Page 30 of Fox
“Not be so insecure that a woman beating me at shots would directly impact my manhood,” I say flatly, earning two sets of eye rolls.
“Wow, must be so nice to stand there so high on your pedestal,” Ash groans as he stands up.
“Come on, Atlas, let’s get back to the apartment.” Atlas and Ash share a luxury apartment downtown near the shop. I don’t know how those two work together all day and then share the same living area, but they seem to make it work. Though I guess usually their nights consist ofnotbeing at the apartment.
We say our goodbyes, and once I shut the door, I glance toward my bedroom. Janie hasn’t come out yet. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do here. Do I let her sleep and leave her here while I go to work? If I do that, she’s stuck here until I get off tonight unless she calls an Uber. I guess I could check on her and see if she wants me to take her to her place. Walking down the hall to my bedroom, I prepare to knock on the door when a small sob catches my ear.
Fuck, is she crying?
Rubbing the back of my neck, already uncomfortable with the situation, I lightly tap on the door before opening it a crack and looking into the dark room.
“You okay, Torch?” I ask as I peer in, the light from the hallway casting a warm glow over her, and, oh fuck, she’s naked. I mean, she has her rat’s nest of hair and my duvet covering her, but she’s definitely naked.
“No.” She chokes out between sobs as she bows her head. Walking into the bedroom, I sit on the edge of my bed, trying to ignore my brain, which is being an asshole currently and flashing images of me burying my face in her soft tits.
“What’s wrong?” I croak out. “Is it the hangover?” She laughs weakly, and I note her tremors are worse now than usual.I wonder if she has her medication in her purse.
“No, it’s... I just got a call to pick up Dad’s ashes today. I’ve waited as long as they’ll give me, and I was hoping not to have to go alone. I knew Brody would never go, but I don’t know; I guess it was just wishful thinking I could find someone. I don’t know what to do because I have to order an urn, and what if I choose the wrong one? I can’t choose a fucking couch, but I’m supposed to pick the container that will hold my dad forever? And then where do I put it? What if I try to put it in the right spot and drop it? And then there’s the fact that I’ve left him there for way longer than he needed to be. What kind of shitty daughter does that? I couldn’t be bothered. I left my dad in a box in a crematorium, alone, and now I’m upset that I have to get him and pick out an urn? I’m such an ungrateful piece of—”
I place my hands on her shaking ones and squeeze them to get her to stop her rant. “Breathe,” I say softly. I feel her hands grip mine, and I have the urge to pull her against me and make her pain go away.
“Can we call a temporary truce?” She whispers so weakly. I blink down at her and cock my head to one side.
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t have any real friends I can trust to see me like this.” She gestures to her tear-stained face. “You’re the only one who knows about my condition, the only one who has seen me cry. And you were the only other person as close to Dad as I was. Please? I don’t want to do this alone.” The last part comes out as a choked sob, and her head drops down, her straightened but messy hair falling in a curtain to hide her face.
“Hey.” My hand grabs her chin as I tilt her face to look up at me. “Of course,” I say with a small smile. “I’ll happily put up a truce for the weekend and take you. I don’t have any clients today, so I’m sure the guys can handle the shop. Well, Derek can anyway, and he owes me this after bailing last night. How about you get up, shower, and I’ll run you to your place so you can get dressed, and then we can head there?” The small smile that appears on her face melts me. Most of the smiles I’ve seen from Janie were fake, polite, influencer smiles. But this? This is a genuine smile. Her cheeks go wide, her nose scrunches just a little, and those fucking dimples… Fuck, I just want to—
“Okay.” I take a deep breath and remove my hands from her warm, soft skin. “I’ll let you shower. If you want to borrow one, my closet has some T-shirts.” I need to get the fuck out of this room. I adjust my half-hard dick, thankful for the mostly dark room. “I’ll be in the living room when you are done. Take your time. I’ll put your coffee in the fridge so it’s still cold when you get out.”
“What?” Her brows knit together as she reaches over to turn on the bedside lamp, and god, please don’t let her see my semi. Please, please,please.
“I got you coffee fromNuts About Dough. I had to meet someone earlier for a business meeting. I grabbed you your iceddecaf and a couple of pastries. No chocolate, don’t worry.” Janie stands in the middle of my room, the duvet clutched to her chest as new tears roll down her cheeks. “What now?” I panic, and she shakes her head.
“You brought me coffee and food?” God, it’s getting too—I can’t breathe. Janie’s wrapping her small arms around my waist, and her body’s pressed to mine. “Thank you so much,” she murmurs, burying herself deeper into me. I don’t reciprocate, not because I don’t want to, but because all the blood I have in my body is currently racing to my dick, and there’s nothing left up top to remind my brain how to hug someone.
“Ow!” Janie jolts back. “Damn, your phone or something stabbed me.”Kill me now.I watch her rub her side before smiling up at me. “I really appreciate everything, Fox. I’m gonna go take a shower now.” I give her a polite smile and nod before hightailing it out of my room to go and handle myphone problem.
FOURTEEN
janie
“You don’t have to come in.” I groan as Fox steps out of his truck and begins to follow me toward the steps that lead to my apartment.
“What? You afraid I’ll judge your mess?” He says sarcastically while peering over my shoulder. “Your apartment’s having some kind of party?” He asks while motioning behind me with a tilt of his head. Turning around, I see a large group of people making signs and talking with each other by the front entrance to the main lobby of the building.
“Beats me,” I mutter while heading upstairs. “The owners have like eight kids, all in activities. Sometimes they have them set up out there for fundraisers and hit up the tenants.” I mutter while unlocking my apartment and walking in. Fox follows me, and I notice how his demeanor changes.
“Torch,” He states in confusion while looking around. “Did you just—”
“Don’t.” I wave my hand while heading toward my bedroom. “Don’t ask me that. I know it’s minimal.” I hear his surprised laugh as I search for some clothes to change into, despite loving the feel of his shirt on me.Hmm… Maybe I could pair it with some shorts? It’s massive, but I could tie it.
I think about how that would mean I would have to show my arms and then smile because Fox knows and doesn’t care. He doesn’t care about my tremors.
“Minimal is an understatement. You don’t even have a couch. Fuck, there’s not even a picture of anyone.”
I grunt while hooking my bra and slipping his shirt back on. “You are the only person I know who would be so disappointed they couldn’t give me shit about a messy apartment that they would turn around and give me shit because it’s too clean and sparse.”
