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Chapter 5
_(*(*(-)*)*)_
So here's the problem. I'm sitting on the floor outside my apartment trying not to cry. I locked my keys in the car, and can't find the spare key to the apartment. Brenden is away on business, and he's not answering his phone, neither is the super. I called a locksmith, but they told me it could take up to three hours to get someone out here. I called AAA and they said they would call me when someone was on their way, and who knows how long that could take. So now I'm sitting on the floor staring at my phone trying to convince myself that I need to call the only person that has a spare key.
Time seemed to slow when I wasn't talking to my best friend. It seemed like I hadn't spoken to him in years. Reality assured me it'd only been two weeks. Gavin and I haven't spoken, since that night at the coffee shop. After what Jeremy told me at the coffee shop about Gavin's fight with Wilson after the bonfire, I couldn't bare to face Gavin. I had too many embarrassing questions.
Eventually this would all just blow over…I hoped.
Obviously, I'm still pissed. Mostly at myself for making it so easy for him. Gavin used the same stupid ass grin on me that he used on all the girls, and I fell for it. I knew what he was capable of, and yet for some reason, I thought I'd be different.
The only thing truly separating me from all of his other conquests, was that deep down, I knew what was coming.
Fuck 'em and leave 'em.
That's what he always said, but this time, I beat him to the punch. I left him before he got the chance to leave me.
Gavin fucked me simply because he could, and I let him simply because I couldn't resist him. That's why I was so pissed, and that's why I've been staring at my phone for the better part of twenty minutes. But the real kicker is that apparently, he has the nerve to act as if he's pissed at me.
So herein lies the problem. The one person I dislike the most is the only one that can help me at this point. Since I can't get back into my car, and I don't know any of my neighbors, sitting on this hard ass floor for three hours is not an option. Once Gavin gets here, he can open the door then leave. Right? No problem.
My insides clenched at the thought of what happened the last time we were alone together.
I took a deep breath and started to dial the number I knew I'd never be able to forget.
_(*(*(-)*)*)_
Gavin was still at work, sitting at his desk, running through the long mental list of all the shit he still had to do. The sun had set outside the expanse of his windows, and he knew just about everyone had left for the day. He glanced down at his desk. It was a mess, but he didn't feel up to that task. His apartment was a mess, and so was his social life, but he didn't feel like dealing with that either. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration when his office door opened.
"You're still here, boss?" His secretary asked as she sat facing him on the edge of his desk showing more skin than Human Resources would have deemed appropriate.
Gavin sighed. "Yep." Lacing his fingers behind his head and leaning back, he waited to hear what sort of proposal she would come up with this time.
"What are you doing tonight?"
She slid her legs apart slightly, and he offered no guise as to where his attention was focused. Gavin leaned farther back in his chair and let his legs stretch out before him.
"Depends," he grumbled. He knew where this conversation was going and he wanted to see how far she would push it this time. He made it a rule to never sleep with any of the women he worked with, but with her, he was dancing on the line and they both knew it.
"Well, would you like to grab something to eat?"
His secretary spread her legs a little wider making sure he knew what kind of meal she was referring to. Gavin knew better than to say yes, but the stirring of his cock as she licked her lips was enough to convince him otherwise. He'd been on edge lately, and she was willing to provide the perfect distraction.
"Your place or mine?" Gavin asked.
He didn't want her at his house. He'd found that when offered the option, women nearly always chose home court advantage, which always helped his chances of leaving unscathed in the morning.
He could only imagine what she would look like as she screamed his name, tangled in her sheets.
"Mine. Just let me grab my jacket."
Gavin smiled to himself as she jumped off his desk and sashayed out of his office. He could watch her walk away all day long.
Gavin stretched one more time and stood, waiting until his pant legs fell back into place before he moved. He switched off his computer and was admiring his secretary's backside as she bent for her purse when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket.
_(*(*(-)*)*)_
It took a moment for the call to connect, and I nearly jumped when I finally heard the line ringing. I held my breath as the ringing taunted me. I was seriously debating hanging up when I heard Gavin's gruff voice answer.
"What?" Clearly, he was just as thrilled at answering my call, as I was that I'd called.
"Do you still have a spare key?"
"Yea."
"I locked my keys in the car and I can't get into the apartment."
"Call AAA." Man of few words tonight.
