Free Hidden Barriers by Sara Shirley Page B

knock on my bedroom door.
    “Fuck off, Nick!” I yell over the latest song playing on the tablet.
    I hear the door creak open as I roll over to give Nick a piece of my mind, but it’s not his eyes that stare back at me. Instead, I’m gazing into those big brown eyes of hers. We silently stare at each other, not knowing quite what to say. I’m not even sure why she’s here in my room.
    She shuts the door behind her as she moves a little further into the room. After swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I rest my elbows on my legs and stare at my hands in front of me. “Why did you ignore me back at the bar, Sam? I waited for a half hour, and you forgot I was there.”
    “Josh, please let me explain.”
“I thought we could at least be friends, but I took a chance and asked you out on a date. Do you even know what that took for me to do? You’re not the only one with a past, Sam. I get that you still haven’t told me about what haunts you, and that’s fine. But, there is something about you I want to get to know so bad, that for the first time in nearly ten years, I asked a girl out again. That girl walked away and blew me off.”
    Sam’s face struggles to understand my statement. Right now, I can’t explain to her that for the last ten years I’ve done nothing but bang random chicks on occasion. If she found out this bit of information at this stage, she’ll assume I’m nothing but a playboy who is only using her to get my dick off.
    Looking up at her face, I notice as mascara runs from her eyes down her cheeks. Her feet move backward until her back hits my door, and she slides down to the floor. Turning her face back up to me, she says, “Josh, I came to apologize. I honestly feel awful. Please know I never meant to blow you off back there. I— I—,” she stammers. “I’m just so sorry.” Standing back on her feet, she turns the door handle and opens it slightly.
    Why are you letting her walk out that door?
    Her head angles back faintly for me to see her profile. “If it means anything, I would have said yes. Candy is the way to my heart.”
    As she’s about to walk out my door, my phone alerts me of an incoming text. Glancing down at the screen, I see it’s a response from Tarryn.
    I’ll be home in an hour. Come by if you need me.
    Tossing my phone back onto the bed as I look up to the door, I notice Sam is no longer there. Shit. I pick my ass up off the bed and fly toward the staircase, running down the stairs to see Nick and Sam’s brother sitting in the living room talking. Sam is nowhere to be found. “Where’s Sam?” I ask, looking around the first floor of the townhouse. Neither of them answers me. I look at Sam’s brother and reach out my hand to introduce myself. “Hey, man, I’m Josh. Drew, right?” He nods as he forcefully shakes my hand. “Give me a minute to find your sister, and we’ll talk, okay,” I say, turning around and making my way back up the stairs to the landing. I see a light coming from under the bathroom door. Found her. As I make my way over to the door, my hand hesitates before knocking, not knowing quite what to say.
    I turn the knob instead and open the door slowly. Sam sits on the frame of the tub, looking up at me as I make my way into the small space with her. “Did you mean what you said when you said candy was the way to your heart?” I ask, trying to make her smile again. The last thing I want is to see her cry, but damn, if she doesn’t have my mind spinning a mile a minute.
    She nods back at me in agreement. “Then, why the hell are you in here alone?”
    “Josh, you said—”
    I immediately interject, “I said I chose to ask you on a date. You chose not to give mean answer. So, what’s it going to be?”
    “What do you want me to say? I can’t guarantee anything when I know nothing about dating a guy anymore. My story isn’t a pretty one, and you need to be patient with me.”
    “Sam, I promise I won’t hurt you. Please, give me a