Heartless: Episode 2

I tensed briefly before forcing myself to relax. “I’m sorry if I stink. I’ve been running.”

“I noticed. You don’t stink. You smell like you,” he said, not moving his head.

“Do you want to come upstairs? My condo is right here. Sounds like you could use a beer.”

What the hell was I thinking? A few hours ago, I’d wanted to maintain my distance from this guy, and now, I was inviting him into my most personal space. I considered myself a strong woman, but this was going too far, even for me.

“You know if I come upstairs, we’re not just going to talk.” He nudged against me.

“What do you mean?” I played stupid.

“You let me inside your place, and I’m going to try to have sex with you, Elizabeth.”

I nodded before standing up and reaching out my hand. “I know, Daniel. I know.”

He sucked in a long, deep breath as I waited, my hand empty. “I probably shouldn’t.” His words caused me to drop my hand to my side.

Did he just tell me no?

I was willing to chip away at the cement wall that I had not only wanted, but also helped to erect eight years ago. Now, I wanted to put every slightly moved brick back in its rightful place around my heart.

“I should go then.”

I turned to walk away from him when his hand reached out and grabbed mine. Turning back around to face him, I waited for him to say something. His silence sliced through my ego as he slowly let go of my hand. I couldn’t reach the entrance of my building quickly enough as I turned to go. I felt so stupid.

“Elizabeth?” His voice stopped me cold.

“What?” I asked before glancing back at him .

He waved me over. “I forgot to give this to you earlier.”

I watched as he pulled a plain white envelope from his jacket pocket and held it in the air.

“What is this?” I looked at it before grabbing it.

“Open it.”

I tore through the top and noticed a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill inside. “What is this for?”

“What can I say?” He paused. “You were right. You won the bet.”

I pulled my head back and furrowed my forehead. “What bet?”

“You bet me a hundred bucks that one of my friends with b

enefits wanted more, remember?”

“I remember.” A sick feeling washed through me. “So, how did you prove me right?” God, I didn’t want to know the answer to this question if it involved him having sex with someone who wasn’t me.

Daniel rose to his feet, his frame towering over mine. “I broke off my prior commitments, and one of the girls had a meltdown, a fucking meltdown.” He sounded so surprised. “She called me heartless and then basically said all the same stuff that you did, pretty much word for fucking word. It was brutal.”

He continued to talk, but my ears had stopped listening after hearing that he’d broken off his “prior commitments.”

“You stopped seeing your friends with benefits? When?”

“The night I met you.” He thumbed my chin and planted a kiss on my cheek before turning his body away.

“You sure you don’t want to come up?” I asked again as a rush of emotions soared through me.