Page 70 of Myself

“Was that a meow? Is that a cat?”

“Yes,” Becca says, picking him up and placing him in front of me. “Wanna hold him?”

“I’ll pass,” I say, and she puts him back down. The thing rubs up against my leg, and I take a step back. “Where did he come from?”

“Remember I told you that Bradley was bringing him?”

I nod and then look at her as she plays with her phone. “Does that mean ...?”

“Hello, Becca. It feels like it’s been a long time,” a man says, walking into the kitchen. He wraps his arms around her and picks her up off her feet. She laughs, and when he places her back down, he turns to face me. “Hi, I’m Bradley.”

This is going to go over about as well as my and Becca’s night on the boat last night. Thankfully, there’s no water for Ryder to toss him into.

**

I push open the glass shower door after my second shower of the day and step out onto the dark gray rug. I bend down to pick up the white towel and begin to dry off when I hear Becca’s voice squeal her brother’s name.

I pause, the towel hanging over my shoulders. Dropping the towel to the floor, I slowly make my way out of the bathroom and into Becca’s bedroom. I open her bedroom door and place my ear to the crack to try to hear what’s being said.

I hear Ashlyn’s door to her room open, and I peek to see the back of her as she walks down the hallway wearing only an oversized shirt. I close my eyes. Shit! This isn’t going to go well. “Uh, Ryder. What are you doing here?” I hear her ask as she enters the kitchen.

“I came down because you ignored my text message,” he responds. There’s a long pause before I hear Ashlyn speak again. I can only imagine the fear that Becca is experiencing right now. Praying that I don’t leave her room for Ryder to find me here in their apartment. Naked.

“I’m sorry. My phone is off,” she says in a rush.

“You’d better keep it off for the next three days, princess.” I hang my head when I hear Bradley speak. Fuck!

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” Ryder demands.

“I’m Bradley.”

I stand still naked and trying to hear what is being said but only hear silence. After a few long minutes, the front door slams, and I softly close Becca’s door to finish drying off. Once I get dressed, I walk out and find Becca along with Bradley standing in the kitchen. The moment she sees me, her eyes dart to the door as if she’s afraid Ryder may walk back in.

“Where’s Ashlyn?” I ask, looking around still not seeing her.

“She ran out after Ryder,” Bradley growls.

I don’t say anything as I walk up to Becca and wrap my arms around her from behind. She spins around in them and pushes me away. “You need to go back to the bedroom,” she says, whispering and then returning her attention to the door.

“I’m fine,” I argue but allow her to pull away from me. “So what was all that about?” I ask Becca, but Bradley is the one who answers.

“Seems that Ashlyn has been doing more than working.”

Becca narrows her eyes on the back of his head and opens her mouth to speak just as the front door swings open. Becca jumps in front of me as if her five-foot-three can hide my six-foot-two. She lets out a breath when Ashlyn slams the door behind her, letting us know she has returned alone.

“What was that about?” Bradley asks as his brown eyes narrow just a bit.

Ashlyn looks over at us, and I can see the unshed tears in her eyes. I decide to look up at the ceiling as if it is more interesting than their argument.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” she mumbles before taking off toward her bedroom. Her door shuts, and he takes off after her.

“Why the hell didn’t you stay in the bedroom?” Becca demands the moment Ashlyn’s door closes.

I look down at her and sigh. “He had left.”

“He could have come back,” she argues.

“But he didn’t,” I growl.

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