Page 115 of Inflame

“Tell me more.”

“Okay, I got the deets.”

“The what?”

“I’m about to spill the tea.”

“What? Why?” What the hell is happening? I run my hands over the back of my neck. I’m a few seconds away from exploding from the suspense.

“Never mind. Anyway, Maxwell broke his lease before renewal was up. So, Claire’s camping out at Blake’s place.”

“Who the fuck is Blake?” His name sounds familiar, and I wonder if we met. Maybe at yoga? And just when I think I can’t hate Maxwell any more than I already do, he does something else to make it worse. What did Claire ever see in him?

“Blake is one of her besties.”

I groan. “Dude, you did not just saybesties.”

“Oh, you can bet your asshole I did. You probably met him, he is very eclectic in his style.”

I shake my head at his terminology and struggle to even find the meaning behind his lame ass comments. “Tell me more about this Blake guy.”

“Met at River Valley University. Worked at the gym close to the campus together. He is—”

“Any idea if they had relations?” I interrupt, cutting to the core of my potential issue with him.

“She has the one thing he doesn’t want.”

“And what is that?”

“A vagina.”

I huff out a breath that sounds like a bark. “Anything else I should know?”

“Blake has a male roommate, Henry, who is extremely promiscuous. And not gay.”

“Fuck.”

“Can you remind me again?”

“Of what?”

“Do you like her, like her?”

“Bye, Tyler.”

“Toodles.”

I sigh and end the call. Is Claire going to move in with them? Maybe this isn’t temporary for her at all. It’s not like she has many options with her limited savings.

What a disaster. I scold myself for not discovering this information about the lease sooner. No wonder the run-in at the restaurant was so heated between the two of them. She got booted out of the place she was trying to make a home. He better be glad I wasn’t there to even the playing field.

I rub at the back of my neck. It’s not even eight o’clock in the morning, and I already can tell that today is going to be a challenge to get through without losing it on somebody.

I lock up my apartment and take the elevator down to the ground floor. As I make my way to my car, more thoughts of last night drift through my head.

Claire smashing objects.

Catching raindrops on her tongue.

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