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“Tease?” This time he heard me.
“I turn you down, but you come into my room flashing me that pretty cunt of yours, so I’d give in. All the while, you don’t have condoms. You know it will only go so far.”
My words tumbled over my tongue like rocks, heavy with confusion. “I told you I bought condoms.” I didn’t understand what changed while I slept.
“You should go back to your boyfriend.”
“I don’t have a boyfriend.” Why was he saying these things?
“If you want us to fight over you, it’s not going to happen. Next time you come here again, bring condoms or don’t come at all. The only thing I can do for you is fuck you.”
He picked up his untouched plate and dropped it in the sink with a clatter. Then he marched down the hallway to his room and slammed the door as I fought back tears.
What the hell had just happened? I wiped at my eyes and ran into the room he’d given me. I put on my underwear and jeans and left it. It was only after I had my coat on did I spot where my shirt had fallen the previous night. I stuffed it and my bra into my purse, which was the size of a tote bag. Then I left, stabbing at the elevator button as if my life depended on it. I had to get far away and fast as the downpour of my emotions spilled from my eyes.
My self-recrimination was worse than anything he’d done. In the end, I didn’t hate him. I hated myself. Why had I pushed the envelope? My actions made me appear like some sexy vixen and that was far from the truth. Never in my life had I pursued a man, especially sexually. Everything was different with Liam.
Around him I felt desire I’d never experience before. I was so comfortable around him, I’d been emboldened to go for what I wanted, him. He’d seemed to want me too. So why? Why was he so pissed off?
When I reached my place, I sent Jody a 911 text knowing she was working. As I got ready for my shift that afternoon, she called.
“What’s going on?”
“I think I made a mistake,” I began.
“Does this have anything to do with Hotel Hottie or are we talking Doctor Love?”
“Liam,” I said. “I went to his place last night. We had a great time and he turned on me this morning for no reason.”
“Is he on his period?” she teased.
“No,” I said without a hint of amusement.
“I think you’re going to have to explain,” she said, and I did, giving her most of the details, summarizing our sexual activity. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s bipolar. Don’t you think you should let him go and move on Doc?”
Easier said than done. Before I got his text, I’d basically written the doctor off. Realistically, he was likely to tell me he just wanted to be friends based on his non-actions. I told Jody as much. “I’m cursed,” I complained.
“Do you think it’s your dad?”
That had been the theory that somehow my dad was pulling the strings and intimidating any guy I dated. “How does he know I’m in New York? I can’t imagine he pays someone to watch me twenty-four hours a day. For what purpose?”
“I don’t know, Natalie. Your dad is a scary guy from everything you told me.”
That was true. However, Liam didn’t seem like a guy my father could bully.
“Maybe,” I said.
Our call ended shortly after that because she had to get back to work. When I got to my job, the first person I ran into was Brian. His shift was ending.
“Natalie, I’m glad I ran into you.”
I smiled, but I didn’t feel it. “I got your text,” I admitted. I wasn’t the kind of person who needed to end whatever we had first to save my ego. Instead, I waited for him to say it.
“The first date we had, I could tell that there were unresolved feelings between you and your friend, Liam.”
That shocked me. “Trust me, nothing’s going on there.” There might have been more sarcasm laced in that statement than I’d intended.
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ve been taking things slow to give you time to figure that out.”
Double shock. It wasn’t a this was him and not me situation? “I thought you weren’t interested,” I said, absently as I scrolled through my memory bank of our interactions.
“Definitely not. I just didn’t want to get even slightly invested if you weren’t emotionally available.”
How very mature of him. Had I really misjudged him so much?
“No problems there,” which was a lie. My ego had taken over my speech. To admit I was still crazy for Liam was ludicrous.
“Good. Liam said the same,” he said.
I blinked several times. “Wait. Liam?”
