Page 5 of Boyfriend From Hell
Gracie really went all out, huh?My heart pulled at the gesture; she always made a point to make sure my birthdays were at least slightly decent.
That sneaky bitch must have hidden this in here when she dropped me off yesterday.
Maybe itwouldn’tbe such a bad idea if I watched the meteor shower with her and Vince, and his coworkers. I carefully slid my finger between the folds of the paper, being cautious to not give it any unnecessary tears. I’d for sure be keeping this, call it weird, but I loved little things like this. I already knew I would fold the remnants of the gift wrap and place it in a book later to crease it to my liking before I stow it away alongside other cards and pieces of wrapping paper that I’ve collected throughout my years of life.
Light refracted off the glossy surface beneath the golden swans, it was a hand mirror. Gingerly setting the paper aside, I examined the present. It was among the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The handle was cold to the touch; ornate designs laced through it and curled around its face. It was perfect. I slid my finger across its defined curves and along the back, feeling the cold bite of porcelain waiting for me on the other side.
Turning it over, a swan floating on dark water decorated the back surface. I had to text Gracie. This was such a beautiful, thoughtful gift. She always knew how much I loved collecting antiques,ugh.
Setting the mirror down beside the cupcake, I snatched my phone from my back pocket and quickly sent a text to my best friend.
“OMG, thank you so much for the gift, you sneaky bitch! How did you even manage to sneak that in the bag??? What did I ever do to deserve you?! Ugh, looks like I’ll be joining you guys tonight after all—way to guilt me into it with the present. Let me know he address and time, I’ll uberthere. Xx”
“Happy bday D”
My heart sank to my numb feet when I saw Felix’s face in a small circle beside his name. I snorted, leaned forward, and rested an elbow on my knee, ready to rapid-fire a slew of bitchy texts. But you know what? He didn’t even deserve that. He had all day to reach out, and he just now bothered to spare me two-seconds for that piss-poor text? It’s not like he couldn’t see all of my missed calls!
What an unbelievable asshole!
I slammed my phone face down on the coffee table and snatched up the remote, taking my anger out on the small red button protruding from the top, cutting the actors on the screen off mid-sentence. Fucking asshole. I don’t know what I expected, though. Maybe a ‘happy birthday Deer, I’m so sorry for everything, let’s get back together!’ would have been nice.
“Insufferable asshat.” I murmured, grabbing the wine bottle and cradling it in my arm.
Just as I was about to start my trek to my bed, a knock sounded at the front door and stopped me in my tracks. Another knock sounded, this time louder. My annoyance was already a full-on raging fire, I was half tempted to ignore whoever was out there. My mind stuck on Felix’stext—suddenly wishing I had bitched him out, but that meant I would have to actually talk to him and honestly, I know myself well enough to know I would just crumble and pour my pitiful heart out to him (to likely not even get a reply back).
Yet another knock sounded from the door. Somebody better be fucking dying. I lunged for the door, smacked the latch to the left and swung it open.
“What!” I yelled—unintentionally, but not really.
A black-haired man with weird, red eyes jumped back.
“I—uh, is this a bad time?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.
“Yes. Yes, it is a bad fucking time. It’s actually the worst time imaginable.” I glared. “What do you want?”
He gave a sheepish grin and looked at his feet. “I locked myself out.”
“And?” I barked a laugh. “What do you want me to do about it? Call the landlord.” I moved to close the door on the man’s face just as he reached a hand out, stopping it.
I stared at his smooth fingers curling around the edge of my door and glared even harder. Who the hell does this guy think he is?
“And, I’m your neighbor in 205—”
“Okay?” I prompted. I was in no mood for any man and I hoped that was painted across my whole face.
His eyes met mine and pink stained his cheeks as he shrugged, shaking his head.
“And,” he said sarcastically, clearly mocking me. “Can I use your phone to call a locksmith or the landlord—or something? My phone is in there.” He jutted his thumb behind him toward his apartment door.
His eyes raked over my face, sweat gleamed off his forehead as if he was either nervous or overheating. It was far from hot in the hallway—was he nervous to talk to me? His eyes were so bizarre, who has red eyes?
Unfortunately, Gracie was right. He was tall, dark, and handsome. To my greatest displeasure, he was the hottest man I’d ever seen. I had purposely paid him no mind when I first saw him in the hallway after moving in, but now, with him just a few feet away, it seemed impossible that I’d managed such a feat. He blinked silently at me, tossing a dark, wavy lock from his eyes. Then, he let go of his grip on my door and stuffed his hands—hands that looked perfect for a hundred things—deep into the front pockets of his jeans. “What’s up with your eyes?” I snapped out, before I could reel myself in. I squeezed my eyes shut in a long blink and opened them just as his head jerked back at my word vomit, as if he were trying to dodge it.
Smooth one. Mental face palm.
“What?” A flash of a smile seemed to skirt through his features for a moment before disappearing.
“What?” I parroted, hoping—I don’t know what I was hoping for exactly. I don’t know why I even said that, plus he obviously heard me and now I was the one being the weirdo.
