Impulsive (Reach out to Me) by Christine McGreggor

least three months.”
     
                  She groaned and dropped her head to her crossed arms on his kitchen table.
     
                  “It’s not that bad,” he said sympathetically. “You’ll have your new apartment to console you. If you can reign in your clothes shopping you can fix the transmission, as well.”
     
                  “Really?” Her head suddenly popped up and a cheerful smile spread across her face. “Are you sure?”
     
                  He pretended to be offended. “Am I sure? Of course I’m sure! This is my job you know.”
     
                  “I’m sorry I doubted you,” she said seriously, even though her eyes were shining with a smile she didn’t let show on her lips. “This is really good news, Thomas. Thank you for helping me with this.”
     
                  “Anything for you,” he said honestly. “Now, let’s look at the numbers on these apartments.”
     
                  They bent their heads over the listings and compared pros and cons.
     
                  “I think this one is going to be the best fit,” Thomas said after several debates as he told her she couldn’t afford both food and a river view and that the penthouse, while stylish, would put her back to eating off of milk crates.
     
                  “Are you sure?” she said dubiously. “I only put it in the stack because it was such a good price.”
     
                  He tapped the end of her nose when she wrinkled it and said, “Yes, but I think you’re getting caught up in what it looks like right now. Imagine it without the starving college student furniture. Look at all the space that a loft apartment offers. Look at the kitchen cabinets. Look at the light.”
     
                  Kara squinted at the picture and let Thomas’s words wash over her. The sofa with its stuffing falling out in places melted away, as did the pile of dishes in the sink. She focused on the beautiful dark hardwood and the exposed brick on the lower level. The upper level had a charming slanted ceiling and a place that she instinctively knew would be perfect for her bed. There was a small window where the head of the bed would be and she could wake up with some beautiful sunlight streaking over the white bedding she could get to balance out the brick.
     
                  She wondered if her mother still had her old bed. She had some living room furniture in storage and it shouldn’t be too hard to find a kitchen table and chairs at a secondhand store. She chewed her lip as she thought more deeply about it.
     
                  “It looks like you might agree with me,” Thomas teased when she put her chin into her hand and started doodling decorating ideas.
     
                  “Yes, you win,” Kara admitted. “I missed the potential.”
     
                  Thomas shrugged. “It happens to the best of us,” he said with a teasing smile.
     
                  She, as always, melted at the sight of his dimple.
     
                  “Just so you know, I don’t always miss the potential in things,” she pointed out as she leaned over the table and pressed her lips to his.
     
                  “That’s a very good point,” he acknowledged. “Want to stay here tonight?”
     
                  Kara was surprised and very pleased that he had asked so spontaneously, but she regretfully shook her head.
     
                  “No, I think I’d better stay home tonight. I’ve got to talk with Michelle.”
     
                  “Oh that’s right,” he said. “You haven’t told her yet. How do you think it will go?”
     
                  “I’m sure she’ll try to talk me out of it,” Kara said. “At least she will a little bit, because she’ll be afraid that