Page 51 of The Jerk in Apartment 1B

On the walk back to my building, I call Callie but get her voicemail. I really wanted to talk to her about Asher, but it’s probably better if I do it later, after I’ve had time to think about this. I’m sure Callie will tell me not to give him a second chance, but I don’t feel ready to cut him out of my life.

As I go into the building, I see Bridget coming out of Scott’s apartment holding a small leather duffle bag. Did she spend the night there?

“Hi,” she says, smiling at me as we pass in the hall. I don’t think she recognized me, but that’s understandable. I looked pretty bad when she saw me at the grocery store. Today, I did my hair and makeup and am wearing my nicest pair of black pants, a fitted white t-shirt, and a caramel-colored leather jacket. I wanted to look good for my meeting with Asher.

“Hey, Bridget!” Scott says, coming out of his apartment.

“She already left,” I say, going past him.

“Trina, wait.”

I turn back. “What?”

He glances at my body, then up at my face. “You look great. Did you have a job interview?”

“No, I just met someone for coffee.” I glance at the door Bridget just went out. “So I see you’re back with Bridget.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I saw her leaving your place with her overnight bag.”

He laughs a little. “That wasn’t an overnight bag. She had samples in there. She brought them over to show me.”

“Samples of what?”

“The packaging for her hair products.”

“Hair products?”

“Bridget’s developing a line of plant-based hair products. The original packaging didn’t test well so she’s having it redesigned. She was here to show me the options.”

“Bridget makes hair products?” I ask, wondering if he’s making this up.

“She’s a chemist, or she was before she quit to start her own business.”

Bridget’s a chemist? I never would’ve guessed that. She looks more like a model than a chemist, but I guess I don’t really know what a chemist looks like.

“Bridget didn’t spend the night here,” Scott says. “Not that I owe you an explanation. But since you keep making assumptions about what goes on in my apartment, I thought you should know the truth.”

“But you two are still… special friends?”

“Special friends?” He smiles. “What do you mean by that?”

“You know what I mean,” I say, my pulse picking up as he steps closer to me. He’s so good-looking it’s not even fair. I really love his smile. It’s way better than Asher’s, which always seems forced. Asher’s very serious so smiling doesn’t come naturally to him.

“Bridget and I are no longerspecialfriends,” he says, emphasizing the word special. “But we’ll still remain regular friends.”

“Is that because you have new special friends? I saw those two girls here yesterday.”

“Are you spying on me?” He folds his arms over his chest. “Keeping track of who comes and goes from my apartment?”

“No. I was just going down the hall and ran into them. They were both really pretty.”

“Yes, they’re very attractive.”

I wait for him to tell me more, but he doesn’t. He’s just staring at me, a smug grin on his face, knowing I want to know who those girls were but refusing to tell me. I’m usually not a nosy person, but I seem to be with Scott. I’m not sure why.

Cole appears, coming off the elevator.

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