Page 2 of Staying for Her

“Well I decided to fight the wall with my foot and the wall won,” I joke, trying to make light of the fact that I just embarrassed myself in front of my new neighbor. Great first impression, Billie.

“As it usually will,” he mutters, that cocky smirk still lingering on his lips as he leans against the doorjamb of his apartment, his eyes boring into mine. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

I take a breath and wonder if I want a stranger to know my business, but I decide to throw caution to the wind and just accept the fact that my life has turned into a Spanish telenovela.

“Well, I just walked in on my boyfriend of two years fucking another woman in our bed, so no, I’m not really okay,” I mutter, his features sobering and before he says something back, the door to my apartment opens, and out walks the mother of Mike’s child. The stranger’s eyes follow her, widening as he takes in her stomach. “Oh yeah, and she’s pregnant with his baby.”

“Damn, that’s a lot to take in, in one go,” he says, disbelief crossing his features.

“Imagine living it,” I say just as Mike walks out into the hallway, looking between me and the towel boy.

“Billie, come back inside so we can talk.” He motions for me to follow him but I stay seated on the floor, rooted in place. “Come on, I know you have nowhere to go, so you kind of have no choice but to come back in with me.”

Fuck, he’s right. All my belongings are in there, and the thought of finding a hotel right now is last on my list of things I want to do.

“Fine,” I mutter, standing up and bracing myself on the wall, checking if my foot still feels broken. When my weight doesn’t buckle when I stand on it, I take a step toward the door.

“Wait,” towel boy says as both Mike and I peer back at him. “She does have somewhere to stay.” He motions to his open door, my mouth opening in shock.

Is he seriously offering for me to sleep at his place for the night?

He smiles in my direction and I can’t help the sense of relief I feel from not having to go inside my apartment and deal with Mike for the rest of the night. I need to be away from him and the memory of what I saw today, so I smile back, taking a step toward him.

“Billie, you can’t be serious.”

I look back, rolling my eyes.

“So that’s it, you’ll just open your legs for everyone that asks?”

I stop in my tracks, my eyes becoming murderous and my fists clench at my sides. I take a breath and towel boy’s eyes widen as I turn, ready to take Mike to the ground for even insinuating that I would cheat. But before I can launch myself at him, towel boy has an arm around my middle as I struggle to get free.

“Let me go. I’ve got to punch him in the face for that comment! You’re the one that cheated on me, you bastard!” I scream, my arms and legs flailing until I feel lips whisper against my ear, causing every cell in my body to still on contact.

“Baby, calm down. He’s not worth it.”

My body stills as my eyes connect with Mike’s, who looks just as pissed as I feel. “Come inside, Billie,” Towel Boy says and I nod, knowing that I need to get out of this hallway and fast.

“Good luck with that one. She doesn’t put out at all. Why do you think I cheated in the first place!” Mike yells as I open my mouth to tell him just how much of a horrible liar he is, but I’m thwarted when I’m lifted off the ground and hauled inside the towel boy’s apartment, the door shutting behind us.

Lucas

Even with the door shut and her ex nowhere to be seen, this girl is still thrashing against my hold and I smile as I place her gently on my couch. I take a second to take her in. The fiery-red hair isn’t natural but fits that firecracker I just saw in the hallway. She’s wearing baggy jeans with holes at the knees, worn Converse shoes, and a clearly thrifted top that is a mishmash of different metal bands and for some reason, this look is doing all kinds of things to my libido.

“You wanna calm down now?” I ask, a smirk playing at the edges of my lips as her eyes flick to mine, that fire still lingering from earlier. I expect her to say something snarky back, I expect to be berated for picking her up and manhandling her into my place but what I get instead is a stunned look in her eyes as she takes in my appearance.

I noticed the way her eyes raked over my body earlier but now we’re alone and as her gaze lingers on my body, taking in my tattooed chest, toned stomach, and towel that is hanging just a little too low, I know I need to change before this gets out of hand. She just broke up with her boyfriend. I haven’t been with a woman in way too long, so being fully dressed needs to be the first step in figuring out this whole situation.

“I think I need to get dressed,” I mutter, my fingers holding the knot of my towel resting against my hips as her eyes slowly rise to mine. “Are you okay to stay here for a second?”

She nods, a pink hue rising on her cheeks as my fingers clench at my towel, resisting the urge to touch her. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.” Her voice is quiet, a direct contrast to earlier, and I give her a sad smile as I excuse myself and head into my bedroom.

The second I shut the door, I rest my head on the wood and take a deep breath, needing to control myself. I moved here for a reason. I moved here because I needed a break from the line of women my mother was parading at my door, and moving here meant she would be too embarrassed to be seen in a place that was below her “station.”

I grew up not knowing what a mother’s hug felt like, I grew up never going on a family vacation unless the press was involved and I hated every second of it. Yes, I grew up with money, but I hated everything about our lifestyle. I never had freedom. All I knew was the scrutiny of my parents and how my actions affected the family name. So when I turned eighteen, I enrolled in a college that was as far away from them as I could and decided to start living my life free of their expectations. The only time I appreciated my family’s money was when they sent me away to summer camp, needing my rule-breaking ass away from them for a while, and that’s where I met Mark. He’s been my best friend since the day I walked into our cabin and there he was, sorting through hockey cards like a blackjack dealer.

Little did I know that being friends with Mark meant gaining a whole family that included his twin brother Max, his best friends Drew and Cash, and Drew’s sister Addison. The first time I met all of them, I was overwhelmed. I remember being so affected by the sheer love in the room that I had to go outside to catch my breath. I knew then what my parents took from me all those years I lived under their roof. They didn’t love me, not in the same way these people loved each other and I wanted that. So bad.

After I graduated college, that’s when the blackmail started. It started innocently enough, wanting to set me up with country club girls they thought would be good for me, and I went along with it to avoid the fight. It was easier that way. But over time, I realized just how vindictive and underhanded my parents could be, but it wasn’t until I read that my inheritance would be kept from me until I was married that the truth finally started to settle into my bones. Archaic, I know, but in truth, it didn’t surprise me. It was par for the course for my family.

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