Addicted (The Addicted Series, #1)(70)

"For sure," Krystal replied, giving Kimberly a hug. "Thanks."

"No problem. Julian, another time I hope." With that, Kimberly was gone, out the front door of the building and into the Chicago afternoon sun like a little blonde ball of energy.

I watched her go, then turned to Krystal, slightly confused. "She is . . ."

"Different," Krystal replied with a grin. "And as real as you can find. Come on, I'll show you my place. I'm warning you though, it's a lot different than what you're probably used to."

I nodded, and followed her into the elevator. As the doors closed, she pushed the button for one of the top floors, and we started up. "Krys . . ." I started, before she cut me off.

"Julian, do you like it if someone calls you Jules? Or J?"

I thought about the fact that the guys at the gym called me JC, but other than that ... "No, not really."

"Okay. Well, if you don't want me to call you Jules or maybe Julie, don't call me Krys. Now, I don't mind if you stay, but I do have some rules."

Oh boy, here we go. "Yeah?" I asked, already wondering if I'd made the right decision.

"Rule one is, no arrests. You get picked up by the Chicago PD, and you're on your own. You're not getting back into my place. And yes, this is my place. Rule two, no parties or women up here. You want to get your freak on, go do it somewhere else. Finally, rule three. You use something in my kitchen, you clean it and you put it in the drying rack. That's kind of a general one for all culinary types. Don't screw with our equipment."

"What happens if I do?" I joked, smirking. Krystal turned to me with those dark eyes of hers and looked up directly into mine.

"You do, and you'll find I know how to debone more than just a chicken."

I held my free hand up in a fending off gesture, and smiled. "Okay, just joking. I can barely make spaghetti anyway. You ever come to my place in Los Angeles, and you'll find a lot of instant meals, peanut butter, and supplements. By the way, you don't mind if I use your blender for that, do you?"

"As long as you wash it out. I have a stick blender you can use if you want, I find it easier for that sort of stuff. Here we are." The elevator doors dinged, and I stepped out into a small hallway, with only two doors, one on each side. "This floor only has two units, I have the one on the west side of the building. Which is great for me, it lets me sleep a bit later in the morning. The east side units get the sunrise right in your eyes."

She opened the door, and I was at first struck at just how middle class the apartment looked. Then I noticed that besides the kitchen equipment, the furnishings were downright Spartan. I didn't even see a television. On the other hand, the kitchen stuff looked strong enough to liquefy a brick, and cut through the steel beams of the high rise itself.

Krystal looked over at me and smiled. "Welcome to my humble abode, Julian. Make yourself comfortable."





Chapter 8


Krystal




At first, having Julian stay with me was about as weird as when we'd stayed in side by side bedrooms at Castelbon Manor. My apartment has three bedrooms and two baths, so I had Julian stay in the larger of my two guest bedrooms, on the opposite side of the apartment from me. After he set his bag on the simple bed that came with the place, he came into the living room and sat down on my sofa, stretching out. "So are you working today?"

I shook my head and headed into the kitchen. "If I was, you'd have gotten nothing but a voice message. I did have competition practice today, but I have the evening off."

I pulled together the ingredients for a quick berry smoothie and made myself my mid-afternoon snack, pouring a second glass for Julian. Coming over to the sofa, I handed him a glass, then sat down on my only other chair in the living room. When Kimberly or another friend comes over, we tend to relax at the kitchen island to eat, or just hang out on the floor. "So level with me Julian," I said, taking a drink from my smoothie and setting the glass down on my coffee table. "What brings you to Chicago?"

"I don't suppose you'd believe that I had a business deal that I'm negotiating with the guys at Forrester Hotels, do you?" he said, grinning.

I rolled my eyes. "Considering they relocated to Miami a year ago, no. Besides, I doubt you've ever done a regular business negotiation in your life."

"What do you mean?"

I decided it was time to put Julian on full blast mode. "Well, since graduating from high school, you dropped out of two universities, both times by your own choice. The first, Boston College, you said you didn't fit in at. The second, the University of Southern California, asked you to leave after what the newspapers called 'repeated violations of the student conduct policy.' I'll not go further on it. Since then, you've settled into the Los Angeles socialite scene, fueled by the fact John gives you enough money to basically allow you to do whatever you want. So I'll say it again Julian, what are you doing in Chicago?"

Julian looked down at his glass for a moment, then drained half of it in one long gulp. He looked down at his glass again, then at me. "You want the truth?"

"Yeah, the truth. Not saying I'm going to judge you, but I won't tolerate a liar. So make that rule four. You lie, and I'll be happy to find you a hotel room."