Page 55 - It Ends with Us
P. 55

sho wer, put on  makeu p, and  thro w on  clothes  bef ore  I open  the  door,

                he’l l pret ty much  ha ve  to dea l with  me  as is.
                    I open  the  door and  hi s immediate  rea ction  conf uses  me.
                    “Jes us  Chri st,”  he   says,  dropping   hi s  hea d  agains t  my  door  frame.
                He’s pant ing  like  he’s been  working  out, and  tha t’s when  I no tice  tha t
                he  does n’t  look  to  be  any   more  res ted   or  clea n  tha n  I  am.  He’s  got  a
                couple     of   days’   worth   of   stubble   on   hi s   face—s omet hi ng    I’ve   nev er

                seen   on   hi m  bef ore—a nd   hi s  ha ir   isn’t  styled   like   it  usually  is.  It’s  a
                little  err atic,  like  the  look  in  his  ey e.   “Do  you  ha ve  any   idea   ho w  many
                doors I’ve  kno cked  on  to find  you?”
                    I  sha ke  my  hea d,  bec ause     I  don’t.  But  no w  tha t  he   ment ions   it—
                ho w in the  he ll do es he  know whe re I live?
                    “Twent y-ni ne, ”  he  says. Then  he  ho lds up hi s ha nd s and  rep ea ts the
                nu mbers  with  hi s fing ers  whi le  he  whi spers , “Two . . . nine.”

                    I   let   my   gaze   drop   down    to   hi s   clothes .   He’s   in   scrubs,   and    I
                absolutel y  hat e  tha t  he’s  in  scrubs  right   no w.  Holy  he ll.  So  much  bet ter
                tha n  the  ones ie  and  way  bet ter  tha n  the  Burberr y.
                    “Why   did  you  kno ck  on  twent y-ni ne  doors?”  I  ask  with  a  tilt  of  my
                hea d.
                    “You  ne ver  told  me  whi ch  apartment   was  yours,”  he  says,  matter-of-

                factly.  “You  said  you  lived   in  thi s  building ,  but  I  couldn’t  rem em ber  if
                you  ev en   said  whi ch    floor.  And   for   the   rec ord,  I  almost  started   with
                the  thi rd  floor.  I  would  ha ve  been  here  an  ho ur  ago  if  I  went   with  my
                gut ins tinc t.”
                    “Why  are you here?”
                    He  runs  hi s ha nds down  hi s face  and  then  point s over  my sho ulder.
                “Can  I come  in?”

                    I glanc e  over  my sho ulder  and  then  open  the  door farther. “I gues s.
                If you tel l me  wha t you want .”
                    He  walks ins ide  and  I close  the  door behi nd  us. He  glanc es  around ,
                wea ring   hi s  stupid  ho t  scrubs,  and   puts  hi s  ha nd s  on    hi s  hi ps  as  he
                faces   me.   He  looks  a  little  disappoint ed ,  but  I’m  no t  sure  if  it’s  in  me
                or hi msel f.

                    “There’ s   a   rea lly   big   na ked    truth   coming ,   okay?”   he   says.   “Brace
                yoursel f.”
                    I   fold   my   arms   over   my   ches t   and    watch   as   he   inha les    a   brea th,
                prep aring  to spea k.
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