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“Huh?” I say, looking at him, as he pulls the car in front of Owen’s apartment building.
Sean searches my eyes for a second as the valet opens my door. “You got this, Olive. Just treat him like you would me.”
I nod and get out of the car, but my legs feel unsteady the second I get out. I start walking toward the door, but between my head pounding and my legs being weak and wobbly, I know there is no way I’m going to make it without falling and embarrassing myself even more in front of Sean.
I feel myself going down when Sean catches me.
“Thank you,” I say weakly.
“You should go training with me sometime. Build up some strength in your legs.”
“It’s not—”
Sean grabs my chin and kisses me, stopping me from thinking. I don’t know how he does it, but when he kisses me, it’s like he transfers some of his confidence into me. The kiss isn’t meant to be loving or sexual. It’s a confidence boost.
When Sean pulls away, he stares at me with a serious expression. I was expecting his sexy grin or a smirk to be smeared on his face because he knows full well that his kiss affected me. But it’s not there.
I narrow my eyes as I study him and try to understand what he is feeling, but I can’t. I don’t know him well enough, and it’s clear that he doesn’t let anyone in.
So, I turn my attention away from Sean and start walking into the apartment building with his hand on the small of my back, ensuring that I’m not going to fall again. But I don’t want his hand on me. I don’t want his help. I want to do this on my own. So, I walk faster until Sean is no longer keeping up with me. I automatically go to the stairs instead of the elevator.
“You know this place has an actual functioning elevator, like a normal apartment should?” Sean says.
I pause at the entrance to the stairwell and turn to look at Sean. He’s standing with his hands in the pockets of his gray suit pants. He looks so perfect, beautiful. He looks like a successful adult who knows what he wants in his life. Meanwhile, I’m wearing pajama pants, a sweatshirt, and the coat Sean got me. I’m a mess while he is perfectly put together.
“You have a problem with my apartment? Then, pay me more. It’s the best I can afford.”
One of Sean’s eyebrows rises.
“I’m taking the stairs. I like the stairs. I don’t like elevators,” I say.
Then, I realize that I might have made a mistake because Sean’s face lights up at that. He thinks he knows some deep, dark secret about me, but he doesn’t. I don’t like elevators. I like the burn and the time to think that climbing the stairs offers better than the silence and awkwardness that an elevator provides. That’s it.
I start running up the stairs, but I don’t hear Sean behind me. I finally make it to Owen’s floor, and I’m completely out of breath, but it feels good. I walk out of the stairwell and down the hallway toward Owen’s apartment when I see Sean leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. I stop, completely out of breath, in front of him.
Sean leans down to my ear and says, “I like elevators better. Why waste energy on anything you don’t need to? I’d rather reserve my energy for other more enjoyable things.”
A shiver runs up and down my spine. I walk past Sean, ignoring his smirk and comment. I walk up to Owen’s apartment door and knock loudly. I ignore what Sean is doing to my heart. I can’t do this if I’m thinking about Sean.
I don’t give Owen much time to come to the door before I start knocking loudly again, and this time, when I start, I can’t stop. I knock on the door the same way that others might punch a pillow. It’s a way to get my frustration and anger out. But, instead of making me feel weaker, the pounding on the door makes me feel stronger than ever.
I feel myself punching air as the door swings open, and Owen stands in the doorway, looking at me.
/> “I want my cat and stuff back,” I say before Owen has a chance to say anything.
I look him up and down while I wait for him to speak to me. I no longer feel embarrassed by how I look because Owen looks worse. It’s clear he just woke up, and while I have the excuse of being sick with a migraine, Owen just looks hungover and pathetic.
Owen rubs his head, like my voice was too loud for him. “What are you doing here, Olive? We already had this conversation.”
“We are going to have it again and again until I get what I need, Owen.”
“What you need? What about what I need, Olive? You can’t just break up with a man over a misunderstanding, Olive. That’s not fair!”
I laugh. “Fair? You want to talk fair? How about how, in our entire year together, you never once treated me well? We did everything your way, never mine. How fair is that? I’m not sorry that I broke up with you, Owen. I don’t have to have a fair reason or any reason to break up with you. I broke up with you. Find someone else to fuck or not. I don’t care. But, most importantly, give me back my cat!”
My face is red, and I’m completely out of breath. But my body is steady. I don’t feel dizzy anymore. I don’t feel like I’m about to faint or fall over. I feel strong.
I search Owen’s eyes, but I know that he is so much of a dick that he isn’t ever going to give in to me. And I know, if I involve the police, I’m going to lose. I only see one option left at getting my cat back. So, I take it.
