Common Sense Doesn't Become Me (16 page)

Just then a knock at my door, startled me. I
wondered who it could be. I went over, peeked through the peephole,
and jumped back, causing my towel to fall down. I wasn't only naked
in the physical sense, but I felt naked in the mental sense. Behind
my door was the one man who had made me think everything would be
all right, and then he dumped me.

"Just a minute." I hollered out. I ran into
my room and threw on a pair of jeans commando, a black bra and
black tee shirt. I ran a comb through my hair and took two seconds
to put on mascara and raspberry colored lip-gloss. When I ran back
towards the apartment door, I didn't have to open it. He used his
superintendent key to open it himself. He was leaning against my
closed door with a sexy smile and sneaky look to his eyes.

"I guess I should have used the deadbolt." I
joked, partially happy he was there. Actually ecstatic, but then
the memory of the naked blonde woman in his place flooded back to
me like a bad dream.

"I can get it open with that on." He took a
step forward with the same look I felt until my memory came back.
He had intentions, and they were sultry.

"I see. So how's blondie?" My tone could not
have been any more snide or cold. I felt as if my bad girl side was
pulling on one end of my rope screaming who cares about the naked
blonde, while my sensible mature side was pulling harder, stronger,
screaming at me 'you do you idiot; he cheated on you'. My internal
mental contest was as confused as his face looked right now.

"Who?" His confused look did not stop him
from taking another step closer.

I put my hand on my hip and cocked it
sideways hard, tossed my head back and glared while I spoke out.
"Unless that was a chicken you were choking with your tongue Monday
morning, I'd say you decided to get a bit SERIOUS with some ditzy
looking blonde. In your ROOM! Where I can SEE!" My voice shouted a
few words, and my heart was pounding like a jackhammer, while my
hands ached to touch him just one more time.

I watched an even more confused look cross
his face while he seemed to be thinking hard, and then he shook his
head sideways back and forth, and laughed lightly. "Oh that! That
is a complete misunderstanding. You might actually find it funny."
Then he went quiet while smiling at me like he always did right
before he did things to me that made me very happy.

"I would, would I?" I could not hold back. I
never had that type of controlled restraint. I walked right past
him, opened my door, and turned to push him hard out of my
apartment. He faltered back as he was taken by surprise. He looked
hurt and confused as I slammed the door and locked it with the
safety chain. The whole moment was surreal yet felt justified.

Just then, I heard a click and the door
opened a tad. "Amber. I came to talk to you. Your aunt ran into me
unjamming the trash shoot. Listen. I know you wanted to slow things
down, not stop all together. Why haven't you bothered to call or
text me back? What's with the dark curtain?"

I took a step back as he opened the door with
some tool that removed the safety chain, and I got full view of his
sexy body. The man looked hot in brown and khaki with his sincere
look and sexy smile spreading across this face. I crossed my arms
in front of my body, causing my boobs to crest out of my shirt. I
watched his eyes dart there and light up for a second, so I let my
arms down and puffed out a huge breath of air. "What gives Mason? I
saw you put your tongue down that woman's throat. I saw your arms
go up and yes; I saw her naked body in full view facing me as she
went in for a kiss. After that, I could not watch anymore. I guess
you're just the type of guy who likes to have his dating choices in
multiple colors." I was referring to hair, but his questionable
look grew with confusion.

"I don't know what you saw." He took a step
inside my apartment and closed the door. "However, I can guarantee
that I did not sleep with the woman you are talking about. Sarah,
by the way, is her name. 6D. Three floors up from me in my
building..."

I did not let him finish. "I don't give a
crap what her name is or where she lives. You have the gull to drop
me here all frustrated after your family event, then not contact me
until it is late in the evening. Get out of my apartment. While you
are at it. Stay out of my life."

This is where my no good bad common sense
anger kicks in. I don't know if there is a man alive that can deal
with my temper. At times, I was sure I inherited it from my aunt.
The very reason she is on the hunt for number four man to marry.
It's the anger I show to those closest to me, except for my dad and
Marion, that gets them all worked up and ready for a fight.

