Chapter Six
After a brutal, never-ending shift at the cherry farm shop, the only thing keeping me upright was the absolute certainty that a hot bath was waiting for me. On the walk home, I made a quick detour to buy a haul of expensive bath oils and lavender salts, determined to transform our basic bathroom into a five-star spa experience.
But the moment I step into the hallway of the fourth floor, the relaxing vibe shatters. A muffled, high-pitched scream cut straight through the heavy wood of our front door.
“Yes, Bear!” a female voice shriek.
I froze, a sharp, ugly spike of jealousy flaring instantly in my chest. Oh, great, I think, my stomach dropping. I didn’t realize Bear actually had a girl.
I hesitantly slide my key into the lock, bracing myself for the absolute worst as I push the door open. A heavy sigh of relief rushes out of my lungs the second I take in the scene. Bear was sitting on the living room rug, completely engrossed in a video game next to a blonde girl with a sharp pixie cut.
Wait.
When the hell did, we get a PlayStation?
“Oh, hey!” the girl barks cheerfully, casually pausing the game.
Bear let out a miserable grunt at the sudden interruption.
“I didn’t even realize Bear found a roommate,” she says, resting her elbows on her knees as she looks up at me.
“I’m Danny,” I introduce myself, setting my shopping bags on the counter.
“Huh. I didn’t realize Danny was a girl’s name, too.”
“Short for Daniella,” I murmur, leaning against the breakfast bar.
She squints at me, tilting her head. “You look incredibly familiar. Do you go to Cornell?”
“I do.”
She snaps her fingers in realization. “Right! You’re friends with Liv.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“I’m actually good friends with her roommate, Ying,” she explains, her expression instantly shifting into one of deep sympathy. “Man, I am so sorry about your ex-boyfriend. That whole situation was completely fucked.”
“Thanks,” I mutter, the familiar sting of awkwardness tightening my throat.
She turns her attention back to Bear, giving him a playful nudge with her foot. “Look, if I’d known you wanted my old bedroom furniture for this girl, Bear, I would’ve given it to you instantly. You should’ve just said so.”
I blink, looking between the two of them, a heavy knot of curiosity forming in my chest. “Wait... how do you two even know each other?” I ask hesitantly.
“Oh, sorry! Where are my manners? I’m Mac,” she says, jumping up from the floor and aggressively dusting chip crumbs off her jeans. “I’m his sister-in-law.”
The pieces instantly click together in my brain. This was the wife of his older brother—the married one with the kid. “Wow, okay. It’s really nice to meet you,” I say, a genuine smile returning to my face.
“I know,” Mac says with a confident smirk. “Anyway, Bear, I’d better hit the road. Stay out of trouble, and I’ll see you for your next monthly visit.”
My brow furrows. “Wait, you guys only visit once a month?” I question, looking between them.
“Yeah, well, mostly because I’m his p—”
"Nothing." Bear growls.
The word tore out of his chest with such sudden, violent force that I physically flinch. I swear to God, the apartment floorboards actually vibrate beneath my feet.
Mac didn’t back down. She just crosses her arms and glares daggers at him. “Are you serious? You haven’t told her yet?” she hisses under her breath.
“Told me what?” I demand, looking from Mac’s frustrated expression to Bear’s darkening face.
“None of your business,” Bear snaps savagely. He bolts up from the floor, marches straight down the hallway into his bedroom, and slams the door behind him. I was genuinely shocked the wood didn’t fly right off its hinges.
The silence left in his wake was deafening.
“I’m really sorry about him,” Mac murmurs, her voice softening as she turns back to me. “He... he doesn’t trust people easily, Danny.”
“I thought we were finally getting somewhere,” I mutter, staring down at the floorboards, a heavy weight sinking into my chest.
Mac stares me down for a long, silent minute, her sharp eyes reading every single line of my face. “You like him.”
“N—”
“It was a statement, not a question, honey,” Mac interrupts smoothly. Suddenly, before I could even register the movement, she reaches up and began running her fingers through the ends of my hair. “You need a serious haircut.”
