Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
Trina
“What is all this?” I mutter as I maneuver past a stack of coolers, a folding table, and three large inflatable chairs.
It’s Saturday, move-in day, and I’m trying to get to my new apartment, but the hallway has so much stuff in it, I can barely get by.
“Trina!” I hear Jenna yell. I look up and see her waving at me from her door. I can only see her head because of all the junk in the hall. “You need some help?”
“No, I just have my bag.” I squeeze past the inflatable chairs and make it down to Jenna. “Why is all this stuff in the hall?”
“It’s Saturday.” She glances next door. “He always has a party on Saturday. It looks like this will be a big one. He usually doesn’t need that many coolers.”
“That stuff is for a party?” I ask, eyeing the inflatable chairs.
“Yeah. Let’s go over there and I’ll introduce you. I’m sure he’ll invite you.”
“I’m not interested in a party. And I’m working tonight.”
“You got a job?” She moves aside and I go into the apartment. With Jenna’s stuff gone, the place looks a little bigger. Maybe this won’t be so bad. It still feels like a closet, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it.
“I’m working at the grocery store down the street. It’s just temporary. Until I find something else.”
“So you must’ve met Frank.” She laughs. “Did he try to set you up?”
“Set me up? Like on a date?”
“Yeah. He likes to play matchmaker. He tried to set me up with his grandson, but I told him I already have a boyfriend.”
“He didn’t try to set me up. And if he does, I’ll make it clear I’m not interested. I’ve decided all guys are jerks. Even if they seem nice, it’s all an act. I’ll never again believe anything men say. They’re all liars who can’t be trusted.”
“Um, okay,” Jenna says, giving me a strange look.
I might’ve said all that a little too loudly and forcefully, but it’s only because I’m still so angry at Asher for what he did. I was up all night thinking about it. I slept for maybe an hour, and in that hour, I had a dream where I married Asher and then found out he was already married to someone else. I guess that makes it more of a nightmare than a dream.
“Here’s your keys,” Jenna says, handing them to me. “One’s for the apartment and the other one will get you into the building.” She points to my duffle bag. “Is that all you have?”
“No, the movers will be here in a few minutes.” I go to the door and peek out to the hall. “There’s no way they’ll get my boxes through with all that stuff in the way.”
“Let’s go talk to Scott. He’ll move it if we ask.”
I follow her out to the hall to the apartment next door.
She knocks twice on the door. “Scott? It’s Jenna.”
“Be there in a minute!” a guy yells.
Jenna glances at me. “He probably just got back from the gym. He usually goes there in the morning.”
The door swings open and I see a guy wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist.
“Hey.” He smiles at Jenna as he leans against the door frame. “You heading out?”
“Yeah, in a minute. All my stuff is gone. You can go check the place over if you want.”
Check the place over? Why would this guy go look at her apartment?
“I’m sure it’s good,” he says with a wink.
I always think it’s weird when people wink, but this guy almost made it look sexy. Or maybe I’m just getting that sexy vibe because he’s practically naked and has an insanely good body. Everywhere I look is muscle. The guy has like zero body fat. I’m trying to keep my eyes on his face, but they keep wandering down to his chest, then his abs. Does the guy work out for a living? I don’t know how else he’d get a body like that.
“This is Trina,” Jenna says, glancing at me. “Your new neighbor. I thought I should introduce you two before I go. Trina, this is Scott.”
Scott stares at me, tilting his head slightly as he rubs his scruffy jaw. “You look familiar. Have we met?”
“I don’t think so,” I say, wondering if that’s his idea of a pickup line.
“Maybe you remember her from last night,” Jenna says. “When she was here to see the apartment.”
“I was out last night,” he says. “I didn’t get home until late.”
“Then who was playing the music?” I ask.
He shrugs, which draws my attention to his muscular shoulders. “Cole was probably down here. Or Hudson. I’m not sure.”
“They live in the building,” Jenna says to me. “You’ll meet them, eventually.” She checks her phone. “I need to go. Leo’s got a car waiting outside.”
“When you two tie the knot,” Scott says to her. “I expect an invite.”
“We’re a long ways off from getting married.” She smiles at him. “But if it happens, you’ll definitely get an invite.”
“Let me know how everything goes.”
“I will! Bye!” She goes past me. “Bye, Trina!”
She races down the hall, leaving me alone with Towel Guy. He’s so hot, I forgot his name. Was it Sean? Steve? Sam? It was something with an S.
