Page 120 of Getting Down to Business

He tapped on the door before he just barged in.

“What?” she asked.

“Are you trying to sabotage what we have? Is that what this is?”

“We don’t have anything, Grayson. We’re roommates who used to hook up sometimes. That’s it.”

“What if…” Was he really going to say this? Out loud? “What if I wanted something? Not a relationship, but some form of exclusivity.”

“No.”

“No? You can’t just say no. We have to discuss it.”

“No, we don’t. People in relationships discuss things. Roommates can just tell each other no.”

“This is ridiculous. Why would you want to go out with someone else when I’m right here?”

“Do you hear yourself? You’re getting all crazy.”

He left, slamming the door behind him like a crazy person. Then he walked back in.

“You could have at least texted me so I knew you were safe. I worried about you all night.”

“I didn’t ask you to worry about me.”

“That’s too bad.” He was making a mess of things, but he couldn’t seem to stop. “I’m worried you’re going to try to go back to the way you were. You weren’t happy like that.”

“It’s none of your business.”

“I care about you, Liss.”

“I’m just someone who rents the room across the hall, remember?”

“If you still think that, you’re lying to yourself.”

He left again, knowing he was throwing a fit like a little kid.

She had him all tangled up in knots. He didn’t know how to make her care.

“Fuck!” he yelled into the empty kitchen.

He caught a glimpse of a naked Alyssa as she walked to her room. She looked up at him with wide eyes and then ducked inside her room without a word.

He decided to leave. It wouldn’t do him any good to stay there and keep fighting with her when he was angry.

The more he walked, the angrier he became. The day had come and gone; it was dark when he finally looked around to see where he was. The whole city looked different.

He decided that maybe he needed a new perspective on everything. When he’d taken Alyssa up on her offer of a one-night stand it was because he’d wanted to prove to himself that he was capable of just having a good time. While he knew what he felt for Alyssa was different than those other relationships, he’d still fallen into the same trap. He didn’t know how to stop wanting the commitment his parents had.

He walked into the club, hell bent on finding someone to get him through this.

* * * *

Chanda was miserable. She missed Doug. Ever since finding out the reason for his outburst, the guilt had compounded daily. She wanted to see him, but didn’t even know where he was living now.

She flung the clay back on the board and went to clean up. She couldn’t work like this. Despite the sun shining through the loft, her work was full of darkness. Guilt had her all tied up in knots. On her way to her room, she stopped and opened the door to Lucy’s room. She missed the little girl so much. She hadn’t just lost Doug, but Lucy too.

She picked up the polar bear Lucy always liked to sleep with. Was she having trouble sleeping without it?