sat up straight, her vision blurring for a moment before it righted itself.
“I didn’t think you were a fan of those,” Chase added.
“I wasn’t. I’m not,” she said, her voice quavering slightly.
“Can I ask how they got you locked out of your apartment?”
“I forgot to take my keys with me when I left for work tonight.”
“Hmm,” Chase said. “Well, that could hardly have been the result of the shots you hadn’t taken yet, but it’s nice to have alcohol as a scapegoat for idiotic behavior, isn’t it?”
“Shut up,” she sighed, leaning back against the door and reaching up to play with the doorknob.
“Doesn’t anyone else have the key to your apartment?”
“My friend Tracey.”
“Well, did you call her?” he asked.
“She’s…occupied,” Andie said with a roll of her eyes, absently twisting the locked doorknob above her.
“Hmm, okay,” Chase said, his voice taking on a throaty caliber that caused a fluttering in Andie’s stomach. “Are there any windows you can climb in?”
“I’m on the second floor, remember? And they’re locked anyway.”
“Of course they are,” he said. “I forgot who I was talking to.”
“Oh, right,” Andie retorted, her hand falling sloppily from the doorknob, “because only anal-retentive people lock their homes when they leave them. Normal people leave their doors and windows wide open. With little neon signs on them that say ‘Drifters and Robbers Welcome.’”
“Drifters?” he asked through a laugh. “Are they an ongoing problem in your complex?”
Andie pressed her lips together, fighting a smile. “I hate you,” she finally managed.
“Why don’t you just break in?”
“Break in?” she echoed incredulously. “What do you think I am?”
“It’s your own house!” he laughed. “Everyone’s done it at least once in their life. Use a credit card.”
“That only works in the movies,” she said, but she rolled awkwardly to the side and pulled herself up on her knees, examining the doorknob. Did she even have a credit card on her? At this point, she’d be willing to try anything. She just wanted her bed. She cocked her head to the side and held the phone with her shoulder, struggling to regain her balance before she started rummaging through her purse again. “Alright, I give,” she sighed. “How do you do this credit card thing?”
“Actually, I have a better idea,” she heard Chase say, although his voice sounded strange, almost like an echo. She went to switch her phone to the other ear, freezing when she saw something in her peripheral vision.
She slowly turned her head to the side, and her heart leapt into her throat.
Chase stood a few feet away, smirking down at her as he took the phone away from his ear and ended the call. “Look at you, you lush. You’re lucky I happened to be on my way past here. It’s a little cold tonight to sleep on your doormat.”
Andie sat frozen, her cell phone still to her ear, staring up at him.
He smiled. “You can hang up now.”
Andie blinked quickly, snapping herself out of it as she yanked the phone away from her ear, pressing four buttons before she hit the right one to end the call. “What are you doing here?” she finally managed, trying to sound composed.
Chase gestured toward her door. “Helping you.”
“No, I mean, what are you doing here?” she asked. “By my apartment?”
“My friend Benny runs a poker game once a month. He lives a few miles from here. I was just on my way home. Lucky for you.” The touch of condescension in his tone reminded Andie of their first encounter in Justin’s basement, and it made her blood race in her veins all over again, only this time for a different reason.
He approached her, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out some metal object that looked like a cross between a long needle and a pair of pliers. He stopped in front of her, and she stared up at him, not knowing what to say next. He quirked his brow, the smile returning.
“Oh! Sorry,” Andie said, scooting awkwardly to the side and giving him access to the door. He laughed, squatting down next to her, running the tip of his finger over the front of the lock and leaning in to examine it.
Andie stared at his profile: the angle of his jaw, the sexy tousle of his hair. Her inhibitions were growing as fuzzy as her vision.
Chase glanced over at her. “So here we are again. You, me, and a locked door,” he said with a smile that caused Andie’s stomach to turn somersaults.
“Do you