“Or she’d just bring him along,” I say.
“It’s just like it was when they were in high school. Attached at the hip.”
“Yeah, but they’re so damn happy. I’m happy for her. Slightly jealous too.” I sigh. “Don’t tell her I said that though. I like giving her shit.”
“You have my word.” Daphne giggles. “We can make fun all we want, but they’re the lucky ones. They have it all.”
I roll to my side, my heart stopping in my chest when I see the outline of a man outside my window.
“Holy shit,” I yell-whisper.
“Jesus, Delilah, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”
I can’t breathe, so I need a minute. My hand clutches at my chest. When my eyes come into focus, I see exactly who it is.
Climbing out of bed, I stomp to the window and shoo him away before pulling the curtains closed.
By the time I sit back down, I hear a tap tap tap.
“You going to tell me what’s going on?” Daphne asks.
Exhaling into the phone, I say, “It’s just the guy next door.”
“The guy next door?”
“He wants to talk to me. He’s standing outside my window.”
“Delilah.” Daphne’s voice takes a scolding tone. “Did you hook up with someone and not tell me? And Christ, you’re in a retirement community. How old is he?!”
I laugh. “It’s not like that. He’s younger. And yeah. I have a lot to tell you when you get here.”
Tap tap tap.
He’s not going away.
And he’s probably going to wake up Rue.
“I have to take care of this,” I groan.
“Everything okay?”
“No. But it will be in two seconds after I get rid of this asshole.”
“Book my flight and send me the info. Don’t forget.”
“Believe me, I won’t.” I hang up with my sister and head back to the window, crossing my arms.
Zane hasn’t moved. He just stands there with the kind of smart-ass smirk I could slap off his face if I wanted.
Sliding the window open, I lean out. “What are you doing here?”
His brows meet. “Um, checking on you. I came back to the room and you were gone. And your clothes were scattered all over my kitchen.”
He lifts up a wad of rumpled garments.
I pop open the screen and yank them from his hands, exchanging them for the clothes I took from his dresser.
“Here,” I say. “Now go.”
“Aren’t you going to let me explain?” He laughs, like this situation is hilarious, but it isn’t.
“You fucked me and then told me to hide,” I say. “That says it all, don’t you think?”
He scratches the underside of his chin, smirking and glancing to the side. “It’s not like that.”
“I heard you tell someone you were alone,” I say.
“Delilah, who are you talking to in there?” Aunt Rue’s muffled voice pushes through the other side of my bedroom door.
“God damn it, you woke her up,” I whisper. I shoo him off. “Go. Get out of here.”
“Can I come back over later?” he asks.
“No!”
“What are you doing tomorrow night?”
“I’m busy,” I whisper, popping the screen back into place before Rue busts in here demanding an explanation.
“What about Friday?”
“My sister is coming into town.”
“Then when?”
“Delilah?” Rue calls out again. “I hear you talking in there and your door is locked. Is everything okay?”
My jaw is clenched. “Go home.”
I slam the window closed and pull the curtains together before rushing to the door.
“Sorry, I was in the bathroom. Did you need something?” I ask Rue.
She clutches at the neckline of her robe, eyes sharp as they study me. “No, sweetheart. I was just passing down the hall to get a drink of water, and I heard you talking. You sounded upset. Is everything okay?”
I laugh. “I was talking to Daphne on the phone. We were joking around about something. Everything’s fine. She’s going to fly in this weekend.”
Rue’s face lights. “Oh, how wonderful. I can’t wait to see her!”
I nod. “Me too.”
“All right, well, I’m heading back to bed. Again. I suggest you do the same. I was hoping maybe tomorrow you could help me organize my storage room and get rid of a few things.”
“Of course.”
She gives me a tired smile and limps away, and I shut the door behind her. Tiptoeing back to my window, I peek out from the side of the curtain to see if he’s still out there.
But he’s gone.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about his explanation, but it doesn’t matter at this point.
We did what we did.
He said what he said.
I heard what I heard.
And it made me feel cheap.
Used.
Filthy.
* * *
“I’m so glad you’re here. You have no idea.” I’m cruising down the interstate Friday afternoon, my twin sister beside me on the front seat of Rue’s Lexus.
“Does that mean you’re rolling out the red carpet this weekend?” Daphne fishes around in her purse, yanking out her phone and turning it on. The tap-tap-tap of her taupe nails against her screen is distracting.