Page 2 of The Lies
“It’s a surprise.”
I let out a huff to show him how unimpressed I am at being marched through a cold, dingy car park and not rolling around in his bed.
“It’ll be worth it.”
I feel one giant hand leave my face, but the other alone still covers my eyes. I hear some banging and a door opening before I’m pushed forward and told to go up some stairs. The first thing that hits me the second we enter the building is the smell. A strong mix of rubbish and piss, it’s repulsive. I know we’re behind a row of shops but I have no fucking clue as to what the hell’s going on right now.
“Have you got some kind of kinky sex den?”
“This place is dirty,” he says, but the humour I can hear in his voice makes me think it’s not the sexy kind of dirty I was hoping for. Being trussed up, blindfolded and what the hell ever else isn’t something I’ve experienced before, but the thought of doing it with Blake gets me a little more excited than I want to admit.
“Okay,” he announces before pulling his hand away.
As my eyes run around the room, they take in the peeling wallpaper, the ripped carpet, and the kitchen doors that are hanging at all different angles from the units, some missing completely.
“I haven’t read Fifty Shades of Grey yet but I’m pretty sure this isn’t what his sex den looked like,” I comment as I peer around the door frame to find the most disgusting mattress I’ve ever seen propped up against the wall. Fuck knows what’s growing on that thing. My lips curl up in disgust; why the fuck has he brought me here?
“Not impressed?” Blake asks with a laugh.
“Umm…” I’m not sure what to say to that. He’s clearly brought me here for a reason. “This wasn’t what I had in mind for this evening after you stopped me leaving, I’ll be honest.”
“That’s on the agenda, don’t worry. I just wanted to show you this first.”
“Why?”
“It’s for you,” he announces. From the smile on his face, you’d think he’d just handed me the winning lottery ticket, not brought me into a crack whore’s den.
“Umm…” I say again as I try as hard as possible to figure this out.
“Come on, there’s more.”
“Oh goodie,” I say sarcastically. I haven’t seen the bathroom yet; that’s sure to be pleasant.
Instead of dragging me farther into the flat, Blake surprises me by pulling me back down the stairs. Ideas start forming in my head but what I’m thinking can’t possibly be true. It’s just my imagination running away with itself.
When we get to the bottom of the stairs, Blake comes to a stop with his hand on another door’s handle and my heart starts to race. Surely this can only be one thing?
When I see him push down the handle, I shut my eyes as I realise that if this isn’t what I think it is, I’m going to be gutted.
“Addison,” he says, making me look up. I step forward, and once he moves aside I find exactly what I was expecting.
My jaw drops as I look around the space that’s almost a horrendous as upstairs.
“Is this…?” I start to ask, but I realise I’m too scared to say the words out loud in case I’m wrong.
I feel Blake’s heat at my back before he wraps his arms around my waist. He leans forward and kisses my neck. My eyes close and I rest my head back on his shoulder. How do I feel so comfortable with a man I barely know?
“I’ve owned it for a while. I was renting out the flat but the couple were only here a few months before they stopped paying the rent. They were evicted yesterday. Ideally, I wanted to do some work to it so it wasn’t quite so shitty, but you ruined that plan by suddenly announcing you were leaving. What do you think?” he asks, suddenly sounding unsure of himself.
“Are you serious?” I turn in his arms and look up at him, waiting for him to tell me this is all one big joke. He doesn’t; he just smiles back at me.
“It’s all yours, if you want it.”
“Blake…this is amazing…but…”
“No buts, Addison.”
“Yes, buts,” I argue. “I have nothing! No money…I can’t afford rent on this place let alone be able to fill it with everything I’d need to start a business.”
