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CHAPTER FIVE
BARLOW
Ihaven’t spoken toAtlas since the bathroom incident. He didn’t come out of his room last night after Brennon nearly caught us, and I snuck out first thing this morning, thankful that I was scheduled for a morning shift at work.
Things got a little out of hand between the two of us, and honestly, the thought of seeing him right now, or talking to him, makes me extremely uncomfortable. Which is why I agreed to stay for a double when my manager asked, and why it’s taken me nearly twice the time it should to walk home after I finished work.
I can’t imagine he’s eager to speak to me either. Or to explain what the hell that was and why he initiated it. Not that I expect an explanation. Truth be told, I hope that we never discuss it for as long as we both shall live.
But I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t tossed and turned all night, wondering just that. Why, out of everything he could have asked for, did he want a kiss? And why did I agree to it?
I’m pleading momentary insanity. There can be no other explanation. No other reason why I let him kiss me. And worse, why I enjoyed it so damn much.
I’ve spent nearly the entire day trying to convince myself that it meant nothing. That I felt nothing. But that simply wouldn’t be true. See, I’m even shit at lying to myself.
I felt everything, and that is a very big problem.
I stop outside the apartment, taking a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm my nerves before shoving the key into the door and pushing my way inside.
I no more than get one foot into the living room when I freeze dead in my tracks, taking in the scene in front of me.
Every thought I had over the last few hours, every feeling I thought existed, all go up in flames when my eyes land on Atlas, half naked on top of a blonde girl, his head buried in the crook of her neck as he nips and bites the flesh there.
I’m rendered motionless. Speechless, even. And the twist in my stomach is unsettling at best.
No matter what I told myself today, a part of me, albeit a very small part, had hoped that maybe what happened last night meant more. Maybe him asking for that kiss was his way of asking for something he couldn’t otherwise ask me for. I let my imagination get carried away.
I should have fucking known...
Less than twenty-four hours after he had me pinned to the bathroom wall, he’s about to fuck someone else. And right where I sleep no less.
Seeming to snap out of my fog, I slam the door to get their attention as neither seems to have heard me enter.
Atlas’s head pops up at the sound, giving me a full view of the woman’s bare chest.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I cover my eyes with my hand.
I count to five in my head, relieved that when I uncover my eyes the girl has the sense to have put her shirt back on.
“My bad, B. Didn’t know you’d be home so soon.” Atlas gives me a dimpled filled grin that makes me want to rip his teeth out and make a necklace with them.
Okay, that got dark.
Back to the matter at hand.
“So that gives you the right to fuck someone where I sleep?” I swallow past the bile rising in my throat.
My gaze slides to the girl and I realize that I’ve seen her before. It’s the same girl I saw leaving our apartment earlier this week, cheeks flushed and hair a mess.
It’s completely irrational but I have the sudden urge to see that she leaves here the same way as she did the other day. Only her cheeks will be red from me slapping her around, and her hair, well, I’ll be sure to leave her with a couple bald spots after I’ve pulled her out of my apartment by her stupid, perfect waves.
“My apartment.” He stretches out, his bare torso on perfect display as he pulls the girl to his side, dropping a casual arm over her shoulders.
I’ve seen him without a shirt on hundreds of times over the years, and no matter what’s going on, no matter how pissed I am or how much I want to stab him in the face, I can’t help but appreciate the ripple of lean muscle or the patch of hair that trails down his stomach and disappears into the waistband of his shorts.
“Fuck you, Atlas. I live here, too.” I refuse to be deterred by his insane body, keeping my eyes laser focused on his face. “The least you can do is be respectful enough not to fuck your floozies where I sleep.”
“Excuse me?” Blondie decides to speak up, but Atlas quickly intervenes, knowing the last thing he wants is to have me unleash my anger on his piece of ass.