"Amber?" His voice was soft but his jaw was
tense, his eyes glaring, and he had the look of a man who wanted to
yell right back at me. Then he said it, but it did not sink in.
"Look. You got it all wrong. Sarah came onto me before I had a
chance... Listen. It's not what you think. Things have gotten a
little crazy in my life, and I just needed to think some things
through."

"Well think it through while the door is
hitting you on the ass." I shouted out and pointed to the door with
major emphasis on the direction of where my finger was
pointing.

"Amber!" This time his voice was soft yet it
had an edge to it. "Listen. You're acting all crazy about this.
Give me a break."

"What? A break? So you can what? Invite 6D in
for a little tongue twister? And you can take that word crazy and
shove it where the sun doesn't shine." I turned away just a bit,
but kept him in my peripheral line of sight, and crossed my arms.
At this point, if my boobs crested my top to give him a valley of
appeal, well so be it.

He started off with a soft response. "There
is a logical explanation for 6D if you would just calm down and let
me explain. It is not what it seems. She came on to me."

"Nice!" I glared. Then how did she get in
your apartment and naked. I thought it but did not say it. What I
did say came out nasty and cold. "I don't need your lame-ass
excuses for having sex with other women. It's not like you're the
first man to do this. I thought you were different and..." I didn't
get to finish. His cold tone and held temper voice that had his jaw
tense and his eyes glaring came through quite clear on how he
felt.

"Are you always this short tempered with
everyone in your life?" He said it with the same tone I have heard
myself use a time or two on people I have run out of patience with.
I knew he was referring to the fact that I jumped in and defended
him, briskly with a curt tone at his parents' house. Now that I had
time to replay my tone of voice to his father and family, not to
mention the few nasty words I said in the car ride home that
Sunday, I had not exactly come across as a southern belle, more
like a bull in a china shop puffing out steam.

Either way, that did not change the fact of
how confused I feel at the moment. I was not about to accept the
'story' he was giving me about naked 6D. He could go find himself
another woman that was a bit more reserved than me. I don't need
some Johnny come lately fly by night sexy as hell man who's good
with his hands and has a brain on him that will make him the
president of his father's corporation one day. I don't need a man
like him if he thinks I'm crazy enough to share him with 6D.

Something in me steeled hard, with all the
anger of things gone wrong in my life, my mother's constant
disapproval and nagging, and the need to just feel as if I fit in
with his family when I really should not have met them that early
on in our dating. As I felt the anger rise within me, I directed it
at Mason, even though it was the last thing I really wanted to do.
"I think I need more than just a short break from you Mason. I need
a permanent one."

He glared at me with hurt, then his whole
face went cold; he looked distant and aloof. "Nice. Have it your
way." He took a deep breath and then let me in on what happened
with 6D. "Just so you know; I was taking a shower when Sarah broke
into my place and surprised me naked. If you watched a moment
longer, you would have seen me push her off me, then insist she
leave my apartment. However, something tells me you don't want to
hear the truth; you just want to jump to conclusions. And that goes
for my family. They are truly sorry by the way." He turned and
walked right out of my apartment without even closing the door
behind him. At least four neighbors were in the hall standing just
outside my door staring the direction from which I stood and Mason
just left.

He was already down a flight of stairs before
Ms. Handly, the old lady who lives two apartments away from me shot
off a smart-aleck remark. "Even with my hearing aid turned down, I
can hear you all the way down the hall. Keep it up princess and I
might start selling tickets to the show."

I heard some mumble from Mr. Miller from the
other direction down the hall, as he spoke loud enough so Ms.
Handly could hear over her turned down hearing aid. "That girl has
some growing up to do. Might do her some good to get married and
pregnant."

