“Stay here,” Steve told Jordyn, throwing the door open.
“Pants! Pants!” Jordyn yelled after him but stopped when he vanished into the hallway. Pants were going to be a no-go, but at least he had his boxers on, and because she wasn’t really in the mood to listen, she darted after him. “Steve, wait!” she called after him, but he was already storming down the hallway. She could see Alex standing in her living room, and he was finally quiet, but that was on account of him seeing Steve.
“Who are you?” he asked, as if he had a right to be in her home. Jordyn hated him even more than she had just a minute before, which was a miracle in itself. But here she was, the glow of anger she had first felt was now a raging wildfire. How dare he do this?
“Get out,” Steve told Alex, his hands on his hips.
Alex didn’t say anything, a strangled sound coming from his throat while his mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish. He stared at Steve. Steve stared back. The two men didn’t move an inch, and she wondered how the hell he had even gotten into her apartment in the first place.
But the glint of a spare key in Alex’s hand told her all she needed to know, and she wanted to smack her head against the wall. Of course he had used the spare she had given him. The spare she had given him not to move in, but to check on her place while she was abroad with her family for the holidays this past Christmas. She should have gotten it back, but there had never been a reason to, and after Alex’s little work time performance yesterday, she’d never thought he would have the balls to march in here like he had a right to take up one more second of her time.
But he had. And now here they were with him facing off with her one-night stand the morning after. What the hell was she going to do now?
Chapter Seven
Jordyn stepped justbehind Steve to confront Alex. “Alex, give me my key back,” she told him, trying to sound calm, but there was no denying the long scream she was letting out inside.
Alex’s blue eyes focused on her just over Steve’s shoulder. He glared at her, eyes narrowing. “What the fuck is this, Jordyn? Who is this guy?” He waved a dismissive hand at Steve and took a step toward her, but Steve mimicked his movement, preventing Alex from getting any closer.
“Stay the fuck there,” Steve snapped, his sharp tone surprised Jordyn. She looked his way in confusion, hadn’t thought he would sound like that, hadn’t thought he would be this angry at Alex showing up. “She doesn’t want you here,” he said and she wanted to hug him right there, in front of her ex, no pants and all.
“Give me my key,” Jordyn said again, choosing to ignore everything Alex had just asked her. She held her hand out, palm flat. “Now. I want it back.”
“No, not until he leaves.” Alex pointed a finger at Steve, angrily.
“I’m not going anywhere, you little shit. Now give her back her key,” Steve replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Jordyn, what the hell is going on? Wh-who is this person?!” Alex hollered his face turning red. “Don’t tell me to get out of here. You get out!”
Steve sighed at Alex’s bluster, and rubbed the back of his neck, glancing at Jordyn over his shoulder. “What do you want me to do?” he asked, casually, as if they had done this a million times before. Or maybe it wasn’t that they had, but that he had done this a million times before. She wondered if confronting an angry ex or boyfriend was a normal morning occurrence for him. Just thinking it made a hot flash of jealousy run through her, but Jordyn cleared her throat and redirected it at Alex in the form of a glare. She didn’t want to dwell on her almost jealousy when it came to Steve. They weren’t anything to anyone, other than two people who had enjoyed a one night stand. A really great one night stand, but one night all the same.
“I want him gone,” she replied, crossing her arms, eyes trained on Alex. If she looked at him, then it was easier to stay in the present and not fall down an irrational spiral of jealousy. Steve nodded once at her before turning to give Alex a wry smile.
“You heard the lady,” he said, smirking as Alex backed away from him, shaking his head.
“The lady? The—what? That’s my girlfriend!” Alex sputtered. It was then that he seemed to really take in Steve’s lack of clothing, and that Jordyn was wearing a shirt that was, not, in fact, hers.
“Where are your pants?” he asked, pointing an accusing finger at them. “The both of you have no pants on.”
“EX-girlfriend,” Jordyn corrected him, ignoring his observation and crossed her arms.
“Did you two have sex?” he gasped, looking at Jordyn, horrified.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, spare me the judgment, Alex,” Jordyn huffed at the look of disbelief in his eyes. “Yes, we had sex, and you know what? I was going to get to keep doing that if you hadn’t interrupted us by showing up here and throwing a tantrum.”
“I can’t believe you had sex with him! Did you even know him before last night?” Alex questioned, darting around the couch when Steve moved too close to him. It was almost comical seeing her ex-boyfriend in his finely pressed khakis, not-a-wrinkle-to-be-found collared shirt, and perfectly combed blond hair, scampering away from a barely dressed and very pissed-off Steve. And all of it around her couch. It was downright ridiculous.
How was this her life?
Alex dodged Steve's grab for him and shot her a pained look. “Are you going to do anything to help me?”
“Help you?” Jordyn jabbed a finger at him. "Why the hell would I do that? I can’t believe you barged in on me, acting like you have a right to any sort of feelings after what I caught you doing.”
“It was a moment of weakness,” he swore, pushing the coffee table between Steve’s hands and himself. He ran behind the couch toward Jordyn, but she backed away from him.
“A moment of weakness? You were having sex with your co-worker on top of the copier machine!” Jordyn shook her head and backpedaled away from Alex as fast as she could. “Don’t touch me! I want you gone. Out of my apartment and out of my life,” she hissed when he reached for her.
“I’m not the only one to blame in this. Things were not good between us for a long time, Jordyn, and-and, besides...look at you, you had sex with this criminal!” Alex yelled, coming toward her again, but Steve vaulted over the couch and caught Alex by his collar.
