Page 129 of The Virgin Romance Novelist Chronicles
We walked to the end of the hallway, to a golden-yellow door with an eight on it. Derk knocked a few times and we waited patiently for the door to open, but all we heard was a “Come in” from a far-off spot.
Derk opened the door and I followed behind him and Delaney, feeling slightly awkward that I was walking into a stranger’s apartment.
The floors of the apartment were a deep oak and the walls a natural taupe color. Not my favorite, but it looked nice with the floors. The living room was the corner of the building, offering a beautiful view of the streets below. Yup, I was officially jealous. I scanned the living room and appreciated the bright red couch that looked like heaven to sit on and the white fireplace in the middle of the room.
It wasn’t until I spotted the framed pictures of Henry and me on the mantel that I realized I was standing in Henry’s new apartment.
I started backing up, but Delaney was being a tricky little bitch and stopped me from fleeing.
“Hey guys,” Henry said as he walked in but stopped immediately when he saw me.
I wanted to crawl into a hole, bury my head in the sand, and do something to get away from Henry’s shocked eyes.Why the hell did they bring me here? Did they hate me too?
“Uh, what are you doing here?” Henry asked me.
My eyes floated from his mantel—where every single picture was of him and me—and it was the only decoration gracing the place and then back to his eyes, those beautiful, mesmerizing eyes.
“Picking up frisbees,” I said like an idiot.
“Frisbees?” Henry asked, now looking at Delaney.
“Gee, look at that, we have to go, Derk. We have that appointment with the sex and yoga guru. Sorry we can’t help unpack, but oh hey, look at that, Rosie is free. Go on, Rosie.” Delaney pushed me into the living room. “Help Henry. See you later.”
Just like that, Derk and Delaney scooted out of Henry’s apartment, leaving us completely alone.
But . . . Shake Shack . . .
I stood awkwardly, fidgeting with my purse, trying to think of any kind of excuse that would give me an option to leave, but my mind was drawing blanks. Complete blanks.
“It’s good to see you,” Henry said, walking closer to me, making my sweat glands work on over drive.
“You too.” I nodded. “Nice place.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s Tasha? Is she all moved in as well?”
Why would Delaney bring me here?Why is she being so cruel?I get it, I needed to move on, but to throw me in the shark tank while I was still bleeding wasn’t friend material. That was a straight-up bitch move.
Henry looked down as he spoke. “Tasha was an excuse to get out of the apartment.”
“Why did you move?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“I’d been looking to move for a while since Delaney and Derk were going to be finding a place together soon. This place became available, and I couldn’t pass it up.”
“Oh,” I replied, feeling like my heart was going to fall right out of my chest in front of Henry, just so he could stomp on it a little bit more.
He’d been planning on moving all this time. No wonder he decided to have sex with me, because he was leaving anyway. There would be no strings attached for him.
Needing to get out of his apartment so I could breathe again, I started walking backward to the door.
“Well, I’m not feeling very well. I think I’m going to go.” Not a lie at all. I literally felt like I was going to throw up.
“Rosie, wait,” Henry said as he quickly walked over to me and grabbed me by the hand.
Instantly I felt the warmth come off him, making me want to buckle over and cry. I missed him terribly.
“Please, sit down and talk to me for a second.”
