He slipped through the door, and I was alone. Glancing at my reflection in the mirror, I saw out-of-control hair, swollen lips, and the faint redness of stubble rash riding along my neck, all complemented by a wide smile that represented exactly how I felt.
Chapter Thirteen
PATRICK
If I hadn’tracked up enough points to earn a padded cell yet, leaving Andy in another bathroom surely put me over the edge. After sprinting to my apartment, I killed time picking up dirty socks, filling my dishwasher with the wreckage in the sink, organizing my refrigerator, and sorting the industry journals piled on my kitchen table.
I spent weeks believing I was a pervy creeper who leered at his young apprentice, and her admission in the bathroom felt like absolution. I wanted to celebrate the removal of my creeper status, and I wanted that party in my bed with Andy.
My pulse pounded against my temple while the minutes ticked by, and I glared at my phone as I begged for some confirmation Andy received the texts with my address and door code. More than an hour passed before I flopped to the sofa, dejected and doubly miserable.
I was fast-forwarding through the most recent Premier League games and devising a plan to transfer Andy to Matt’s projects and bring Riley back onto my projects when her chime sounded from my phone.
00:47 Andy:I once heard someone say that if something is equal parts amazing and terrifying, you should always pursue it.
Rolling my eyes, I stopped the game and scowled at the phone. She was a never-ending trail of breadcrumbs.
00:48 Patrick:I’ve said it before and I’m saying it again: you don’t give me much.
00:49 Patrick:and you are beyond confusing when
00:49 Patrick:A) you go radio silent for 2 hours
00:50 Patrick:B) you send me wildly ambiguous texts that require several more questions to understand when you could have just told me what you’re trying to say
00:50 Patrick:and C) I can’t read you at all unless your legs are wrapped around me and my tongue is in your throat
00:51 Patrick:and believe me, I’d like to do that ALL fucking day, but I can’t so you need to give me a little more if you’re going to keep dragging me into bathrooms
00:52 Patrick:please, save me the trouble of interpreting your commentary, and tell me what the fuck you’ve decided because I’m two seconds away from an aneurysm
A sharp knock echoed from my door, and I glanced back and forth between my phone and the door, knowing that I’d either find a sibling too drunk to make her way home and looking to crash, or Andy.
00:53 Patrick:if you’re not on the other side of that door…
00:53 Andy:you’ll never know until you look
A ripple of joy mixed with absolute panic flowed over my body when I found Andy leaning against the doorframe, her head bowed over her phone.
She gifted me with a small smile and raised eyebrow. “You seem angry.”
“You’re impossible to read.”
“I didn’t know you were interested in reading me,” she countered with a shrug.
I pursed my lips and closed my eyes with a tight groan. She was going to drive me to a new level of insanity, and I’d be arriving there very soon.
“Get your ass in here,” I said, and she rewarded me with another smile as her shoulder brushed my chest.
She lifted her phone. “I’m here. Even though it’s amazing and terrifying.”
“I see that,” I said, leaning against the door. Her words started feeling mischievous, almost like a flirty game that we were playing except I didn’t know any of the rules. “Would you like to tell me why?”
Andy rolled her shoulders and tucked her phone into her bag. “You invited me.”
I paced toward Andy, my frustration and arousal blurring together until I couldn’t separate the two. “It took you two hours to decide.”
“But it’s not Friday anymore, and as you pointed out, we’re tragic on Fridays. I was chatting with your sister. She’s hilarious, and we had some wine, and we’re going to yoga next Saturday.”
