I couldn’t keep my eyes off her as she turned around. It’s not her. It can’t be. I must be hallucinating. I’ve been seeing her everywhere and this is no different. I rubbed my eyes and looked back just to confirm she was real. Welp, she’s still standing there, staring at me like I’ve killed her pet dog. I wonder if she’s a dog person. Maybe she prefers cats. I shook my head, watching her eyes drift down and the chill it sends through my body reminds me I’m only in my sweats. Her eyes stopped at my thighs, and I wait for her to finally meet my gaze. Hopefully, she can’t tell just how much I’m enjoying her greedy stare.
I scratched my chin, watching her bite her bottom lip and it took her a few minutes to meet my gaze. ‘Cole?’ She whisps out. ‘What are you doing here?’ I leaned against the railing of the balcony, bringing me closer to her. The rooms are so close, my torso is essentially in hers. She shuffles her way towards me.
‘I live here.’ Tilting my head to indicate the identical room to hers behind me. ‘What are you doing here?’ Cocking my eyebrow in question and trying to hide my smile. I knew I wanted to see her again, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon.
‘Well, I live here.’ She points and I watch as she slowly takes in the situation, realizing her predicament. She’s just moved next door to me and we practically live together. ‘Wait a minute.’ She gasps, eyes wide, staring at me incredulously. ‘You don’t live there. That’s Devin’s room.’ That loud chuckle from the other night comes out in full force and eventually turns into a fit of giggles. ‘You’re good. You got me. This is all a joke, right?’ She looks around the room and behind me, expecting Devin to pop out I assume. I feel guilty knowing I’m about to dash all that hope in her eyes.
Taking in a long breath, I scratch the back of my neck before I muster up the courage to respond. ‘Yeah…uh…about that… Can I come over? I think it would be better if we spoke about it without the whole neighborhood hearing.’ The small gap was definitely making some kind of echo chamber of our conversation.
When she tucked her bottom lip behind her teeth, I held back a groan remembering last time I heard that noise was when her legs were on my shoulders and I was pumping inside her. ‘Okay, I’ll let you in.’ She turned away and I watched her ass for a few seconds before jumping over the railing. The hard thump of my boots made her jump.
Her face was pale when she looked back at me. ‘What the hell?! I was going to go downstairs and let you in through the front door like a normal person.’
She adjusted her hair, looking flustered at my presence. Yes, I was still only in my sweats and the closer I got, the pinker her cheeks became. I liked the way I made her feel. ‘This was quicker.’
She laid her hands on my arms, checking me for bruises, or at least, that was her excuse.
She checks my body. ‘You could have hurt yourself.’
I shrugged, ‘But I didn’t. Look there’s something I’ve got to tell you.’ Being closer to her reminds me how much I like her and has made this omission harder than I thought it would be.
‘What is it Cole?’ She stresses the name, inadvertently taunting me. The way she looks up at me with those dark eyes and long lashes, it’s like she already knows the truth and she’s judging me, waiting to see how long it will be until I tell her.
But how am I supposed to break it to her? I like her. A lot. More than I should, and I don’t want her to hate me. She still stares at me expectantly and I decide to just rip that baby off like a band-aid. ‘About that. I’m actually Devin. My middle name is Cole.’
There’s a moment of silence as she processes the news. ‘WHAT?!!’ Her shrill shocks me.
‘I had to change my name on the app.’ I say, as though that’s enough of an explanation. She taps her foot, waiting for more. ‘It was part of the game.’
‘The game?’ She spat out, disgustedly.
‘Yeah, with my team. Remember I told you about it yesterday.’ She looks down, processing. ‘We couldn’t put our real names on the app because the girls know us. We wanted to see who could get the most matches without the extra help.’
Reign dragged her eyes up slowly. ‘So, what you’re telling me is that I had sex with you, and I didn’t even know your name?’ She says it calmly, but I’ve got a feeling there’s a storm brewing behind those dark chocolate eyes.
‘No. I’m Devin Cole Walker. You knew my name. Just the middle part.’ I surmise, hoping that helps the situation. Judging by the hurt on her face, it’s not.
‘Why didn’t you tell me? You know, after we… you know?’ She whispers sadly pointing between us. I want to say after which time but it’s not the right time. With her shoulders slumped, I feel absolutely shitty for putting her in this position.
Pulling my ear, I shrug and gently say, ‘You told me we were a one-time thing. I didn’t think there was much point if that was it.’ I should have told her, probably before the first orgasm but I didn’t. I was too busy thinking about what she looked like out of those jeans.
‘Then why did you bother sending me a message today?’
My lip twitched. ‘So, you got my message then? I’m still waiting for you to respond but yeah, I sent it because I thought I’d try my luck. It worked the first time.’ I lean closer to her, our faces inches apart and she looks at me flustered.
‘How was this house design ever signed off?!’ She yells, releasing the tension and backing away. She trailed the room back and forth. ‘How did this happen?’ She freaks. ‘I don’t have sex with guys I don’t know the name of, but you’ve gone and changed that for me.’ She’s babbling, half of what she’s rambling about, I can’t understand.
‘Calm down. It’s okay Reign.’
‘No, it’s not! We basically share a room!’ She cries, looking back at the door as if she’s worried that Lyss and Laura will hear. It’s not like they’d care. This room is like a revolving door, they can’t keep anyone in it longer than a couple of months. Not because I’m a bad roomie or anything, but Lyss is a little hard to live with.
‘You say it like it’s a bad thing.’ Best. News. Ever. I can just imagine sneaking into her room at night and…
‘It is!’ She shrieked. ‘This’ Pointing between us. ‘Was supposed to be a one-time thing. I was never supposed to see you again.’
