And, if I’m being honest, I was also shocked at how buff he was. Who knew his Dickies had been concealing such wonder?
Actually, I already knew the answer to that question: Vanessa.
“Melanie, I am so sorry.” He grasped desperately at a washcloth, holding it over his groin in a vain attempt to cover his modesty. I ducked into the hall, hiding behind the bathroom door to spare us both the embarrassment of eye contact. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay,” I called. “I just wasn’t expecting you to be there. No biggie.”
“If I knew you were here, I never would’ve been walking around naked. I thought you were over at your boyfriend’s house.”
He thinks Alex is my boyfriend.
I stifled a fit of giddy giggles.
Suddenly, my not-boyfriend came bounding out of my bedroom, a sheet wrapped around his waist. “Is everything okay?” He stopped short when he saw me standing with my back to the bathroom door, sporting what I presumed to be a dreamy smile. “I thought I heard you scream. What’s going on?”
Before I could answer, Ray emerged from the bathroom, his nether regions draped in a generous bath towel. “Hiya,” he said.
Alex’s eyes darted from Ray to me and back again. “Uh...hi.”
Then, as if three wasn’t enough of a crowd, Vanessa appeared in the doorway of her bedroom. She wore a satin kimono that fell off one shoulder. Her makeup was smudged, her hair was sticking out in twelve directions. I don’t think I’d ever seen her so disheveled.
Or so radiant, for that matter.
But her rosy complexion went pale when she saw me and Alex. She stiffened, righting her kimono and crossing her arms across her chest.
“What’s going on?” She barked the question, but her voice was shaky around the edges.
“Nothing, baby.” Ray moved toward her, one hand gripping his towel. When he touched her, she flinched. “I scared Melanie, that’s all. Sorry again, Mel.” He flashed an apologetic smile in my direction, then nodded toward Alex. “Take care, man.”
“Later.”
The door clicked shut behind them, and I clasped my hand tightly over my mouth to keep from howling with laughter.
Alex whispered, “What?”
I held up one finger, then pointed to the bathroom. “Give me one second. I’ll tell you when I’m done.”
After I finished my business, I returned to my room to find him lounging on top of my rumpled covers, paging through my dog-eared copy of The Web Development Bible.
“Doing some early morning research?” I asked.
“Gotta keep my skills sharp. The start-up world is cutthroat, you know.” As he turned the page, a sheet of notepaper fell onto his chest. “What’s this?”
I slid into bed beside him and froze. That paper he was holding? A note I’d written to myself last week, while I was trying to work out a problem with JerkAlert. It was covered in words like profile and review and Fluttr.
Uh-oh.
In an instant, I snatched it from his hands, crumpled it in one fist, and tossed it behind my headboard. “It’s nothing,” I said. “Just some scrap paper. Probably a million years old by now. It could’ve even been in the book when I bought it. I got it used. Online.”
Shut up, shut up, shut up.
Alex narrowed his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. I’m totally fine.” I needed to change the subject, fast. “Oh! Let me explain why I was laughing in the hallway.”
“Oh, right.” He took the bait without a second thought. “I didn’t realize Vanessa was dating your building super.”
“She’s not. Or, at least, she wasn’t. He’s had a huge crush on her and she was totally in denial about it, but I guess she finally gave in.”
“That explains how she got roof access.”
“Exactly. She literally slept her way to the top.”
He laughed, crinkling his nose. “Hey, whatever works. I don’t judge her. Lots of people use sex to get what they want.”
I gave him a look of mock suspicion. “And is that the reason you’re sleeping with me? For the free computer repair?”
“No.” He traced his finger down the curve of my hip. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, that’s a definite perk. But the only reason I’m here right now is because I really like you.”
He punctuated the word you with a soft tap in the center of my chest, and the singular motion turned my heart to gelatinous goop.
“I hope that doesn’t freak you out,” he said.
“Why would that freak me out? Trust me, after all the dating nightmares I’ve endured, hearing you tell me you like me is... It’s special. It’s different. You’re different. And I really like you, too.”
Then I leaned forward and kissed him. Slowly, tenderly, thoroughly. As if his lips were the most decadent delicacy I’d ever tasted. And when he pulled me in close and wrapped his strong arms around me, that familiar feeling returned.
Ecstasy.
As far as I was concerned, he could have all the free milk he wanted.
12
I awoke to a rustling. Like someone was folding clean clothes. Perhaps a laundry fairy had arrived in the middle of the night to deliver me from my self-made squalor.
No, it was just Alex, turning his pants right side out and shaking away the wrinkles. He was wearing underwear and socks... Wait a minute. Was he planning to smash and dash?
In an instant, I bolted upright. “Are you leaving already?”
God, that sounded desperate. I mean, the sun was out. It had to have been late morning, possibly even early afternoon. Time to get on with our days, separately. After all, we weren’t a couple. He was my not-boyfriend.
Still, if he’d wanted to grab brunch or something, I wouldn’t have said no. Even a cup of coffee would’ve been nice.
Clearly, that wasn’t gonna happen, though. When he heard my voice, he gave me this panicky look. A look that said, “My attempt at a smash-and-dash has failed.”
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. I just...” He spun in circles in the center of my tiny bedroom, his eyes darting across the messy floor. “What did I do with my shirt?”
I plucked it from the tangle of sheets and tossed it at him. “Here.”
“Thanks.”
As he fastened his buttons, I seethed. After the night we’d just experienced—a night filled with passion and laughter and multiple orgasms—he was simply going to take off while I was still asleep. He hadn’t even been planning to say goodbye. Asshole.