As I step into the living room, I hear the elevator door ping and slide open. Two feminine voices float around, one energetic and the other soft and raspy.
I squeeze my eyes shut, forcing the memory of her throaty moans away from my mind.
“I think I’m going to have to get another job. What I make isn’t enough to cover everything,” I hear Anna say. “I think?—”
She stops in her tracks, head jerking back as her gaze meets mine. Brows scrunching in and lips pinched tight, she stares at me.
“Oh, hey?” Shock rises in Jenny’s voice. “Uh…Anna.” She turns to look at her friend who’s still staring at me with a slight scowl on her face. “Did we get the dates wrong?”
“No,” I reply before she does. “I’m leaving now. I came to pick something up.”
It’s a lie, but it’s the only one I could come up with.
“Do you want us to step out?” Anna blinks and regards me again, a different expression on her face this time. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s less intimidating.
I shouldn’t have assumed, but I thought maybe seeing me would have flustered her a little, or that her cheeks would have turned that pretty shade of pink I saw Friday. But she’s not flustered nor is she blushing. Instead, she’s…impassive.
“No.” I’m so thrown off my game. This never happens. Why do I feel confused? I degraded her, but it feels like it was the other way around. “Can I talk to you?”
Her mouth parts and a divot appears between her black brows. “No, we need to get done by?—”
“I’ve cleaned up a bit. It’s nowhere near as good as you do.” That sounds so wrong. Saying that makes me seem like an asshole. “But it’s, uh, clean.”
She and her friend wear the same astonished look. Still, I think she’s going to say no when the surprise wears off a second later. “We still have to?—”
“It’s fine, Anna. I got it.” Jenny cuts her off, waving a hand at her to go away, and she flashes me a small smile that feels a little mischievous.
“I promise I won’t take long,” I add, hoping it’ll be enough to convince her.
She looks like she’s on the fence, but then she reluctantly agrees. “Three minutes.”
“I’ll make it two.” I smirk at her, and she glares at me like I’m a nuisance. Which is funny considering how she let me touch her Friday night, but I digress. “Mind if we talk on the terrace?”
She gives me a half shrug and zips her jacket back up. I gesture for her to go first and train my eyes on the back of her head, not letting it stray down to her ass.
Once I shut the sliding glass door behind me, breathing becomes strangely difficult. She’s beautiful in the way that makes standing in front of her hard to believe.
Her thick black hair is pulled back in a sleek ponytail, and her bangs settle on her forehead. Her olive-toned skin looks just as soft as it felt that night. And as for the rest of her, it’s probably for the best that I don’t stare too hard.
The scrunch in her nose draws me out of my reverie. “Have you been smoking?” She appears so disgusted that I feel self-conscious for a moment.
“Calms my nerves.” It’s either that or hyperventilating from a panic attack, but I don’t tell her that.
“What are you nervous about?” Her face goes neutral, but I spot the tinge of curiosity.
“I have a game tonight.”My father will be criticizing every microscopic thing I do. If we don’t win, he’ll have me on the ice until I throw up. Yeah, that’s too much to share with someonewho I don’t know. Someone who won’t give a fuck. Not that I’ve ever shared it before, not even my sister, Thea. But despite how much I hate his methods, I wouldn’t be at this level if it weren’t for them.
“You know, it’s not good for your health.”
“You’re concerned about my health?” I tuck my cold hands in my pockets.
She blankly stares at me. “No. I don’t care. I’m stating the obvious. Seems like that’s something you should be worried about.”
“But then I wouldn’t have something to calm my nerves.” I lean against the glass, crossing one ankle over the other.
“There are many other ways to deal with nerves that don’t involve a cigarette.”
“Like?” I arch a brow. “What would you suggest? How do you calm yours?”
