Page 11 of The Dollhouse

I couldn’t blame her for wanting to remain on Roman’s good side. Being on his bad side seemed unhealthy.

“If you’d rather I didn’t, I can always go to Autumn and get your shifts moved around a bit—”

“No,” I cut in with a shake of my head. “No, it’s fine. I’ve actually been thinking about him a lot.” Not something I should’ve admitted, because once I did, Crystal’s gaze narrowed in curiosity. That, or she was preparing herself for a fight, like she was worried I’d steal Roman and the backroom from her.

“You have?” She still sounded civil, even though she gripped the counter behind her so tightly it sounded like her fingernails were dragging on it.

I tried to play it off. “Yeah, you know, I dated someone who was supposed to be a good guy all throughout high school. Found him fucking my sister one day—it wasn’t their first time, and both my parents knew about it before I did. Maybe it’s time for a palate cleanser, you know?”

She sighed. “Damn, that sucks, chick. Just be careful where Roman is concerned. And Carter. They’re both dangerous, not guys you want to get messed up in, unless you’re willing to pay the price.”

“Aren’t you messed up in them?”

“What I do with them is business. I don’t let my heart into the equation when it comes to work. You’re still new at this, but you’ll learn to keep the two separate eventually. I just hope you don’t end up making any mistakes with them.” Crystal pushed off the counter, giving me a sad smile as she reached for me, trailing her long nails down the side of my cheek. “This world swallows up anyone who isn’t ready for it. I’d hate to see that happen to you, Zoey.”

She said nothing else, and after she pulled away, she walked out, leaving me to my pizza, which I hurriedly had to take out—nearly burning my fingers in the process because I didn’t have anything good to pull it out with.

As I ate, my pizza haphazardly torn into pieces and piled onto a paper plate, I couldn’t help but wonder what that was about. I liked Crystal, I did, but at the end there, she seemed a little miffed that I’d admitted I’d thought about Roman.

Roman wasn’t hers, and it was obvious him and Carter had made the rounds through the Dollhouse. She had no reason to be jealous. None at all.

I wasn’t looking for commitment, for something that would last. All I wanted to do was forget what I was running from, take a blank slate to my past and let it go. Was that too much to ask?

The next time I had to walk to work, I ran into Lake in the hall. Thank goodness I had a jacket zipped up over my shirt. I still wore my pink tennis shoes; I wouldn’t give those up. However, I did take some of my money and buy some new tops.

Lake was taking his trash out, and he visibly brightened when he saw me. Today he wore a blue t-shirt coupled with faded blue jeans. The color brought out his eyes, made him look even brighter-eyed and bushier-tailed than he usually was. His blonde hair was a bit tousled, dimples on his cheeks as he grinned.

“Fancy seeing you again,” he spoke, hitting the elevator’s button before I could. This place didn’t have a trash chute; you had to take your trash down and throw it in the dumpster in the corner of the parking lot yourself.

All I did was smile at him and glance at the glass above the elevator doors to see what floor the elevator was at. It figured I’d leave my apartment the same time Lake did.

“Where are you going on this fine Tuesday night?” he asked, taking a teeny step towards me.

“Work,” I said, hoping he’d leave it at that.

“Really? Isn’t it kind of late—” He stopped when I met those baby blues and asked him my own question.

“Isn’t it late to take out your garbage?”

Lake grinned, clearly unaffected by my glaring. The man couldn’t take a hint, it seemed, because he kept inching closer to me. “I don’t like to procrastinate. I’d rather do it tonight than have it sitting and waiting for me tomorrow morning.”

The elevator doors finally opened, and I hurried inside, wishing I could close him out, stop him from getting on with me. Alas, I wasn’t so fortunate. Lake and I were the only ones on the elevator, so I’d be forced to talk to him more.

“Where do you work?” he asked, trying to pry more information out of me.

Was this what people did? Talked to each other like this? Maybe I was so out of touch with everything I couldn’t focus on the fact that he was just trying to be nice. Maybe. Or maybe Lake was only trying to get in my pants—I was wearing short shorts, after all. A bit of my butt cheeks might be hanging out.

I gave him a smile. “It’s a secret.”

Thankfully, the elevator didn’t stop at any other floors on its way down, so the doors opened moments after that. I was the first to step out, Lake right behind me, carrying his black bag of trash as he tried to catch up to me.

“Are you walking?” he asked, hurrying around me to hold open the building’s door with his back, letting me walk out first. “I could drive you—it’s probably safer than walking, I mean.” Was it just me, or were his cheeks a bit pink at the suggestion that he’d drive me?

“I’ll be fine,” I said, parting ways with him in the parking lot.

“Oh, okay. Well, have fun at work?” It sounded like a question coming from him, and even though I shouldn’t, I found myself smiling softly as I turned away.

I gave him a wave as I headed to the sidewalk near the road. That one… I needed to keep my guard up when it came to him. Just because he seemed nice did not mean he was actually nice, and you know what? I totally meant what I’d said to Crystal the other day: I needed a palate cleanser. No more douches pretending to be good guys.

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