Page 16 of I Am Sin

She turns around slowly. “Yes, Dragon?”

“What are you having done? I know you said you have a maintenance guy, but I’d like to do something to earn my keep if you won’t take money.”

She presses her lips together. “It’s nothing too crazy. Just something for my bedroom door.”

I cock my head. “You’re having maintenance done on your door? What are they doing?”

She takes a deep breath in. “If you must know, I’m having a lock put on.”

Something twists around my heart. I hang my head slightly. “Oh.”

She takes a few steps into the apartment. “It’s not that I think you’re a bad guy, Dragon. Far from it. Brianna and Jesse think the world of you. It’s just… I don’t really know you.”

She’s silent for a moment. The awkwardness hangs in the air like a dead fish.

“I’m happy to ask them to put a lock on your door, too.”

I shake my head. “No need. And I get it. You don’t have to feel bad about putting a lock on the door. I’m sure I’d do the same thing.”

“Right.” She shifts her gaze around the room. “Well, anyway. See you later.”

She walks toward the door.

I can’t help but watch her. She’s wearing black yoga pants and sneakers. A burgundy-colored sweatshirt with Steel Vineyards and their logo printed on it. Her long hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, and she’s not wearing any makeup that I can tell.

She’s still the most gorgeous creature I’ve ever laid eyes on.

I let myself stare since her back is to me.

But as she opens the door, she looks over her shoulder and meets my gaze. “For real, Dragon. The lock is just a precaution. Please don’t read anything into it. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Make yourself at home.”

I nod, leaning back on the couch.

I will myself not to feel weird about Diana’s lock.

If Griffin were still around, and she were staying with a man she hardly knew, I sure as hell would want her to have a lock on her door to keep him out at night.

Especially if…

I sigh.

Especially if it were a man like me.

ChapterSeven

Diana

I don’t drink.

I’m not an alcoholic, and I’m not a complete teetotaler. I’ll drink a glass of sparkling wine on special occasions, but for the most part, I stay away from the stuff.

I stay away from it because of something that happened to me when I was a freshman in high school.

It was the homecoming bonfire, and I was the freshman attendant on the homecoming court. I was giddy about everything—about finally being in high school, about attending my first bonfire, but mostly about catching the eyes of the hunky football players.

The bonfires were known for the lethal punch they called Hairy Buffalo. It was in a big plastic garbage can, and it was supposed to be a bunch of fruit juices mixed together.

Of course, the scuttlebutt was that someone always spiked it, so I couldn’t wait to try it.

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