Page 21 of Consumed By Desire

Instead I go to my laptop. Blogging time.

So readers, my old high school enemy might be living right across from me. I don’t know how this happened. Or what to do about it. Any thoughts?

I’m going to see what comments I get before I post my next question. Because I’ve got a much more important dilemma.Asher texted me a couple of times tonight. I haven’t replied yet. I have no idea what to say to him.

I reread them once again. He wants to go out with me on the weekend. I have to work, but I can’t bring myself to turn him down. I could suggest a different time. If we do get together, I can ask him what’s going on with Logan. I’ll have to figure out what to do about interviewing him too because I still haven’t asked him yet. I really can’t put it off any longer.

Screw it. I don’t care as much about the Logan situation as I do about Asher. I’m going to ask my readers now. My follower count goes up every day. I got a big boost when Riley mentioned me in her reels and the number’s been rising steadily ever since.

Writing out even just the bare minimum of details about what my readers would need to know about the situation is really helping me. It’s good to get it out and hopefully get some objective opinions back. I can’t wait to see what they’ll come up.

Shutting my laptop down, I go over to the window and take my daily photo of the city as the sun’s setting. It’s become a habit, like a ritual before I go to work. These are the images I always get the most comments on. I get a really breathtaking shot tonight and upload it quickly.

Today’s view from my beautiful home. Can’t get enough.

Chapter 10

Elena

Seriously? I can’t get into my apartment. I just spent my most of my afternoon serving food and all I’ve been wanting for the past two hours is to get home and crash out for awhile.

Impatiently I turn the key again. My last two places were fully digital and had keypads to use so I’m not used to this but still. It’s just a lock. It shouldn’t be this hard to get it open. I jiggle it one more time, trying to be firm but careful. I’m afraid to force it too hard in case it breaks.

Nothing happens. I pull the key out and examine it. It’s kind of a cool key, sleek and almost elegant. The last time I had to use an apartment lock, the key was really light and thin. It would’ve been more likely to break than this one. I remember reading something once about locks getting screwed up if you mess around with them too much and I don’t even know what I’d do if that happened to me.

I try again, twisting the key with as much control as I can manage without pushing too hard. No luck. It’s not budging and I’m still afraid to force it any more than I already have.

“Fuck,” I mutter. I need to get inside now. I’ve got a meeting with Zan and I don’t know what she wants to talk about. As usual her message was extremely brief and didn’t tell me much of anything. I need a good quiet spot to speak with her. She wasn’t at all impressed with our coffee shop interview and she made sure I knew it.

That was the one time that she wasn’t too brief in one of her messages. I’ve got to be as professional as I can for her going forward. No coffee shop meetings and being stuck out in the hall won’t do either.

I’m trying again when someone comes up behind me. I glance up, hoping it’s Asher. My shoulders drop at the sight of Logan. That’s just great. He’s the last person I want to see right now.

He’s grinning as he approaches. “Need help, Lannie?”

I cringe at my old nickname. I never liked it and it really grates on me. No one calls me that anymore, except apparently Logan. Him dropping back into my life just gets better and better.

I bristle even though his tone’s more teasing than mean. We’re not friends. I don’t want to be teased by him. I had enough of that in school.

“No,” I tell him defiantly. “I’m doing just fine.”

“Great,” he says. “So why are you standing out here instead of going inside?”

I straighten up. “I was checking my phone.”

I push the key back into the lock as if it’s the easiest thing in the world, which of course it should be. Just my luck that isn’t working for me. I turn it with more energy than I mean to and once again, it sticks.

“I think you need some help there. I’ll give it a try.”

Logan takes the key from my hand, his fingers brushing over mine. The sudden contact is unexpected and to my horror, I don’t mind it.

What the hell? This is Logan. The boy who made high school torture for me. It doesn’t matter how attractive he is.

I give my head a tiny shake. What the hell am I thinking?

This. Is. Logan.

Nothing’s changed. I can’t stand him. Just because he’s objectively gorgeous and anyone would think so doesn’t mean a thing. So he bumped my hand. Big deal. I don’t care. I’m interested in Asher. It doesn’t matter that Logan’s pretty much equal with Asher as far as looks go. Asher’s got that mouthwatering, classically handsome look. Logan’s lean and lithe. Kind of graceful in a slouchy way. His ash blond hair’s a little longer than it used to be and it suits him really well.

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