Page 9 of F*ck You

He didn’t ask for his shirt back, and I didn’t think to offer it to him. Looking at the menus of delivery options Miss Morris had left me, I decided on pizza for tonight and briefly wondered if Larsen would eventually come back to collect his shirt.

Larsen

“Hi, Giana.” I rolled my eyes as Giana sauntered up to me for the second time today. She’d been after me for a long time, it was clear to anyone and everyone, but I wasn’t interested. Sure, we had one fun night together last year when I was drunk and bored, but she hasn’t gone away since. I didn’t want to lead her on, and I made it clear I didn’t want a continuation of that night, but she seemed to have other plans. I hadn’t yet met anyone as stubborn as her. Although, the new girl could give her a run for that title.

“Hey, Larsen.” She adjusted her top and threw her soda in the trash before falling into step beside me. “Have you thought any more about going out on the water tonight? I got a new yacht and thought what better way to break it in than a get together with some friends. It’s my birthday.”

I wondered if she would ever take a simple no for an answer. Last year on her birthday I showed up. I was only there because I was working as a member of the crew, even though she kept pulling me aside and trying to shove a drink into my hand despite me being on the job. She never took no for an answer, no matter the circumstances.

Reading between the lines, if I said yes, she was intending this to be a private, two-person party. If I said no, then she would probably keep trying until she eventually got a yes.

“No, thanks for the invite, but as I said earlier, I have plans already.”

I didn’t need to look directly at her to see her face fall at my rejection. Then it lit back up again when an idea hit her, and I sucked in a breath of air.

“Maybe tomorrow night then?” She clasped her hands together as the corners of her mouth turned up in a grin. She would have boat parties as often as she could for as long as the weather would allow, and while I was aware her invites would only get more persistent each time, I still felt the need to pull away. “I know, how about we each bring a friend? You can bring Chase and I can bring someone I know.” She tapped a finger against her chin as she thought about how to make this a double date. I briefly thought about accepting her offer and seeing if the new girl wanted to join, but I shook my head. I most likely scared her too much to the point where she would never want to see me again. Looking back, I really had no idea why I was peeking in her window. When no one answered the door, I thought back to what Chase had said and grew concerned. Now I realized I should’ve just let her be.

“Sorry, I’m booked up for a little while. Busy times, you know?”

She nodded as though she understood everything. “I see. How about the first night you’re free? We can make a night of it. Oh, it will be so fun.” A grin stretched across her face as she clapped her hands together, and I ground my teeth to keep from saying something I would regret. I didn’t want to hurt her, she was an alright girl, but how could I tell her to just leave me alone? I wasn’t interested in her at all, but I couldn’t seem to tell her in a way she would understand.

I’d even flat out told her before that I wasn’t interested, and she still didn’t buy it.

Then I had a lightbulb idea. She did say I could bring a friend…maybe I should ask Lee after all.

“Do we have a deal?”

I turned my head to see Giana flashing me the biggest grin she could muster. A darkness gleamed in her eyes, and I wondered if I should be afraid of what she might have in mind. I would definitely need to see if I could get Lee to go with me, and then maybe Giana would finally get the hint that I’d moved on.

“Sure, we’ll see what happens.”

We reached the steps to my condo and I waved goodbye, indicating I was ready for her to go. If I let her inside, she would never leave.

“I’ll see you later, Larsen.” My name on her lips was hard and it grated against my eardrums. She liked to say my name in that high-pitched, singsong way, but I couldn’t stand it.

However, I did like the way Lee said my name. Even though she forgot it the first time I told her, she still made it a point to use it this last time, and she said it in a way that made me want to hear it again.

I thought back to our encounter. She certainly didn’t care much about what the world would think of her, otherwise what other reason would she have for stepping outside naked with nothing but alcohol in her hands? I admired her fuck it all attitude. She was the kind of person who would storm in with the destructive force of a hurricane, but the thing that really scared me was how much I wanted to test the stormy waters. I resisted the urge to go back as I stepped inside and shut the door behind me.

It wasn’t that often someone like her showed up around here. Most of the time when someone rented a condo, they didn’t last much longer than a month or two. Once the vacation feeling was over for them, they wanted to go back to the life they were escaping from.

I hoped, however, this girl stuck around. She was clearly here for a reason. I wondered what she was running from.

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