Stepbrother Bad Boy's Baby Boxed Set(21)

Just as the sky was starting to turn gray with the beginning of dawn, a new thought came to me. Something Kimberly had said to me on the phone, when I'd called her to ask about Krystal's whereabouts. "Offer her something more than money," I whispered to myself, looking out the window and into the early morning sky. There were still a few stars out there, and I thought for a second. "But what can I offer?"





Chapter 10 - Part 2





Krystal





"So, you have the security code for the front door, right?" I asked, shouldering my bag. I was only going to be gone three days, and didn't pack heavy, just a gym bag. Inside I had my work uniform from Alinea, a casual change of clothes, and some sleep clothes and my toiletries. I didn't plan on needing much else. I figured if I really needed, I'd go shopping in New York. I hadn't been there in a long time, and might have enjoyed some shopping.

"I've got the code, I've got the key you made me, it's right here," Julian said, patting his right pocket. "Relax, Krystal. Your apartment is still going to be here in one piece, and I promise, I'll stay out of trouble."

I rolled my eyes and looked askance at him. "You really have been keeping yourself out of trouble recently. What gives?"

"I don't know," Julian said. "Maybe you're rubbing off on me, teaching me to be a better person."

His answer touched me, and I had to shake my head. Since our late night video where we almost ended up kissing, things had definitely been different between us. There was a sort of invisible tension, something that both of us wanted to say but neither of us were willing to do. Julian showed it in little things, like waking up earlier and helping out around the apartment more. I hadn't had to clean a dish or wipe down a toilet in a week, although I didn't know what his own bathroom looked like. "Julian, you know, I was wrong about you," I finally said, biting my lip. "I thought you were a bad guy, and I guess you have been for a time in your life, but it seems you've turned a corner."

Julian shook his head sadly and looked down into my eyes. His blue eyes hid something, and I felt once again the crazy urge I'd had for most of the past week to reach up and kiss him. "I'm not there yet, Krystal," he said softly, "but I’m working on it.”

I was about to reply, when the look from his face cleared, and the wise guy that was Julian when he was trying to hide something showed up on his face again. "Now, get out of here before I have to drag you down to O'Hare myself. You miss your flight, and your boss is going to have a few uses for your knives. You did pack them, right?"

I shook my head. "No, the rules don't allow it. Both teams start with the exact same things hardware wise. It's okay, I know the brand of knife they're using, I've used them before. They're good knives, I can do my thing with them."

Julian smiled and looked towards the front door to my apartment. "Well, can I walk you down at least? I wanted to go shopping anyway, I'm kind of out of socks."

"What, you don't know how to use a laundry machine?" I joked. "I'm kidding, I know you've been carrying your weight and more, Julian. I appreciate it, too. But on a serious note, what did happen to your socks?"

"Well, I kind of only came with a few pairs," Julian replied. "I wasn't exactly thinking straight when I packed a bag and came to Chicago."

I laughed and patted him on the arm, my hand resting seemingly on its own on his ripped bicep. I reluctantly took it back after a moment, and looked up at him again. "You do whatever you want, Julian. I trust you, and if I didn't, you wouldn't have gotten a key. But sure, walk me down to the bus stop."

We left my apartment, Julian taking the time to double check his key and lock the door to my apartment. "Thanks. Actually, while you're gone, I was thinking of finding a gym. I mean, I've been doing bodyweight work and stuff, but I miss having a big fu.... a big pile of weights on my back or in my hands," he said, putting the key back into his pocket. I noticed again the change Julian was going through, disciplining himself and his use of foul language. "Any recommendations?"

"Julian I'm so busy most of the time I don't even have time to go to the gym," I admitted, "I do my little martial arts thing with Kim, but that's about it usually. But this is Chicago, there's gotta be your sort of place around here somewhere. You know, Kimberly might know a place, she dated a guy for a few weeks who was on the old Arena Football team the last year they were in town. Give her a call."

We reached the elevator and got inside. Julian pushed the button for the lobby, and turned back to me. "I don't know if that'd go well, Kim doesn't seem to like me very much."

"Actually, Kimberly likes you just fine. She's just very protective, and very bluntly spoken. She'll open up to you if you're as honest with her as you have been with me."

Julian thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "Okay. I'll give her a call. Worst thing that can happen is she hangs up on me."

"She didn't last time, and she won't next time either, Julian." The elevator doors opened, and we walked out of the lobby onto the city streets. We walked the two blocks to the bus stop, where I set my bag down. "Well, here we are. Where are you going to go shopping?"