heel and
walked out of the ladies’ room. Ashley was quite terrifying. He’d never seen
her look so dangerous. She looked ready to castrate him. The idea was not a fun
one at all.
Leaving the ladies’ room, he
walked toward the bar. He searched the whole bar looking for his woman. Elijah
spotted her on the dance floor. Her date had his arms wrapped around her waist.
“Hey, butt-head,” Heather
said, coming up beside him.
“Are you ever going to call
me by my given name? I believe our parents took forever to name both of us.”
“No can do.” Heather flicked
the hair of her neck, bouncing to the beat. “What are you going to do about Amber?”
she asked, taking him completely by surprise.
“What?”
His sister snorted at him.
“I wasn’t born yesterday. I see the way you look at her, and I also saw your
boxers in her laundry. I’ve seen her naked, so unless she’s got a male
underwear fetish then they’re yours.”
“You’re far more observant
than I thought you were.”
“Also
taught you a lesson. I made sure you
could hear me that day.” Heather leaned against the bar with a hand on her hip.
“We’re not perfect, but we’re the best of friends.”
“I love her, Heather. She
means everything to me.”
“I don’t know how long this
is going on, and to be honest, I don’t really care. If you have feelings for
her and care about your, erm, stuff, you’ll do right by her.” She nodded at
Wade, and the barman started walking toward them.
“You’re giving me your
blessing?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m giving you my
blessing within reason. Treat her right, Elijah. She deserves a man who’ll love
her for her.”
His gaze found hers. The
song had changed to a slow number, and Amber’s date had his arms wrapped around
her.
Amber was staring at him as
she danced with another man. Pain shot through him at the sight of his woman in
another man’s arms. Amber was getting from her date what he’d not been able to
give her. He’d never dated her, and he’d never even tried to get to know her
outside of the club and the sex they shared. Not only did he not want to date,
but Amber insisted on keeping their relationship secret. He couldn’t force her
to date him when she didn’t want Heather to know about them.
Heather grabbed her drink
and left him alone with his thoughts.
He spent the entire time
watching Amber on her date. When it was time for them to leave, he turned into
a stalker. Elijah followed her home and even took the stairs, hiding behind a
large planter to watch the scene unfold.
“I had a nice time tonight,”
Amber said, getting her key and turning her back to the guy. “You really didn’t
need to bring me up to my room.”
Her door was opened, and her
date circled a hand around her waist. Elijah destroyed a branch of the plant he
was hiding behind. He tightened his fist and forced himself to be rooted to the
spot.
She was turned and pressed
against the wall. The door to her apartment was partially open.
Her date kissed her. Elijah
didn’t know how he managed to stay seated during the whole episode, but he
watched without giving himself away.
The date pulled away. “You
don’t want me, do you?” he asked.
“I’m really sorry, Dale. It
has been someone else for a long time.”
“Call me if things go badly.”
Dale stroked her cheek and then turned away.
Amber let out a sigh before
going inside her apartment and closing the door.
Elijah left the building
seconds later. His hands were shaking as he took out his cell phone. Amber had
turned him into a stalker. He opened up a new message and sent Amber a text.
Elijah: Give me a chance. Meet me @ the café across
the street tomorrow.
He hated text talk. Walking
down the street he waited for his cell phone to go off.
Amber: Y?
Elijah: I can make it worth your while.
Amber: Y shud I trust u?
Elijah: I’m putting up with your bad text spelling.
Meet me there or I’ll come and get you.
Minutes passed, and
James Patterson, Ned Rust