My throat felt too tight, and my feet were rooted to the cement floor as Van Helsing and Elle walked away. Her shoulders were slumped as she glanced over at me, her frown still very much in place, and I hated that I’d done that by saying we weren’t friends. Fuck! If she thought we were friends, then that meant she didn’t hate me anymore. Well, at least until five seconds ago.
I needed to apologize and get back to the moment where her eyes lit up when she saw me. Frantically glancing around, I knew what to do. She wanted a wire shelf of spices? I could get her seeds and a little potting soil. Yeah, and maybe a book on how to grow them. No, that could be insulting. Just the seeds and pots.
A purple watering can was right there, and it was so bright I had to get it for her too. Content with my apology gift, I checked out with my new additions and her present. Where she talked about money being an issue, it was one thing I never had to worry about. My parents left me quite a bit, and with my signing bonus? I was set for ten years, even if I never played in the NHL.
This small gift wasn’t even a tiny dent for me. If anything, it got me excited to give it to her. My mood lifted as I ran a few more errands and headed home. I could picture her smile when she saw the gift, and it almost made me smile.
I set everything outside her unit when I heard her voice.Shit.I didn’t want her to see me leave it! I stepped back, almost tripping on my feet when the door opened. Her soft brown eyes landed on me first, her lips parting in an O.“Cal?”
“Hey.”
“What are you—what is this?” She stared at the items on her welcome mat and then back to me. “Did you…get these for me?”
I gripped the back of my neck, hating how fucked up I was that even saying yes took so much effort. I nodded.
“But why?” A worry line formed between her brows, and my finger itched to trace it. I kept my hand firmly at my side, safe and away from her.
“Because we’re friends. Friends help each other out.”
She pressed her lips together, the worry line still there. “I don’t understand.”
“Your brother said you had money issues. I don’t. I bought you this gift.”
Her worry line disappeared, and instead, fire danced behind her eyes. “So, this is a pity present?”
“What? No!” I held up my palms. “You said we were friends and got a hurt look in your eyes when I said no. I wanted to make you smile, so I brought you spices.”
This was an epic failure. She wasn’t smiling. She also wasn’t picking up the gift. If I left, maybe she’d take it then. “I gotta go. See you later.”
“But Cal—”
I pushed my way into the stairwell, my emotions warping into a major ball ofeverything.Like an everything bagel whereone flavor didn’t dominate the taste but they all mixed together. That was how my feelings worked. Just one big one.
I needed to shower and tend to my plants and listen to Blink-182 and stay busy. That would help with the confusion and inability to be a normal human.
Fuck, why did I think my gift would make her smile? Why did I have to say we weren’t friends? I ruinedanyand all progress we’d made. This was why I didn’t bother with feelings.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Elle
Torn between being angry and grateful, I stared at the spice seeds and little pots to start them in. But more, the purple watering can. That surprised me. I chewed the inside of my cheek, eyeing my watch to make sure I had enough time to get ready before heading to the bar. I had to say something to him.
Better here than the bar.
Set on a mission, I got into the elevator and went to the top floor. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to yell at him or not. I kinda planned to start talking once I saw him and hoped my mind would finish the thoughts.
You have money problems.
Ugh. It sounded so condescending.I don’t.Well, not all of us are NHL draftees, mister. I had the entire convo in my head, so by the time I pounded on his door loudly, I had a couple of sentence starters queued up.
He answered, his bare chest coming into view, and all those practiced words evaporated. My mind was kaput. Dead.
It was skin and muscles and hard lines. Oh shit. A towel. His hand gripped the side of the towel, resting so low on the hips I could see his hip bones. My mouth dried up. Desert style. My mind got fuzzy from lust. I was in a full-on lust haze where speaking was asking too much.
The heat from his shower clouded me, and his soap? Fuck. I inhaled, so caught up in all ofhimthat I might’ve blacked out.
