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The left side of his face twitched. He chewed the inside of his cheek.
Then he slowly backed away, never taking his eyes off me for a second.
I waited until I heard the door to his apartment slam shut. Then I thrust my fists in the air and did a happy little dance to celebrate my victory.
“I did it. I did it,” I whispered to myself. Then I headed upstairs to my apartment, humming “We Are the Champions” on my way.
I locked the door behind me and flopped down on my sofa.
Everything was working out. Everything was awesome. I was awesome, feisty and powerful.
Now that I was here, I’d settle in and start my writing. I needed to prep a few blog posts, get them scheduled. It was possible to be both regular in my production, and badass in every way that mattered. Routine had a place in life, I could see that now.
Time with Gabriel. Write. Post. Succeed.
That was a good routine—the only one I needed, really.
Who’d have thought Gabriel could teach me something about life that would stick? Not me. But I liked it. Maybe I could rub off a little bit on him too, throw a little happy chaos into his order. I wouldn’t just make his underwear crooked, either. Maybe I could convince him to open up a little with the people close to him. That’d be nice.
I went to my dresser to pull out my laptop. I opened the drawer.
It wasn’t there.
A weird sensation prickled across my skin.
I was sure I’d put it in there. Where else could it be?
I checked my messenger bag, under the sofa, and between the cushions. I even checked in the fridge and freezer for good measure.
Knots formed in my shoulders, pressure building up the back of my neck. Every thud of my heart felt like a subwoofer, pounding louder and louder in my ears.
Where was it? It had to be somewhere.
I checked the bathroom and twisted around my tiny apartment, praying that I’d somehow glanced past it, like it had been sitting right in front of me this whole time.
Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
If it wasn’t here…Maxim must have broken in and stolen it.
It was the only possibility that made any sense. I checked the locks on my door, including all the extra ones I’d installed after I’d found him lurking here in the dark.
Everything looked fine, not a single break or scrape.
He hadn’t broken in through the door at all, which meant….
I ran across the room and threw back the window curtain.
Jagged shards of glass stuck out the frame. Scattered and shattered bits crunched beneath my heel. Winter air bit my cheeks.
As bitter fury coursed white hot through my veins, a primal growl climbed up my throat and burst forth.
My window was broken, my laptop was gone, and Maxim freaking Loughty had broken into my private space and stolen from me. He couldn’t get away with this. I wouldn’t let him.
I stalked my way to Maxim’s place, every step closer raising the pressure forming inside of me. I slammed my fist against his door.
I could hear him approach. Through the small gap beneath his crooked door, I caught his shadow on the carpet.
“If this ain't a free pizza—” Maxim threw the door open.
