"I'd love to."

Who knows? Maybe she's from a part of the country where asking someone to help you move in is a euphemism for fucking like rabbits. "I'd love to," I say.

"Thank you so much. I really appreciate it."

I drop my cart off right next to my car, and follow her to her U-Haul truck. We manage to fit the rest of her stuff (none of which was particularly heavy, I later realized) onto a single cart, and then headed back into the elevator and up to Madison 5.

We made a little bit of small talk along the way; she told me she was from Vancouver and her family couldn't afford to all come out, so she just made the trip herself. Two fifteen-hour days of driving and she was finally here. I could tell she was glad to not be on the road anymore. Her trip from Vancouver put my drive from La Crosse to shame.

She stopped right outside 512 and knocked on the door a couple times. "My roommate Sophie's moved in, but I think she's still out getting groceries. And it never hurts to knock."

I think back to my first encounter with Finn and decide that sometimes, just walking in is fine, too.

There's no response from her knocks, so she opens the door to 512 and I follow her in with the cart. Without a doubt, she filled that U-Haul to the brim. I can barely fit the cart into the doorway without running into cardboard boxes. With care, I help her unload the cart onto the floor, making sure there's still an easy way to walk from the door into the room. Before long, the cart's empty and she's wiping the sweat off her forehead.

"It is too damn hot in here," Maddie says. Before I know it, she's unbuttoning her top, a plain blue blouse with a white halter top underneath. Her stomach is gorgeously toned, and her red hair falls elegantly as she takes off the blouse and throws it in a pile of clothes.

I take a moment to take her in. "So I can't help but notice that there's not a whole lot of heavy lifting to do here."

"Oh yeah, I guess you're right," she says, opening one of the cardboard boxes. "I guess you can probably get back to your own move-in. Unless... you'd like to stay..." Maddie trails off, and her hazel eyes look into mine.