‘Clearly, fate is bringing us together.’ The only response I got to that was a growl. I try to ease the tension. ‘Or you’re a creeper and found out where I lived. If you wanted me though. You didn’t need to go through all that effort. Maybe it’s just fate, but then again, I could imagine you doing something like that.’
‘Shut up Col – Devin!’
‘Look. If you’re that stressed about it, you know you can lock the window and shut the curtains. I won’t bother you if that’s what you want? You won’t see me. Well, except when I’m outside or you’re outside…. but you know what I mean.’ She looks back at me, calmer now and as she approaches, I can’t help but look at her lips. They’re so plump and soft. Kissable. She relaxes a little and for a split second, I consider leaning down and kissing her, easing away all her concerns, but my door creaks open, I can hear it from over here, it’s like we’re in the same room. ‘Someone’s coming,’ I whisper shout.
‘Hide,’ She whispers back, pushing me to the side of the window, out of view. I don’t care if the guys found out because the idea of one of them trying to bang her kills me, but I guess we’ll just have to talk about that later.
Scratching the back of her head, she pretends to look in the mirror beside the window. I can’t see what’s going on in my room, but I watch Reign as she catches eyes with whoever’s in there.
‘Oh, hey Reign,’ It’s Adam and there are so many questions running through my head. How did he know her name? When did they meet? And what the hell is he doing in my room when I’m not there?
She pushes a strand of hair behind her ear, looking wistfully over. My fists clench. ‘Hey,’ She smiles. It was just a greeting. I unclench my fists, trying to calm my over-eager self down.
‘I guess you haven’t met Devin yet?’
She crossed her arms over her breasts, I bet Adam’s looking. I know I am. She’s in a tight purple tank which shows off those perky tits of hers. ‘Nope, but thanks for the warning.’ She deadpanned.
‘Sorry, I thought you would have seen the room. They’ve had trouble filling it. No one lasts more than a few months.’ Why is he still talking to her? I thought he’d leave once he realized I’m not there. I’m getting a lock.
There’s a moment of silence and I notice Reign flicking her gaze to me. ‘Maybe I should ask Devin to switch rooms.’ He better be joking or I’m seriously considering giving him a black eye when I’m back over there.
What happens next disturbs me more than the time I accidently walked in on my elderly neighbor changing. She giggles at him. Giggles. It’s all cute and flirty. Does she like him?
‘The good news is you know what you’re getting with Devin. He’s the quietest one. Always studying or sleeping.’
Her lip quirks and I know she says the next line for my benefit. ‘I’m not the one who should be scared. It’s him. I like to watch The Bachelor with all my middle-aged single friends on Monday’s. I’m sure they’d love him as eye candy.’ Dear Lord, I hope she’s joking.
Adam chuckles, ‘I’ll make sure to stop by some time for that. Look I’ve got to go but I’d love for you to think about that date.’ Date? He asked her on a date? I’m going to chop his balls off and feed them to him.
What.
The.
Fuck?
When did he even have time to ask her on a date? I thought he was obsessed with that chick back at home. What’s her name? Harley? Harper. Either way, there’s no way he should be sniffing around my turf. Except he doesn’t know it’s mine.
Reign looks to me and laughs uncertainly. ‘Uh-huh.’ Is all she says, ignoring his question. Probably because she doesn’t want to let him down in front of me. But then an entirely new though comes to mind. What if it’s me she wants to let down gently? Surely not. She rode my face like an expert horsemen the other day.
She pulled her curtains closed and stared at me with a lopsided smile. ‘Sorry about that.’
‘Date?’ I question with a cocked eyebrow.
She waves me off. ‘It’s nothing. He was joking with the guys and made a comment.’
‘Sounded pretty serious to me.’
‘Well, it’s not. Like I said to you before. I’m not in a place to be in a relationship.’ I so badly want to ask who hurt her so I can find them and rip them to shreds. But now isn’t the right time. ‘Anyway, you aren’t here to talk about my relationship with Adam. We’re here to talk about what happened between us.’
Lifting a finger to my chin, I pretend to think for a second. ‘You know what? I can’t remember what happened. Maybe we need to recreate it. That might held jog my memory.”
She whacked me on the arm. ‘Stop it. This is serious.’ I was serious too. ‘Look. I’ve had a rough time the last year and I really need this room to work out. I don’t know what Lyss has against you guys or what’s going on between all of you, but I think it would be best if we maybe keep our encounter private.’
‘Private?’
‘Yeah. I just don’t want anything to come between me and this room.’
‘Trust me, no one else wants this room. You’re safe.’
She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. ‘Maybe, but like I said, a lot of things changed for me in the last few years and I could really use some stability. I’d rather not have to explain our extremely bad luck.’
‘Bad luck, good luck, potato, po tat toe.’
She tilts her head and it’s the first time I see just how tired she is. Not physically but mentally. Her eyes are so deep and dark, with pain swimming through the irises. What happened to this girl?
‘Sorry.’ I breathe out. ‘Sure,’ I agree because I’d do anything to see that carefree smile she gave me when she woke up in my arms again. ‘It’s not a big deal. We’ll just keep what we did a secret. It was supposed to be a one-night thing anyway.’ That last part stung to say, but it’s not about me. It’s about her.
Her shoulders relax, the tension leaving her body. ‘Thank you so much.’ She whispers, giving me a hug. ‘So, we’re going to pretend we’ve only just met and that we’re friends.’ Friends. It’s like poison to any of my future hard ons.
‘Sure, Friends.’ Well, I can already tell this isn’t going to end well.
