lips pressed together into a thin line, "You're right, we don't know each other long enough, but life sometimes throws you a curve ball".
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Giselle didn't even know what that meant. Life throwing a curve ball. Was that a soccer term? She didn't like it. Being vulnerable and at someone's mercy. The suggestion about selling the apartment did have some merit however. The price should have gone up and Ian did leave it to her. She'd be able to afford a nice, small place, just like Laury. This prospect tickled a smile from her lips and Annie kissed her smile. Then she kissed the tears away, finally brushing the back of her hand across the cheek, "See? It ain't all bad, right?". Giselle nodded slowly and snuggled into her girlfriend's shoulder. Shortly after, they distracted themselves with a TV show and a message was sent to Ian.
Giselle: "Hey Ian. I decided that we can sell the place. Since you left it to me anyway, I can use the money to afford a move. I'll talk to a real estate agent tomorrow"
The response came in two episodes later.
Ian: "Don't forget that we need to get more than what we paid plus the interest of the loan."
Helpful, but not very kind, Giselle deduced. He was right though and showed the text to her lover. "He is right, but I don't think that'll be an issue, considering how real estate has sky rocketed lately", she commented leisurely and returned her attention to the show.
The very next afternoon, after work, a busy business lady in high heels, business dress and a very expensive camera arrived on Giselle's doorstep. "Hi, I'm Carry. We spoke on the phone?", the woman said with a very distinct southern accent. "Hi Carry, I'm Giselle, we spoke earlier, yes", Giselle confirmed and shook the woman's hand. Carry had brought a series of papers to detail the features of the place, the blueprint Giselle would send via e-mail at a later time, then pictures were taken and loan contracts reviewed. "Well, Giselle, I think we can make Ian and you very rich with this place. I believe that we'll find someone that'll pay a lot more than what you originally put down", the smile of the business woman betrayed the real interest she had in this project. The agency would take 1.5% of however much they would be able to sell the apartment. And that turned out to be a hefty sum. Giselle felt quite jealous as she walked over to Annie's apartment and prepared a salad for dinner. This much money just for selling a single apartment? Her clerk job sucked in comparison. Her mind circled around the prospects until Annie arrived from work.