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ice guy.”
“Oh, do they?” I say and smile like I’m pleasantly surprised.
“Yeah,” she says excitedly, and I can see the calculation in her eyes as she tries to read my expression.
“Yeah, but I’m no Jack,” I say knowingly. She covers my hand and gives me a conciliatory, patronizing smile.
“No one is. But you’ve got your own something special, too, Carter,” she says, and her voice drops to a seductive tone.
“Thank you so much, Chloe.” I smile like I’m touched.
She trails her hand up my arm.
“Hey, maybe we just got off on the wrong foot this morning. I mean, if you asked me to go get breakfast and then come back here and we could try again, I wouldn’t say—”
I can see where she’s going, and I’ve heard enough. “Get out.”
I swing my legs over the side of the bed, walk to my bathroom and turn on the water on and climb into the shower without waiting for it to heat up.
I’m heading to rehab tonight, and I was hoping to go without having to deal with Jack’s fucking noise.
My father died a month ago. He had a heart attack while we were on the phone having one of our epic battles. And the last thing I ever said to him was that he’d been a terrible father. I thought he hung up on me, when in fact, he’d dropped the phone because his heart stopped beating.
My guilt led me to dark places. Too much drinking. Not enough sleep. Some asshole said the wrong thing to me at his funeral. And here I am.
When I come back out of the shower Chloe is gone, and Jack is sitting in my living room.
I cross my arms and stand in the doorway glowering at him. ”Did you pay that girl to fuck me so she would let you in my apartment?”
“She had a thing for you. And you won’t return my calls.”
“Hmmm, maybe it’s because you do shit like this.” I step into a pair of sweatpants, stuff my feet into my Timbs, grab a shirt and walk out. I tug my shirt on while I walk down the dark, musty hallway of my apartment building.
“Carter, wait,” he calls after me. I walk faster. I’ve said everything I have to say. I’m exhausted and feel like I’ve been hollowed out.
I reach the elevator and press the button. The doors open quickly.
Jack’s hand slides between the elevator doors, and they pop back open.
I close my eyes and bang my head on the wall as he steps on with me.
“I can’t believe you live in this shit hole. You can afford better.” He says as the doors close.
I cut him a dark glance. “It’s not a shit hole, and I don’t have to worry about being photographed every time I leave my house.”
“Is that why you won’t even talk to Dean?”
“I don’t want the life that comes with contracts like what he's talking about.”
He shakes his head. “You’re an idiot. And if you don’t take his call now, there may not be any others waiting when you come out of rehab. And then, you’ll be a broke idiot.”
I scowl at him. “I’m not close to broke. And if I was, I’d do something that didn’t make my life fodder for total strangers. I know you love it, but it’s not for me.”
The elevator stops at the lobby, and I nod pointedly at the opening doors. “Thanks for stopping by.”
He doesn’t move. “I paid that girl’s rent for three months, you gotta give me more than five minutes.”
“I bet you could catch her if you left now. Maybe she’ll give you a refund.”
