The Tenant (14 page)

“I’m telling you, it’s—”

“Awkward. Yeah, I got it. Maybe you should have kept it in your pants, then.” Mike sucked noisily on his straw.

“Told you, it’s not like that. And can’t you drink like a normal person?”

“It’s not me. The ice gets stuck; I need to suck harder. People should serve iced coffee with wider straws. As for the chick, it’s
exactly
like that. If you hadn’t slept with her, things wouldn’t be weird.”

“If I hadn’t slept with her, we might have killed each other.”

“My buddy, the pacifist. Fuck for the preservation of peace.” Mike grinned.

Derek smacked him upside the head, messing up his mop of shoulder-length black hair. “You’re lucky I can no longer fire you.”

“Yeah, the previous bitch you hooked up with already took care of that.”

Derek winced. “Amanda is not a bitch.” He winced again at his own words. That was
not
what he’d meant to say. “Not like Catherine, anyway.”

“No, I see that. First she tried to kick you out, then she busted your balls, but she put out so now we like her. Pretty sure it was the other way ’round with Catherine.” His dark brown eyes were lit up with mirth.

“You’re an idiot.”

“But you said—”

“I don’t wanna talk about it anymore. I trust you won’t be telling any of the guys. It’s a sensitive matter.”

Mike nodded, his expression suddenly serious. “Joking aside, you know you can trust me. And if this Amanda has gotten to you, maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe you’re finally over Ca—”

Derek would
not
go there. “Tell me about the restaurant.”

“From what I hear, your ex is as good with business as she is with food,” Mike said.

“That bad, huh?”

Mike told him about several wrong choices Catherine had made. It was obvious she had no clue what she was doing, and Derek was ashamed to feel a little vindicated.
Arbore’s
-San Francisco had been his pride and joy. If he were a better man, he’d want it to do well even without him.

Eh, he wasn’t a better man.

“You got laid!” Alice’s eyes, the same green as Amanda’s, grew impossibly wide.

“Oh my God, you heard us?” The walls were thin, but there were four apartments between hers and her sister’s.

“Oh my God,
you got laid
!”

“Wait, what? You said—”

“You said on the phone you had to tell me something urgent. I assumed… Mason finally put out? Go you! I thought you’d never bring ice-boy’s defenses down.”

“That’s not it. Can I come inside before you give me the third degree? Your voice carries.”

“Sure, sure.” Alice waved her in and closed the door behind her. “Sit. I got coffee and diet cola. Need to hit the supermarket.”

“Coffee. Sweet. Real sugar.”

“Dude, things must be, like,
dire
!”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Amanda sat on the largest of the floor pillows that surrounded her sister’s makeshift coffee table. “You need to get a proper couch at some point. I’m getting too old for this shit.” She winced. Getting pummeled for hours had certain drawbacks, apparently.

Eh, what good thing didn’t?

Alice handed her a mug with ‘Who’s the Boss’ stamped on it. “Yeah, yeah, when being a starving artist starts paying, I just may.”

“You’re working data entry.”

“That’s just temporary. Besides, I’m an artist at heart, okay? You want cookies, they’re in the first drawer.” She pointed to a weird, three-legged, cabinet-like thing. “They’re not very fresh, though. Now, what’s the what?” She brought her own cup to her lips.

“I caught Mason cheating on me. Wedding is off.”

Alice made a choking sound, and her eyes brimmed with tears. “You got coffee coming out my nose.” She coughed. “Take it from the top. Mason did what?”

“I went to his place Saturday night, without calling first. There was a woman there, wearing only his bed-sheet. I left. He didn’t follow. It’s over.” She kept her tone even, tried to sound distanced from the whole thing, but fresh tears started ruining her mascara. That was what she got for putting makeup on so her sister couldn’t see she’d been crying. Oh, the irony.

Alice sank to her level and pulled her in a bear hug. “I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t think you and Mason were a good fit, but I never expected this from him.”

Amanda sniffled. “I really want to beat him up.”

“You don’t have to. I know some people…it’d never be traced back to you.”

Amanda snorted. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“Aw, honey.” Alice kissed the crown of her head. “What can I do? Want me to talk to Mom and Dad about it? I can contact the guest list. You don’t need this on top of everything else.”

Amanda pulled back and wiped her nose on the back of her hand. When had her sister become a grownup? Sure, Alice had been taller and curvier than Amanda since they were in high school, but Amanda always viewed her as a kid. Her kid sis. And her kid sis shouldn’t have to clean up Amanda’s shit. “Nah. I’ll handle it all. I just need another day or two of denial first. Can you please not mention anything?”

“Of course. Anything you need.”

“Thanks. You’re a good sis, for a brat.”

Alice grinned wickedly. “I also have an amazing memory and uncanny attention to detail. Who’d you have sex with?”

Crap.

“You asked if I heard you, so you got laid in your new apartment, but you’ve only slept there three nights. Mason wasn’t coming over Friday, and you caught him cheating on Saturday, so it wasn’t Mason, was it?”

“That sentence was too convoluted to make sense.”

“I’ll keep the next one short and sweet. You slept with Derek.”

Amanda grimaced. “No?”

“You so totally did! When? How was it?”

“I’m not talking about it.”

It was as if her sister didn’t even hear her. “Is he big? I’ve seen him in sweatpants. I don’t think he ever wears underwear. He seemed huge. Did it hurt after you hadn’t had any in forever?”