"I did."
"Call a locksmith."
I took a deep slow breath trough my nose and let it out through my mouth. This fucker was already starting to piss me off.
"Look, I've called everyone, believe me. You're the last person I want to help me."
"I'm at work," he said, his tone matching mine.
"Fine, forget it." I wanted to hurl my cell into the wall, but I didn't, I just hung up on him. For the first time, I missed those old corded phones. When you wanted to hang up on someone with one of those, you could do it justice. With a cell phone, there was no way to 'slam' the phone and hanging up didn't do my mood justice.
I tilted my head back and willed myself not to cry. I had a really rough day at work, and I didn't need this. I was too far from anyone, too tired to walk anywhere, my brother wasn't answering his cell phone, and to top it all off, I called the one person I didn't want to talk to and he refused to help me.
Frustration and anger began to wash over me. I could feel the tears threatening to spill over my lids. In the back of my head, a dull headache was starting to form.
"Fuck!"
I leaned my head back onto the wall and closed my eyes, trying to relax. I could call Jeremy, but I really didn't want to go down that road. I was still pretty sure he knew something was off between us, not that it really mattered anyway. At this point, I was only going out with him to keep from being alone. Not the noblest thing I've ever done, but hey, I never said I wasn't selfish.
_(*(*(-)*)*)_
Gavin was barely capable of breathing when he saw the display on his phone light up. He was horrified and excited at the same time. He'd been waiting for Brenden or even the cops to pound down his door and haul him off, but no one ever came. Brenden left for his business trip without acting as if anything was different. Red was another story. She wouldn't even look at him. He'd stopped by their apartment one day to get a movie (one he easily could have rented), and she pretended like he didn't exist. That hurt more than anything.
Gavin couldn't understand why she was so pissed at him. Granted, he didn't go about pursuing her the right way, but he didn't think it reasonable the way she was reacting. He couldn't figure out why she continued to lie to her herself. She wanted him as much as he wanted her, but she just wouldn't let go.
He'd resigned to just say fuck it. She'd get over this when she was ready. In the mean time, he was sick of trying. He wouldn't say it aloud, but a man could only take so much rejection, and her leaving him in the coffee shop bathroom with his dick in his hand was about as much as his bruised ego could handle.
After she hung up on him, Gavin was tempted to let her sit there and rot, but he couldn't. After all this time, he still couldn't understand it. She'd given herself to him so completely in that bathroom, and then she left him. She walked out on him, while he stood there looking like an asshole. And then, of all things, she left him for Jeremy.
What the fuck is she so afraid of?
As her best friend, he was ashamed to admit he didn't already know.
Thinking of Red made him want to rip off her clothes and smack the shit out of her all at the same time. And now, he was winding his way through the streets to get to her. This was a problem. He didn't like the hold she had on his feelings, especially after all this time. He thought he'd gotten over her a long time ago and he'd just about convinced himself that his attraction to her was skin deep. He
almost
had himself completely convinced.
Gavin pulled up outside her apartment building and sat staring at the door. He forgot his secretary was sitting next to him until she broke into his thoughts.
"Are we just gonna sit here?"
He had half a mind to tell her to stay in the car but then thought better of it. If he took her with him, he'd be less inclined to do something stupid. He also couldn't forget that bringing her along would piss Red off, and if there was one thing he wanted to accomplish tonight, it was to make her as frustrated as he was.
As they made their way up the stairs, Gavin remembered the main reason he never took his secretary up on her offer before. She was hot but annoying as fuck. In the two minute span it took them to climb the stairs, she hadn't stopped complaining.
Why are there so many stairs? My feet hurt. Why doesn't the elevator work? Why do you have to help her? I have to pee.
Christ, she was driving him nuts. Gavin tried his best to block her out, but her voice was starting to grate on his last nerve.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Gavin was caught off guard by the sight of Red lounging on the floor with her back against the door. Her hair was in a haphazard ponytail and her dark lashes were fanned across her mocha cheeks. She looked exhausted. She obviously just came from work her rumpled scrubs giving away how hard she'd worked. He almost felt the need to cradle her to his chest and carry her inside – almost.
"Gavin, why are we stopped?" Gavin cringed.
So much for the stealthy approach
. He had no choice now but to move forward.
_(*(*(-)*)*)_
