She looked at the door then back at me. “This is your apartment?” she asked.
“No. It’s my boyfriend’s,” I replied, although this was not her business.
“Who is your boyfriend?” She snapped her eyes now looking ready to attack me. They were almost glowing. Calm down cat girl.
“Griff Stafford,” I answered her although I should have told her off. I was too nice. It was one of my worst traits.
“Must be a roommate,” she said. “I’m looking for Creed Sullivan. He gave me this address.”
Ah. Okay. This girl did not seem like the kind of girl Creed would be involved with. He was nice. Or he had been nice. This female was scary. I didn’t know Creed now though. He’d changed. Not only had his looks gotten more rugged but he was different.
“He’s inside. Or he was when I went to get a shower,” I told her.
She stepped back and waved at the door. “Well, can you open it? He didn’t give me the code.”
I didn’t want to open it. It would seem Creed had bad taste in women. Not for me to decide although it was disappointing. I walked past her and pressed the four numbers I was sure she was memorizing. Then opened the door and walked inside. Creed was, once again, in the chair beside the fire. His left ankle was propped up on his right knee and a book lay open in his lap. He lifted his gaze and didn’t look pleased or surprised.
“You didn’t hear me knock?” the female demanded, pushing past me and into the room.
“Hello, Ember,” he drawled and closed the book he had been reading.
She placed her hand on a very narrow hip. “Why tell me to come over if you’re not going to answer the damn door?”
I walked past them and headed for Griff’s bedroom. I needed to find somewhere to go. It was time I got on a coat and went for a walk.
“I didn’t tell you to come over. I recall giving you the address when you asked me.”
“That’s the same thing. Why would I ask for your address if I wasn’t coming to see you?”
I heard Creed sigh. “You’re right. I’m glad you’re here now.”
I scrunched my nose up as I pulled on a coat and added a scarf. She did not sound pleasant to be around at all. Granted she was stunning but yikes. Sometimes beauty is not enough. This is one of those times. Then again, maybe she was sweet as sugar when no one was around. What did I know? Not your business Sailor.
Slipping my feet into a pair of boots, I grabbed my camera and headed for the door. I had wanted to take pictures of the colorful leaves and the pumpkins on the doorsteps yesterday. Now, I had plenty time to do it. I walked out of the bedroom to find Ember was sitting in Creed’s lap and they were kissing. I swung my gaze off them and headed for the door.
“You leaving?” Creed asked.
I didn’t look back. “Yep,” I replied then opened the door to get the heck out of there.
Three
“Shelly isn’t going to pull it off. We all know it. I’m still stunned she got this far,” Chet said, before putting a fork full of Caesar salad in his mouth.
“I’ve got two in Gross Anatomy that I can’t figure out how they got in either,” Griff replied.
I had been sitting silently and listening to them talk about other medical students for over fifteen minutes. Chet seemed to have a thing for this Shelly because although he was bashing her, he couldn’t shut up about her. I didn’t think she needed to be judged for dancing on a pole. She was paying for medical school. I commended her for smart planning.
“You want more Fettuccini?” Griff asked me then.
“No thanks,” I replied then looked back longingly at the fire in the living room.
He chuckled. “Go get warm. I’m almost done and I’ll join you and bring some wine.”
Relieved to be released from listening to Chet’s complaining about poor Shelly, I got up and headed for the warmth of the fire. Picking up a throw on my way there, I snuggled into the sofa and sighed. I’d spent more time out in the cold today than I’d wanted, but I hadn’t wanted to come back here and interrupt anything. The colors of the leaves had been breathtaking and made the freezing temps worth it. I’d been distracted by them at least.
“Did Creed keep the fire going for you this morning?” Chet asked from the kitchen.
“Uh, yes, he did,” I replied.
“He doesn’t get cold easy. He grew up in New Hampshire and that breed can take some cold ass weather,” Chet said.
Griff laughed. “You’re from Rhode Island. Is it really that different?”
“Hell yes. I’m from the warmer New England climate.”