“Alice! We’re not talking about it. It never happened. I have other things to deal with, and whatever happened with Derek was a mistake.”

“So, Saturday night?” Alice’s smile was beaming.

Amanda ducked her head. “Three times. And yesterday morning. And early afternoon. And again earlier today. I’m horrible. Mason and I haven’t even been broken up forty eight hours yet, and I spent most of that doing another guy.”

“Yeah. Horrible. You should be ashamed of yourself for getting your freak on after a year of celibacy for the sake of a fucking cheater. You should be punished. Go back to Derek and tell him to spank you.”

Oh, the images that sprung to mind. Derek had big, callused hands. Amanda bet they’d hurt real nice, before he started rubbing…

“No. We’re not doing this. Derek is not my fuck buddy. We’re not any sort of buddies. We fucked because we both needed an outlet.”

“And you don’t any more?”

She’d be lying if she said she didn’t, but if she kept this up she wouldn’t be true to herself or to the memory of the relationship she’d thought she had.

Did she really need to be true to that?

Alice must have sensed her confusion, because she sat back and pulled both of Amanda’s hands in her lap. “Whatever Mason did was his choice. It had nothing to do with you, and you shouldn’t be blaming yourself. You tried so hard to make him happy, and—at the end of the day—he didn’t even run after you to beg for forgiveness.”

“He called. Several times.”

“Probably ’cause he’s too much of a pussy to show up and face your wrath.”

Amanda nodded. Her sister’s words were too close to what Derek had said. “Maybe that was our problem to begin with? I came on too strong and scared him?”

Alice’s eyes narrowed, and her nostrils flared. “This is so not your fault, it’s not even funny. Why would you want him around, even, if he could be scared away so easily? Why would you want anyone like that around? You need a guy who’ll love you
because
you’re difficult and stubborn and can bench press your weight.”

“You paint such a lovely picture of your older sister.”

“Ah, shut up. You know what I’m saying. Give it some time, and you’ll see you’re better off this way. Now wipe your nose properly; you’re disgusting. Tissues are in the first drawer too. And get me a cookie. Stale or not, I need the chocolate.”

Amanda laughed. Alice had a way of always managing to bring her out of whatever funk she found herself into. She cleaned up and stacked a couple more pillows behind her. “Wanna watch something?”

“I have The Expendables II.” Alice reached for the pile of DVDs that stood by her TV set.

“Perfect!”

“But first, is Derek big?”

“Yup.”

“How big?”

Amanda held her hands two palms apart. “And then some.”

“Dude! And he knows how to use it?”

“Knows how to use
everything.
”

“Okay, now you have to gimme details.”

Amanda laughed. “Movie time, dork.”

Alice popped the disk in the DVD player. “You suck.”

“And I’m apparently great at it.”

“Eww!”

They dissolved into giggles, but Amanda found herself thinking of Derek again. The way he’d touched her. How he’d made her feel.

How he was probably back by now, home alone with his gorgeous, sculpted body, while she was watching a movie she’d already seen twice.

“Can’t stay,” she said before the opening credits had finished rolling.

“I wouldn’t either.” Alice didn’t even turn to look at her. “Call me when you come up for air.”

Amanda hoped that would take a while.

She took a detour to the basement and turned the cold water valve back on. She was planning on getting down and dirty, and there was no way she’d be using the bottles to clean up afterward.

•●•

Derek was in what she considered his natural state by now: spread out topless on the couch, feet propped up on the armrest, TV control in hand. Amanda sucked in a breath. His upper body could have been carved in marble. She’d seen, caressed, and tasted it already but still craved ghosting her fingers along his abs and up his sides.

She walked by and into her bedroom. At her door, she asked, “You coming?”

“Already there.” He jumped up and undid the drawstrings of his pants. By the time he reached her, he was completely naked and hard. He lifted her with a strong grip on her ass, and Amanda wrapped her legs around him, allowing him to walk her inside. He bypassed her bed and pinned her to the window next to it. “Wanna fuck you against the glass,” he said. “Fuck you from behind, so you can see people watch as I pound inside you.”

With a flip of one wrist, he lifted the hem of her dress and caught hold of her panties. A hard tug and one side was ripped. The thick fabric of her curtains scraped the skin of her ass. “Doubt anyone can see.” She kissed his neck and nibbled on his earlobe. “The curtain is closed.”

“Easily fixed.” He spun her so her back was flush against his naked cock, and leaned over her to yank at the curtain.

That proved to be a bad idea.

Amanda heard a clang and a thud, and then the curtain rod landed beside her.

“Fuck!” Derek’s heat left her, and she turned to find him rubbing the top of his head. He looked pale.

“You okay?”

“I’m fine.” It came out one word.
Mfine
.

“You sure? No bleeding?” Amanda touched the place he was rubbing, and he jumped out of reach.

“No. I’m fine. Honest. Good thing the rod’s plastic. Just need to get some ice.”

He left her there, naked, wondering if she should go help him patch up his head. Nah. She wasn’t his nurse; they were merely having fun. If it had been a serious wound, she’d do the humane thing and take him to the hospital—or put him out of his misery—but making a fuss over something so menial might give him the wrong impression. “Lemme know if you need something,” she called out and slipped a pair of shorts over her torn underwear. She replaced her dress with a relaxed T-shirt and was trying to figure out how to ask Derek if he was still up for a little somethin’–somethin’, when the doorbell rang.

“Must be the plumber,” Derek called from the kitchen. “He’s my buddy. I’m on it.”