He should really put some clothes on. Then again, if I had a body like that, I might walk around in a towel too.
“So you’re my new neighbor,” he says, crossing his arms over his chest, making his biceps look bigger.
I force my gaze back to his face, which is just as distracting as his body. He’s got one of those faces that are perfectly symmetrical. And his eyes are really blue. I’m a sucker for blue eyes. Asher’s are dark brown, like mine.
“Trina,” he says. “That’s your name, right?”
“Yeah,” I blurt out. “I should go.” I point behind me. “The movers will be here any minute.”
“Let me know if you need anything.” He smiles and my heart does this little fluttery thing. That was weird.
“Yeah, okay.” I turn to leave, then turn back as he’s closing the door. “Wait!”
He opens the door, still smiling at me. “Yeah?”
“Could you get your stuff out of the hallway so the movers can get by?”
“Sure.”
“Great!” I say, pleased that he’s so agreeable. I thought he might tell me no or that he’d do it later. “Well, it was nice meeting you.”
“You too, Trina. I’ll see ya later.” He shuts the door.
I go back down the hall to my apartment. It’s noon, and the movers should be here between twelve-thirty and one. I hope that’s enough time for Towel Guy to get the hallway cleared. I wish I could remember his name. He does look kind of familiar. Maybe he’s right and we have met before, but where? I think I’d remember meeting a guy that hot.
I need to stop thinking he’s hot. I don’t care what he looks like. And I am not attracted to him. Okay, maybe I am a little, but I’m going to convince myself I’m not so there will be zero chance we’ll be anything more than neighbors. I’m done with men. All guys are jerks. That’s my new mantra. I just need to keep saying it until it sinks in.
As I’m waiting for the movers, I call Callie. I was going to call her last night, but I didn’t get home until late and was afraid I’d wake her up. Now that she’s a mom, she goes to sleep when the baby does, which is currently eight o’clock. I can’t imagine going to bed that early.
“I was just about to call you,” Callie says when she answers. “How are you feeling?”
“Okay.”
“Trina, come on. It’s me. Tell me how you’re doing.”
“I’m actually doing okay. I’ve been so busy since it happened that I haven’t had time to think about it. Last night was bad, trying to sleep without him next to me, but I managed to get through it.”
“That’s gotta be so hard. I’m really sorry. I wish I could be there with you. Is there any way you could come home for a few days?”
“I can’t. I don’t have money for a plane ticket, and I’m starting a new job tonight.”
“You already got a job? Trina, that’s great!”
“Not really. The job’s at a grocery store. I’ll be stocking shelves.”
“At least it’s something. And who knows? Maybe you’ll like it.”
“I doubt it, but it’s a way to make money until I find something else.”
“Now you just need an apartment.”
“I found one. It’s a studio, not much bigger than a closet, but the rent is really cheap and the neighborhood is decent. The chance I’ll be murdered here is a lot lower than in other areas.”
“You shouldn’t joke about that. Be careful, and don’t go out alone at night.”
“You sound just like your mom,” I say, remembering when she’d tell us that back in high school.
“I guess I do,” Callie says, sounding sad.
Why did I say that? I’m so stupid sometimes, or maybe it’s my lack of sleep.
“Callie, I’m sorry,” I rush to say. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, it’s fine. I kind of like that you compared me to her. She was a really good mom.”
It’s been years since Callie’s mom died, but it’s still really hard on her, especially now that Callie’s a mom herself.
“So when do you move into your apartment?”
“Today. I’m in my apartment now, waiting for the movers to get here.” I check the time. “They should be here any minute unless Asher lied and never hired them. What if he threw all my stuff out?”
“He wouldn’t do that. He’s a jerk, but I don’t think he’d throw your stuff out. How much do you have?”
“Not much. It’s mostly clothes. All the furniture was Asher’s. I don’t even have a bed.”
“Are you serious? Trina, you need a bed.”
“Sara’s going to loan me her air mattress. I have to go get it later. I couldn’t carry it and my duffle bag at the same time.”
“Asher should’ve bought you a bed,” she says, sounding disgusted with him. “How could he leave you with nothing? The guy was going to marry you.”
“Hey, don’t get me started. I’m trying to be zen about the whole thing, at least until I’m moved into my new place. After that, I’ll freak out. One thing at a time.”
“I don’t know how you’re staying so calm. I’d be furious. I’d want to punch him and then… I don’t know what else I’d do but it wouldn’t be good. You sure you don’t want me to send Nash out there to deal with him?”
