The Upside of Being Let Down (new adult romance - 1) (4 page)

(6)

I knocked again, this time with a
fist. It was safe to say I was freaking pissed off. It was one thing to want to
kick me out of the apartment and it was totally something else to just put my
shit outside the door with a note. But now I just felt violated and used. I
hated feeling used. I
’
d
felt used my entire life and I had nowhere to turn for comfort. In my mind,
being kicked out of college should have nothing to do with the apartment. If I
hadn
’
t been paying the rent
or something, yeah, sure. Still, wasn
’
t
I worthy of a conversation? Damn me for thinking it then, but I almost wanted
to have Angela barrage me with her judgments and complaints.

My fist hit the door over and over,
but Angela never answered.

I looked down at the boxes - my
boxes, my life - and knew I had to start packing up soon. I had to take each
box down and put them in my car. One by one. Stack them nicely. Because my car
was going to be my new apartment for the time being.

Unless I went back to the club.

I touched my back pocket again,
looking for my phone which doubled as my watch.

Oh, yeah, it
’
s fucking missing.

So I couldn
’
t even text or call Winnie. And if I went to the
club and she wasn
’
t there,
then what? Drive to her apartment and chance it? Most nights Winnie didn
’
t go straight home from work. It
occurred to me that the longer Winnie could live her life as Wicked the happier
she
’
d be. Which meant if I
went to her apartment and her roommate was there... or if she was there with a
boyfriend guy (or whatever he was since he just commanded her around the
bedroom)... it could be a long night.

I really needed a phone.

Not
a
phone but
my
phone.

I didn
’
t have a single number memorized, not even my own.
Was that pathetic? I couldn
’
t
even give out my cell number if I wanted to. I couldn
’
t even go to a store and buy a coffee and ask
someone to use their phone for a second. Regardless, what would happen if I
called my cell phone? Would someone answer? If so... who?

I heard the squeal of the top door
as it opened. Before I turned, I heard his voice.

“
Hey.
Whoa.
”

I looked to my left and froze like
ice in subzero temperatures. Forget the shock of someone answering my phone.
Forget the shock of seeing Winnie
’
s
roommate Elsie answering the door in handcuffs or tied up or something. Forget
the shock of being kicked out of the apartment and college.

My body only had the shock of what
I stared at.

“
Bryan?
”
I asked.

“
You
know, I was just passing through and uh...
”

He slid his hands into his pockets
and shrugged his shoulders. He couldn
’
t
even finish his line. His big chance to say something cute or flirty or sexy to
me. And he came up with... nothing.

“
What?
How?
”
I asked.

“
Oh.
That. Yeah, sure. Well, first... here...
”

Bryan reached into his pocket and
pulled out my cell phone. He handed it to me and let out a sigh of relief.

Okay then, maybe the night wasn
’
t going to be a complete shit
waste of time.

“
Thank
you,
”
I said.
“
This is...
”

I stared at Bryan.

His eyes.

His face.

That damn jaw of his.

He casually slid his thumbs into
his pockets and looked comfortable. Much more comforting than the closed - and
locked - door in front of me. I wrapped my around him and hugged. I never
really hugged people because it implied sex. I mean, think about a hug for a second.
It
’
s people lining up their
parts, right? I hug a guy and his junk is right against my stuff. My chest
pressing. Even two girls hugging or two guys hugging. How the hell did guys
hug? With their...
stuff
... so close to rubbing.

But I hugged Bryan.

“
Wow,
that cell phone must mean a lot,
”
Bryan said.

I shook my head and closed my eyes.
I wanted to get lost in him for a second. I wanted to smell his manly scent. To
feel his muscle. To have him hold me. I wiggled my shoulders, waiting for him
to make a move.

He didn
’
t. At least not at first.

What the hell was wrong with
this guy?

I was a decent enough looking girl.
I had a bad night. I was vulnerable. I would probably put out in some shape or
form... even if it was some kind of quickie, with my hand more than likely. But
Bryan didn
’
t get that hint.
I stared at his fingers curled at his pocket. He seemed nervous, like he wanted
to do something. When he finally took his thumbs out of his pockets, the subtle
hint of his cologne became replaced by something else.

Something more harsh.

Something...

“
Ew,
”
I whispered and ended the hug.

I pushed off Bryan and stepped
back, holding my hands out, looking down at myself.

“
What
’
s wrong?
”
he asked.

“
Did
you throw up?
”

“
What?
”

“
I
smelled vomit. On you.
”

Bryan
’
s
eyes shut for a second. His lip curled and his hands went into fists.

“
What
happened?
”
I asked. My mind
raced. Who threw up?
“
Did
you throw up? Did that drunk chick throw up on you? Did your girlfriend throw
up on you?
”

I had to slip that last one in
there, because face it, there wasn
’
t
really an easy way to find out if someone was single. It wasn
’
t like we all wore something
like married people did. Maybe there should be a single ring or necklace. Maybe
something that had purpose for each step of a relationship leading to marriage.

Then again, I had been kicked out
of college, so what did I know?