“Okay...?” I blink, completely thrown off.
“Jay—Bear’s younger brother—is a licensed hairdresser,” Mac states, dropping her hand. “His shop is right down on Fourth. You should stop by.”
I nod quickly, desperate to steer the conversation back to normal territory. “Okay. Yeah, sure.”
“Here, give me your phone. I’ll give you my number,” she says, extending her hand. “For emergencies with him.”
“Emergencies?” I ask, pulling my phone from my pocket and handing it over.
“Trust me, you’ll know when it happens,” she answers with a knowing look. She taps her information into the screen and hands it back to me. “Or, you know, if you just want to grab a drink and hang out.”
“Cool,” I murmur. “Thanks.”
“See you later, Danny.”
“Bye, Mac.”
----
For the next two hours, I completely submerge myself in the hot bath.
But despite the expensive oils and the lavender scents filling the room, my mind refused to relax. The questions kept spinning in a vicious, agonizing loop. What wasn’t Bear telling me? Why didn’t he trust me? And was he actually interested in me, or was I just reading into a few grunts and a rare smile?
Eventually, the water turnd lukewarm. I sigh, wrap a fluffy towel securely around my body, and step out into the hallway.
Just as I did, the door to the “no-no zone” clicks open. Bear steps out into the hall wearing absolutely nothing but a pair of low-slung gray sweatpants.
Oh. My. God.
I was dead. I had died and gone straight to heaven.
The man was completely ripped. He had a flawless, sculpted eight-pack, his chest heavily tattooed, and broad, powerful shoulders that looked massive in the narrow hallway.
And from the looks of it, he didn’t exactly mind the view either.
His striking emerald eyes instantly locked onto me, slowly raking up and down the length of my body, tracing the line of the towel. A sudden, intense shiver ran down my spine, my skin prickling under his gaze. If he didn’t stop looking at me like that, I was going to literally melt right into the floorboards.
“Sorry,” he mumbles, suddenly breaking eye contact and looking down at his feet.
“Don’t be,” I say, my voice coming out a little breathier than I intended. “You’re not in my way.”
He rolls his eyes, a familiar huff escaping him. “I meant for growling. Earlier.”
“Oh,” I say, completely caught off guard by the apology. “Um... it’s okay. Honestly, I was being nosey. You deserve your personal space.”
“I... I just—” He stops, huffing again, his jaw tightening as he struggled to find the words.
“I know,” I murmur gently.
It was obvious he had a massive roadblock when it came to vocalizing how he felt. I didn’t know the backstory yet, but it was just a part of who he was. Perfect, infuriating Bear. Devastatingly hot-bodied Bear.
Desperate to break the sudden, thick tension vibrating between us, my eyes drifted to the dark ink covering his skin. “Your tattoos,” I whisper, stepping a fraction closer. “Do they mean anything?”
“No,” he says flatly.
“I really like the dragon,” I breathe. My brain entirely short-circuited, and without thinking, I reach out and ran the pad of my index finger along the ink. The design was stunning, winding from his collarbone all the way down to his right wrist.
A sharp hiss escapes my lips as his hand suddenly shot out, wrapping firmly around my wrist and freezing my hand in place.
“No,” he growls, his emerald eyes flashing with a sudden, intense wildness.
“I’m—I’m sorry,” I stammer, my heart hammering against my ribs.
The tension snaps. He immediately let go of my wrist, dropping his hand as if he’d been burned, and steps past me into the bathroom. The door slams shut behind him, the lock clicking into place.
“The guy is a walking landmine,” I mutter to myself, shaking out my wrist. It didn’t even hurt; his grip had just been startlingly firm.
I retreat to the safety of my bedroom, quickly sliding into a pair of comfortable sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. I threw myself onto my mattress, grabbing the remote and turning on the television mounted on my wall.
Say what you want, but I had actually snuck back into the apartment Jason, and I used to share last week while he was out at football practice. I’d used my spare key to reclaim the flat-screen TV.
Hey, perks of still having a key.