Secret Cravings(10)

Joey was watching from his perch on the couch. He started barking when he saw her turn the corner. This was her favourite set of dogs to walk because of Joey. She would hate to have to give up her walks with the Doberman because of Bryan.

Nichole opened the door to the building and ran right into Bryan. She should have called him. The hurt in his eyes did her in. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you back.”

He gritted his teeth and looked away. The pain was evident on his face. God, she couldn’t believe she’d been such an idiot.

“It’s fine,” Bryan said.

“No, it’s not. Could we go out tonight, just to talk?”

“Can’t.”

“Oh.” He was being so cold, and she’d caused that. How stupid could she be? She should have just called him. They had hit it off and that had scared the crap out of her.

“I’m having dinner with Luke.”

“Luke?” She closed her eyes, blocking out Bryan and trying to hide from her pain. It didn’t work. “I’m sorry.”

“Nichole?”

“Yeah?”

“You want to come eat with us?”

She couldn’t, not with the two of them together. If she went off to dinner with Bryan and Luke she would make a mistake. No, it was best to step out of the picture.

“I don’t think I can.”

“Okay,” Bryan said.

Bryan unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped in. Her chance to see him again was fading fast. If he got the door shut, she’d never hear from him again.

“Wait,” she hollered after him.

He spun around, his eyes big and full of hope.

It was only dinner and they wouldn’t have to do anything. False bravado made her do dumb stuff. She put herself in stupid positions, like being alone with two guys, but she wanted to see them both.

“Sure, what time?”

“Six. In front of his place.”

“Sounds good. My last walk is at five and in that area. I’ll stop by my place around noon and pick up some different clothes to wear.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Please—I don’t want to smell like dog all night.”

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll see you then.” Bryan winked, then closed the door to his apartment.

That could have gone better but at least she would be seeing both of them tonight. She would be smart and not sleep with either one. Getting used to being single was hard. Already she’d jumped into bed with four separate people, and she hated herself for it. Love hadn’t been in the cards with any of them. She’d just wanted to get off and hadn’t minded using a pretty girl, or boy, for that matter.





Chapter Two





Amy packed the last of her clothes, stacking the boxes together. Julie had complained—bitched, actually—then cried, then she’d begged. It had sucked, but Amy wouldn’t put up with this crap any longer, and she’d made it abundantly clear the morning after she’d found the guy in her bed. Julie could be irresponsible, but allowing a stranger to sleep in her room had gone beyond rude, and fallen into almost abusive.

The new place she’d picked was small, with only one room, and not in the best area of town. But it was cut-rate, which was exactly what she needed. Two of her friends were coming over to help her move, and yes, they’d all taken time off work. The case she’d worked so hard on for months had settled twenty minutes before trial. Since she’d already cleared her schedule for the rest of the week, she’d decided to take two days to move before the end of the month, knowing it would be worth it to just pay the double rent for fifteen days.

The light rap on the door had her sprinting across the room, elated to be almost free of the Julie drama. “Mike, Nick, I’m so glad you’re here. You get the truck?”

“Rented and ready,” Mike said.

“I picked up bagels,” Nick said as he ambled in.

Long ago, when they’d first met, both guys had fought over dating her. She rolled her eyes at the memory. It was a miracle they were still friends. They’d got over their disappointment at finding out she was a lesbian, and had decided that being friends would be enough.

They loaded her few boxes into the truck, then she looked around, making sure she’d grabbed everything that was hers, never wanting to return to this place again.

“Got everything?” Mike asked.

“Yeah.”

“Come on, doll, let’s go to your new digs. You got better things coming than this dump.” Nick took her hand and led her away from the worst roommate situation she’d ever had.

“Guys, thanks for helping me. I need this fresh start.”

They rode in silence over to her new digs. Amy wondered if moving to this new place would be worth it, or if she would regret living in such a dump in a few months. It really wasn’t that bad, just way below what she would have had to pay on her own in another neighbourhood, specifically one closer to work. After she paid off her student loans, she’d move somewhere nice. Of course, she would have made partner by then. Making partner would be exceptional, giving her the opportunity to get ahead, something she’d never dreamed a possibility when she was back in foster care.