Dangerous Fling (Dangerous Noise 4)

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Okay, I'll see you then."

I hang up the phone before he has a chance to finish his thought.

My hands are shaking.

My chest is heavy.

The rest of me is numb. It's not like I can run from this. I broke Adam's heart. It's for the best, in the long run, but that doesn't change the facts at the moment.

I try to focus on getting to my car. On taking streets to the freeway. On the steady drive up the 405.

Nerves rise up in my stomach as I pull off the freeway, take the first left, the second right, the fourth left after that.

Adam's place is in Sherman Oaks. It was our place. For two years, I took these streets home every night. For two years, I lived in the apartment complex on the right.

Habit takes over as I park, walk to the gate, and tap the code into the electric lock. The door buzzes. I pull it open and step inside.

And there's the old courtyard. It's all concrete with a few potted cacti and a tiny, unkempt pool.

And there's Adam's place, our old place, right by the entrance.

Same red door.

Same gold number.

All this is familiar. It's only been two weeks since I was living in this apartment.

Two weeks doesn't sound like a long time.

But it's an eternity.

Everything is different now.

The fucking red door is enough to fill my stomach with pangs of nostalgia. I miss familiarity. I miss comfort. I miss Adam.

But he's never going to be…

I knock on the door.

"Hey."

That's his voice. His soft, familiar voice.

His soft, familiar footsteps.

My chest tenses.

My entire body tenses.

"It's me." I play with the straps of my messenger bag. Am I still a me? Or did I lose me status when I left him?

He pulls the door open.

And there's Adam, standing in the hallway of our apartment.

His apartment.