A little while later Isaac walks out, freshly showered and dressed in a sharp business suit. His hair’s still wet and messy, and I second-guess leaving this house and taking him back to bed so I can slowly undress him.
“Smells good,” he says, kissing my cheek and taking a plate and mug. “Thank you.” We sit at the breakfast bar next to each other, talking while we eat. He tells me he has an appointment this morning but will be around later if I want to do something.
“Let me see your phone.” I unlock it and hand it to him. He puts his number in, then calls himself, so he has my number. “You ready to go?”
“Yep.” I take our dishes to the sink, but he insists the cleaning woman who comes in a couple times a week will handle it, so I leave it so we can go.
I’m shocked when we get down to the parking garage and find Isaac drives a truck. Although, it’s not just a truck. It’s a beautiful sleek black on black, monster of a truck.
“What?” he asks when he catches me gawking.
“I didn’t take you for a truck man.”
He laughs, and the sound goes straight into my chest. “I drove you home in this truck the other night.”
Huh. “I don’t remember much after I was drugged…”
“You were a bit out of it,” he says, opening the passenger door for me, so I can hop in. After he closes the door, he rounds the front and gets in himself. When he turns the ignition, the vehicle rumbles to life. “So, what did you imagine me driving?” he asks, smiling at me.
“Like a sports car. Something fast.”
His grin widens. “I have a couple of those as well.” He points in the direction of several sports cars in various colors. “But I prefer my truck. It pulls my boat and is better suited for my field of work. Driving up to jobsites in a McLaren only makes a guy look like a douche.”
“You pull your yacht?” I imagined it being huge the way he explained it.
“No. The yacht stays in the water or gets shipped somewhere. But I have other boats, faster ones that I go out on when I want to have some fun.”
I sigh. Boys and their toys.
When we arrive at my complex, Isaac offers to walk me up to my apartment, but I insist he leave me here. For one, I don’t want him seeing my shitty place, and two, if he comes up, we may never leave.
With a kiss that’s clear he’s making a point to remind me what’s waiting for me, he makes me promise to call him soon and then reluctantly lets me go.
He’s still watching me when I step up to my building, so I wave one more time before I disappear inside. It’s getting late, and I don’t want to be waiting in line forever, so I need to get moving. Thankfully, the night I was drugged, Yasmin thought to grab my clutch, so I have my keys and bank card—which has barely any money on it.
When I step up to my door, ready to unlock it, I’m stopped in my place by a note on the door. I peel it off and read it several times.
No. No. No. This can’t be happening… I try my key in the lock but nothing happens.
“Damn it!” I slam my hand against the door, then try to rattle it open. When it doesn’t budge, I turn my back against the hard wood and slide down it, landing on my butt. Hot tears well in my eyes as I read the note again that says I’ve been warned several times and have been evicted. Anything of mine I wish to get will need to be done by scheduling an appointment with management.
Feeling utterly defeated, I sit on the floor and cry. It won’t do or change anything, but sometimes it just feels good to cry.
“Hey,” Yasmin says, sitting on the floor next to me. “I heard you from down the hall. What are you doing out here? What’s wrong?” I drop my head onto her shoulder and hand her the note.
“Fuck,” she mutters under her breath. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. For starters, try to find a job.” There’s no way I’m going to visit my dad in the state of mind I’m in. He would take one look at me and know something is wrong. And since he’s stuck behind bars, there’s nothing he can do.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, squeezing my hand. “I can ask my mom if you could sleep over. My twin bed won’t fit us both, but—”
“No, that’s okay. I’ll figure it out.” Her mom is a crazy bitch and the only reason Yasmin stays is because her rent is cheap and she’s saving for her yoga studio.