The Upside of Being Let Down (new adult romance - 1) by London Casey, Karolyn James Page B

taken
advantage of...
    But wasn ’ t that what she always said?
    The first time it happened, and she
confessed, she blamed alcohol. She said she got way too drunk and some pig took
advantage of her. He just had her for a minute and that was it. It made Bryan
sick but he got over it. Then came time after time, the same excuse of drinking
too much and someone taking advantage of her.
    Bryan didn ’ t want anyone in trouble, including Chloe.
    Thinking about trouble though took
his mind elsewhere.
    It took his mind to AJ.
    She had nowhere to go. She was
going to sleep in her car.
    Even for one night that seemed
ridiculously dangerous. Anything could happen. Someone could see her. Find her.
Hurt her.
    It made Bryan ’ s stomach turn.
    He should have done more.
    He should have demanded her to come
with him.
    He could have at least followed
her.
    It hurt to think.
    That ’ s
where Bryan left it all as he stood from the couch. He made it to the kitchen
and opened the fridge, staring at water, beer, milk, eggs, bacon, and
lunchmeat. The essentials to his bachelor life but none of which would tell him
if AJ was okay.
    Or Chloe.
    “ No, ” he whispered.
    To hell with Chloe.
    If she was okay enough to call him,
she was okay enough to know she was with another guy. Whatever happened...
well, it happened. It wasn ’ t
Bryan ’ s problem anymore.
That was the best part of breaking up. It didn ’ t
just split the couple, it split the bullshit. Chloe took her bullshit and Bryan
took his.
    End of it all.
    But Bryan didn ’ t know a thing about AJ other
than the meanings of the messages and emails on her phone, all of which he
technically shouldn ’ t have
read. He didn ’ t mean any
harm nor did he try to memorize anything he read.
    He had to go look for her.
    He had to go back to AJ ’ s apartment and check on her.
    Just in case.
    Maybe she slept right there in her
car. If so, he could park his car next to hers and let her go. He wouldn ’ t bother her. He just wanted to
check on her.
    He couldn ’ t stop thinking about her. Something about her
just...
    Bryan grabbed his cell phone and
keys off the table. He rushed to the door and paused, giving himself one last
chance to back down.
    He couldn ’ t do it.
    He had to at least say he tried to
find her.
    Bryan grabbed the doorknob and
turned it. He opened the door and muttered, “ Freaking
crazy... ”
    “ Wow,
most people call me a bitch. ”
    Bryan did a double take and his
mouth fell open. “ AJ? ”
    “ Yeah,
AJ, ” she whispered.
    “ What
are... well, this is good, ” Bryan said. “ I was just
coming to look for you. ”
    “ To
look for me? Why? ”
    There was an attitude in AJ ’ s voice, something that had been
sprinkled with betrayal and worry.
    “ Wow,
most people would say thanks. ”
    “ I ’ m not most people, ” AJ shot back without
hesitation.
    “ Neither
am I, ” Bryan said.
    He wasn ’ t sure if that was a good thing or not. He wasn ’ t sure how many guys would have
put up with Chloe ’ s
nonsense for as long as Bryan did. Or how many guys would have enjoyed her
company for the sexual benefit and then leave her.
    But that wasn ’ t Bryan.
    Not at all.
    With AJ, the smart thing would have
been to have given someone at the strip club the cell phone. That would have
been the nice thing to do.
    “ Listen,
don ’ t make this into
something it ’ s not, ” AJ said. “ Just get that out in the open. ”
    “ What
is this then? ” Bryan asked.
    “ Me
taking you up on a favor. ”
    “ A
favor? More like an offer. ”
    “ Fine.
Offer. Whatever. ”
    “ Now
that we ’ ve said that...
what happened to your car? ”
    “ It ’ s out front. ”
    “ Couldn ’ t get comfortable? ”
    “ I
was comfortable, ” AJ said. “ Just too many memories bothering
me. ”
    “ No
memories in here I take it? ” Bryan asked.
    “ I ’ ve never been here before. There
can ’ t be memories. ”
    Bryan smiled. AJ took a step and
Bryan put a hand to the