“Really? Some of the things I’ve bought have disappeared then.”
The wrappers to the treats she’d brought into the apartment might be sitting in my bathroom trash can after I devoured the treats as a can’t-sleep late-night snack, but that wasn’t important. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Can we have a serious conversation?”
She rolled her eyes and waved her hands in front of her. “By all means.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Visitors.”
She jumped in. “Must leave before six p.m.”
“I was going to say none at all, especially not that kid from the lobby from last night.”
Her lips pursed before she tapped her finger against her full bottom one, dragging it down slightly.
My pulse throbbed, centering on my crotch, the distraction reaching near comical levels.
“Why would you think I’d invite some random stranger into the apartment?”
I tilted my head in her direction.
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “Who was he? And why can’t he come in?”
“None of your business.” I braced for more questions. She wasn’t the type to roll over and take a bullshit answer, but I didn’t need to go into my history with Ryder right now. Scratch that, ever again as long as he stopped showing up.
“Okay, warden. But I happen to remember some of your friends stopping by before.”
“That was for work.”
“Awesome, perfect. Work visitors are allowed.” Her chin jutted out with a smug smirk.
“They’re also my friends.”
“So we’re allowed coworkers and friends, according to you. Why are visitors at the top of your list?”
“Why wouldn’t it be? It’s more about the activity of those visitors.” Images of her sprawled out on some guy’s chest flashed before me—only they weren’t covered in egg, but sweat. I shook my head to knock the thoughts loose.
Her eyebrows dipped. “Has anyone I’ve brought in broken anything? Tracked in mud? Made a mess? No, we go straight to my room. They use my bathroom. Then they leave. I haven’t even had a meal with anyone else in here.”
My fingers tightened against my thighs, gripping the muscle. “Are you seriously not seeing how what you’re doing could make this living situation weird?”
She shook her head and stared at me like I’d grown a second one. “How is what I do behind closed doors making this living situation weird?” She looked at me like she was genuinely bewildered by how her having a parade of guys marching through my grandmother’s apartment to have sex with her might make things the slightest bit awkward. “It’s my job.”
I shot up from the floor, banging my head against the upper cabinet handle. Wincing, I rubbed the throbbing spot. “Why?”
“Why not? It’s not hurting anyone. It’s okay money, but I have a lot more to shoot so I can level up.”
I fisted my hands at my sides. More videos. More guys. More sex. “And you don’t think I might not want it going on under my roof?”
“I’m not doing anything illegal. Plus I’ll only be here for a few more months. It’s not like I’m blasting music through the walls at all hours of the day and night.” Her chin jutted out, eyes shooting daggers in my direction.
“Music and what you’re doing are two different things. My grandmother might not think too kindly about what you’re doing.”
She stared back at me with a mix of confused irritation.
Join the club.
“Barbara is doing me a huge favor by letting me stay here. The last thing I want to do is abuse that generosity. Plus, she’s seen my work, and she loves it. Even put in a few special requests of her own.”
My mouth opened, but no words came out. GiGi knew. GiGi watched. GiGi put in requests. What the hell had Florida done to her? It felt like the top of my head was being lifted off with a crowbar. “You’re showing my grandmother porn?”
Sabrina’s eyes widened, her lips parted, and her head jerked left, then right. “Porn.”
“I’m not stupid, Sabrina. You didn’t think I’d figure it out? The lights. Camera. Sheets. Guys you have coming in and out of here all the time.”
Silence roared through the room. No noises other than our breathing and my heartbeat hammering in my eardrums.
Her shocked expression gave way to a sly smile. She lifted her hands and tapped her fingers to the center of her palm like the world’s most patronizing golf clap. “You’re right, Hunter. I don’t know how I could’ve thought it would make it past you.” She shrugged and held both hands palm up.
My jaw clenched. Why’d it feel like she was turning this all into one big joke?
“That keen sense of observation is unmistakable. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, what should we do?” She pouted, making her full lips even bigger. “Are you trying to tell me I can’t do my work?”
Her work. Her work having sex with other guys a few doors down from mine. Her work I’d been scouring the Internet for, if only to replace the vivid mental images that crept into the moments of sleep I’d managed lately. If ever there was a reason to wish I could get a good night’s sleep to experience them more in-depth, here was another. That and not waking up hoarse and soaked in the middle of the night.
“I didn’t say that.” I wanted to tell her hell no, she couldn’t. It wasn’t safe. She might get hurt. Had these guys been vetted? Had they been tested? They had no right to put their hands on her. My muscles tightened, every cell screaming for me to put an end to this.
She wasn’t mine. The streak of possessiveness blindsided me and told me now more than ever we needed some space between each other. Maybe it was because she was my first roommate. Maybe it was because she didn’t look the type but was somehow totally mine. Maybe it was because her smell felt like it followed me everywhere and made it possible for me to sleep for more than a couple hours at a time.
Either way, we could share this space without me being driven to the brink of insanity. The New Year’s Eve concert would take up a lot of my time. Between the office, scouting acts, and parties, I could stay away from her until she left.
“Then what would you like me to do, Hunter?” The syrupy sweetness of her voice sent a shudder down my spine. There were a lot of things I’d like her to do. None of which we should. Was she screwing with me? Batting her eyelashes and keeping her face wide-eyed and innocent.
“Nothing, just keep the noise and new people to a minimum.” A few more months. In the meantime I’d have calluses on my palms from all my thoughts about what she was doing behind closed doors. I darted out of the kitchen.
“I’ll do my best, Hunter.” Her teasing voice followed me down the hallway. Why’d she have to say my name like that? Halfway between a growl and a purr. How she might say it while raking her nails down my back while I thrust into her. “But you know how hard it can be.”
Fuck me.
No, that was precisely the problem. I was the only one in this apartment not fucking anyone at all.
10
Sabrina