Page 68 of Heartstruck at Dawn
“It’s a term of endearment. Sort of like, sweetheart.It literally means sweet nose.” He poked my nose, and his phone buzzed. He took the call and intertwined his fingers with mine. The call only lasted a few seconds.
“It was the office. I have to sit down for a brief meeting and sign some papers,” he said with disappointment. “I’m sorry. I really wanted to spend the entire day with you.”
“It’s fine, don’t worry. But it’s Thanksgiving weekend. It’s absurd they make you go to work today.”
“They don’t really care about that at the office.” He laughed and promised not to take too long. We dropped him off there on our way back.
David parked the car outside my apartment building, and there was a cordoned-off area on the sidewalk beside the main entrance. I couldn’t tell if the giant crane was hoisting or lowering a grand piano. A bunch of people curiously looked up to see the maneuver from afar.
I wonder…
“Red, come on,” Caleb said, motioning me to step inside the building. “I’ll walk you up.”
Caleb and I were back to beingus.It was odd, but once Nathan came into the picture, I felt like he was more at ease. I couldn’t understand why that was.
My father was delighted when he found out I was seeing Nathan. They actually did go for beers a few days after the Halloween Party. My father couldn’t stop talking about how great Nathan was and vice versa. They had so much in common. They just clicked.
“You seem different today,” Caleb said as the elevator went up to the ninth floor.“Happier.” He was always hyper-aware of every little nuance regarding my state of mind.
“Um—Nathan and I are official now.”
“Oh. Congratulations,” he said with a tight-lipped smile. “I know he can make you happy.” He frowned a bit but then smiled again as we stepped out of the elevator.
“Is it—still awkward for you? I know it is sometimes for me and—”
“No, hey. It’s okay,” he said, grabbing my arm to stop me. “Look, Red, we’ve always been friends. I know we tried, but it’s just—I don’t know, I didn’t want to lose you.”
“I didn’t want to lose you either. And my father, he—it was so hard to deal with that. The thought of him finding out and—” I trailed off, afraid of my thoughts.
He searched for my gaze. “I promised you I’d stay. It seems like it wasn’t—meant to be. And yes, it was hard to deal with your father’s disapproval. But hey, I’d rather see you with Nathan than—him,” he said, looking behind my shoulder and jerking his chin.
I turned around, and there were a ton of boxes outside apartment 9B. William was carrying a couple of them inside. Caleb didn’t like him. But I still didn’t know exactly why. With Thomas, it was evident—a trust issue. But I’d never talked about his opinion on William. It was useless now.
A few men pulled new furniture out of the service elevator, while others arranged everything inside.
Caleb groaned, raising a brow. “Seems to me like you have a new next-door neighbor.” He shook his head. “Or is it—neighbors?” He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes.
Alice and Luna, the threesome girls, also carried boxes inside.Are they all moving in together?Maybe it was one of those polyamorous things they had going on. Not that I’m against it. To each their own. It’s just that I don’t really know how that works, but I know I’m not going to be very supportive if it involves William.
“We’ll see,” I replied, my train of thought darting out of the station in a timely manner. “Thanks, Caleb. I’ll see you later.”
Caleb left, and I sauntered toward my apartment. My curiosity was about to make my head explode. I couldn’t stop staring at all the movement going on in front of me. I needed to know everything.
William dropped a box on the floor and walked in my direction. “I’m 9B. Nice to meet you,” he said, dropping a kiss on each of my cheeks. I crossed my arms in front of me and shook my head a few times. William smiled at my reaction. “Alice, could you put those two boxes in my bedroom, please? They aren’t heavy.”
“Hi, Billie,” she said with a sweet smile. “I’m Alice. We met the other day.”
We did.
“Hi, Alice. Yes, of course, I remember.”How could I not?I coaxed a smile in return. “Are you—moving in?”
She laughed. She wore a wine-colored Adidas tracksuit with her hair down.
“No, no, no. This is William’s apartment. Now that Eric’s moving in with Tobias, William’s finally becoming a grown-up,” she said with a chuckle. “He’s ready to leave his roommate days behind.” She stuck her tongue out at him, and he rolled his eyes at her. I still couldn’t understand the dynamic before me.
Thing 2 stepped out of the apartment with a grin. “Hi, Billie!” Luna chirped. Her hair was in a high pony again. She looked so pretty wearing a baby-blue sweater, indigo-blue jeans, and white sneakers.
“This is my girlfriend, Luna. You met her the other day, too,” Alice said, carrying another box inside.
