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Vanessa.
I never had the intention of moving into the same building as her. It just sort of happened. I didn’t even realize it until we were a month into the semester, and I saw her one evening trying to carry a dozen grocery bags up to her apartment, so I offered to help. After that, I thought about moving out, but I loved this building. It was a great location, just between the campus and the community center. I didn’t want to give it up, especially considering we’d barely seen each other.
What are the odds that today, of all days, is the one I see her?
Her hand is pressed against the door, head bent down, her sleek hair falling down and shielding her face from me. She balls her fingers into a fist and pounds them against the door.
“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she mutters, completely unaware of my presence.
“Ness?” I ask, slowly moving toward her, unsure of what’s going on.
Vanessa’s head shoots upward at the sound of her name, and those big brown eyes focus on me. They’re wide and red-rimmed from crying, those long lashes of hers glued together as mascara trails down her cheeks.
“Are you okay?” Moving closer, I take her in from head to toe, assessing every inch of her body, looking for any sign that she might be injured or that something happened to make her cry. “Did something happen?”
She blinks as if trying to hold back the tears, but it’s useless.
I quickly cross the hallway. The need to pull her into my arms and reassure her everything would be okay is overwhelming me.
She’s not your girl,I remind myself as I stop just in front of her. Tilting her chin back, I force her to look at me. “What happened? Did somebody hurt you?”
“I…” Her throat bobs as she swallows. “No, I’m not hurt.” She snorts, brushing away the tears with the back of her hand. “Well, not if you don’t count a broken heart and bruised pride after seeing your boyfriend of eight years with a girl ten years younger than you announcing they’re engaged before he has the decency to break up with you.”
Another sob rips out of her lungs, more tears falling down.
Fucking hell.
“Vanessa, I don’t…”
Screw it.Shaking my head, I pull her into my arms. I don’t even know what to say. Are there even words to say to something like that? Like seriously, how big of an asshole do you have to be to propose to another person when you’re already dating somebody? And somebody as amazing as Vanessa, no less? Like, what the hell’s wrong with you, dude?
Her whole body shakes with her sobs as she buries her head into my chest, her fingers clinging to me like I’m her lifeline.
“Shhh…” I whisper softly, tightening my grip on her.
I place my chin on top of her head, soothing my hand up and down her back. There’s a whiff of strawberry scent, probably her shampoo. I shouldn’t have noticed it. The woman is crying in my arms because her asshole boyfriend broke her heart. I shouldn’t notice how good she smells. How good she feels in my arms. I shouldn’t think about how differently I’d have treated her if she were mine.
“I’m s-so s-sorry,” Vanessa stutters after a while, pulling back.
Reluctantly, I loosen my grip on her but don’t let go, not completely.
“It’s fine.”
“How’s it fine?” She huffs, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. “I slobbered all over you. I’m so sorry. I’m a mess…”
I take her hand in mine. “It’s fine. It’s just a shirt.” I look toward her apartment door. “Why were you banging on your door?”
“Like the dumbass I am, I left my keys in the car. At least I hope they’re in my car because the other alternative is that I left them in my office while I was rushing to grab some dinner. Because, like the idiot I am, I thought I’d pick up some dinner because my boyfriend was having a late night in the office, and I didn’t want him to be hungry. The joke’s on me, huh?” she snorts, fresh tears filling her eyes. Her words are coming out in a rush, every so often interrupted by a hiccup. “After I left him with his sidekick, the only thing I wanted was to get into my apartment and get drunk, so I can forget this disaster of a day ever happened, but I couldn’t even do that right.”
She was bringing him dinner at work when she saw him? What a piece of shit!
My fingers curl into fists. If the asshole were in front of me, I’d punch him in the face.
Calm down! She doesn’t need you to lose your shit,I remind myself.
Breathing out slowly, I unclasp my fingers and take a step back, putting on my best smile.“How about you come to my place for that drink and take a moment to breathe, and then we can go down to get your key?”
The words are out of my mouth before I can think too much about them.
