AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Becca
The soundof liquid splattering against the ground had me looking down at my feet. I froze when I saw the bottom of my grocery bag. It had ripped wide open, and a string of raw, runny egg, along with an assortment of fruits, were strewn around the entrance of my condo. To make matters worse, the eggs had spilled all over the white carpet, which Mr. Holloway was going to make me pay a pretty penny for to clean up the sticky gunk. Who put white carpet in a commercial area? Who put white carpetanywherefor that matter?! I swore he did it on purpose so he could part us with more money.
Of all days for this to happen, it had to be today. Brandon was coming over to close a case we were working on together. It was already going to be awkward, and now he’d have a good laugh over the clumsy mess that was me.
I leaned my head against my door and slowly banged it against the solid wood. The thunking sound made me think of my recurring nightmare—me, trapped in a room, and banging on the door, where no one could hear me. The never-ending sound of that fruitless banging woke me up in a cold sweat every night. But even awake, I felt trapped in the life I’d created—turning down recruiters for bigger-named firms and stuck in love with a man who didn’t reciprocate my feelings.
I was a litigator at a firm that consulted for large companies. The variety of cases we received encompassed minor disputes to full-on warfare. I felt it was inevitable one of my client’s enemies would one day come and find me to take their revenge, just like in the movies. Just as Mother had drilled into me as soon as she found out I was going to be a lawyer. It was my fault her hair was falling out and her stress levels were skyrocketing. Every week it was the same phone call—if only I would quit this crazy journey I’d begun, then followed by how I “would be the death of her,” and she was “worrying about me to no end.”
I hadn’t succumbed to the guilt yet. I lived my life for me, not anyone else. Though, if Brandon would just open up his stinking heart to me, I’d dive right in and change everything to be with him. We were so good for each other. Why couldn’t he see it?
“You need some help?” a deep, rumbly voice said from behind me.
I turned to see strong arms rippling with chiseled muscles peeking out from under a fitted t-shirt. My eyes dropped to take in his butt-hugging jeans, and it was then a sliver of skin at his waist appeared as he lifted a hand to rake it through luscious, thick hair.
Wow, the wafting scent that came from the action smelled just like Brandon. How was that possible? Brandon was unique smelling, a mixture of sandalwood with a hint of citrus. But before I could dwell on that oddity, the stranger moved toward me.
I backed up, only to hit the door behind me.
His brows drew together at my retreat, and he halted his advance, explaining slowly, “I have the oranges that rolled down the hall.”
I looked down at what he was carrying, and my face reddened. He was only trying to help, and here I was, ogling him like some weird fan girl. But clearly, he was enjoying my awkwardness if the smirk on his face was any indication.
In order to hide the blush I was sure was creeping up my neck and cheeks, I turned to unlock the door to my apartment and went inside to put whatever was left in my hand on the kitchen counter.
“Mind if I come in? Just to put the oranges down?” came his voice from the doorway.
“Yes, of course.” My neck wasn’t just turning red at this point, I could feel the heat radiating off my skin. Usually, only Brandon could have this effect on me, but clearly, I was in need of some male company and any good-looking guy would do.
I pointed to the space next to where I had put my ripped grocery bag, and he walked in and deposited his load of oranges on the counter beside it. Giving me a smile that almost melted my insides, he turned and walked back out the door. Thinking that he was going to continue on his way, I took a few deep breaths before following him back into the hallway to pick up the rest of my mess. But I found him bent over at the doorway, picking up what was now a melting container of ice cream and bruised berries strewn across the floor—yet more reasons for Mr. Holloway to fine me.
When he turned the corner into the hallway, I shook myself, then slapped my face a couple of times. What had gotten into me? It was like I had never seen a good-looking guy before and was sixteen all over again.
I grabbed the roll of paper towels and steeled myself to join my visitor in cleaning up the mess I had made. We worked in silence for a bit, both scrubbing at the carpet until I heard him chuckle and say, “Mr. Holloway sure does put the fear in all of us.”
That broke the tension, and I smiled. “He sure does. Say, I haven’t seen you before. Are you new around here?”
“I’m Thomas; just moved in last weekend. I’m down at the end of the hall. You probably don’t see me much as I usually use the back stairs.”
“Well, welcome to Crystal Lake and to our building.”
We both stood at this point. Whereas I had to put one hand on my knee to push myself up, he seemed to unbend gracefully to his full height without any help.
“Are you a dancer?” I asked.
He laughed out loud. “A dancer? That’s something I’ve never been called before.”
“Oh.” I felt my cheeks warm. “Well, thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.”
“Of course. That’s what neighbors do.”
Then he did something that left me frozen to the spot—he leaned forward and gave me a peck on the cheek, smiled, and walked off in the direction of what I assumed was his apartment.
What just happened?
It wasn’t until the elevator door dinged that I shook my head and refocused on my surroundings. Looking over to the sound, I groaned. Of course, Brandon chose this time to arrive!Wait! Had he seen the other guy?
Brandon came down the hallway, sporting his disheveled hair—hair I wanted so badly to run my hands through. Spying me, he stopped suddenly and asked, “Why are you standing in the middle of the hallway? And goodness gracious, what happened here?”
