Chapter 8
CHAPTER 8
E li didn’t sleep well, despite having stayed out late. After supper at the restaurant, Jordan and Gaines invited everyone to their house so they could relieve their babysitter. Eli tagged along, curiously not feeling like a fifth wheel, despite the fact that he was one. They drank coffee and ate cookies and it felt like being an actual adult, doing adult things. Maybe that was because Jordan and Gaines were older, or maybe it was because they were already established with their third child on the way. Maybe it was because they had an actual house, with multiple bedrooms and a yard. Or maybe it was because they were different from the people Eli usually hung out with, fellow bachelors like Gabe and the other men who lived in his apartment building. Maybe it was everything. All Eli knew was that he had fun, not the sort of fun he’d wanted in high school, some sort of grand adventure he could photograph and humble brag about on social media. Instead it was a more subdued kind of fun, the type where genuine connections were made. Nothing exciting happened, but he felt like he’d spent time with people who liked, accepted, and understood him. Somehow that was better. After feeling like a kid stumbling through life, he now began to feel like he was easing into maturity, in the best possible way. It was a good feeling, one he wanted more of.
Despite the rough night of broken sleep, where he woke tense and expectant, listening hard for any unusual sound, he woke with that same feeling of contentment. He made himself a cup of tea, feeling like an English gentleman as he sipped and stared at the crummy courtyard, watching his neighbors come and go. When he saw Darby enter the laundry room, he set aside his tea and left his apartment.
As before, she stared at the dryer, watching it spin without really seeing anything. What should he say to her? Where should he begin? What’s a hot woman like you doing breaking into my apartment? Stolen anything good lately? Though, to be fair, she hadn’t taken anything. Did that make the break in better or worse?
In the end he settled for a soft, “Hello.”
Darby jumped and whirled, clearly skittish. “Hi,” she said before turning to face the dryer again.
“So,” he drawled, but she continued to ignore him. “Um.” Still no response. “Are we going to talk about it, or no?”
Slowly, she turned to face him, blinking as if she had just woken from a deep sleep. “What?”
“Two nights ago you were in my apartment,” he said.
Her cheeks flushed. At first he thought it was embarrassment, and then he realized it was anger. “I most certainly was not,” she bit off in her most offended tone.
He nodded once. “You absolutely were.”
“Was not,” she huffed and he laughed a little because seriously?
“Were too.”
“I don’t know what game you’re playing here…”
“I’m playing the game where I’m trying to figure out if my landlord is criminal or crazy,” he interrupted.
If possible, she looked more affronted. “Look, it’s not easy for me to be the lone female, and I’m not unaware of the way you all talk about me. And maybe there is some sort of competition to be the first to, I don’t know, break through, but I am not interested.”
“Are you aware of the words coming out of your mouth? Do you honestly think that me asking you why you broke into my apartment is my way of hitting on you?”
She shrugged as if to say, Apparently.
“Um, wow, okay. Clearly you think I am desperate. I’ve actually been seeing a few people, learning a lot of new things about rodent ecology and psychiatric disorders, but whatever. The point is that you broke into my apartment. Obviously I would like to handle this like adults without involving the police, but if I have to go that route, I will.”
Instead of answering, he watched her eyes fill with tears, and then she turned and ran for her apartment.
“Whoa, my man, crash and burn,” Mack said, meandering into the laundry room with a loaded basket. “Harsh, so harsh. But good for you for taking your shot.”
“I wasn’t hitting on her,” Eli said helplessly. “She’s pretty, but I’m not even interested in her.”
“Okay,” Mack said on a half laugh.
Eli felt like he was the one losing his mind. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken a pass on the magic mushrooms. Maybe that would help him make sense of the fact that Darby was trying to portray him as the bad guy, when she was the one who broke into his apartment. And no one, including her, believed he wasn’t trying to hit on her. Since when couldn’t a man have a conversation about burglary with a woman without it being misconstrued as a come on? His brows drew together, trying to parse through the flaws he knew must be in that logic, but he couldn’t seem to untangle it. He glanced at her apartment. Should he press the matter or let it go? He wasn’t passive, but neither was he confrontational. Instead he ranked somewhere in the middle. If pressed, he’d push back. But if left alone, he preferred to remain that way, never seeking a fight unless one was presented.
He sighed and turned toward his own apartment. Clearly the woman had issues; it wouldn’t do to push her on them, merely because his pride was lanced.
D arby slammed her apartment door and leaned on it, heart thumping like a wild thing. “It’s not true,” she whispered aloud, wincing at the shock of her raw voice. It couldn’t be true, though, it absolutely couldn’t. She would never, ever enter anyone’s apartment without permission, especially a tenant. Not only would there be ethical violations, it was completely illegal. Even without being a landlord she knew that.
Why would he say that?
It’s him; he made it up, she assured herself, trying hard to push her breathing back to a normal rate. She had been lulled into a false sense of security by their first conversation, the one where he appeared to be a nice, normal guy. The combination of his aw-shucks attitude, offbeat humor, and braces had made her think too highly of him, namely that he was safe and could be trusted. Clearly that wasn’t the case. Like most men, he had one thing on his mind. Being the lone woman in a dwelling filled with men made her feel vulnerable enough as it was. She wasn’t incognizant of the way those men looked at her, as if she were a tasty treat and they’d just emerged from hibernation. That man, Eli, hadn’t looked at her like the others. She thought, rather hoped, that he saw her as a person and not a conquest. But she was mistaken because he was playing some kind of sick game, the kind that accused her of things and tried to make her feel guilty.
“I won’t fall for it,” she said, out loud and not a whisper this time. With effort, she stood and straightened away from the door. She might be alone in the world now, but she wasn’t helpless. She had her brains and her courage and enough financial security to see her through anything. No one will take it away from you. Especially not a tenant bent on conquering her by making her feel like less than she was.
With further effort, she shook off the encounter with a literal shake of her head. As far as she was concerned, the whole thing never happened.
Reassured, her heart rate began to decelerate, her breathing began to settle. Before she could take a step away from the door, someone knocked on it. Darby jumped and stifled a cry by pressing her hand against her mouth. Was it him? Of course it was him, who else would it be? They had just been talking, and he wanted to continue because he thought he had her on the line; he thought he had her backed into a corner. He didn’t, of course, but she still hesitated before she reached for the handle. If it was him, which it probably was, she would need to be mentally and emotionally prepared.
Standing on her toes, she peered through the peephole, blinking in surprise at the person on the other side. It was another one of the tenants. Had he overheard the conversation with Eli and come to check on her? That was sweet, but she wasn’t in the mood.
He knocked again.
Her hand reached for the doorknob, wavering. Once again her heart began to pound, this time with something that felt a whole lot like fear. Why? She had no idea. Probably because of Eli and his odd accusations. Whatever the issue, it was best to meet it head on. She would open the door and deal with this guy and all would be well.