and
paced quietly near her door, not knowing what to do.
Finally, the footsteps approached her
apartment and she could hear the floor creaking right outside her doorway.
There was a brief silence and then a
loud, startling knock.
She jumped a little, but kept quiet. Now there was another,
even louder, more insistent knock.
Don’t
respond. Keep quiet. Stay still.
She didn’t move a muscle. She prayed for whomever it was to just
leave, just go away already and stop scaring her.
“Lanie, I know you’re in there.”
The voice was unmistakable. Brayden Forman was standing in her
hallway right now.
Lanie hesitated. What was she supposed to do now? Why was he out there? What could he possibly want from
her?
Finally, she got up her nerve and yelled
out. “Please go away,” she said.
“No,” came the instant reply from just
outside the door.
She blinked, stunned.
Did
he really just say no to me? Did he
actually refuse to leave?
“It’s my apartment,” she called out. “This is private property. Please leave or…or…”
“Or what?” Brayden said calmly. He almost sounded amused.
“I’ll call the police,” she announced.
“No you won’t, Lanie.”
She felt simultaneously angry,
frightened, embarrassed…but also a little bit excited.
He was here for some reason.
And she couldn’t deny that she liked the
sound of his voice, as strange as that was given everything that had already
transpired between them.
But there was something oddly comforting
in him being out there, standing just outside the door—and now the
darkness didn’t seem so threatening.
As long as Brayden was here, nothing else
bad could really be happening. Brayden, in some bizarre way that Lanie could hardly fathom, was safe .
“What do you want?” she finally asked.
“Open the door.”
She let out a deep sigh and trudged
forward, unlocking the deadbolt and then turning the handle, throwing open the
door to her apartment.
“I’m not in any condition to have
visitors,” she said, immediately turning and shuffling away from him. “I’m in my pajamas. I was just about to go to sleep,
actually.”
“And your hair’s still damp from the
bath,” he said, closing the door behind him.
She froze, unable to even look at
him. She’d gotten a few feet away,
into the living room and all her empty and half empty boxes.
“That’s not funny,” she said.
“Who said I was trying to be funny?”
She turned and finally looked at him. Really took in everything that was
Brayden Forman in the flesh.
Brayden was standing just inside the apartment
now, wearing the same outfit as earlier. He must’ve come straight from the
office , she decided. He’d been
working late when she’d accidentally dialed him.
And now he was here, in all his glory.
“I still don’t know what’s going on,” she
said, trying to sound more aggravated than she truly felt. “What are you doing showing up at my
apartment unannounced? Why did you
keep calling my phone?”
“You called me first,” he said, stepping
into the living room with her.
She backed further into the room,
creating more space between them. His presence was overpowering with just the two of them all alone like
this.
Lanie pulled her hair back behind her ear
and tucked it away. She was very
aware of how she must look to him right now.
Wet stringy hair, damp, wearing her old
pajamas, no bra…no panties even.
Meanwhile Brayden was handsome, dashing,
with his blazer and his cool beard and those hazel eyes, the wicked smile.
Nothing about him was shoddy or messy or
bedraggled.
“That was an accident,” she said, moving
toward the kitchen.
“I don’t believe in accidents,” he
replied, stepping further into the living room now and beginning to peer
curiously into her boxes.
“Hey,” she said. “Don’t snoop.”
He looked up at her once more. “You’re awfully
paced quietly near her door, not knowing what to do.
Finally, the footsteps approached her
apartment and she could hear the floor creaking right outside her doorway.
There was a brief silence and then a
loud, startling knock.
She jumped a little, but kept quiet. Now there was another,
even louder, more insistent knock.
Don’t
respond. Keep quiet. Stay still.
She didn’t move a muscle. She prayed for whomever it was to just
leave, just go away already and stop scaring her.
“Lanie, I know you’re in there.”
The voice was unmistakable. Brayden Forman was standing in her
hallway right now.
Lanie hesitated. What was she supposed to do now? Why was he out there? What could he possibly want from
her?
Finally, she got up her nerve and yelled
out. “Please go away,” she said.
“No,” came the instant reply from just
outside the door.
She blinked, stunned.
Did
he really just say no to me? Did he
actually refuse to leave?
“It’s my apartment,” she called out. “This is private property. Please leave or…or…”
“Or what?” Brayden said calmly. He almost sounded amused.
“I’ll call the police,” she announced.
“No you won’t, Lanie.”
She felt simultaneously angry,
frightened, embarrassed…but also a little bit excited.
He was here for some reason.
And she couldn’t deny that she liked the
sound of his voice, as strange as that was given everything that had already
transpired between them.
But there was something oddly comforting
in him being out there, standing just outside the door—and now the
darkness didn’t seem so threatening.
As long as Brayden was here, nothing else
bad could really be happening. Brayden, in some bizarre way that Lanie could hardly fathom, was safe .
“What do you want?” she finally asked.
“Open the door.”
She let out a deep sigh and trudged
forward, unlocking the deadbolt and then turning the handle, throwing open the
door to her apartment.
“I’m not in any condition to have
visitors,” she said, immediately turning and shuffling away from him. “I’m in my pajamas. I was just about to go to sleep,
actually.”
“And your hair’s still damp from the
bath,” he said, closing the door behind him.
She froze, unable to even look at
him. She’d gotten a few feet away,
into the living room and all her empty and half empty boxes.
“That’s not funny,” she said.
“Who said I was trying to be funny?”
She turned and finally looked at him. Really took in everything that was
Brayden Forman in the flesh.
Brayden was standing just inside the apartment
now, wearing the same outfit as earlier. He must’ve come straight from the
office , she decided. He’d been
working late when she’d accidentally dialed him.
And now he was here, in all his glory.
“I still don’t know what’s going on,” she
said, trying to sound more aggravated than she truly felt. “What are you doing showing up at my
apartment unannounced? Why did you
keep calling my phone?”
“You called me first,” he said, stepping
into the living room with her.
She backed further into the room,
creating more space between them. His presence was overpowering with just the two of them all alone like
this.
Lanie pulled her hair back behind her ear
and tucked it away. She was very
aware of how she must look to him right now.
Wet stringy hair, damp, wearing her old
pajamas, no bra…no panties even.
Meanwhile Brayden was handsome, dashing,
with his blazer and his cool beard and those hazel eyes, the wicked smile.
Nothing about him was shoddy or messy or
bedraggled.
“That was an accident,” she said, moving
toward the kitchen.
“I don’t believe in accidents,” he
replied, stepping further into the living room now and beginning to peer
curiously into her boxes.
“Hey,” she said. “Don’t snoop.”
He looked up at her once more. “You’re awfully
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