I sit down on the coffee table in front of him while he is trying to readjust his position.
“Here let me.”
Spencer jumps slightly as I carefully place one hand under his calf and unlace his shoe. Every time we touch, his body reacts. He moves to my slightest touch. It makes me want to place my hands all over just to see how his body responds.
Clearing my head, I look down at the skin around his ankle. It’s slightly bruised and a little puffy. He hisses when the ice pack makes contact with his skin.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s cold, but it will help the swelling.”
“I’m so clumsy sometimes. This is so embarrassing,” he whispers to himself.
I touch his leg, wanting his gaze. When his eyes eventually meet mine, I smirk. “Don’t worry about it. I mean, it’s not your fault. Those boards were expected to hold on for another week. You had a deal, and they… broke it.”
“That was horrible,” he says with a genuine, carefree laugh. “But, I appreciate it. You didn’t have to do this.”
“Your track record in the last hour begs to differ,” I say with a wink.
He laughs again and my heart soars. When you meet someone for the first time, you can hear the awkward silences as you attempt to gauge their sense of humor, but with Spencer, there is none of that. His laugh is so infectious, I savor the sound and when it’s me causing him to make that gorgeous sound, my chest squeezes.
Suddenly Spencer's eyes go wide. “Oh, no… Fuck! Did you even make it into your apartment before you had to save my klutzy ass?”
I laugh. “I had just set my bag down when I heard you stumble. I raced down the stairs so fast I’m pretty sure my front door is still open.”
“I apologize. Dealing with my inability to fix some steps and all this…” he says, waving his hand towards his ankle, “was not on your agenda for your first night in a new place.”
“Hey what kind of neighbor would I be, plus it was worth it!”
And it really was worth it. Meeting him was the cherry on top of a big day for me.
Getting to my feet, I check to make sure there is nothing else he needs.
“No, really, you have done more than enough. Thank you. I’ll be fine.” Relaxing his head on the back of the couch, he tucks his hands up under his arms.
I can’t tell if he is being self-conscious or just cold.
I err on the side of gentlemanly caution and reach for one of the throw blankets on the back of the couch and gently spread it over him. He glances up at me, and damn, this man is going to wreck me!
I turn to leave, then stop. “Wait, can I see your phone?”
“Umm, okay, yeah.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, unlocking it before handing it over. I quickly type in my phone number.
“Here, now you have my number. Will you let me know if you need anything?”
Spencer nods his head with a soft-spoken. “okay”.
“It was nice meeting you, Spencer!” I walk to the door. Turning, I give one last glance Spencer's way and he gives me a small wave.
* * *
Kicking off my boots, I grab my bag off the floor and go set it on the bed before making my way back to the kitchen. I’m so hungry and the realization of how tired I am hits me full force.
I need to eat something, then pass the fuck out. Sure enough, in the freezer are a couple of frozen pizzas. I take one and throw it in the oven before opening the fridge. I grin when I see a 6 pack of beer with a little bow on it sitting on the top shelf. I grab one, pop the top, and take a big swig. Jaxon filled the fridge with soda, condiments and lunch meat for sandwiches. Next to the fridge, sitting on the counter,thank fuck, is a coffeemaker with some coffee pods, along with a loaf of bread.
Walking around the apartment, I feel anxious as hell, but also, I have never felt this free. I don’t have this heavy feeling in my chest weighing me down. Instead, I have electricity buzzing through my veins.
The perpetual state of ‘if I don’t get out of here now, I will die,’ was physically taxing.
My mother, if you can even call her that, is a junkie who spent all of my life in and out of jail and rehab. She doesn’t care about me, she just wants money to buy drugs. Pulling at my guilt, she knew exactly where to land the blows so I would give her everything I had.
