If he knew what kind of predicament Hallie was in, he wouldn’t be saying any of this. Still, the closer we got to our thirties, the more Adrian worried about falling behind in life.
The guy had a business degree, but everybody thought he was wasting it as a bartender. He dreamed of opening his own bar one day, even if he was taking his time getting there. “You’re not a loser, man. You work harder than most people I know, and it’s all going to pay off when you open your own place.”
Adrian rolled his eyes like he didn’t quite believe me. I wanted to continue the pep talk, but one of the wrestlers climbed the ropes to urge the crowd to help him taunt the other guy–which, from what I had learned over the course of the night, was pretty common.
His phone lit up in his hand a second later, and the flurry of different-colored messages told me it was the infamous Rutherford family group chat. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s Cayden’s first T-ball game tomorrow. You’d think it was the Super Bowl the way Brooke and my mom are acting.”
I ran a hand along my jaw, absently rubbing my beard with one thumb as an idea formed. My eyes quickly scanned Adrian’s phone screen as he added a noncommittal thumbs-up emoji to the conversation.
Brooke:Starts at 7:00. We’ll save everyone seats!
“Guess that means the whole crew’s going to be there then, huh?” I asked, shifting in my seat. The crowd roared around us.
“Front row, center,” Adrian confirmed.
Good. That meant every single Rutherford would be preoccupied tomorrow night, not a single one of them lingering around the big house or Hallie’s apartment. I’d be able to slip in unnoticed and setthings in motion for our little agreement. II'd show her I already owned her… and remind her of what would come next.
***
The apartment above the Rutherfords’ garage still had that musty old wood smell, but it was subtler now, covered by something sweet and delicious and fully…Hallie.
She was at her nephew’s game, but I could smell her perfume as I made my way across the bedroom, the faint floral scent clinging to the air like she’d only just left. I stopped beside the bed and glanced down at the nightstand. Her Kindle sat there, faceup, a charging cord snaking toward the wall.
I glanced down at the small, yellow sunflower I’d just plucked from the wildflower patch by the garage. I flipped it over in my hand, its petals still warm from the sun. Carefully, I placed it on top of her Kindle, bending the stem so the flower would lay just right.
But that wasn’t all I was here for.
Her bathroom was still warm and humid, like she’d just showered. The damp black towel hanging by the door confirmed that, sliding between my fingers as I scanned the area for the item I came here to retrieve.
Hallie wasn’t a neat woman. The bathroom was in disarray, her hair tools and make-up scattered all over the counter. There was a bit of toothpaste on the front of the sink that she’d neglected to wipe up.
And there, on the rug in front of the shower, was a pair of panties. They were silky and black, with delicate lace panels on the sides.Bingo.
I picked them up, bringing the crotch right to my face.Oh, fuck.My cock throbbed instantly as I inhaled the scent, knowing Hallie’s sweetlittle cunt was rubbing against this fabric just an hour or two ago. I imagined her sliding them down her ass and kicking them off her toes before stepping into the shower, groaning as I pictured the soap suds sliding down her bare breasts.
I was such a sick motherfucker. I knew it. I couldn’t deny that part of me anymore, as dark as it was. It was staring me in the face like I had no shame left. The only decency I had left to hold on to was the knowledge that I had Hallie’s permission to use her however I wanted.
I'd never crossed this line before. Wouldn't have even entertained the idea of it. But Hallie liked me like this.
It took everything in me to keep my hand off my cock, but I had to hold out. I tucked the black underwear in the pocket of my jeans and slowly walked around her apartment, wondering what else I could gain from this intrusion. I circled around like I was casing the place, not really sure of what I was looking for.
Just observing. Learning.
She’d been here a month, but she’d done little to personalize the place or decorate it to her liking. It didn’t look much different than it did when I’d stayed here, except for the clutter. A few unpacked boxes were stacked in one corner of the living room, labeled with words like BOOKS and WINTER CLOTHES.
She wanted this to be temporary.
Yet over on the counter, there was an opened cell phone bill forwarded from her Milwaukee address to this one, which meant she’d at least accepted the possibility that she might be here longer than she liked to admit.
My eyes slowed on the Culver’s bag at the top of her trash can and then drifted to the counter, where a small dish held loose change, a couple of receipts and the spare key to her car.
I couldn’t.
I shouldn’t.
But I smiled to myself, my fist closing around Hallie’s panties in my pocket, and I took the key anyway. I hadn’t come up with a plan for it yet, but I knew having access to her car would come in handy to me one way or another.
