“Call me if you change your mind and decide to take the help I’m offering. Think about what I said though, OK?”
Reaching into my back pocket, I pull out my billfold and lay a twenty on the table, more than covering the cost of the coffee I didn’t touch.
After leaving the diner,I go to Dani’s apartment to learn everything I can about her. I happen to own the building, sogaining entry into her place is no trouble at all. And the security cameras she has throughout her apartment? Piece of cake for Franklin to hack into and splice the recordings, ensuring there’s no evidence of me ever being here. It’s a nifty trick, one that I’ll make sure he teaches me how to do myself as I don’t plan on this being my only visit.
Her cat hisses as I enter the apartment before running off to hide under the couch. The black furry thing looks like it was the runt of the litter—short, stout, little body with a tail that apparently doesn’t work and just flops around as it runs. If I was here under better circumstances, I might have laughed at it.
Moving further into her apartment, I stride into the kitchen and pull open the refrigerator door, cursing when I see its interior. A few bottles of water, some mayo and ketchup in the door, and a half-used carton of eggs. That’s it.This woman is aggravating the hell out of me. She has all that money and doesn’t even use it to feed herself. Checking her cupboards, they’re just as bare other than a few staple items. The thought of Dani feeling even the slightest hunger pangs sets my teeth on edge as I clench my fists, my aggravation getting the better of me.
Shaking my head, I move further into the apartment to her bathroom. Her medicine cabinet holds her anxiety and depression medications along with a medication for sleep, and upon closer inspection at the dates on the bottles, it doesn’t seem like she’s taking them consistently like she should. That could definitely be a contributing problem to the state she’s in... Her drawers hold feminine products and hair tools, nothing that really interests me.
So far, my understanding of Dani is spot on. Anxious, depressed, and not taking care of herself or her mental health like she should. It would explain her strict tendencies in her routine and not feeding herself properly.
Moving down the hall to her bedroom, I search her nightstand. A picture frame holds a photo of her with another man. I know she doesn’t have a boyfriend right now—her dating profile told me that much. This is the ex-boyfriend that Franklin pulled up in her summary report. They didn’t end things amicably, that I know for certain, but regardless, a burning sensation envelops my chest. I’m a jealous bastard, that much I can admit. However, Franklin didn’t find any recent communications between them so the man is lucky to still have his life.
Inside the drawer are a pack of condoms and a hot-pink feminine toy. The thought of her needing those condoms makes my jaw flutter, but I shrug it off. She’ll eventually see that she’s mine. I imagine her using the toy on herself and find myself growing hard at the thought. Palming myself through my pants, I hold back the urge to stroke myself right here in her bedroom.Get a hold of yourself. Now isnotthe time for that.
Fuck, this woman sets me on edge. Her addicting scent envelops me as I move throughout the apartment, a pleasant mix of sandalwood and amber.
Seeing all I need to see, I leave her apartment, turning off the lights as I go.
Time to go shopping for my stubborn girl.
Three
Dani
My shift ended at 6:00 P.M., but a few tables held me up. I can’t wait to get out of here. Being a Friday night, the diner tends to pick up around this time for dinner, and I’m not looking to get stuck here longer than necessary. On top of that, I have a date tonight. I started putting myself back out there on the dating apps a week or so ago, and I’m finally ready to move on from Derek. Not that the decision was hard to begin with, but it feels freeing to finally be out of his clutches. It’ll be a nice distraction from the encounter with Kayden earlier, too.
Picking up my bag and coat, I shout a goodbye to everyone in the kitchen before making my way out the front door. The night is cool, and I’m immediately glad that I thought to bring a coat today. The air has a slight salty scent to it, evidence of the ocean being carried on the breeze.
Putting in my headphones, I play my favorite album. Content with the music playing in my ears, I reposition my bag and start the trek home. This time of night, the town is bustling with activity. The neon lights of the bars and taverns light up main street as the sun starts to set. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a safe-ish neighborhood, but I never want to be caught out toolate taking my chances with the drunks stumbling from those establishments.
My walk is quick—less than ten minutes—and I’m sliding my key into the entryway door. The private entrance into the building was one of the draws to it. That and the insanely cheap rent. I don’t know if it had something to do with the overall assistance I received three years ago or if rent was really that low, but I tried not to think about it too much.
Unlocking my apartment, I flick on the lights to find Amzee walking into the kitchen, meowing her little head off. Setting my things on the table and my coat on the back of the chair, I walk over to her and lean down to scratch down her back.
“Hi, baby girl, want some dinner?”
Meow.
Everyone talks to their pets, right? I’m not the only crazy one?
Walking past the kitchen table, I reach down into her food container and pull out a cup of food, dumping it in her bowl before refilling her other bowl with fresh water, too.
“Alright, Amz, there ya go. Eat up.”
Dimming the kitchen light, I make my way through the little apartment and into my bedroom. I’m always quick to get out of my clothes after working at the diner, not wanting to smell like fried food longer than I have to.
After a quick shower, I apply lotion and body shimmer before putting on a flowy black summer sundress and sandals. As I get dressed, my eyes catch on the picture on my nightstand. Fucking Derek. I really need to get rid of that picture, but every time I say I’m going to, it just never happens. I either forget or get distracted with something else. Sometimes, I think it’s because I don’t have any other picture to fill the frame with. I’d rather have the illusion of not being alone than the stark reminder that I reallyamalone.
I dated Derek for about five months, and up until a month ago, we were doing good… until we weren’t. He started out as a charming guy, always opening my door or pulling out my chair, but the facade slowly faded as things became less casual and more serious. He became controlling, constantly texting my phone while I was at work, or stopping by unannounced at both work and home like he was constantly keeping tabs on me. Then I found out about his gambling addiction. It scared me to be honest, so I ended things with him. At first, he didn’t accept that, and his appearances became more and more frequent, until one day I threatened to call the cops on him. He finally got the hint thankfully, and I haven’t heard from him since.
I walk over to my nightstand and tell myself to stop being a little bitch. If my date comes back here tonight, the last thing I should have on my nightstand is a picture of me with another man.
I open the back of the frame and take out the picture, ripping it up before placing the empty frame in the drawer. It will stay there until I have a new picture to fill it with, I tell myself. Maybe Melody has a picture of her and me to put in the frame…
Taking my hair out of the towel on my head, I shake out my hair and run a wide-tooth comb through it. I learned pretty late in life that the key to maintaining waves and curls is the wide-tooth comb. The sound of my buzzer jars me from my mundane thoughts, causing me to jump.Who the hell could that be?!
