I snatch the frame out of his grasp before bouncing my wide gaze around my apartment, seeking somewhere to store his photo. When I spot his cocky grin, I throw the frame into the unlit fireplace, wiping the smirk right off his face. When his hurt eyes lock with mine, I nearly crumple into a heap on the ground. No matter how much he hurt me, I hate seeing him upset.
“The shower is free,” I say, desperately needing some space between us.
His lips twitch, but they don’t utter a sound as he makes his way to the bathroom. Once he’s out of sight, I snatch his photo out of the fireplace and use my hands to rub off the ash covering it. After placing it in my desk drawer for safe keeping, I head to the kitchen to wash the ash off my hands. On my way, I spot Nick’s saturated jeans and shirt lying over one of my dining room chairs. I place them in a dry-cleaning bag before calling the concierge desk to collect them.
When someone knocks on my door a short time later, I open it. I’m expecting it to be someone from the concierge desk to collect Nick’s clothing, so you can imagine my shock when Christian strolls inside.
Shit!In my excitement at seeing Nick again, I forgot I left Christian hanging after our date tonight.
“Did you shower without me?” He leans in to plant a kiss on my lips.
I pull away from his embrace before closing the door. “I got caught in the rain.”
When I turn back around, my heart slithers into my gut. Christian and Nick are standing across from each other in an intense stare-off. With Nick’s hair wringing wet from his recent shower, and his body only covered by a pair of boxer shorts, the situation Christian has walked in on appears more scandalous than it is.
Christian stops shooting daggers at Nick to swing his eyes to me. “Busy?”
I shake my head at the same time Nick replies, “Yes.”
As Christian returns to glaring at Nick, he stands taller and straightens his shoulders. Nick smirks an arrogant grin before folding his arms over his chest. He then props his shoulder on the doorframe of my room, acting as if he’s always belonged here.
“I wasn’t asking you; I was asking Jenni.” Christian’s tone isn’t the only thing heated in this room. I’m seconds from fainting under the tension.
Nick makes matters worse by running his eyes over my body. His prolonged glance quickens my pulse, but not as much as it does Christian’s when he says, “She’ll tell you the same thing.”
I narrow my eyes at him before placing myself between the two bulls ready to charge at one another. I take a few moments to weigh my options before settling my wide gaze onto a pair of equally confused eyes.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.”
Christian’s brows furl as he gives me hisare you serious?face. When I nod, he turns on his heels and paces to the door. My eyes snap to Nick when I hear him snickering under his breath. His arrogance is at an all-time high, and the look of victory is across his face.
I take care of his arrogance by saying, “He’s only here because he has nowhere to stay.”
Christian laughs a menacing chuckle. “You’re always helping the needy.” He leans in to kiss me goodbye, his lips lingering longer than they did earlier. “I had fun on our date tonight.” He emphasizes the word “date.”
I offer him a friendly smile. I know part of his statement is to rile Nick, but most of it was genuine. We did have a lot of fun tonight. “Me too.”
Happy with my reply, Christian awards me a frisky wink before he struts to the waiting elevator. He enters without looking back, confident there’s nothing here he wants to see.
Once the elevator doors close, I shut my front door then turn around. My breath hitches when I'm confronted with Nick’s livid face. “Are you two—”
“Don’t you dare say another word,” I interrupt, my voice low and dangerous. “You have no right whatsoever to question me.”
My steps to the linen closet are heavy. After grabbing Nick a pillow and a blanket, I dump them on the sofa, mumble a goodnight, then dash into my room as quickly as my quivering legs will take me, ensuring I close my door behind me. Part of me feels like tonight was fate. I had thoroughly enjoyed my date with Christian, and I had every intention of following him to his penthouse when we arrived home.
I would have if I hadn’t spotted Nick.
Christian has been nothing more than a friend the past three months, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t nag me relentlessly to go out with him. I always denied his requests, though. I didn’t want another player in my life. As the weeks went on, our friendship grew. We went out a handful of times with mutual friends, and not once did he overstep the boundaries of our friendship. I saw a different side of him, and I liked what I saw.
Last weekend was the first time I agreed to go out with him alone. He needed a plus one for his movie premiere, and I needed to get out of the slump I had been in the prior three months. Christian acted like a gentleman the whole night. When he kissed me goodnight at my door after dropping me home, I realized I was painting him with the same brush as Nick.
I was giving him this weekend to prove he had changed. His gracious departure tonight makes me believe he has. I felt terrible asking him to leave, but just spending the last half an hour with Nick makes me realize, even with him ripping it out and stomping on it, my heart still belongs to him.
He destroyed me, yet I still love him.
I’m an idiot.
* * *
