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“Okay, but do me a favor and go easy on her with it. Tell her how much you love her while emphasizing that you need to live your own life. Love you, kid.”
“Love you, too.”
Hanging up the phone, I sat there looking at it for the longest time, trying not to dwell on my dad’s deflection of my question about him and my mom. It wasn’t a good sign. Also, his last few words left me feeling uneasy. There was definitely something he wasn’t telling me. I also wondered if I’d be able to do it face to face with my mother without backing down. But anything less seemed like a big fat chicken move. Was there a hallmark card for real sorry I disappointed you with my college choices, but at least I don’t do heroin?
Twenty minutes later the sound of footsteps on the stairs leading up to my floor gave me hope the management company had finally sent someone. I stood up, feeling stiff from sitting against my door for the last hour and a little sick to my stomach from my Hostess feeding frenzy. Spotting Colby with my suitcase in hand was both a surprise and a relief, but I doubted very much the latter had anything to do with my keys.
“What are you doing out here?” he asked, his expression conveying confusion over seeing me outside my door.
“My keys were in my suitcase.” I took it from his hand, unzipped the side pocket, and took them out to unlock the door.
“So you were going to spend the night on your doorstep rather than call me to get them?” His voice was laced with irritation.
I opened the door and turned, facing him. “Oh, no, you don’t. You do not get to be mad at me right now.”
“The hell I don’t when you’re so stubborn you’d rather—”
His voice was rising, and I was well aware that there were three other apartments on my floor. “Shh—We are not fighting out here with my neighbors hearing every word.”
“Fine, then I’m coming inside.”
“No, you’re not. We can talk tomorrow. Thanks for the keys. And for your information, I was waiting on the management company. Guess you saved them a trip.”
A muscle in his jaw ticked, and we stood in a face-off. He finally broke it by stepping within inches of me. “I’m torn between wanting to fuck you senseless or kiss you breathless. Take your pick, Kenz, but I’m not going anywhere.”
My treacherous body shivered in response. “I told you not to come over tonight.”
He crowded me in through my door, his hands framing my face, eyes intensely locked on mine. Once inside, his foot kicked the door shut behind us. “I think me not listening to you right now is the least of my screw-ups today. So I’ll take my chances. And I’d kind of hoped your temper would’ve lessened by now.”
“I still want to whack-a-mole your pretty-boy face, so it’s not quite there yet.”
His lips twitched, as he fought a smile. “You love my PDG way too much to take a chance at ruining it.”
I lifted my chin, determined not to let his charm distract me from what had made me angry in the first place. “I’m not done with being mad.”
He swallowed hard and murmured, “I know.”
From there, his mouth crashed down, and my body took over as I put all of my pent-up frustration into the kiss, leaving us both breathless. We didn’t bother with the steps it would’ve taken to move us into the bedroom; instead, he undid his slacks, flipped up my skirt, and pushed inside of me within minutes on the living room floor.
* * *
“You’re vibrating,”I commented dryly while we lay post-floor-sex catching our breath.
He fumbled with the back pocket of his trousers, which had ended up around his ankles. “My phone. Sorry, I have to take this,” he muttered, glancing at the display and then answering it. He spoke tersely in what I assumed was a business call.
I took the opportunity to stand up and walk into my bathroom. Turning on the shower, I stripped down, stepping in once it turned warm enough. I was surprised that by the time I’d rinsed Colby hadn’t joined me. When I stepped out, however, he greeted me with an open dry towel. “Thanks.”
He looked anxious standing there in the small space of my bathroom. “I have to travel to London tomorrow for business. I’ll be gone a couple days.”
“Oh.” I hated the idea of him leaving when we were in this weird place.
“I’m sorry for earlier, Kenz. I panicked when it came to introducing you to someone who knew Josh now that we’re together. I never should’ve dismissed you like that. After you left, I made it clear that her behavior toward you was unacceptable.”
“You didn’t have to do it on my behalf.”
“I would’ve told her the same if she’d spoken to anyone like she did, but I couldn’t do it in front of you because she’s an employee and I’m her boss. And there really was a legal issue with one of our vendors on a production site which required a video conference; otherwise, I would’ve been here sooner.”
I walked past him into the bedroom, absorbing his words, and then realized my real issue with the whole scene centered around one question. Facing him, I had to ask, “Are we ever telling our families about us?”
