6. Chapter 6
6
Kelly
I sat in the passenger seat of Emily’s car, avoiding the nervous feeling in my stomach. Things had been stressful lately, to say the least, and my confidence was dwindling that day.
“They won’t bite, swear. I told them you’d be coming today so, unless you want to make me a liar,” Emily teased.
I chuckled weakly. I hadn’t told her about the situation with Rose yet. Telling someone, even your newfound best friend, that your sister-in-law has feelings for you? It isn’t the easiest thing to do.
I took a deep breath and nodded.
“Alright, let’s go.” I pushed the door open and stepped out. I’d been to Emily’s apartment a few times before, but usually we hung out at Lindsey’s or outside. I definitely had never met any of her neighbors.
I followed her into the three story building, to the top floor. Her apartment was on the first floor, so I was already a little curious as to who these people on the third floor were.
Emily knocked on the door, and we waited. There was a noise coming from the other side of it. It sounded like—music? I pursed my lips, wondering what the occasion was or if they were just jamming out. I didn’t mind music; I had earplugs…
Stop it.
I was already trying to find a reason to settle for things that bothered me, just to get out of Lindsey and Rose’s space. I didn’t mind music, though.
The music stopped and a couple of seconds later; the door opened. My toes curled in my sneakers and my stomach flooded with butterflies the second I saw who stood there. My eyes were glued to the doorway where a broad shouldered and brown-skinned man stood just four or five inches shorter than it, towering at foot minimum over me and my average stature. Yes, 5’4” was average. I didn’t care what anyone said. I was not short. Average .
His dark hair was distinguishable from brown and black in the light of the doorway, and was pulled back.
“Emily,” he spoke, his accent an interesting mix that I couldn’t quite pin down. I guessed Indian and Southern-American in my head, but I didn’t have the nerve to ask aloud.
“You must be Kelly,” he smiled crookedly at me.
My stomach flip-flopped. “Y-Yes,” I smiled back at him, “Kelly Matthews.”
“I’m Malak. Come on in, Taylor’s here, but Grey won’t be here ‘til later,” Malak explained. I watched as he turned around and my eyes instantly flitted to his ass in the dark wash jeans he was wearing.
“Holy sh—” I mumbled and quickly caught myself. I met Emily’s eyes and mine must’ve been wide because she just grinned at me and nudged me inside.
“I know!” she whispered.
I heard the door close behind me, and then she was hopping back over to my side. I tried to look around at the state of the apartment, but my brain was fully locked in on the incredibly sexy man I was apparently going to be considering moving in with. It didn’t even matter to me in that moment what the damn place looked like.
As Malak stepped over with a cold bottle of hard lemonade in one hand and water in the other, a friendly smile on his face and a mischievous look in his deep brown eyes, my anxiety regarding Rose, Lindsey and moving out, melted to the floor.
“Which one you want?” Malak asked, holding them out to me.
I took the hard lemonade with little thought.
“I’ll take the water. I have to drive her home,” Emily said.
Malak handed us our drinks, respectively. “You don’t drive?” Malak asked me.
My face flushed. “I don’t have a car right now,” I admitted. “Long story.” I lied. It wasn’t necessarily a long story. I just was not interested in talking about it.
“I can listen,” Malak chuckled.
I shook my head, a bit of my anxiety creeping back in. I opened the bottle in my hand.
Malak didn’t push. I was glad about that. I sipped at the hard lemonade, enjoying the taste of light alcohol and pink lemonade. My eyes finally tore away from Malak and went to the living room.
A large leather sofa took up the back wall almost entire and a third of the corner to the wall beside. Large seats with several mismatched fuzzy pillows and blankets thrown about. A glass coffee table with rubber covers over the edges of the table. A 40 inch flat screen TV, several game consoles, a small bookshelf that looked more than lacking, a mini fridge and the entryways to the hallway and another room were all that took up the space. It looked clean for the most part. There were a few empty bottles and cans on the table, a sweater thrown over the couch, and a deck of cards spilled out to the side of the patio door.
“Looked worse than this before you got here,” Malak admitted. “Grey isn’t the best at keeping things clean.”
I nodded slowly. “Is Grey fine with me being here when he’s not?” I asked.
“He’ll be fine,” Malak insisted, and flashed a smile at me.
I no longer cared whether Grey was fine with it. Whoever Grey was.
I sipped happily at my drink as Malak lead me and Emily both into the next room. A combined dining room and kitchen. Smaller than I was used to, but it seemed well maintained. Marble countertops were clean and there was a decent sized microwave nestled between cabinets.
“It’s about the same layout as my apartment,” Emily noted.
“Yeah, not much difference,” Malak replied.
I focused on the bubbling feeling of the drink in my throat and not Malak's butt as he showed me around. It didn’t work out so well. I wondered for a moment how I would feel if he were looking at me the same way. I decided that I wanted him to. So, when he turned around at the beginning of the hallway and his eyes traveled from my head to my feet and back up, I savored the blush it brought to my ears.
“Your bedroom would be the second one to the left, between Grey and Taylors,” Malak explained, and motioned to the side. “Mine is last on the right, bathroom is first.”
“Good to know,” I said.
I turned into the room he motioned to. It was standard. A full sized bed, unmade, two dark brown end tables on each side, one small pull chain lamp on the left side, and the door to a closet. I chewed on my bottom lip.
“Something missing?” Malak asked.
I looked over at him, blinking. “Actually—” I hesitated.
“This was just a ‘crash while drunk’ room a week ago, so there’s not much in it,” Malak explained. “You tell me whatever you need. I’ll help ya get it.” His eyes darkened ever so slightly, his head tilting to the side.
The butterflies in my stomach were waging a war with each other.
“Seriously?” I asked. My gaze shifted to Emily, who was smirking.
“Hell yeah, Emily’s a good neighbor. You’re her friend. You need a place and a room that’s your own,” Malak insisted, “Unless you plan on only needing it for a couple weeks?” He cocked a brow.
I swallowed a mouthful of hard lemonade and shook my head. “No, no. I’ll stay as long as I’m welcome. I got a job. I can pay some of the rent.” I stepped out of the room.
Malak shook his head. “Rent is good. You don’t worry about that.”
My eyes widened just as a blonde-haired woman stepped into the hallway from her room.
“Uh,” I choked out, but didn’t quite make it.
“Hey,” the woman waved as she stepped up to us, “I’m Taylor.”
I licked my lips. “Kelly,” I waved my free hand, still reeling.
“I don’t really,” she waved her hands at us as if to mean ‘socialize’, “…much, but I thought you’d like to know another girl’s here.”
I nodded. “That is nice to know,” I chuckled. Someone had to keep me from climbing Malak like a tree.
As we walked back into the living room, things felt surreal. “I don’t know about this,” I admitted. “It’s sudden, and I don’t actually know you. No offense. Grey isn’t here. I don’t know him.”
Malak folded his arms. I forced myself not to look at his biceps that were stretching the arms of his grey t-shirt.
Get a grip, jeez.
It was a pleasant distraction from everything else going on, but I needed to take things seriously. I took a slow breath.
“Trust me, Kelly, you’re welcome here. Grey probably won’t even be here that long. He’s usually asleep during the day anyway,” Malak insisted. “He causes you any problems. I got ya.”
I looked up into his eyes. Mysterious, dark, yet somehow welcoming. I looked over into Emily’s. They screamed, ‘Please!’ .
I swallowed, grateful for the alcohol started to settle in.
“Alright,” I agreed.