Page 100 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

“We do.” He cups my chin and turns my face back to his. “I like you, Trina. I really do. I had a great time with you Friday night. But I can’t be what you want. I’m not that guy. I’m happy being single. I’m not looking for a relationship.”

“What if I don’t want that? What if I’ve decided to just have fun? You keep saying I need to have more fun.”

“I didn’t mean you should sleep around. That’s not you. You’ve been with the same guy for four years.”

“Exactly, which is why I don’t want that again. I will someday, but not right now.”

“So what’s your plan?” He folds his arms over his chest. “Go out with Kurt? Sleep with him? Then move on to the next guy?”

“Why do you care what I do?”

“Because I don’t think it’s what you really want.”

“You have no idea what I want,” I say, throwing my hands up. “If you did, you would’ve been with me Friday night instead of kicking me out!”

His head drops and he runs his hand through his hair. “So that’s what this is about. You’re mad because I didn’t sleep with you.”

“I was mad, but I’m over it. I get it now. You don’t see me that way. I’m just the girl next door. Your tenant. Your employee. Speaking of that, I’m going to get to work.” I hurry past him.

He remains in the kitchen as I gather up the empty coolers and stack them by the door. He goes back to making breakfast as I deflate the chairs. The silence between us is awkward, but it’s better than continuing our talk.

I’m so embarrassed. Once again, I admitted I wanted to sleep with him and he turned me down. That was the last time. I’m not doing it again. I’m done thinking of Scott as anything more than my landlord and employer.

It takes nearly two hours for me to get everything back to the storage room, but only a few minutes to pick up the cups and bottles in Scott’s apartment. He was in his office when I was cleaning up, and when I called out that I was leaving, he didn’t come out and say goodbye.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Scott

I’m furious, to the point that I can’t think straight. Why does Trina get me so fired up? Why do I let her? And why am I even considering what she’s proposing?

If we cross that line, it won’t end well for either of us. Why doesn’t she get that? She just had her heart broken by her ex. So why does she want this? Am I her rebound guy? A quick fling to make her feel desirable again?

If that’s all this was, if she were just using me that way, I might be okay with it. It’d just be sex, nothing more. But I don’t think Trina can be with a guy without getting her feelings involved. She says she can, but I don’t believe her.

That’s what’s holding me back. The last thing I want is to hurt her. But I’ve hurt her by rejecting her, so what do I do? How do I fix this?

Maybe I should go over there. Try to talk to her again. Except I don’t know what to say. It seems like every time I try to explain myself, I make her more angry.

It’s almost noon. She doesn’t start her other job until two. That’s enough time for me to go over there and try to fix this. I can’t have this disagreement of ours ruining our friendship.Maybe she doesn’t consider me a friend, but I consider her one. I like spending time with her, even if we’re just cleaning out my storage unit. And that fake date we had? That wasn’t just any night. It was the kind where you’re having such a good time you don’t want it to end.

Enough thinking about this. I’m just going to do it. I’ll go down there and tell her we have to fix this. We can’t be neighbors and work together with all this tension between us. We have to find a way to get along despite being attracted to each other, because that’s the real issue here. The attraction between us keeps building up and causing us to fight.

I knock on her door. “Trina, it’s Scott. I need to talk to you.”

“I’m busy,” she yells through the door.

“Doing what?”

“It doesn’t matter. Just go away.”

“Not until I talk to you. We need to figure this out.”

The door swings open. “Figure what out?”

My eyes drop to the towel she’s wearing. She must’ve been heading to the shower when I knocked on her door. I can’t talk to her when she’s practically naked.

“I’ll come back later,” I say, my eyes moving back to her face.

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