We haven’t been loud enough to disturb anyone on the floor below us and none of those neighbors have the code to access this floor. There’s no one it could be besides Finn’s driver, Jake, and his large lumbering form on the other side. Maybe we left a box in the company Escalade.
I swing open the door and come face to broad chest as expected, but it isn’t Jake. This body is leaner and taller. My eyes slide up his form and stop at his chiseled square jaw. I had no idea people like this existed. A plain white t-shirt hugs his body outlining what have to be a set of wonderful pecs. In his hands he carries a medium-sized brown box, the weight causing a rather large bulge of muscles to stretch the fabric of his shirt.
“What the hell is this?” He shoves the box at me until I’m forced to grab it. “Why the fuck are there boxes all over my hallway?” His moment of being the hottest guy in the place is lost once he opens his pretty mouth. If I’m being honest, he lost a hotness point too.
His question stops me short, and I jerk my head back to his face and short dark brown hair. My face turns a slight shade of red from being caught ogling his arms. “Huh?” I’m not winning any awards for my intelligence today.
Bright blue eyes squint at me in irritation. “The fucking boxes all over the damn hallway. Get them out, Aspen.”
My mouth falls open in a lame attempt to correct him, but then I bristle at his tone. He might be hot, but he’s also an asshole.
“Ry.” With a gentle hand, Finn pushes me to the side and takes up the doorway. “This is Marissa, your new tenant. She moved in today."
Finn’s words don’t relax him. Ryland’s scowl is still etched on his face. It might be permanent.
“I didn’t approve a sublease.” His eyes narrow in my direction and I step away from the door.
Crap. I’m going to kill Aspen for this. I’ve already given up my old apartment and now I’ll end up in a cardboard box off Van Ness Street.
Ryland nudges his wide frame through the door. With arms tightly crossed, his eyes sweep the room. “How many people are in here?”
I turn to Aspen with a silent plea for help, but she only responds by bringing both shoulders to her ears in the longest shrug I’ve ever witnessed. Simone stands next to her with a hand over her mouth and wide eyes, which don’t help my anxiety.
“Ry.” Trey stands behind me and I move out of the way to give him space. Better him than me when it comes to the wrath of my new neighbor. The one Pen promised I’d never see. "You haven’t called me back.”
“I’m here aren’t I?” he responds with a smidge less irritation in his tone.
Finn widens the door to give Trey more room. “Have you played the new update? Let’s go to your place.” He steps into the hallway with Finn right behind him, beer still in hand.
“Whose fucking car is in one of my spaces?” I guess my cuddly landlord hasn’t finished classifying our shortcomings yet.
“Oh, yeah, don’t worry, man. That’s mine.” Trey leans back into the apartment and casts an eye to the boxes in the hallway—a silent reminder of what started this whole mess.
The door closes behind Trey and the three of us release a collective breath at the reduction in tension.
“Did I mention I get to babysit Sadie Saturday?” Pen’s lame attempt to use her baby niece to change the subject reminds me how much I'm going to kill her. Later. After she gets the chance to babysit. It’s all she’s talked about for months. Ben, her brother, has taken his time in letting her.
“Don’t worry, Marissa. A sublease will be fine, Marissa. He’s never here, Marissa,” I repeat back Aspen’s words from the last few weeks to her.
Rather than show any guilt, her smile grows with each of my sentences. There’s no telling what’s going through her head, but I swear there are visible wheels turning. Falling in love with Finn ruined her common sense.
“Come on. Let’s get the boxes.” I shake my head all the way to the door, too flustered to figure out what she’s thinking. “If I unpack, maybe he’ll take pity and let me stay here.”
Aspen tugs on a piece of my brown hair and beats me out into the hallway. “Of course he’ll let you keep the place. He can’t be that big of an asshole."
It’s another one of her promises, but this time I’m not so sure.
