“She hired some pompous, arrogant ass. I fucking hate him. But he knows what he’s doing, so that’s all that matters, I suppose.”
“But I don’t… what?Why?”I blabber, and Nate sighs.
“Because she has trouble looking at me, Matt. I remind her of you.”
“Fuck! I have to fix this—”
“Hallelujah! Finally, one of you is seeing sense.”
“I gotta go,” I blurt out.
“Matt, make this right. Get the girl. Fix this fucking mess. Okay?”
I nod in pure compliance. “She’s my perfect ten, Nate. I couldn’t see it till now.”
“I know, brother, I know. I’ve known all along. Now stop talking to me and go to her.”
“Already on my way,” I say, reaching over to grab my keys before I walk out the door.
Chapter Thirty-One
ALEX
A heavy banging startles me awake from a restless sleep. My eyes are heavy, and I’m disoriented as the loud sound echoes through my apartment. It’s persistent, and as I wake fully, I realize it’s someone knocking on my door. Blinking rapidly, trying to gain my bearings, I rub my puffy eyes that have spent so much of last night crying into my boxes as I packed them.
“What the hell?” I murmur as the relentless knocking continues.
I glance at the clock on my nightstand—it’s nearly three thirty in the morning, and I wonder if this is some burglar’s attempt at trying to get into my apartment.
Typical! The night before I leave, I get robbed and pillaged.
Getting out of bed, I grab a vase I’ve yet to pack from the table as I pass and walk to the door slowly as the banging continues. I peek through the peephole, and to my surprise, it’s not a burglar, but a disheveled-looking Matt. I lower the vase and stand here for a moment, trying to figure out what’s going on. I haven’t heard from him, and I thought that maybe after Scott came around and I sent the voice message, he might have tried harder to fight for me, even though I told him not to, but he just gave up.
Now he’s here.
Hours before I get on a plane.
What the fuck?
He bangs harder, and I see lights flicking on down the hallway of the apartment block. He’s waking up the neighbors. Gritting my teeth, I flick on my outside light. He glances up, halting his banging as he looks back at my door, as I continue to stare at him through the peephole.
“What do you want, Matt?” I ask, and he visibly slumps.
“Alex, please open the door.”
“Why should I?”
His loud exhale is heard through the wood grain. At the same time, a thump resonates when he bangs his forehead against the door. “Alex, I know I fucked us. I was the one who made it so we couldn’t function. My fucking ten rules are so goddamn stupid, I couldn’t see that the perfect ten I was aiming for was who Ididn’twant—that prim and proper girl. She’s not for me. I need someone who was right in front of me all along… someone bold, daring, and not afraid to tell it how it is. Someone not scared to be a little rock ‘n’ roll like me. I need someone who is nothing like the stupid list I made. I don’t need to keep searching for the perfect ten, Alex. I fucking had her all along. I was just too fucking blind, I couldn’t see it.” My stomach flips as I draw my bottom lip in with my teeth. “Our friendship meansso muchto me, Alex, that I fucked up everything at the thought of not fuckingusup. Does that make sense? I wanted tonotlose yousobadly that I fucking pushed you away! You’re the one thing my body craves constantly, Alex. You’re the flame my heart desires…” He pauses, trying to get the words right. “I messed up. I know I did,big time. But please, if our friendship was worthanythingto you, then please, Alex… open the door,” he says, pulling on my heartstrings.
I huff, letting out a slight groan, and step back, turning the lock and opening the door. He looks at me, seeing me in nothing but a pair of tiny shorts and a tank top. He clears his throat and shifts from foot to foot awkwardly as his hooded eyes look me over like he’s devouring me. The intense stare of lust in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine and straight between my legs.
We still affect each other, there’s no doubt about that.
His eyes trail down my arm to the vase I’m holding, and he furrows his brows. “Um… what’s the vase for?”
I look down at it and bring it up to my chest, covering my breasts and holding it to me tightly. “To smash you over the head with. Why are you here, Matt?”
Matt smiles like I’ve amused him, and he takes a step closer, and I inadvertently take one back. He takes the opportunity and steps inside my apartment. I close my door and flick on the light, the amber hue lighting up the room. He pauses, and it’s like all the breath leaves his lungs as he takes in the sight before him—my apartment filled with boxes.
