Page 58 of Rival Desires

“You’re sweet.” Becky chuckled. “But I haven’t had much to listen to. You don’t talk very much, do you?”

I shrugged, not knowing what to say.

“How do you even get to know people if you don’t talk to them?” she asked, genuinely curious.

I was tempted to tell her that I didn’t care to get to know anyone, but my parents had drilled manners into me, and Becky seemed harmless enough. Besides, she was just being friendly.

Becky’s hand grazed mine as we pulled into the parking lot, lingering for a moment before she pulled away. Okay, maybe she was being a littletoofriendly, but I was almost off the hook. I’d walk her to her door to be polite and then head back to the car, back to work, and try to forget my crappy morning. No need to debate a goodnight kiss or worry about her inviting me in. I’d just ensure she got inside her apartment safely and then be on my way.

“This was fun,” Becky chirped as we approached the staircase. “We should do it again, you know.”

Great, because I love nothing more than awkward conversations with a neighbor who seems to be catching feelings.

“Not the whole ‘you driving me home after I bring you lunch’ thing,” she giggled. “I mean the hanging out part.”

The door opened to her floor, and I ushered her ahead with a sweep of my hand.

“I’ll have to check my schedule and let you know when I’m free,” she joked.

When we finally reached her door, I could barely contain my sigh of relief. “Thanks again for bringing me lunch,” I managed to say as she fumbled with her keys.

But before I could make my escape, she leaned in, and her lips were on mine. It took me a solid three seconds to register what was happening.

Oh, crap!

“Whoa, hey!” I blurted out, grabbing her shoulders and pulling back. “Sorry, Becky, but I thought I made it clear the other night. I’m not interested in you like that.”

I tried my best to keep my voice soft and non-confrontational, but as her expression morphed into anger, I realized I messed up big time. She was done taking no for an answer. I quickly dropped my hands and took a step back, giving her some space.

“I’m really sorry if I gave you the wrong idea,” I said, trying to explain myself. “I was just trying to be nice since you went out of your way to make me lunch and bring it all the way to my office.”

“Nice?!” she practically spat at me. “You think it’sniceto lead me on, bring me home, and then reject me out of the blue? I thought we were having a great time together, and you were just doing it out of pity?”

I stood there, dumbfounded, trying to process her words. From my perspective, her kiss had come out of nowhere, not my actions.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized again, unsure of what else to say.

“Oh, you’ll be fucking sorry,” she hissed, her face turning red with anger. “You’ll regret this.”

Before I could respond, she chucked the cooler at me. I managed to catch it out of reflex, more surprised than anything else. The door slammed shut behind her, making me wince and glance around at the other doors in the hallway. Thankfully, no one came out to see what was going on.

After standing there for another minute, I set the cooler down and walked away, still trying to wrap my head around what had just happened.

THIRTY-TWO

Rylee

The entire ride back to work, my brain was stuck on repeat, playing two tunes in an endless loop.

I really fucked up this time,andmaybe Dad’s been right all along.

Neither of those thoughts made me smile, but I pulled myself together enough to fix my makeup before heading inside. My eyes were still red, but I planned to lock myself in my office and only talk to Mallory. That meant I just had to make it to my door without being spotted.

Well, for once, the cosmos decided to throw me a bone, and I managed to sneak all the way without being detected. No sooner had I plopped down in my chair whenrat-a-tat-tat– someone was knocking on my door, and Mallory’s voice came floating through.

“Come in,” I said, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Mallory’s gaze zeroed in on my face, and she hastily closed the door, scurrying over with concern etched in her eyes. “I’m gonna take a wild guess here and say that the universe just handed you a big, fat lemon.”

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