The woman kept trying to put her arms around Arch and cuddle up to him. He was clearly uncomfortable, and his gaze repeatedly drifted to my apartment door. She was an octopus—every time he’d remove her hand she’d find a way to touch him again. Finally, a muffled yelling came through my door. The monitor showed Arch jerking away from the woman, face angry and red. I assumed he’d taken all he could and snapped.
Ms. Hot, Sexy, and Slutty eventually turned and stomped down the hall toward the elevators. As soon as she walked out of my camera’s view, Arch jumped to my door and banged his fist on it.
He moved so fast it startled me. I leaped away from the monitor as if he could see me spying on him. The sharp knocks on the wood reverberated in my gut. Before I answered, I took a few deep breaths to compose myself. I didn’t want him to know I spied on him. As he walked in, I realized the monitor was still on. I hit the power button with my elbow as he rushed into the room.
“Ellie, I’m so sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry about?” I feigned innocence, as if the beautiful woman didn’t make me feel like a fool for thinking Arch liked me. He seemed angry with her, giving me hope I misunderstood the exchange, and he hadn’t spent the night with her.
“That woman. Monica.” He stepped toward me, arms out, apologetic.
“What about her? I don’t understand what’s going on.” I turned to the kitchen before my lies showed on my face. “Would you like some tea?”
“No, thank you. Listen. Monica didn’t spend the night. She showed up this morning, I guess hoping to catch me. I’ve managed to avoid her for weeks. We had a few dates a couple of months ago. She wasn’t for me, so I broke it off. She stopped by or called every few weeks since then.” He followed me into the kitchen.
“Arch, you don’t have to explain yourself to me.” Inside, I begged him to keep explaining himself to me.
“I want to. I do. I’ve been trying to be nice to her up until now. But when you saw that, I was afraid you’d think she had spent the night.”
“Why?” Why would he care about my opinion? I yearned for him to care, given how I’d begun to care for him, but if he did, I needed him to spell it out for me.
“Why what?” He blinked, bewildered. He didn’t understand how I could be confused by his actions.
“Why were you worried about my reaction to Monica?” When it came down to it, what right did I have to be upset if she spent the night?
Arch recoiled with a face like I’d slapped him. “I… I don’t know. I thought… I thought we had something. A connection. Was I wrong?”
“No,” I murmured. “You weren’t wrong. I felt a connection.” My inner self did cartwheels. He wanted a deeper relationship with me.
“Then, you understand why I got upset?”
I sighed in resignation. “Of course, I do.” I decided to go for honesty. “I got upset, too. Then, I felt stupid because we aren’t a couple, and we’ve no ties to each other.” I threw my hands up in consternation. “We’ve been on one failed attempt at a date, and that’s it. I’ve been flirting with you, but I’ve also been flirting with your partners!”Why did I say that out loud?“So, I felt stupid assuming you weren’t dating anyone.” The cat definitely escaped the bag. I admitted I liked all of them.
“So, you’ve been flirting with them.” He turned away, then back to me, his entire body tense.
“Well… yeah.” TheWorld’s Biggest Assaward was being engraved with my name as we spoke.
“It’s okay.” His expression said it wasnotokay.
“What do you want me to say? All three of you flirted with me, showed interest in me, and asked me out.” I began to panic, afraid to lose their friendship and potential relationships before they even happened. “You don’t know me, yet, but I don’t go on dates every weekend. I don’t play the field. I’m waiting for someone I have a real connection with.” I screwed up my nerve to continue. “I’ve felt a connection with all three of you.”
“It’s okay! You’re right. You should get to know us before making any decisions.” He looked determined, like he would ensure I chose him. “So, I’m going to go get ready for work. And I’m going to pretend none of this happened.”
I nodded my head as he walked away, baffled by the events of the morning. I couldn’t find any words to say, so I gaped at him. He turned around and lifted his chin, which I returned, slack-jawed.
Still dumbfounded, I made my way to the bathroom to take a shower and get ready for my day. I winced when I saw myself in the mirror—I was a mess. My hair was a total rat’s nest, and a huge zit popped up on my chin.
With an important class first thing, I didn’t have time to mourn my disheveled state. I slapped on the minimal makeup Todd painstakingly taught me to apply without taking a lot of time or effort. I wasted no time on my hair, a quick wash and blow dry. I ended up looking nice, though not a knockout. I’d take it.
My morning was uneventful until I walked out of my class. Gray stood outside the classroom with two coffees in hand. He wore another tight-fitting polo and slacks, his dark hair up in a bun. “Hello there,” I said, surprised to find him suddenly on campus.
“Pardon the intrusion, but I checked, and you don’t have another class today.” He handed me a cup. “A certain best friend of yours might’ve given me his number after the wreck, you know, just in case, and I might’ve called him to find out how you take your coffee and what your day looks like today.” He handed me one of the cups. “Please don’t think I’m creepy. I had reason to be here.”
The coffee tasted like rich hazelnut. “You even got the right creamer. Brownie points to Gray. The hazelnut cancels the creepiness a bit. Did you have a lecture?”
He handed me a paper bag I hadn’t noticed. “No brownies, but I did get cinnamon breakfast cake. Toddmight’vementioned that, too.” He grinned, pleased, teeth sparkling in the morning sunshine. “Yes, I just finished it. It was a speech of sorts, not a whole class.”
I peered down into the bag. “He’s a gem, and so are you.” Cinnamon cake was my weakness, and I hadn’t taken the time to eat before class.
