Needing Her (From Ashes #1.5)(21)

See you around.

Maci

She didn’t remember a goddamn thing from last night, including the kiss. I’d known she wouldn’t, but that bothered me more than I’d thought it would. From the words on her note, the cryptic words she’d said to me in my bed last night were something she hadn’t meant for me to ever hear.

But it was too late. I’d heard them. She’d kissed me. I’d had the smallest taste of what having Maci would be like.

Grabbing my keys, I walked over to her door, and unlocked it when it didn’t automatically open.

“Maci?” I called as I walked around her empty place. “Fuck!”

I locked up and ran back to my place to grab my phone.

When are you coming home? We need to talk.

I sat there staring at the screen, waiting for her response.

Maci Price: Like I said, I’m really sorry if I threw up or did something stupid.

It’s not about that. When are you coming home?

Maci Price: I don’t know . . . later? I’m having a late breakfast with Amber right now, and then I’m supposed to go meet up with Bryce.

That f*cker from the other night? She was still seeing him? God, I’d never even found out what had happened with his f*cked-up proposal. Not bothering to respond, I let my phone fall to the couch and fought the urge to punch something as I went to take a shower.

Last night, I’d stayed up for hours, finally deciding that when Maci woke up this morning, she and I were going to talk, and I was going to find out what was happening between us. But if she thought so little of herself that she would stay with that *, then what was the point? I’d tried to get her away from him without being as bad as her brothers, and a little over a day later, she was going back to him.

Fuck it. This was a good thing, wasn’t it? I needed to stay away from her. So if her staying with Bryce was what kept me from her . . . then I needed to stay out of it and be happy she was making this easier on me.

Who was I kidding? I’d just realized that I wanted the girl next door more than I’d wanted anything since Cassidy; nothing was about to make this easier.





Chapter Six



Maci

I’D SUCCESSFULLY AVOIDED actually speaking to Connor for two days. Two days that felt like years. Okay, successfully avoiding might not be the right words to use here. He wasn’t exactly talking to me, and I couldn’t figure out what to say whenever I saw him. When I’d gotten home from having breakfast with Amber the other morning, and then going to see my mom for a few hours—since I’d told Connor I was hanging out with Bryce—he was locking up his apartment and turning to leave just as I reached my door.

He stopped abruptly and just stared at me, his intensity filling the space between us. With two large steps, he closed the distance between us and looked down at me. Those bright blue eyes held mine, the question in them one I still didn’t know. Just as I’d opened my mouth to apologize again for whatever I might have done the night before, he grabbed my left hand, looked at it, and then dropped it before walking past me as he shook his head.

I’d all but fallen against my door and blown out a large breath I’d been holding when he walked out of sight, and had to sit there trying to catch my breath from one of the more intense interactions I’d ever had with him. And there hadn’t even been any words.

Since then, we’d crossed paths a few more times as we came and left the apartments; each time the looks got longer, and the air got thicker. But I was still being a *. I was afraid of what I’d done while I was drunk that he’d want to talk to me about. At least yesterday I’d gone back to work, so I was able to have a legitimate excuse for not being able to talk to him.

My alarm went off again, and I groaned as I tapped the screen on my phone to shut it off. I’d already snoozed it twice to try to stay in the dream I’d been having of the intense blue-eyed man next door . . . but I needed to get to work before my brothers came busting down my door looking for my “boyfriend.”

With a heavy exhale, I practically fell out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. I wanted to go back to sleep so I could be in a place where I could stare at those blue eyes whenever I wanted. Where I could imagine the way his lips would feel against my neck as he pressed me against a wall. I wonder if I can get away with saying I have cramps today so I don’t have to go to—oh wait, shit, I did that last—

“Oh my God! Holy shit, what the f*ck?” I screamed and jumped back off my toilet when it popped like gunfire underneath me. Thank God I hadn’t started peeing yet. But, seriously, what . . . the hell . . . had just happened?

My hand cautiously reached for the toilet seat, like the inanimate object might jump out and bite me. And with a determined huff, I grabbed it and threw it up.

“Connor!” I screeched and ripped the bubble wrap off the toilet bowl. “You son of a bitch, I know you can hear me!”

Pulling up my underwear and sweats, I stormed through my apartment, unlocked my door, and flung it open. A scream tore through my chest, and I jumped away as a trash can filled with water fell into my apartment as my door swung open. Mouth and eyes wide open, I just stared at the water-covered entrance and living room for long seconds before my mind started working, and I took off running for my bathroom again. Almost going into the splits on the way there from running on the wet hardwood.