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LAUREL
One week later…
Lacey didn’t wantto squander any time once released. She came straight home, flipped open her laptop, and completed that paper. Her professors would have understood under the circumstances, but she is hell bent on graduating this semester, and wants nothing to mess that up. I can’t believe how much she has grown up since I last saw her.
She even wanted to go grocery shopping so she wouldn’t have to leave the house except to go to school. I think the attack screwed with her more than she leads on, but she will need some time to readjust.
“How did you get the apartment with no job lined up? Did it have to be on the same floor as me? I don’t want you barging into my business.”
My sister gives me no credit. I didn’t move into her apartment building to track her. It has the best rent in the vicinity, and since I’m out of a job right now, it is the best place for me to move. Low rent equals more time to find a job.
“Listen, Lacey. I won’t overstep my bounds. We’re both adults and I don’t want to sleep on your couch for the foreseeable future. That’s why I got the apartment.”
I lay the grocery bags down on the counter, marveling at how big the apartment is for the rent. Mine back home cost twice as much with half the space. However, I’ve always kept my spending under wraps. I have enough savings to tide me over for a couple of months at most.
“Classes and studying keep me busy. I don’t have a social life. Please don’t make things harder.”
I’m not her mom. Lacey is a drama queen when she gets into her feelings. Why on earth does she think that just because I moved in two apartments down that I’m going to be dropping in on her all the time? I have my own life, too.
“I didn’t know I was going to lose my job when I flew out here. I would go back, but there’s nothing left for me.”
I put away the groceries I bought into my fridge and pantry.
“So, you’re staying?” Lacey asks, hands on her hip.
“Thinking about it.”
Is this really a problem? Why is she making such a big deal about this? I thought she would be happy to have me out here.
“Let’s order pizza and watch some movies.”
Lacey isn’t too keen on that idea. “I just spent a shit ton of money on groceries, and you want to order a pizza?”
“Just because we just bought it doesn’t mean it has to be eaten right away.”
After eating pizza and watching an episode of The Bachelor, Lacey is ready to leave. She doesn’t seem to like to be around me much, or maybe it’s because she sees me more like a mother right now than a sister. She can’t be mad at me for flying down here to take care of her while she was in the damn hospital.
“Okay, don’t need to make a big deal about it. You’re not gonna hurt my feelings’ cause you want to go home. Run, fly free, little bird.”
As I get up to usher her out, my phone dings.
Shawn: I miss you
We dated for about a year, but broke up before I came to Dallas. The breakup was not a hard decision. About a week ago, he called and asked if we could manage a long-distance relationship. Uh, no! It never works. Shawn was kind, but I never saw a future with him. Our relationship was more about having someone to tend to my needs, and not really to move on to that next step. We were never going to get engaged or married.
Something in the pit of my abdomen draws me to open my apartment door and peer down the hallway to make sure my sister made it inside her apartment. I step out of my doorway, and the hair rises on the back of my neck. Someone is watching me. Before assessing the threat, my knee goes right in between his legs and there’s an audible groan. Standing a few inches away is a man hunched over, cupping his precious jewels.
He gets up, his hands clutching around my waistline and hoisting me like a rag doll. Spinning around, the guy pins me against the wall and grasps both my wrists. I examine my attacker while struggling to breathe, my chest tightening. Then arrives the sweaty palms, adrenaline rush, and increased heart rate. The defense classes my dad made me take when I was a teenager finally came in handy. I have to remember to thank him later.
The only complication is the guy that leaves me pinned is my sister’s former boss, Hudson. Who would have known I’d run into him again? Like this? If I had seen him before, kneeing him in the groin, maybe my reply would have been slightly different, although it would still involve his balls. My eyebrow raises with the thought of it.
He’s so close to me, and his hot breath is hitting my neck. I take my time studying him. Dark-brown eyes and a few days of stubble give his face a touch more of masculinity. Visions of him in between my thighs with that stubble tickling my skin are playing in my head. My whole body tingles.
“What the hell is your problem?”
His breath smells like grapes, diverting me from his question while his eyes dart down to my mouth. A guy I just kneed in the groin has not affixed me to a wall before, but Hudson is hot. So, it doesn’t bother me.
Hudson being angry makes me awfully uncomfortable right now. I need to gain control of myself. His body being pushed up against mine isn’t helping.
