Someone I Used to Know - By Blakney Francis Page 0,59

part of me; it was a matter of circumstance. I hadn’t realized how unfeeling I was, until she’d reminded me of what it was like to really feel something at all.

Existing wasn’t the same thing as living. My indifference was simply a symptom of existing.

I didn’t know I’d fallen asleep until I woke up, blinking rapidly to fight off the blunt sun stabbing through the open curtains I hadn’t remembered to close the night before. It wasn’t the light that woke me though. My sleeping partner was jostling the bed in her less than stealthy attempt to not disturb me.

“Isn’t the point of a no-strings-attached relationship so you don’t have to sneak out in the morning?” My voice carried a hoarse edge that I tried to clear away with a cough.

She looked back at me over her bare shoulder, still topless, but her jeans were back in place. I wanted to touch her.

“I’m not sneaking; it’s early, it’s Saturday. I was being polite.” She was unconcerned with my accusation, leveling her easy gaze on me.

“Polite? Never heard of it.”

I watched her laugh, enjoying the throaty sound. She was truly beautiful when she relaxed. Rolling onto my side, I examined as much skin as I could before she covered it with the same shirt I’d lent her before. There was a comfortableness between us that hadn’t been there before. It was nice.

“Where are you sneaking off to anyways? Usually girls are a little more reluctant to leave my bed.”

She gave me a look that told me it was nonnegotiable.

“Not that I care.” I quickly backtracked. It wasn’t like I wanted her to stay. “As long as you make it back in time for our plans tonight.”

“Plans?” The words held startled disbelief. “Don’t you understand what a no-strings-attached agreement is? We’re not dating. We have sex, that’s it. No cuddling, no hanging out, and there certainly aren’t dates on Saturday nights.”

I stared at her blankly, feeling more offended than I should have at her assumption. “It’s a good thing I’m not taking you on a date then. Did you or did you not agree to help me interview people to take on as an assistant?”

“Oh.” Her cheeks were enflamed. “I forgot. Yeah, I’ll be back then.”

She darted away without apologizing, and I listened to her hurried footsteps echo down the stairs and out of the house.

It was much earlier than I typically got up during the weekend, and after a shortened work-out in the home gym and a swim in the pool, my entire Saturday routine was finished. I took the time to go through the small stack of applicant resumes that had been sent over by the agency I’d contacted to find a personal assistant, but it was dreadfully dull, leaving me with little hope I’d actually find someone capable of helping me out.

Adley was right though. I needed some help, no matter how I felt about the idea of an entourage. If things kept slipping through the cracks like they had been, I was going to end up missing something too important to apologize for. I’d come to accept that it was a necessary evil.

The sun crept across the sky, teasing me with its slow descent into late afternoon. I was bored. Or at least that’s what I continued to assure myself. Watching the clock tick away had nothing to do with Adley.

She was supposed to be back by 5:00. The first applicant beat her there at 5:45.

I opened the door to the immaculately dressed man, searching over his shoulder for her late arrival. The only thing behind the twenty-something bloke was a clean white car of some American design. I sighed. I shouldn’t have been surprised she was ditching me. It was a very Adley thing to do.

“It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Mr. Davies.” A manicured hand stretched enthusiastically across the threshold.

I shook it, inviting him in while assessing him with a quick eye check. His light brown hair was carefully parted to one side, framing his boyish face, and I had to admit, he was dressed smashingly (though his pants were a little on the tight side).

We settled in the living room, bypassing the more formal setting of the dining room. If I was going to be spending copious amounts of time with a person, then I wanted to know I could be comfortable around them.

“Wow, your house is super chic…and clean. Who would have thought?” He sat opposite of me, on a chair I hadn’t