AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The rolling pin dips again, and my arm finally drops, leaving it resting at my side.
I still hold the rolling pin in my hands, though.
“Your fuckin’ noise traveled all the way to my apartment. I thought someone was in my shop robbing me. You need to keep it the fuck down.”
“I’m sorry?”
“You should be.”
A new feeling flares.
Rage.
Absolutely rage for this man.
Who the fuck is he?
“Are you kidding me?”
“I can hear it in my room.”
“Your room . . .”
“Live upstairs, babe.”
“Stop calling me that!” I drop the rolling pin down on the metal bakery table, my heart rate still high, but either I’m becoming numb to it or understanding is hitting me. I’m out of imminent danger, I think, but now stepping into a different danger. “Ilive upstairs,” I say, because I do. I just moved in the last of my stuff yesterday.
“Looks like I’m your new neighbor.”
The world stops.
The ringing starts in my ears.
My gut falls to the ground.
That would be my luck, wouldn’t it?
Day one of New Lola is going just dandy.
And although there is a case to just apologize, make nice, and tell this man I’ll keep it down in the future, that kernel of New Lola that’s stubborn as fuck, the part that refuses to let people walk all over her anymore, pops up.
“Do you do this a lot, just come into random businesses through the backdoor in nothing but your underwear with a baseball bat? Introduce yourself as the new neighbor?”
“I haven’t needed to recently.” Annoyance is starting to fester now. It seems like I can’t get a single clear answer from this fucking man, like he’s trying to be a pain in the ass.
“Whodoesthat?! Just breaks into someone’s business and harasses them?!”
“I told you, I didn’t break in. Thoughtyouwere breaking in.”
“You shouldn’t just open doors! That’s fucked up.”
“I tried knocking. Three times. Was going to ask you to keep it down, but your noise is so loud, you didn’t even hear.” He’s not wrong. I didn’t hear him, so wrapped up in trying to scare away my anxiety that I drowned it in music and got lost in sugar and butter and flour.
“Look. I need to go back to bed. You gotta keep it down.” He scrubs his hand, tattooed and tanned and way hotter than I should recognize, all things considered, before he steps back, still facing me but moving toward the door.
“Uhm, excuse me. This is my business. I’m working.”
“Got it. My business is next door. You gotta keep it down in the mornings.” That stops me. I blink at him.
