Apartment 2B (10 page)

“Sid, scoot to the end of the couch and hang your feet off the arm. I have an idea.”
The look of excitement on his face makes me want to do whatever he asks.

I move down to the end and do as he says, resting my head on the middle cushion.

When he begins to comb through my hair that’s splayed out over the sofa, I nearly
moan. With each tug, I slip deeper into a momentary dive into a human physical connection.
His breathing gets heavier with each whimper that comes from my mouth. We must do
this for minutes or hours. I’m not sure because I lose all sense of time. Goose bumps
scatter across my flesh from the lovely sensation.

We’re lost in watching the movie and touching the only way we know how when suddenly
Liam jumps from the couch.

“I need to go,” he spits through gritted teeth, stalking out the front door. The slamming
door snaps me out of the shock of what just happened. What did just happen?

Sighing, I turn the television off and head for a shower before bed.

He never came back to see me last night or even this morning before work. Liam’s moods
are so hot and cold. It confuses me tremendously.

“Good morning, Leta,” I chirp loudly as I walk through her front door. She’s sitting
in her recliner with a blanket across her lap.

“Do I know you, love?” she asks, confused. We go through this every time I come to
see her.

“Yes, Leta. I’m Sidney. Remember, I stay with you during the day and clean up?”

She frowns as she determines whether or not it’s true. Finally, she gives up and smiles
sweetly at me.

“Okay, honey. Just make yourself at home. Would you like for me to make you some breakfast?”
she asks.

I shake my head insistently because she is in no way supposed to be cooking. But because
of her slipping memory, she doesn’t know that.

“No. Why don’t you just sit? I’ll fix us up something.”

I hurry into the kitchen and take out some ingredients to make omelets. After I cook
them and pour some orange juice, I set everything on two trays. I carry out the first
one to Leta and help her get it situated in her lap.

“Thank you, honey,” she says before sipping on her orange juice.

I just smile at her and go to get my own food.

After I settle on the couch, I absently watch the television with her, but my mind
instantly drifts to Liam. I’m not really sure what made him get so angry last night.
Maybe because he couldn’t touch me? Can I even expect him to be patient with me?

A knock on the door snaps me from my thoughts, so I set down the tray on the coffee
table and make my way over to answer it. When I open it, I gasp in surprise to see
Liam standing there. A grin spreads across his face when he sees me, and I can’t help
but mirror it. I missed him.

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you. Can I come in?”

“Um, well, I’m trying to work,” I begin, but I am interrupted from Leta hollering
at me.

“Who’s at the door, Sarah?” she asks, clearly already forgetting my name.

I pull the door open and motion at Liam. “Leta, this is my friend, Liam. He lives
above you.”

She scrunches her eyebrows together for a moment but then smiles and winks at me.

“Hi, Leonard from upstairs,” she says almost in a mocking tone. This old lady keeps
me on my toes. She turns back to her television program and ignores us.

I gesture for him to come sit down on the couch. “Want an omelet? I can make you one,”
I tell him.

“Nah. I’m not hungry.”

We sit quietly for a moment before he speaks again, whispering so Leta won’t hear.
Little does he know, she won’t be able to hear anything below a shout.

“Sid, I’m sorry I jumped up and left. I have a temper. Sometimes, I get lost in my
head and I flip out. I’m sorry that I keep doing that to you. You always seem to accept
my apologies and I am thankful for that.”

I smile at him because I do accept his apology. If anyone understands issues, it’s
me.

“Okay, Liam. Don’t you need to get to work?” I ask.

Reluctantly, he slides off the couch and heads toward the door. I open it for him,
but before I close it, he speaks to me.

“What time will you be off? I’ll meet you here then.”

“Five. See you soon, Liam.”

And as he saunters off toward the stairwell, I enjoy the nice little view of the way
his low-riding jeans hug his perfect ass. I go back inside and shut the door behind
me. Leta glances over at me, an odd look on her face. Surely she won’t get mad that
I had a visitor. I’m still so clueless about social etiquette and life rules.

“I’m going to clean out the pantry and refrigerator today. Holler if you need me.”

She smiles as I take our trays back into the kitchen. I’m so thankful that I found
this job. Who knows what I would be doing if this perfect opportunity hadn’t have
been awarded to me. I shudder at the thought of not having this apartment or Liam.
Forcing the what-ifs from my brain, I pour my energy into going through food in the
pantry that’s been collecting for the last decade.

It’s been two full weeks since Liam and I first met. And even though we still haven’t
touched, we’re probably closer than most couples—even though we haven’t defined our
relationship. We spend every waking minute together when I’m not working. Every week
day, he walks me to and from work. Saturdays, he hangs out with me while I do laundry.
And nights and weekends, we watch movies that Tina hooks me up with. I’ve fallen very
comfortable in my new life. Thankfully I haven’t run into the creeper from the basement
again.

At every opportunity, Liam strokes my hair. Most people might hold hands, but not
us. He pets my hair like I’m a kitten, and I love every second of it. We’ve had a
few near-kiss moments, and I’ve nearly convinced myself to go for it. Almost.

I’m putting some dishes in the dishwasher when Liam walks into the kitchen. He just
lets himself in whenever he wants. I never complain. In fact, I love when he surprises
me like this.

