Page 142 of Defend Me
He laughed and rubbed his eyes. “I’m supposed to meet Rick at the gym anyway.”
“You are not driving.”
“Don’t you drive high?”
“I would never.”
“I’ll take you,” Brooks offered.
There was an awkward silence as they looked at each other. They hadn’t exactly made up. Their strategy was to ignore anything had ever happened and as long as they were around other people, they wouldn’t start fighting.
“That’s a good idea,” I chimed in. “Then, you can get us some dinner on your way home.”
“You’re gonna make me fat.”
“You know we’ll work it off.”
Dean made a disgusted sound. “If we’re gonna go, let’s go.”
Brooks leaned down to kiss me and I held him to me for a long moment. By the time he pulled back, I was inclined to get Dean an Uber, but I just smiled.
When they were gone, I failed to stifle a yawn. It would be easy to nap right now, but I wanted to be awake when Brooks got back. When I was bored at home, I wandered, so I got to my feet and slipped on my Converse.
As I locked the door, I smiled. He’d given me a fucking key. It was custom with a vintage look. I imagined an old, creepy dude in a cloak pulling it from his pocket to open the door to a haunted mansion.
I really didn’t give a shit if people thought we were clingy. We were, and I wasn’t mad about it.
Moving into the stairwell, I looked at the sign on the wall. Two floors up was where the amenities were, so I jogged the two flights and exited into the hallway.
All I could say about the gym was that it was insane. There was a pet bathing room with a deep, fancy tub, a yoga room, and a business center. When I reached the top of the building, I stared at the covered rooftop pool. I was definitely going to convince Brooks we needed to swim.
It had been a while, so I made my way back to the apartment. I stopped as soon as I left the stairwell. There was a woman standing in front of Brooks’ door, staring down at her phone. I moved a little closer, not sure what to do.
When she noticed me, her eyes roamed up and down my body. I studied her in return. She was probably in her forties and was conventionally pretty. Her hair was a chestnut color that must’ve been professionally dyed and she was dressed like she was ready to dominate a business meeting. Red lipstick drew attention to her mouth and I wondered why guys were into that. It looked messy.
“Can I help you?” she snapped.
Her curt tone made me raise a brow and I felt a little defensive. “No. You’re standing in front of my door, so canIhelpyou?”
Her lips parted, then she looked at her phone. She checked the door number with a frown.
“This is supposed to be Brooks’ place.”
“It is.”
“His mom said he lived alone.”
She stepped to the side, allowing me to unlock the door. With a sigh, I held it open so that she could come in.
“I’ll be right back,” I said.
Quickly, I went into the guest room to grab my phone that I’d forgotten, then I returned to the kitchen. Which was empty.
“What the fuck,” I muttered.
Had she gotten impatient and left already? I wondered what a friend of his mom’s would be doing at his apartment. I felt unnerved as I opened the fridge to find something to drink. A movement to my left made me slam it closed and pivot to look at her.
“Where the fuck did you come from?”
