AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grabbing the bar of soap, I began furiously scrubbing it over my arms, chest, and stomach...only to realize nothing was happening. It wasn’t lathering at all—I might as well have been scrubbing with a plastic bar. Stepping out of the shower, I ignored the puddles of water I left behind as I threw the useless soap into the trash and searched through my cupboards.
All my extras were missing. Of course they were.
Gritting my teeth, I grabbed a washcloth on my way back to the shower and attempted to scrub everything off using only that and the water.
When I gave up minutes later, I grabbed my shampoo bottle from where I’d dropped it earlier but hesitated just as I was about to use it. Unscrewing the cap, I took a hesitant sniff and had to bite down on the inside of my cheek when a bitterly strong smell hit me. Turning the bottle over, I struggled to calm my breathing and anger as I watched my vinegar-laced shampoo steadily pour out.
“Maci!” I yelled as I shut off the water.
Not bothering with a towel, I stalked into my bedroom, slipped on a pair of drawstring sweats, and grabbed my keys as I headed for her apartment. I had no doubt she was waiting for me, just as I doubted she would let me in.
But I didn’t plan on knocking.
“You know...” she calmly began as soon as I set foot in her apartment, and I turned for where she sat on the couch. Leg up on the cushion as she steadily painted her toenails. “Clear nail polish on bars of soap works wonders. Well, for my purposes, anyway.”
“Maci, look at me,” I bit out. When she didn’t look up, all that anger I’d tried willing away with useless, calming breaths came rushing back to the surface, and I snapped. Stalking over to her, I grabbed the bottle of clear polish and threw it across the room.
“Connor—”
“I said fucking look at me!”
Her eyes widened and she leaned back into the couch as I crowded over her.
“This isn’t funny. I have a job...a real job. Something you know nothing about, but I can’t go to work with a green fucking face, Maci.”
“Okay, it was—”
“I don’t care what it was,” I said over her. “You better hope like hell this comes off and that you have my replacements close by.”
She licked her full lips and her eyes darted away before landing on me again. “Yeah, all right. I’ll go get them,” she said, her voice barely more than a breath.
When she didn’t attempt to get up, I leaned even closer and curled my lip. “Now.”
“I need you to move first.”
Shoving off the back of the sofa, I crossed my arms over my bare, stained chest and kept my glare on her as she hurried to the back of her apartment.
When she returned with a bag of all the extras from my cupboards, I snatched it away and muttered, “You’re such a child, Maci. Grow the hell up.”
She visibly started and floundered for something to say as I walked to the door. “I’m the child? Are you kidding me? Like you had no part in this?”
“I scared you. That’s completely different than what you just did. If I get suspended for showing up like this tomorrow, I’ll gladly inform your brothers of your boyfriend.”
“You know what? Screw you,” she said with a scoff. “At least this morning showed a glimpse of the Connor I knew growing up. At least you’re showing some kind of emotion right now, even if you are being an asshole.” She waved her hand dismissively at me. “Whoever you’ve been the last however many months is not you. You’ve been a fucking zombie. No feelings—nothing. So, at least there’s something tonight. Glad to know you’re still human.”
I took each bitter statement like a sledgehammer to my chest because she was right, and I hated that she was. This was the first time I could remember feeling anything in so long, even if it was annoyance and anger, and I didn’t know what to do with that.
Clearing my throat, I brushed away the realization that Maci Price made me feel anything at all and locked onto her gray eyes. “I’m the one with green skin, and you’re pissed off? Classy.”
With a deep, unsteady breath, I left her apartment and went back to mine for another attempt at a shower, my thoughts a confusing mess of irritation and shame as I did.
* * *
MACI
My legs gave out and I collapsed onto the couch as soon as I heard his door shut.
Was it ridiculous to still be completely turned on from what just happened? What am I saying? Of course it was. It was ridiculous to get turned on in the first place.
