Broken Dreams(85)

Henry set the bottle down on the sink and jumped into the steamy heat. He washed from head to toe, then toweled himself dry. He stood in front of the mirror, looking at his slightly bruised face. He hated the way he looked.

He hated his eyes. He hated his face. He hated the scarring. He hated his tainted mind. About the only thing he felt that he had going for him was his wild hair and his body. He pulled back his hair and checked his stitches. They still looked good. He grabbed his hair wax and fixed it so the stitches were invisible.

He found himself standing naked in front of his closet with the bottle in his hand. He took another pull and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. After pawing through all of his suits, he settled on his custom tailored navy blue two-piece and, of course, a white button-down shirt. He pulled out his unpolished black monk strap shoes from the back of his closet.

Still naked with bottle in hand, he pulled open his dresser drawer. He looked at all of his boxers, then decided to take a gamble. He closed his eyes and reached in. When he opened his eyes, he had a pair of low cut, microfiber, black D&G’s in his hand. He smirked, hoping that she would want to see them. He finally let go of the bottle, setting it on his dresser.

Henry dressed, ensuring that his outfit was perfect. He stepped in front of the mirror, still not liking what he saw from the neck up.

“Don’t fuck this up, Daniels,” he said as he stared into the mirror. He took a deep breath and ran out the door.

As soon as he opened his door, his next door neighbor walked out of her apartment. She smirked at him while she looked him up and down, doing the old package check. He rolled his eyes. “Well, look at you,” she purred. “Looking good. Hot date tonight?”

“Uh…yeah, actually.” He closed his door and locked it.

“Lucky woman.”

“Lucky me.” He directed his thumb at his chest. He turned on his heels and stormed off toward the elevator. He hadn’t realized she was right on his tail.

“I have to admit. I’m jealous.” Henry jumped when her warm breath ran down his neck. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. That woman hit on him more times than he wanted to think about.

She wasn’t horrible to look at. She was maybe early forties, dark hair, a nice figure, and obviously had some money, but she was far too nosey, and just rubbed him the wrong way. He rubbed his eyes for a second, and turned around. “Look, trust me when I say this... I’m not what you want.”

She cocked her head to the side. “And how do you know what I want?” She raised a brow and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“I’m an asshole. I’ve fucked my way around this city, I drink like a fish, and I am just plain old fucking dangerous.” He figured that would throw her off his scent.

“Maybe this girl isn’t so lucky then.” That comment pissed him off.

“Actually, I like this girl so I will be on my best behavior. This is new for me, and I don’t want to fuck it up.” The elevator door opened and they both stepped in.

“Well, good luck to her then.” Henry glared at his neighbor, as she turned and faced the door. As soon as it slid open, he rushed out, leaving his neighbor in his wake.

He jumped in his truck, grabbed a couple breath mints to cover up his discussion with Mr. Walker, and sped off toward Elaina’s apartment.

After the twenty minute drive, he parked in front of her building. He checked his hair in the mirror on the visor. It looked exactly the way he liked it. He looked at his watch and saw it was five twenty-eight. He jumped out of the truck and jogged into her building.

There was a group of people milling around the elevators, like a bunch of goats waiting for a meal. He looked for the stairway doors, and decided it would be quicker to run up to the third floor than to wait.

Henry dashed up the stairs to the third floor without breaking a sweat, thanks to all of the hours that he spent at the gym. He blew through the door, and looked for three-ten. Then he questioned himself if she said three-ten, or was it four-ten, or even two-ten? He stood in front of the door for a second, straightened his jacket and collar, and decided to knock. He looked at his watch: five-thirty on the dot.

The door opened seconds later, and there was the ginger mother hen. Maybe they roomed together? He played it cool. “I’m sorry. I think I may have the wrong place…” He looked at the number on the door.

“Are you looking for Elaina Cooper?”

“Yes.”

“You have the right place, then. I’m her friend, Claire. I swung by for a quick visit. I didn’t realize she had a date.”

“Right.” He smirked. He knew she was here to check out the situation. “I’m Henry Daniels. Pleased to meet you, Claire.” He held out his hand with a smile and Claire took it. She gasped a little from his chill. “Sorry. I have circulation issues.” He jammed his hands in his pockets. Then she noticed his eyes. She caught herself staring at him. He half smirked.