I’ve chosen a low cut dress that hugs my figure. Since we’ve spent so much time together,
I find myself wanting to look pretty for him. His eyes graze over the swell of my
breasts appreciatively, and I shiver with happiness.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he asks.

“I was just thinking that you always let yourself in whenever you want,” I tease at
him.

He chuckles and comes up behind me. There doesn’t have to be touching for me to feel
the energy that sparks between us when we are near one another. With him just inches
behind me, inhaling the scent of my shampoo, the air crackles with the electric charge.

“You like it,” he growls, breathing into my hair.

My pelvis aches for him right now. There have been two other repeats of that night
he caught me pleasuring myself. I love it when he helps by blowing on my body. Something
about the way he does that sends me into the pleasure zone. We have the most unusual
relationship, but it works for us.

“I do like it. I’d be so lonely without you,” I confide suddenly and turn around to
face him. I expect him to smile and agree, but he looks troubled.

His eyebrows pinch together and he runs a hand through his messy hair. “I am nothing
without you, but you, Sid? You need people besides me.”

His words are dark and foreboding. I hate the tone.

Whispering because I don’t trust my voice to speak any louder, I say, “What does that
mean?”

Again, he runs both hands this time through his hair as he internally struggles with
something that I’m not privy to. I’m not privy to anything about him, and it sucks.

“Because I won’t be around forever,” he says simply and stalks into the living room
to the recliner.

Tears fill my eyes because I can’t imagine him being anywhere else. I need him. That
unhealthy desire to latch on to someone rears its ugly head. There’s no way I can
manage without him bounding into my apartment unannounced every day.

Since Tina got me hooked on wine and keeps me properly stocked now, I pop the cork
off a new bottle and pour myself a glass. Greedily, I gulp it down almost as I used
to do with the air from my window after a run up the disgusting stairwell. Now that
Liam hangs out with me so consistently, I find that I need the therapeutic showers
and window breaks less often. In fact, there are days that I don’t need either one.
Of course I take a normal shower every day—though even they remain colder than ones
normal people would have.

Lost in my thoughts, I suck down the entire glass of wine. I pour another one and
hastily drink it down as well as I try to calm my nerves. The nerves from Liam’s words.
What does he mean he won’t be around forever? Finally, I decide to join him in the
living room. I sit on the end of the couch, curling my feet underneath me.

He stands up from the recliner when he sees me, and I fear that he’s going to leave.
So many times, he’s just up and left when conversations got difficult. It is the most
infuriating thing about him. Instead, he sits down on the opposite end of the sofa.
He motions for me to come to him, and I know what he means. Pushing my legs up over
the arm of the couch, I lie across the cushions so he can play with my hair. It’s
one of our only ways we can connect physically.

The strokes are gentle and therapeutic for both of us. I can feel the tension dissipating
as the muscles in my body relax.

“I’m sorry,” he says softly. His words are so sad that tears once again spring in
my eyes.

“For what?” I ask.

Silence is my answer, and the tears fall down either side of my face. I feel a separation
forming between us, and it makes me sick to my stomach. Pulling away from him, I sit
up and chug my wine.

“Maybe you should slow down,” he chides.

Ignoring him, I drain it completely and stomp into the kitchen to get more. I’ve already
poured another glass and am drinking it when I see him glowering at me from the entrance
to the kitchen, his arms folded.

“What?” I demand tearfully.

“You’re acting reckless, Sid. You’ve already downed half that bottle. I heard the
cork pop not even ten minutes ago. At this rate, you’ll be shitfaced. I’m saying you
need to slow down.”

I roll my eyes, and in an act of blatant defiance, I tip my head back and finish off
the glass. I’m definitely feeling tingly all over and a little flushed.

“Sid,” he growls in warning, but I ignore him as I pour some more, this time filling
the glass to the brim.

I wink at him as I drink it down.

“Sid! Put the glass down and cut the shit,” he demands angrily. His tone infuriates
me.

“Or what, Liam? Newsflash, you aren’t my father. Well, who the hell knows? Maybe you
could be. I don’t know where he is or anything about him anymore. Just like you. I
know nothing about you. You’re a damn enigma. How is it fair that you won’t tell me
anything? I’ve told you so much. My patience in this relationship, or whatever the
fuck this is, is wearing thin!”

My chest heaves as I say my piece. Dizziness sweeps over me, but I grab the counter
so it won’t affect me.

“I can’t. I’ve told you before that I can’t. Fuck it. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he huffs
out and storms out of the apartment.

This time though, I’ve had enough. Setting my glass down, I hightail it after him.
Running on wobbly legs, I race out my door and down the hall towards his. It’s about
to slam in my face, but I put my foot in the doorway, stopping it, and push through
until I’ve forced myself into his apartment. What I see horrifies me.

Liam turns around to face me, and he looks devastated. I look past him as I take in
all of the moving boxes all over the living room. Things are halfway packed up, it
would appear. My heart shatters into a million pieces.

“You’re moving?” I stammer as tears trickle down my cheeks.

He shamefully rubs his face but doesn’t respond. Suddenly, my throat is extremely
dry and I need water. I stumble to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. When I
open it and find it empty, I’m furious.