Nice. That comment stung. With Marion and
Carl pregnant, and the front-runner for a potential mate just
storming away, I was now thirty and nowhere closer to where I
wanted to be in life at twenty-nine. I seem to have followed in my
aunt's footsteps of crazy chaos and party poopers instead of
getting my act together.

I stared at my neighbors, and then decided I
had enough. I slammed my apartment door shut and practically ran
into my bathroom where I slammed and locked the door shut. I
doubted he had a way to unlock this door. Although, he is the super
for both buildings, and he probably could unlock every door in the
place, including Sarah from 6D.

Now that he has stated with what he says is
the truth, I didn't see us working this thing we had going on. I
guess if he had stayed in my apartment and announced his love for
me and begging for my forgiveness, I might have believed him. As
all that sank in, it did not take me but a minute to have myself
into a full-blown pity party. Tears were streaming; snot was
working its way out; eyes were burning, and my heart felt like it
was in a vice grip. I highly doubted that what I saw was a mistake.
Sarah from 6D got into his apartment somehow, that was most likely
him letting her in. She also had her arms around him, and I know I
saw his hands come up to her shoulders. Alternatively, now that I
think about what I saw versus what he said happened, I wondered.
Could it be true? Did 6D let herself in, get naked, and surprise
him as he was out of the shower and about to get dressed? Did she
walk towards him, naked boobs and all, and put her arms around him
as his hands came up to do what? Gently guide her away and tell her
that he is taken? If I had been rational and calm, I might have
been able to ask him. However, I wasn't.

I finally got myself calmed down. Perhaps,
there could be a chance, that maybe, on an off chance that what I
really saw was 6D Sarah, coming on to Mason and him pulling away.
However, he did not exactly try too hard to convince me of his love
for me over 6D. I decided to text him: 'We should talk. I'm calm
now."

I waited for over an hour and never got a
text back. Perhaps, this was for the best. I guess. Therefore, I
did something very mature of myself and my new age of thirty; I
sent a second text that simply read. 'Never mind me, I'm not worth
it, have fun with 6D'. I guess my mature days were going to be
short lived, as maybe I could have left 6D out of that text. In the
digital world, once you hit send; it is too late.

Chapter Twelve

After cleaning and
scouring my apartment for an hour, thinking if I cleaned my home,
my life would somehow miraculously get better, it dawned on me. The
text I left him, he could take it as me being mean instead of me
trying to say, don't waste your time with me because I will only
bring you down and yell at you when I am mad, and you don't deserve
that. You deserve 6D and some fun in your life before you have to
jump right in and play CEO to your dad's company. However, how did
I say all that, the text sounded more like screw you and screw 6D.
Even though, that was my anger talking, when really I felt, deep
down, that he would be better off not getting involved with me. I
didn't want to have to live up to huge expectations; I just wanted
to be me and if that wasn't good enough for his family, then they
are the ones missing out on the goofy, fun loving, makes lots of
mistakes - me.

Texting him again would only look immature,
which I was queen at. I needed to grow up. I decided to head out
and gas up my car for work tomorrow. As soon as I filled my tank on
my fixed car, thanks to my dad, I realized it was only noon. I
decided that a quick recovery on the flu was in order, and I drove
into work. As I walked in proudly claiming that my health is back,
I noticed things seemed a bit crazy.

Well, nothing makes a woman feel more wanted,
than a man who tells her he needs her, desperately. Wally Woo could
not have looked happier to see me as I came in through his office
doors. The production line was down; the auditor was coming next
week on Monday, and he misplaced one of his gold chains in his
office, that or someone stole it. With the price of gold these
days, he was wigging out. I jumped in with both hands to his trash
and caught sight of the shiny gold chain. This was not his first go
around on the pony ride if you know what I mean. He has misplaced
them before because he cannot wear them when he is inspecting the
production line. Problem one, fixed. Then I took the files off his
desk and told him I would make sure everything was ready for the
auditor in two days if I had to work forty-eight hours straight or
even into the weekend, so that come Monday, we would be set to
go.