I smile. “Thanks for the offer, but I think you need Nash more than I do right now. Speaking of that, how’s parenting going?”
“We’re getting better. Nash is so good with Addie. I love watching them together. He’s such a good dad.”
“I figured he would be. The way he was so protective of you, I can only imagine how protective he is with little Addie.”
“He’s already told me she can’t date until she’s forty.” Callie laughs. “And even that might be too soon.”
A text pops up on my phone. “Callie, I have to go. The movers are here.”
“Okay, we’ll talk later. I’m glad you found a place.”
“Me too. Give Addie a hug for me.”
“I will. Bye!”
I end the call and go out to the hall, gasping when I see that not a single thing has been moved. I race up to Towel Guy’s door and knock on it.
He doesn’t answer. Maybe he didn’t hear me.
I knock again. “Hey!” I yell, wishing I could remember his name. “I need to talk to you!”
The door opens, but it’s not Towel Guy. It’s some other guy who’s just as good looking as Towel Guy. But his muscles are bigger, almost to that bulging, veiny stage I don’t like, putting Towel Guy slightly ahead in the looks department.
Why am I thinking about this? Focus, Trina. Focus!
“Hey,” the guy says, smiling at me. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah, I’m Trina. I live next door. I need to speak to that other guy. Is he home?”
“What other guy?”
“The one who lives here. Tall. Blond hair.”
Why am I describing him? This guy obviously knows who I’m talking about if he’s at Towel Guy’s apartment.
Before he can answer, Towel Guy, who is now wearing clothes, comes up behind Muscle Guy.
“Do you not know my name?” he asks, a smirk on his face.
“You said you’d clean out the hallway.”
“Yeah? What about it?”
“It’s still a mess. Nothing’s been moved.”
“You didn’t say it had to be done right away.”
“I told you the movers were coming any minute.”
“I didn’t catch the any-minute part of the conversation.”
“Okay, well, they’re here so could you move your stuff?”
“I would, but we’re heading out.” He points to Muscle Guy. “This is Cole, by the way. He lives upstairs. Second floor.”
“Hi,” I say to the guy. I glance down the hall and see the movers. “Down here!” I yell at them. I look back at Towel Guy. “Will you please move your stuff?”
“You really can’t remember my name?” Towel Guy asks, folding his arms over his chest. “Jenna introduced us less than an hour ago.”
“I’m not good with names.”
Actually, I’m very good with names, just not when they’re attached to super hot guys that make my brain stop working.
“We should get going,” Cole says to Towel Guy.
See? I remembered Cole’s name. Why can’t I remember the other guy’s?
“Before you go, would you please get your stuff out of the hall?” I ask.
“Is this the place?” one of the movers asks, stopping beside me with a stack of boxes.
“No, it’s down there.” I point to the door of my apartment, which you can barely see with the inflatable chairs stacked up along the wall.
“You gonna move that stuff out of the way?” the moving guy asks.
“I don’t know.” I glare at Towel Guy. “Are you?”
He goes past me into the hall. “It’s not that bad. They could get through.”
“We can,” the moving guy says, “but it’ll take longer, meaning it’ll cost more.”
“I’ll cover the cost,” Towel Guy says. “Cole, let’s go.”
Cole comes out to the hall and Towel Guy reaches across me to close the door, his arm nearly brushing against my chest. He locks his door, then smiles at me. “It’s Scott. Maybe you’ll remember next time.”
He takes off, going down the hall with his friend.
What a jerk! It just proves my theory that all guys are jerks. It would’ve only taken him a few minutes to clean up his stuff—even less if his friend helped—but he wouldn’t do it!
I’m giving him a new name. Forget Towel Guy. Or Scott. He’s now The Jerk in Apartment 1B.
Less than an hour later, all the boxes are in my apartment. I thought I had more stuff, but if I think about it, almost everything in Asher’s apartment belonged to him, even the glasses and plates. All I really have are my clothes, shoes, some jewelry, and my makeup. That’s it for my belongings.
As I sit on the scuffed-up floor, looking around my nearly empty apartment, the feelings I’ve been holding back come rushing to the surface. I cry—sob—not just over the loss of Asher and the life I thought we’d have, but because I let this happen. Instead of keeping some independence, I made my whole life about Asher. Instead of saving up money, I trusted Asher would always take care of me.
I feel like such an idiot. How could I have been so stupid?