But before I could grab the handle, it turned and the door pushed open. Kent startled, surprised to see me standing right there in the doorway.
“Hi,” he grunted. “Can I help you?”
“Nope,” I replied, stepping out of his way. “I was just heading out for a bit.”
“Out?” He stepped inside, his work boots tracking dirt onto my clean floor. “Where?”
“Just out.” I moved past him toward the hallway, but he shifted, blocking my path without seeming to realize it.
“It’s almost seven.” His eyes narrowed slightly, scanning my outfit. “You got a date or something?”
The question hit me wrong, too pointed, too interested. I felt my defenses slam up immediately.
“Why does it matter?”
“It doesn’t.” But his jaw was tight, and he wasn’t moving out of my way. “I was just asking.”
“Well, don’t.” I stepped around him, but his hand shot out, gripping the doorframe and effectively caging me in. My heart kicked against my ribs, though whether from anger or something else, I couldn’t tell.
“James.” His voice had dropped lower, rougher. “Are you going to see someone?”
“That’s none of your business, Kent.” I looked up at him, meeting his eyes. There was something wild in them, something I’d never seen before. “Now move.”
He didn’t. We stood there in the doorway, close enough that I could smell the sweat and sawdust on him from work. Close enough to see the muscle jumping in his jaw.
“You barely know the people in this building,” he said. “It’s not safe.”
“I’m a grown man. I can take care of myself.”
“I’m just—” He ran his free hand through his hair, frustration rolling off him in waves. “Fuck, I’m trying to look out for you.”
“Since when?” The words came out sharper than I intended. “Since when do you give a shit about what happens to me?”
That landed. I saw it in the way he flinched, the way his grip on the doorframe tightened until his knuckles went white.
“Fine,” he said, dropping his arm. “Do whatever the fuck you want.”
He turned away, stomping toward the kitchen. I should have left. Should have walked out the door and gone downstairs to the neighbor who was waiting. But something kept me rooted there, watching Kent’s broad shoulders as he yanked open the refrigerator.
“The dishes need to be done,” I said, hating how petty it sounded. “And pick up your trash.”
I’d never seen him move so fast. In a flash Kent was beside me again, his hand throwing the door closed, cutting off my exit. “What the fuck did you say to me?”
I stared at him, absolutely furious. And this time, I wasn’t backing down. “You heard me,” I barked. “You agreed to clean up your shit, to share responsibility around here. But the sink is full of dishes again and you’re throwing trash on my floor because you’re too fucking lazy to get up from the couch.”
“Don’t talk to me like that, you little shit!”
“Yeah?” I said, taking a step forward. “What the fuck are you gonna do about it? Beat me up like when we were kids? Shove me in the snow and call me a faggot in front of your friends?!”He flinched, but I kept going. “I’m not scared of you anymore, Kent.”
His voice came out rough, almost a growl. “You should be scared of me.”
But even as he said it, I could see something else flickering behind his eyes. Not anger. Not violence. Something darker and more complicated that made my pulse quicken for entirely different reasons. It was that hungry look again, the one I’d seen on other men at the bar.
“Then do it,” I challenged, my voice steadier than I felt. “Prove you’re still the same asshole you’ve always been. Hit me. Shove me. Do whatever it is you think will make you feel like a man. Is that why Brittany kicked you out? You beating her up too?”
“I never fucking touched her!” He took a step closer, closing the already minimal distance between us. We were inches apart now, and I could feel the heat radiating off his body. “Just shut the fuck up, James.”
“Why? Does the truth hurt?” I was pushing him, I knew I was pushing him, but years of swallowed anger were bubbling up and I couldn’t stop. “You’ve spent your whole life making me feel like shit for being who I am, and now you show up here needing my help and you can’t even do the fucking dishes?”