“
No,
”
Bryan whispered.
“
I took care of everything with
that girl and her boyfriend.
”

I reached for Bryan
’
s hands. As I brought them up I
turned my head and took a deep breath. I held my breath, my cheeks puffed out
like a squirrel with a mouth full of nuts. I looked at Bryan and he didn
’
t seem amused at all. I looked
at his hands, at his knuckles. They looked fine. Nothing that suggested a
fight.

Which was good.

I guess.

I mean, a fight would have been
sexy. Not that I wanted guys to go out and pound each other for the sake of a
drunk woman and an outspoken person like me, but it was hot to think about.

Okay, fine, I was pushing it.

I dropped Bryan
’
s hands and exhaled my breath.

“
What
the hell are you doing?
”
he
asked.

“
Looking
for blood. Making sure you
’
re
not a wanted man. On the run from the law.
”

“
Does
that turn you on?
”

I scoffed.
“
No. Just didn
’
t
want someone like you in my apartment then.
”

“
Your
apartment?
”
Bryan asked. He
looked at the door, then at the boxes on the ground.
“
How
’
s
that going?
”

He had a look about him as though
he knew.
“
Is it your
business?
”

“
Looks
like you
’
re moving out. Or
getting rid of some junk.
”

“
Hey,
”
I said. I kicked the top box
and my lamp rolled to the other side.
“
This
isn
’
t junk. These are
timeless treasures.
”

“
Why
aren
’
t they inside?
”
Bryan asked.
“
Fight with the roommate?
”

“
How
do you know I have a roommate?
”
I asked.

Bryan
’
s
mouth opened and he stepped back. He licked his lips, trying to come up with
something.

“
Whoa,
whoa,
”
I said.
“
How did you get here?
”

“
I
drove,
”
Bryan said.

“
Yeah,
sure. But how did you know?
”

“
What
do you mean... I... I mean, school. College.
”

“
School?
College? What would you know about it? How would you know if I was in college?
”

“
I
saw you,
”
Bryan said, his
voice shaking.

“
No,
you didn
’
t. Because I didn
’
t go.
”

I stepped up to Bryan, ready to prove
the sexy smell of his cologne and the bitter smell of vomit. I still had yet to
find out who puked on him. He never denied it being a girlfriend. And that
pissed me off some more. That
’
s
all I needed. Some wanna be hero who had a girlfriend dropping off my cell
phone.

I pointed at Bryan.

“
How
did you find me?
”

“
AJ,
”
Bryan said.

Damn, why did he say my name?

I liked how it came off his lips.

How it looked.

How it sounded.

Damn.

“
No,
”
I said.
“
No, no. You showed up smelling like puke and you
have my phone.
”

“
I
found it on the ground,
”
Bryan said.
“
Security came
and kicked that guy out with his girlfriend and then kicked me out too. I saw
the phone on the ground so I grabbed it.
”

“
Okay,
fine,
”
I said.
“
Thank you. That was nice of you.
”
I paused for a second and then
AJ the bitch came back.
“
But
that doesn
’
t answer my
question.
”

“
Calm
down,
”
Bryan said. He
backed up some more and hit a wall.

Yeah, that
’
s right.

I had a guy twice my size backing
up.

That
’
s
power.

Real power.

“
You
have one second to tell me,
”
I said.
“
Or... or I
’
ll rip your balls off.
”

So gross, I know. But it was the
only threat that came to mind. And hell, it was the only threat I needed
because it worked.

Bryan nodded and opened the flood
gates.

“
I
saw your phone on the floor so I picked it up. I saw a message from someone
named Angela using your name so I knew it was yours.
”

“
You
read my messages?
”
I asked.

“
Well,
just that one. I mean, at first. I had to take my two friends home. Jeff was
drunk and Gary is useless. When I got them home, Gary refused to carry Jeff so
I did, but he threw up before I picked him up and some of it must have gotten
on me. Sorry I stink. When I got them inside you got another text from Angela
saying something about being sorry.
”
Bryan looked to the boxes.
“
Which
now makes some sense looking at the boxes. Sorry if anything happened there.
”
His eyes met mine again.
“
I went through some of your
messages and then some emails and I finally found your address.
”

“
You
read my messages and emails?
”
I asked.

“
Well,
yeah. I had to...
”

I pushed at Bryan but it did
nothing. He was already against the wall.

“
What
the fuck?
”
I cried out.
“
Do you just read other people
’
s business?
”

“
No,
”
Bryan said.
“
But... you needed your phone.
And I mean, no offense, but it looks like you really need it now.
”

“
Need
it now?
”
I asked.
“
What does that mean?
”

“
Did
you get kicked out of school?
”
Bryan asked.

I growled and thought about
slapping him. Instead I grabbed his face, making his lips pucker.

“
Look
at me. Listen. None of it matters, okay? This is my business right now. I
’
m handling things.
”

Bryan nodded.

I let his mouth go and stepped
back. I took a second to cool off and then said,
“
Thank
you for bringing me my phone.
”