that.” She just wasn’t the one I needed to confirm it.
“What are you going to do about Journey?” she asked.
Before I could answer her, the motion light suddenly switched back on. When I heard the deep baritone of Journey’s voice and the soft tinkle of feminine laughter, I froze, my breath lodged in my lungs.
My eyes wide and burning, I watched Journey and Tess walk up the steps. They didn’t see me or Sophia beneath their feet, but I saw them. I saw Journey’s hand on Tess’s back.
Does her skin sizzle like mine did when he touched me? Has he kissed her?
I’d practically thrown them together, encouraged him to go out with her.
A sharp pain like a knife sliced through the center of my chest. Listening to their murmured voices, I stared at them until they turned off onto the landing for his apartment. I heard a door open, his door, then it closed.
Is she going to spend the night with him?
The knife twisted. I rubbed my chest, but it didn’t ease the pain.
“Nothing to be done about Journey,” I said dully.
The pain remained, but the breath that had lodged in my lungs slowly leaked out. And something else came with it, a fragile hope that had budded from a tiny seed, then withered and died.
I wished I weren’t delicate like a plant that could easily be ripped up by the roots or smashed against a wall, but instead a cold marble statue.
That way, I wouldn’t have to feel anything at all.
Storm
I SLEPT LIKE crap. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lotus with Saber.
He was my brother, and I respected him. He seemed like a decent guy, but it just wasn’t right her with him.
At dawn, I gave up chasing sleep. Dropping my boxers on the carpet next to the blanket I’d attempted to sleep on since I had no bed, no furniture at all, I located a pair of clean board shorts in one of my boxes and put them on. Tying the drawstring, I didn’t bother looking for a shirt. Why the fuck would I need a shirt in the water?
Striding down the hall into the main living area, I saw my wet suit hanging over my board where it leaned beside the door. I remembered Tess had almost knocked it over when she’d come inside last night, but I’d caught and righted it. No harm, no foul.
Tess had been through a rough time, especially lately with her ex. We’d talked about it over dinner. We talked about a few other things too. Her hobby was photography, and she was trying to develop it into a business. Wanting to help her, I’d purchased a few photos and some furniture she didn’t need. I knew from my own lonely struggles that dreams took cash to float.
After dinner, Tess had come up and gotten her measurements, giving me a little distraction for the evening. But not near enough of one to keep my mind from wondering what Lotus was doing in her apartment with my brother.
Still wondering if he was with her, I looked up at the ceiling but didn’t hear a thing. All remained quiet on the level above mine. I exited my apartment, zipping my key into my pocket and tucking my surfboard under my arm. Thinking about Lotus, I strode across the landing and then turned to go down the stairs.
And there she was, beneath the stairs with crates, boxes, and bags of potting soil surrounding her. Had my yearning conjured her?
Stopping, I stared at her.
It hit me again how effortlessly pretty she was, like it had many times since I’d encountered this grown-up version of my childhood best friend. She wore no makeup that I could tell, just her sun-bronzed skin and her, more than enough to entrance me.
This morning, her hair was loose under a purple bandanna. She covered her hair like that while working at the Deck Bar. Unlike there, she had earbuds in her ears, a trowel in one hand, and a fledgling plant peeking out of its temporary cardboard planter in her other one.
Oblivious to me or anyone else, she stood in front of a rickety-looking table that had wide spaces between the slats. The wood was covered in potting soil, and she had a black streak of it on her cheekbone.
I cocked my head. Is this where she does her gardening? Underneath the stairs?
Convenient location, but small, though she didn’t seem to mind the cramped quarters. Her expression was