Page 8 of Nailing Heat
We all hold our glasses up and I even say, “Clink.”
After having two more glasses of wine, crackers and cheese, I head back into the apartment. It’s dark when I walk in.
“Hello,” I call as I enter. But no one answers me, the apartment is completely silent. I look down the hall and find his door is open but there’s no light on in the hallway. No lights are on, in fact. “Dexter,” I call out, but no one answers me.
He’s not here.
For a second, I think that he couldn’t do this either. He saw my abrupt departure from the apartment as a sign. He packed his shit and left. I don’t know why that fills me with a bit of disappointment, but it does. My feet fly down the hallway, turning on a light as I go. I reach his room, fumble along the wall until I find his switch. I turn it on and look around the room.
His stuff is still here.
The room is all arranged. I see he put a navy comforter on the bed. His desk is set up with some pictures on it, same with hisdresser. I make my way across the room to get a better view of them. I spot him instantly. His dark hair and green eyes stand out in the group of photos that I think is him and his teammates. He was a football player. I’m not sure if it’s because my brothers played it, but it makes me smile and warms me a bit towards him.
I can easily see him in the photos of his family; at least I’m thinking it’s his family. There are four women in the photos, all with those matching green eyes. I smile as I notice the picture right beside his bed. It’s of a red Golden Retriever. The dog he had to leave behind. I bring my hand up to my chest, which has tightened with emotion.
“Is this a room inspection of some sort?” a voice asks from behind me.
I spin around to see him leaning in the doorway with his hands in his pockets. The dimness of the hallway makes it hard to tell if his expression is one of amusement or annoyance.
“I’m so sorry,” I almost shout. “I got home from seeing the girls and the place was dark. I thought maybe you had moved out. I came in here and saw it wasn’t true. I was drawn to the pictures...” My voice trails off because I’m not sure what else to say.
He shrugs, pushing off the doorframe. “It’s okay. Sorry, I did leave you a note in the kitchen. Did you not find it?”
“Uh,” I stutter, struggling to find the words. “I didn’t even check for it. Sorry, it didn’t occur to me to look.” My cheeks heat and I feel like such an ass, invading his space when I was worried he’d be all up in mine.
“It’s okay. I went out and got some groceries. You didn’t say how you’d like to handle food; I was hungry and didn’t want to steal yours, so I went out.”
I nod. “Okay, great. Yeah, we should figure that out at some point.”
“Yeah, we should,” he says with a smile. He stays planted inthe doorway, which starts to make me feel self-conscious for being so far into this room.
“I should get out of here,” I tell him, moving towards the door. I look down and put my hand up to my face to tuck a few stands of loose hair behind my ear, only to shamefully realize I am using it as an excuse to hide my face.
“Sure,” he says, stepping aside so that I can exit.
I squeeze past him, brushing against his arm. In that moment, I notice that the top of my head comes to his shoulder, which I find…. interesting.
“It looks good, by the way. You were busy today,” I remark, gesturing back towards his room with my eyes.
He smiles down at me. “Thanks. I didn’t bring much, so there wasn’t much to set up.”
“Right,” I reply. “Well, anyway, looks good.”
I bolt for my room and decide it’s time to take a shower. This way, I can put some space between us and stop doing stupid things.
Chapter Four
~DEX~
Ilaugh as Amelia scurries off to her room like a deer that’s spotted too many humans on their path. The door to her room snaps closed and I shake my head. Living with Amelia is definitely going to be interesting. I glance around my room to take in the view that she saw.
The navy comforter on my bed was just a quick purchase at Target, so that I had something covering the bed. The same with the pale blue sheets that are beneath it. The only pictures I bothered to put out are of me with my family and some from my football days. And, of course, Jax, the lovable dog that I wasn’t allowed to bring with me. I swear she kept Jax to hurt me. I could have fought harder to keep him, but I decided not to. I caused her so much pain, I figured that leaving quickly and quietly would be the best way to let her heal.
And so far it’s not working out like I thought it would. Sure, I have a place to stay and a new job. But I’m stuck living with one of the players who obviously doesn’t want me here. With no clue when I’ll be getting a place of my own. I sigh and head back into the kitchen so that I can put our groceries away.
After sorting my purchases into neat piles, I begin puttingsome of the frozen meals I bought into the freezer. I notice there’s no ice cream in there; I’m glad I bought some. Maybe she’ll share a bowl with me one of these nights. I’m hoping a generous scoop of Rocky Road will break the tension between us and make her more comfortable sharing a home with me. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, but I know this is her space, so I want her to know how much I appreciate her willingness, no matter how begrudging, to let me in.
My phone vibrates with a text.
