woman doesn’t even bat an eyelash.
“I see her car out in the parking lot, so I’d say yes. She avoids people knocking on her door as much as possible.” The woman lowers her voice. “She’s a very private person.”
I glance toward the parking lot and spot Kelsey’s car sitting under the carport. Huh. So why won’t she answer the door?
“Did you tell her you were coming over?” the woman asks when I still haven’t said anything.
“No. I was hoping it would be a surprise.” I flash her a weak smile and offer up a little shrug.
“Ah.” The woman shakes her head, making a tsking noise. “You should probably pull your fancy phone out of your pocket and send her a message. Let her know you’re here. Maybe she’s taking a shower.”
“Maybe she is,” I say as I do exactly as the woman suggests and pull out my phone from the back pocket of my jeans. I send Kelsey a quick text.
I’m at your front door. I need to see you.
Then I wait.
“She answer you yet?” the woman asks.
This woman is giving me a complex with her questions.
“No.” I stare at the screen, willing it to receive a reply from Kelsey. “But like you said, maybe she’s in the shower.”
I hear a lock being undone, and I turn back toward Kelsey’s apartment just in time to see her door swing open, and she’s standing in the doorway. She’s wearing a pair of black cotton shorts and a cropped white T-shirt, and her hair is damp, as if she did just recently take a shower. Her face is scrubbed clean of makeup, and her cheeks are rosy. Her eyes are a little puffy, like maybe she’s been crying, and I don’t doubt that.
It makes me feel like shit, knowing I’m the reason she shed tears.
“What are you doing here?” she asks me, her gaze going to the older woman standing just behind me. Kelsey smiles gently. “Are you flirting with my boyfriend, Mrs. Fillmore?”
I like that Kelsey still calls me her boyfriend.
“Perhaps,” Mrs. Fillmore says, a lilt in her voice. “He’s a fine-looking man, Miss K. You better hold onto him tight, or I might snag him up!”
The woman cackles and slowly closes the door, turning the lock with a loud snap.
“You want to come inside?” Kelsey asks, sounding worried.
“Yeah, sure.”
I follow her into the apartment, the scent of her fragrance trailing after her and slowly driving me out of my mind. I can’t just jump on her, though. I need to talk to her first. We need to work things out, I need to tell her I’m sorry, figure out where we’re at, and then maybe…
I can jump her.
“I didn’t know you were coming or I would’ve cleaned up.” She waves a hand around the dark apartment. The furniture is old and a little shabby. The carpet is shit brown and the windows are small. It’s kind of awful. “Not that cleaning up would improve this place.”
“I don’t care if you cleaned up or not, Kels. I just wanted to see you.” I go to her, taking her hands in mine. They’re ice cold and I cover them completely with my own, wanting to warm her up. I decide to cut to the chase. “I’m an asshole.”
“No, you’re really not.” She shakes her head, the faintest smile curling her beautiful mouth. “You’re the farthest thing from an asshole, Theo. You are literally the nicest guy I know, and to be honest, I always believed I had a thing for bad boys. I figured nice guys were boring, and that’s why I never bothered. Until you. You’re not boring. Not at all. You’re sweet and kind and smart. You make me laugh. You make me smile, even when I’m just thinking about you. You also give me multiple orgasms in one go, and if that doesn’t mean you’re a keeper, then I don’t know what else does.”
Even though I feel like my very future is on the line right now, I can’t help but laugh. “You’ll keep me because I give you multiple orgasms?”
“It’s one of the many reasons I want to keep you as my own,” she says, that little smile still on her face, though her eyes are sad. “I just hope you want to be with me after I kept such a big secret from you.”
“I overreacted,” I tell her, bringing our linked hands up and dropping a quick kiss on her knuckles. “After everything that happened with Jessica,