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Turning onto the runoff of our parking garage, I used one hand to reach over and dig my key card out of my purse. There was no way to get through the entry gate without having one of these bad boys. Sometimes it could be a pain in the ass, but it was one feature of the complex I wouldn’t ever get rid of.
It’d been a unanimous decision to find a spot with security once we got tired of bouncing from place to place and decided to settle somewhere more permanent. I refused to live anywhere anyone, and everyone could freely enter and exit at their discretion.
This small hoop was one of many you could make a person jump through before they set foot near your door. I didn’t know if it was pitiful to live this way after so long or wise.
Nonetheless, if someone was coming for me, I would be ready.
I went through all the motions and parked in my allotted spot which cost way too much money a month. Audrey’s Jeep was in its usual place right beside mine and already running. She’d probably be walking out the door as I was coming through it. Sure enough, after riding the elevator up to the fifth floor and entering our apartment, I saw she was sliding her work shoes on.
Wearing her scrub top with Elsa plastered on the front of it and her blonde hair pulled into a chic bun, she looked as if she were still eighteen instead of almost twenty-five.
“How was work, boo?” she called to me from where she was perched on the arm of the sofa.
“The same as always.” I sighed and kicked off my low-booted heels. My feet immediately rejoiced at their long-awaited freedom.
Audrey stood and turned to face me. “I don’t know why you’re still working there. We’ll be more than fine if you quit tomorrow and take time to find something else.”
I waved her off and walked the short distance to the kitchen. This had recently become a weekly debate between us. She didn’t know it yet, but she was close to winning.
Bartending and serving at the Lucky Seven had originally been something I began doing to cushion our bail money. That’s what I called the cash I’d been given when we got the hell outta dodge. The car was sold, and all cash advances were pulled from credit cards before those were pitched too. I wanted absolutely no chances of us being tracked down.
I enjoyed my job more than I thought I would for the first few months. It allowed me to interact with people again on a regular basis, but now it was getting stagnant.
Night after night there were eyes burning holes into my ass, women being extra cunty because their significant other was the one staring, and drunks of every variety to deal with. The ones who came off territorial for no reason were the worst of the bunch.
I didn’t go out of my way to piss people off. I dressed comfortably while keeping my outfits subtly sexy. I knew I looked good, that was the point. Some saw it as vapid or self-conceited. I didn’t pay any attention to their negativity. I was simply doing the bare minimum to assist me in earning some fast cash.
Men were visual creatures. Hell, often women too. I used what I was blessed with to my advantage to help pay my bills and keep food in the fridge--that was it. The generous tips resting in the bottom of my bag and waiting to be counted up were testament this method worked.
Catching a whiff of familiar cologne, I paused in my pursuit of alcohol. “When was Diego here?”
I had told him he could come over, but he clearly wasn’t in the apartment anymore.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry I completely forgot. He ran to get some filters while waiting for you.”
She grabbed her purse off the breakfast bar and by the look on her face I could tell she was amused by something.
“What?”
“You know his scent. You’re like a little Bloodhound.”
I scoffed and turned away to grab a glass from the cupboard. “I’ve been seeing him for nearly two months. I better know what his cologne smells like.”
“Uh-huh, is it as good as--?”
“Don’t even say it.” I spun around and threatened her with narrowed eyes.
Undeterred, she grinned and kept going. “Have you seen that he got engaged? And by he, I’m referring to--.”
“Audrey, we don’t speak the devil’s name in this house!”
She laughed loudly and started heading for the door. “I left you a plate in the microwave. Eat and get some sleep.”
“Ah, see, you’re an angel. Stop trying to taint yourself by speaking blasphemy.”
“Don’t tell anyone else that. I have a reputation to uphold you know.”
I shook my head at her retreating form and grinned.
