Page 21 of Rounds
Life had to get better than this. There was no way I could tolerate another week of this, let alone a month. I had already checked around at other apartment complexes, but none of them had units available. Plus, the place I found was the best looking one. It was spacious, had large windows with views of the mountains and ski slopes, and had a fireplace. It was gorgeous. Not to mention, it had granite countertops, a washer and dryer, and a spacious closet. All they had to do was have my shit ready when it was supposed to be ready.
After getting my smoothie, I headed back to work. Tonight, I had a hotel room reserved, so I didn’t have to worry about no one seeing me. It was hard enough throughout the week avoiding people and their stares. I just wished I could disappear for a while. When I finished my smoothie, I got out of the car and saw Dr. Israel walking my direction.Fuck!
He glanced at my car and frowned. I supposed when he realized what was going on, his eyebrows lifted. I tried to walk past him, but he grabbed me forcefully and brought me back to my car. I wasn’t one to make a scene, so I remained quiet until he pinned me against my car.
“Why the fuck you living in your car, Delaney?”
“Because my apartment isn’t ready. I should have been moving in this week. They pushed my date out to a month from now.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you’re choosing to live in your car.”
“Because I can handle my affairs. I take care of me.”
“You so fucking stubborn, man. You can stay with me. I’m rarely there anyway.”
I jerked away from him. “No! I want people to just leave me alone and give me some fucking space!”
He backed away some. “Accepting help doesn’t make you weak. It makes you strong to be able to admit you need it.”
“Then maybe I’m weak. Can you move? I have to get back to work.”
“Naw. I’m not moving. You have thirty minutes left. You’re coming to my house tonight.”
“No, I’m not. Please just stop. I can’t handle all this attention. I’m better off alone right now.”
He stepped out of the way, and I quickly walked past him, wiping tears from my cheeks. Not paying attention to where I was going, I tripped and fell . . . like literally rolled on the concrete. That only produced more cries from me. Everything around me was unraveling. Stress and anxiety were going to kill me. Going to a sitting position, I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my head on my breasts.
“Delaney, please, baby. Let me help you.”
I looked up to see Glover leaning over me with his hand extended. Reluctantly, I grabbed it. My palms were scraped from trying to brace my fall, and my scrubs were torn at the knees. Before I could say anything, Glover scooped me up in his arms and walked to his SUV. I remained silent. I was so fucking embarrassed. There was nothing I could verbalize at this moment, not even a thank you.
Once he unlocked the doors, he set me on the back seat. He went to the front and pulled a first-aid kit out of his glovebox. When he stood in front of me, I avoided his gaze as I swallowed back the tears. He cleaned my knees and put bandages on them, then said, “Let me see your hands.”
I flipped them over, palms up, and he cleaned them. They were scraped a bit, but they didn’t need bandages. Finally, I was able to get out in a soft voice, “Thank you.”
I lowered my head, and he gently picked it up with his fingertips. “Please let me help you, baby. I can promise you Ihave no ulterior motive. No woman has ever been to my house. So that should tell you how much you mean to me already.”
He gently stroked my cheek with his thumb as he stared into my eyes. He lowered his head and gently kissed my lips. “Please, Delaney. You gon’ make me beg, baby?”
I swallowed hard and briefly closed my eyes, hoping I was making the right decision. When I reopened them, I said, “Okay.”
His eyes widened some and a smile fell on his lips. “Okay. Follow me there. Call your boss and let her know what happened. Are you going to come back?”
“I don’t know.”
“Okay. It doesn’t matter. Let me help you to your car.” He softly kissed my lips again. “Thank you for trusting me.”
I nodded as I got out of the back seat of his SUV. I could only hope and pray that I wasn’t making an even worse mistake.
“I’m not gon’ be able to hook up with you tonight.”
“Aww! I was looking forward to it. You have to work?”
“Naw. I have to see about my dad, and a woman I’m interested in.”
The line was quiet for a moment. I refused to lie to her, because I had nothing to hide. Charleigh wasn’t my woman. She was a fuck . . . a good one. It would probably come back to bite me in the ass if I slept with her again anyway. She’d tried to bluff me last time, and I’d wished her the best. After that exchange, I needed to stick to my decision of not seeing her again. Delaney needed me and every bit of my attention.
“A woman?”
