Two
Violet
Isat straight on thecouch, looking around the large, spacious living room.My body was stiff and rigid as I tried to process what exactly had just happened.It all started with me finding out about Jared and ended with me sitting on my neighbors’ couch.Not just myneighbors, but myincredibly handsomeneighbors who both looked at me in ways that sent a delicious shiver through my body in the best way.
“Have some water,” the tall guy said, handing me a glass.I was pretty sure his name was Enzo, but right now, I couldn’t tell you my own name.That was how frazzled I felt.
I looked up, noting the brilliant, deep blue eyes that I could easily get lost in.His face was, for the most part, clean-shaven, minus the stubble that dotted his jaw line.I imagined his full lips pressed against mine, and when he arched an eyebrow at me, it was almost as if he’d read my thoughts.I shifted my gaze, shaking off the thought before I embarrassed myself.Nowwas not the time to be thinking about that.Hell—it would never be the time to think about that because I would never be the kind of girl to attract the attention of a man like that.He was the kind of guy who could just breathe, and women would throw their panties at him.
“You’re looking a little pale.You should try to hydrate,” he said, nodding to the glass as he sat in the oversized chair across from me, breaking me free from my trance again.
I looked at the glass I was holding and shook my head.
“We don’t want you to pass out on us,” Asher replied softly, leaning back in the other chair and resting his hands on his rock-solid abdomen.Even with a T-shirt on, I could still see the defined muscles beneath it.I had noticed him outside earlier and knew he was watching as I lost my shit with Jared.But he had stayed back, minding his business until the moment Jared raised his voice at me.That was all it took to get Asher moving across the grass in record time as he put himself right smack in the middle of my drama.
I hadn’t known Asher long, mainly because I hadn’t lived in Beaumont Creek very long.He had introduced himself the same day Jared and I moved in, and helped me with taking some of the boxes inside after Jared left to deal with a work crisis.I tried to pretend I was fine and didn’t need help, but Asher wouldn’t take no for an answer, and soon after, his roommate was there helping as well.He wasn’t cocky or arrogant the way Jared had become.While I didn’t know him well, there was something about him that immediately calmed me.Whether it was the soft, lopsided smile that showed off his dimples or his dark, emerald-green eyes that reminded me of warm summer days, I didn’t know.Regardless, he just had something about him that made me feel safe, something I hadn’t realized how much I needed until right then.
I took a long sip, surprised by how thirsty I actually was.Perhaps it was all of the yelling I had done this morning when I caught Jared cheating on me.I spent a solid ten minutes screaming as loud as I could while throwing all of his clothes out of the bedroom window.I knew it was pointless because it was his house and I just lived there—but still, I had felt better at the time doing it.Now he would have to be the embarrassed one, collecting his clothes and taking them back inside while the neighbors sat on their lawns, watching.
I rolled my head on my neck to try to relieve some tension before I got a migraine from it.Today had beennothinglike I had expected.
“Thank you for the water,” I said, clearing my voice.“And thank you for—well, thank you for standing up for me.Jared is probably inside canceling all of my credit cards as we speak, so I should get going.”
“It’s not a problem,” Asher said.“Enzo and I don’t tolerate that shit, so we would never just stand back and allow him to treat you like that.”
I stood up, and a shiver ran along my spine as they both studied my every move with such intensity that it made my knees feel a little weak.I couldn’t remember the last time a man looked at me like that, as if he were trying to memorize every inch of my body.It was as if I had their undivided attention, and for once, I felt seen.
“Where are you going?”Enzo asked.
“I actually don’t know,” I admitted, sitting back down because the heat of their gazes was too much to handle standing up.Since I had been focused on cleaning today so we could enjoy a worry-free weekend, I hadn’t bothered to get ready yet.I glanced down, noticing the short, tight shorts and tank top that were likely the cause of the attention I was getting from them.
“I broke my lease on my apartment when I moved out here with Jared a few months ago.Even if I wanted to go back to Colorado, I wouldn’t have the money to do so now.I don’t have much family and haven’t had time to try to meet anyone in town, so I don’t have friends either.”I stopped and laughed nervously.“But I can check into a hotel.”When they didn’t say anything and continued to stare at me, I nodded my head as if I had all the answers.“Yeah.That’s what I’ll do.I’ll find a hotel and stay there for a few days until I figure things out.Thanks for your help.”
I stood up again, hating how stupid I sounded.
Enzo stood up and blocked me, his smoldering gaze making me pause as butterflies fluttered through my stomach.This was the kind of guy who could ask me to do something, and I would do it without any hesitation.That was how exceptionally intense the chemistry felt right now.
