Page 7 of F*ck You

3

Lee

Igave up holding the towel around my body as I emptied my suitcase, looking for clean clothes, before I finally let it topple to the floor. I lived here now, this was my home. If I couldn’t decide on what to wear when staying in, then why should I need to wear anything to begin with? Todd always had preferences—or rules, rather—about always being clothed when walking around the house. Some shit about modesty. Cursing, I dropped the towel to the floor at the top of the steps and went downstairs to search through the kitchen. Fighting the urge to cover myself up out of habit, I rustled through the cabinets, seeking something to snack on.

Miss Morris left a few things behind, which I was grateful for now that my stomach was rumbling, and I really didn’t feel like finding my way to a store.

The first thing I’d done once the other guy left and I was alone here was add some of my bottles to the fridge to get cold, and then I placed the rest of them in a cabinet. There was no ice here other than the little tray I already knew I’d never remember to add water to.

All I had with me was rum and whiskey. Maybe I could find a liquor store around here to broaden my horizons.

I knew I should probably unpack my suitcase and hang up my clothes at some point, but that was future Lee’s problem. Today, I was going to eat chips naked on the couch while flipping through TV channels, and no one was going to be here to tell me it was wrong or to put some damn clothes on. I was reinventing myself here. Granted, I wasn’t becoming a better version quite yet, but all things took time. Today, I was going to avoid the constraints of society.

Grabbing an unopened bottle of my favorite whiskey and rum from the stockpile, I popped a chip into my mouth, plopped my naked ass onto the smooth fabric of the couch, and made a mental note to look into some furniture cleaning later if I was to leave this place in a couple of months. It was the most considerate thing I could do.

I spent the next few hours channel surfing and laughing at the craziness of some hilarious shows until I’d demolished two full-size chip bags, and then I looked around for something else to do. I had literally brought nothing with me other than clothes and booze, and the last thing I wanted to do was check my phone to pass the time. Fuck knew how much it would be blowing up by now once word got around about what happened. Maybe I could continue to channel surf until something grabbed my attention. This was my sabbatical, and I was already doing shit with it. Until I had to go out and get my life together, I intended to put in the least amount of effort possible into everything I did.

My eyes caught on something that appeared in the nearby window, and I let out a blood curdling scream, nearly spilling the precious amber liquid as my hands flew to my chest. The eyes in the window widened when they saw me and then disappeared.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Before I could calm my racing heart, I grabbed the still mostly full bottle of rum and darted for the back door. I flung myself outside before it was even entirely open and blocked the path of whoever was trying to run away.

The single moment of bravery that drove me out here left me in the dust as I stared into the dark eyes of the unknown man looming over me. He had at least a good two feet or so on me and an athletic build. His hands were large enough to snap me like a twig. I doubted I would be able to outrun him, but I would fight tooth and nail if needed. All he had to do was piss me off, and I’d have enough anger issues to make up for what I lacked in height and strength.

Squaring my shoulders, I lifted my chin and did my best to exude confidence, gathering together every bit of it I possibly could. If I was going to die, I was going to do it with the grace of a feral cat, and I’d even make sure I got in one good swing of the bottle to his face before I went out. I’d cut up that pretty face of his and maybe even get some glass in that sandy blond hair.

Note to self: if I survive, become more positive and stop thinking everyone is out to kill me.

“Are you going to kill me?” That’s it, Lee, straight to the point.

The man threw his hands up and took a step back. “What? No. I heard someone moved in here and wanted to meet the new neighbor. I’m sorry I scared you.”

I laughed. “Scared? I’m not scared. I’ll fuck you up if you try anything.”

His lips quirked in a half smirk. “Attitude, I like it.” His smirk quickly disappeared and his cheeks flushed. An uncomfortableness crossed over him as his hand moved to rub the back of his neck while he averted his gaze. “Uh…you’re not wearing any clothes.” I glanced down and realized he was right. I was so focused on how to take him out, I’d completely forgotten I was probably blinding him with my headlights.

“Shit.” Yup, I knew I was going to get murdered tonight, and here I was confronting a Peeping Tom with nothing but my birthday suit and a bottle of rum.

I banded my arm over my chest and held the bottle between my fingertips by the neck in my other hand in an attempt to let it hang down over my crotch. Everything in my suitcase was strewn all around the room upstairs, it would take too long to run and throw something on really quick. So, I did the only thing one could do in a situation like this. I pretended nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Yeah, I moved in only a few hours ago. The beach here is great and the weather is nice.”

“Yeah, the weather is pretty nice.” His eyes scanned the ocean, watching as small waves moved with ease, barely even creating bumps on the top of the water. His fingers dug into the back of his neck as he tried to avoid my naked body while talking about the weather.

“If you’re not going to tell me why you were looking in my windows, I’m going to head inside, lock the doors, and call the police. What did you say your name was again?”

His eyes shot to me and widened. “Oh, no, no. I wasn’t—I mean…I knocked, but no one answered, so I wanted to make sure you were alright. The guy who used to live here…I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

I scrunched my eyebrows. The only person I saw here earlier was Miss Morris, and she was no guy that I knew of. I was so focused on myself, though, it could be possible she wasn’t the only one living here all this time. Hadn’t she mentioned something about a husband? Fuck, I really needed to pay more attention when people were talking.

“What guy?”

“It’s nothing. I’m glad you’re okay though.” He held out his hand then realized I couldn’t shake it without uncovering myself, so he pulled it back like it had been in fire and flushed a second shade of red. “My name is Larsen, by the way, and I live three doors down in that direction.” He pointed behind me. “If you need anything, I’m usually around here somewhere. At home, on the beach, in the water. Shouldn’t be too difficult to find me.”

He was the second person today to say that. Did everyone here know everyone who stepped foot inside this place? It might be tough to be as invisible as I intended to be. All I wanted to do was drink and be left alone until I was forced to interact with the outside world. Hell, if I could make money by staying home and drinking, I’d snatch that job up in a heartbeat.

“Natalee. If you’re not a perverted murderer, then you can call me Lee. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to go inside. And no, you can’t follow.”

I almost chuckled when a third layer of blush covered his skin from his forehead to the tips of his ears and all the way to the bottom of his neck before disappearing beneath the collar of his shirt.

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