Page 31 of The Sound of Silence

“Oh, that stinks! What is that?” I asked, crinkling up my nose.

“Hydrogen peroxide. It cuts through the oils. Don’t worry. It won’t smell for long. I’ll spray it down with an Ivory soap concentrate and all will be good. You’ll see.”

I just nodded and furrowed my brows. It was strange watching him scrub the carpet. Being married to Ethan, a man who never cleaned anything, made me forget men were actually capable of doing household chores. A part of me wanted to take the rags from Derek and clean it myself—but not because I felt it was my duty as a woman. I was done being a man’s doormat. I wanted to take over the task because it was my mess and I should be the one to clean it. However, stopping him might entail inadvertently touching him, and after the tingling I felt from our brief skin-to-skin contact a few moments earlier, that was dangerous.

After he finished, he threw the remaining rags into the trash bag and stood. Miraculously, the carpet looked cleaner than it had before the sauce spill.

“Wow! That sure is a magical home remedy you’ve got there! Here,” I said, extending my hand to take the bag. “Let me take those rags and get them washed for you. It’s the least I can do.”

When I took the bag, our hands briefly touched. Energy snapped in the air, and once again, I was reminded of the night we first met. The contact was like elastic stretching taut with unspoken words. And just like a rubber band, it snapped back as if the moment hadn’t happened at all.

“Thanks. Ah…Lisa will appreciate that,” he said awkwardly. Whatever this was, it was clear he felt it too. It took me a second or two to process what he’d said.

“Lisa?”

“One of the ladies who works for me at The Mill.”

My ears perked up and I pushed away the strange feelings. I needed to focus. The Mill sounded like it might be a restaurant or local bar. I had experience waitressing, even though it had been a while, and bartending was like riding a bike—one never forgot. Maybe they were hiring.

“I just got here a few weeks ago. I haven’t heard of The Mill. Is it nearby?”

“Yeah, it’s attached to the building. It’s where I grabbed the cleaner. Lisa takes care of washing the used sweat towels.”

I frowned.

“Now, I’m confused. Sweat towels? I think my assumption about The Mill is incorrect. I thought it was a restaurant or a bar,” I admitted. Derek laughed.

“No, not at all. Do you remember me telling you about the gym I was going to open?”

“Yeah, I remember.”

“That’s The Mill. I own the one on the property as well as a few more in other areas of the city. There’s a side entrance off of this hallway I usually use when I want to sneak in unnoticed,” he explained and pointed to a glass door about twenty feet behind him.

Realization dawned.

“Oh, I gotcha now. I knew a gym was next door, but I never paid attention to the name.”

“I give discounts to building tenants on this block. I live in the building across the street so it’s my way of getting in good with the neighbors,” he teased with a wink. “If you and your husband are interested in joining, I can hook you up.”

“Oh, no, there’s no husband,” I said in a rush. When he raised his eyebrows in question, I explained. “We’re divorced.”

The lie caused a pang of guilt to stab at me. Then again, what was a piece of paper? To me, Ethan and I were divorced in every sense of the word. There was no need to go into all the sordid details.

“Well, just you then,” he offered with an easy smile. He stuffed his hands in his jean pockets causing the dark blue denim to stretch across his legs.

I stared back at him, unsure how to respond. I couldn’t figure him out. He was just as kind and charming as I remembered, but there was something else. I’d found him attractive when we first met, and time had been good to him—very good. He was distracting, to say the least, and I didn’t mean that in a simple sense. His tall, broad build would make most women drool. He wore his sandy brown hair cropped short in the back with long, tight waves left on top to frame his tanned forehead. He had an easy aura that made me feel at ease—a feeling I couldn’t afford to have. I still needed to be cautious.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m going to have to pass,” I told him. His smile loosened, but he nodded.

I stepped away, meaning to retreat back to the confines of my apartment, yet found myself hesitating. I didn’t want to walk to my door with him watching. I didn’t really know him and didn’t want him to see which apartment was mine. Perhaps I was being ridiculous, but my past proved I had a poor track record when it came to sizing up a person’s character. I couldn’t trust my judgment about anyone.

“Are you sure?” he pressed. “It’s a great way to get to know people since most who live in the surrounding area are members of the gym.”

I was at a crossroad, conflicted about whether or not I should be getting to know anyone right now. A part of me wanted the security of friends and I’d been missing Natalia so much. If anything bad ever happened, I was truly alone here. Another part of me was terrified. Allowing people to get too close to me meant the web of lies surrounding my identity could be jeopardized. Then there was the issue of money. At this point, there was no way I could afford a gym membership.

“Yeah? Well, I suppose I can think about it.” I shrugged my shoulders in a noncommittal way.

“Well, if you want to come by,” he began and took a step closer to me. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small card. “Here’s a coupon for a free month just to try it out. If you decide to join after that, you’ll get the neighborhood discount.”

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