Chapter 9 #3
Getting up, I felt Vince’s eyes on me. And I could feel them follow me as I left the group.
As soon as I got inside, the vibrations stopped.
Making my way up the stairs, I unlocked the display and brought up my call log.
Kay. 8:41 p.m. Most days I was already thinking about brushing my teeth right about now.
I really would have to say my goodbyes if I wanted to make it to bed on time.
I’d just reached the last stair when Kay’s name popped up again.
Up the stairs to the right. Thankfully, there was only one door on the right.
I pushed the handle down and fumbled for the light switch.
A second later an overhead light weakly lit up the room.
But before I could take a look around, I decided to pick up.
“Hey!” I said, out of breath.
“I just wanted to ask if everything was okay.” Kay sounded worried. “Gabe said he rang the doorbell, but no one was at home.”
“Umm…”
“I don’t want to control you,” she said. “I was just surprised, as you hadn’t mentioned that you’d be going out.”
“We probably missed each other when I went out to get a bowl.” I narrowed my eyes, hating to lie to her. But it was also the most inopportune moment to tell her where I really was. “What did he want?”
“Oh…just to say hello, I imagine.”
On a Saturday night? But I didn’t say anything, as I still hadn’t figured out what exactly their relationship was. Whenever they were around, they acted like good friends—and yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t getting the whole picture.
“How’s your date going?”
“My dinner is real nice, thank you.”
“Good,” I replied, grinning.
“Good. So, see you bright and early? You’ll definitely not be awake by the time I get back.”
“No, I’ll be going to bed soon.”
“Then, good night.”
“Enjoy the rest of your evening.”
I hung up and took a deep breath.
“Why did you lie?”
I flinched and turned around. Vince was leaning in the doorway. The light was too dim to make out his expression.
“You were eavesdropping.”
“Door was open.” He shrugged almost imperceptibly. “Couldn’t avoid it.”
“It’s still eavesdropping.”
The corners of his mouth rose. “It’s still lying.”
I exhaled noisily. “Listen, I want to stay out of your spat.”
“Your spat,” he repeated mockingly.
“What would you call it?”
He pretended to think. “Smear campaign, persecution, scheme…”
“Aren’t you laying it on a bit thick?”
“Well, how would you explain not a single neighbor showing up?”
“Maybe… Maybe they’re of the same opinion as Kay?” I said, somewhat lamely.
“And what would that be? That my hostel would attract people who aren’t on a Forbes list?”
“Kay doesn’t care if someone’s rich or not.”
“As long as they don’t live next to her.”
“That’s…” I broke off with a sigh. “She’s just worried that things could get too loud.”
“Well, then she’ll be able to file another complaint.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have been renovating at night. I mean, in the evening.”
“I only had the machine for a few days. Did I lose track of time a bit? Yeah! But that’s no reason to immediately file a complaint.”
“Kay said that you didn’t open up when she rang your doorbell.”
“You have any idea how loud a sander is? I simply didn’t hear her.”
He pushed off from the doorway and pulled his T-shirt over his head.
Taken aback, I couldn’t help but stare—and couldn’t keep my eyes from drifting a bit southward.
It wasn’t the first time I’d seen his naked upper body, but it was the first time we weren’t in public.
His hands moved into my field of vision from both sides, went to the waistband of his shorts, and…
Oh my god! I whipped my head upward in shock.
“What on earth are you doing?!”
He stopped and looked at me, completely relaxed. “I’m changing. Chip spilled his beer over me.”
“Would it bother you to do that somewhere else?”
“Where else you want me to do it…if not in my own room?”
I gulped. “This…isn’t…Laurie’s room?” I croaked, as my eyes nervously flitted about looking for anything that would suggest “girl of about twenty.” Instead, I registered an unmade bed, a step stool serving as a nightstand, and a clothes rack on wheels draped with T-shirts.
“Nope. Her room is right across the hall.”
I could feel my face turn bright red, and I was glad the light was so low. “But she said to the right, and I…”
“Yeah, she’s got a little problem with the left-right thing.”
“Oh.” Overwhelmed, I looked to the side. To his bed. The messy sheets. For a second I imagined him lying there, with his shaggy hair and… Stop!
“So, can I change now or what?”
For the first time something like a smile appeared on his face.
“Umm…yeah, of course.” I turned around and closed my eyes, ashamed. Hearing his shorts hit the floor, I realized I had no reason to be here any longer. “Well, I guess I’ll be going.” My voice was nothing but a pathetic squeak. I turned halfway around and moved straight for the door.
“You don’t want to stay out of it.”
I stopped and turned, but not toward Vince.
“Or else you wouldn’t have shown up tonight.”
His words weren’t bitter. Weren’t mocking whatsoever. And yet I still felt cornered somehow. Like a deer in headlights. So, I did what deer do. I fled.