Reasonable Doubt: Volume 1 (Reasonable Doubt #1)(18)

I’d driven straight for the dance hall—locking myself into a private room and dancing until I couldn’t feel my feet anymore. I knew I must’ve looked crazy to my classmates, sobbing in between every twirl, but I didn’t care; I needed to clear my mind of all thoughts of Andrew, Thoreau, and Alyssa.

As the water continued to lash against my skin, I shut my eyes and murmured, “How long has he known?” I thought about the past couple weeks, how “Thoreau” had been less talkative than normal, how he’d ignored me, and then it hit me.

My interview...

I still remembered it because seeing Andrew in person made me realize that no picture could ever accurately capture how sexy he really looked, and I’d blushed the second his eyes met mine. He didn’t seem to act any differently throughout the questioning, but then I remembered that random phone call...

I wasn’t sure why I was just remembering it now, but while Mr. Bach and Mr. Greenwood had simply laughed that intrusive phone call away, Andrew had stared at me. As if he was in complete and utter shock. And at the end of the interview, when I’d reached for his hand, his gaze wasn’t intrigued anymore, it was heated.

Wiping away my tears, I turned off the water and stepped out. I wrapped myself in a towel and did what I always did when I felt sad: ordered a sandwich and made myself a couple of stiff martinis.

Just as I was downing the first one, there was a knock on my door. I noticed the pink Barbie keys on the counter—courtesy of my forgetful and “never here” roommate and knew it was her.

She always leaves something...

“Would it kill you to double check for these before you—” I stopped when I opened the door.

It was Andrew, and the look on his face was one of pure anger. He wasn’t dressed in a suit anymore, just a simple, thin white T-shirt that slightly clung to his chiseled abs and a pair of faded blue jeans.

I tried to slam the door in his face, but he held it open and forced himself inside my apartment. I started to step backwards and he matched me step for step, backing me against my living room wall.

“We need to talk.” His voice was flat, emotionless.

“No, we don’t. You said plenty earlier.” I looked down at the floor. “Don’t worry, I’ll be resigning in the morning. Please leave.”

He tilted my chin up and looked into my eyes. “You’re not quitting.”

“Watch me.” I swallowed. “I want you to leave...”

“I would believe that, but you say things you don’t mean all the time.”

The tension between us was damn near palpable, and I could feel my blood heating every second he stood there staring at me. I tried to move away, but he gripped my hips.

“You told me you were a lawyer, Aubrey...” he said, his voice dripping with malice. “You told me you were twenty seven years old.”

“I never said I was twenty seven. You assumed.”

“It was on your f**king profile!” He pushed my back against the wall. “You never thought to correct me whenever I said I was only five years older than you...I’m ten years older than you.”

“I didn’t think I would ever meet you in person,” I barely managed to say as he pressed his chest against mine.

“That excuses your lies?”

“I said I was sorry, and it was clearly a huge mistake to ever befriend you. You didn’t even give me a chance to completely explain.”

“Do you not understand how f**ked up this situation is?”

“No...” I murmured as our lips touched.

“I’ve been looking forward to f**king the woman who teased me every night for nearly six months,” he whispered, sliding his fingers underneath my towel. “I wanted her to ride me.” He trailed his hand up my thigh and rubbed his thumb against my clit. “On my c**k and my mouth. And I wanted to teach her how to taste me...Don’t you think this woman f**ked all of that up?”

I shook my head in response; I couldn’t handle the way he was looking at me.

“You said you weren’t my type when I asked what you looked like.” He pulled away from my mouth, but he kept his thumb against my clit. “But you clearly are. Why did you lie about something as simple as that?””

“You didn’t tell me what you looked like, so—”

“Stop deflecting.” He hissed, and took a step back. “Tell me the reasoning. I’ve already figured out your reasoning for the other bullshit lies. By the way, no self-respecting lawyer would ever let another lawyer do their work for them.”

“Only a self-absorbed ass**le who wants to seem deeper than he really is would call himself Thoreau.”

“Good to finally see the version of you that I remember.” He took another step back and crossed his arms. “Answer my question.”

“Fuck you.” I scoffed. “I told you I was sorry, begged you to listen to me, and now when you feel like talking, you think you can barge into my apartment and make me?”

“I haven’t made you do anything.” He smirked. “Yet.”

Silence.

He leaned against the wall, waiting for me to speak, but I couldn’t get a word out.

Look away from him...Look away from him...

As if he knew the power his gaze was having on me, he grinned and picked up one of my makeshift martinis.