I shut the door of Krista's apartment, my spider sense tingling.

Well that was an interesting cockblock.

I'm on my own in the stairwell now, and for a moment I consider my options.

I can head up to my apartment and assume Krista will be okay. She told me to leave her apartment after all.

Or I can choose option B.

I can hover in the stairwell, put my ear to the door, and eavesdrop like a private detective.

Is that right? Is it wrong? Do I know Krista well enough after just one night together to encroach on her privacy like this?

I realize the debate is a moot point, because if anything bad happened to her on my watch, I would never forgive myself.

It's already happened to me once, and hell if I'm going to let it happen to someone in my life again. Even if I have to toe a fine line here.

I put my ear to the wooden door and listen.

“Kris, what the fuck was that? Your plumber? Don’t lie to me.”

“It’s none of your business anyway. What are you doing here, Nick?” she asks, and the phrase comes out harsh.

“I wanted to see you,” he says,

“Are you serious right now? You call me a million times at eight a.m. on a weekend? And all you have to say is you quote ‘wanted to see me’? No, no, no.”

I hear them walking toward the door, and I get ready to jump back in an instant. “You just happened to be in the area? That is such bullshit, Nick. Though to be fair, being full of shit always was one of your top qualities.”

Damn.

Krista can be ice cold, apparently.

“I was listening to a lot of Adele this morning and I thought, ‘you know, I should stop by Kris’s place and send my love to her new lover.’”

“Nick. Door. Out. Please. I told you. I’m done revisiting all the ways we went wrong. I’m moving on.”

“No,” he says, holding firm. “And I want to know what the hell was up with you and that guy who was just in here. Tell me.”

"Damien is my landlord, I told you."

"I don't think so. I don't like the way he was looking at you. I think I'm just going to have to go ahead and check up on you from time to time."

"No. You need to let things go!" Krista responds firmly.

My heart pounds listening to the two of them. I want badly to rush in.

"Hey," he says, in a surprisingly soft tone. "Look, this might be a weird request. But can I just have something to eat? I'm hungry."

For a moment, I hear nothing. Just silence. Finally Krista answers.

"Yeah, I'll get you something," she says. "How about some toast and maybe a couple of eggs?"

"That sounds amazing." His voice is toned down now. I hear his position shift—maybe to the couch. "So life is good, huh?" He asks. "Without me I mean."

My heart thumps, because this isn’t the normal amount of information you should know about your one-night stand.

"It's been alright,” she says. "It's been fine, I think it's for the best for both of us. You really need to get your life together; you can't go on like this, you know you can't." The smell of warm eggs and bacon fills my nostrils.

She’s cooking for him. Seriously? That should be me.

"I know, I know I can't, but... this is good thanks." I hear him eating.

Still, I don’t want to leave, knowing how strong the man came on. It seems odd he’d change moods so quickly. Maybe the guy is on drugs or something.

I stay in my position next to the door until, five minutes later, I hear Nick snoring on the couch.

I knock lightly on the door.

A few seconds later Krista answers.

“Hey,” she says, opening up the door partway. “What’s up?”

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”

“I am. I know it’s weird. I just gave him something to eat and now he’s passed out. It’s a little odd, I know. I’m sorry you had to see my past like that so soon in our—whatever this is.”

I nod, and muster a smile. “It’s okay,” I say, trying to mask my jealousy. “I mean, I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine. He comes on strong but he’s harmless, I swear.”

I inhale deeply. “I’m not convinced. You have my number, right?”

“Yes. I do.”

I take her cheek in my hand. She holds on to my wrist. “You need anything,” I say. “You call me. I’ll be here in two seconds flat. You got that?”

“Yes,” she breathes. “Thanks.”

“Good.”

For good measure, I kiss her hard on the lips, and her body melts into mine.

Damn, I wish he weren’t here and we could go for round two.

But I’m a patient man, so I let her go.

“I’ll see you later,” she mouths, and pecks me one more time on the cheek before I go.

She shuts the door, and I head up to my apartment on the third floor.

I head out onto my balcony, enjoy my morning coffee, and read the morning news.

My anxiety doesn’t leave me until I see Mr. Douchebag leave the apartment three hours later, after vigilantly listening to Krista’s apartment all the while to make sure there was no irregular action.

When he walks away down the sidewalk, I breathe a sigh of relief. Just as I finish the last of my coffee, I get a text from my buddy Blake.

Axel: Yo toolman. You coming today? Three minutes past one. Not like you to be late

Damien: Oh shit - totally forgot. Some shit went down I had to look after

Axel: Well get your ass here

Damien: Don’t have a cow I know you miss me when I’m gone

Axel: ;) You know it

I chuckle at his text, then head down the back stairs to my car, and drive over to the studio, which is in an artsy area of the city. Axel’s been my buddy since middle school, and although we’ve taken two very different paths, we’ve always remained friends.

I respect his passion for art—body art, specifically. Almost every tattoo I’ve gotten, he’s given to me.

There’s a spot right in front of Axel’s Tats so I take it. The door jingles as I walk inside.

“Well if it ain’t Seargent fucking pepper,” Sloane says from behind the receptionist’s desk when I walk in the door.

“Well hello,” I wink. “The Lonely Hearts Club Band is right behind me.”

She laughs. “Axel is ready for you.”

Axel comes bobbing up to me, estastic. “Buddy! It’s been so long!”

We shake hands and hug. “I know. Two days is a long time. We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

“Damn straight we do. I need to know why you were late to your first appointment in five years. That’s not like you.”

I nod as Axel guides me to the chair where he works his magic needle. “True. It was a bit of a wild night.”

“Ohh!” he says as I sit. “Do tell, do tell.”

I shrug. “Yeah.” I take a deep breath, and think for a moment.

A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.

But Axel and me—I’ll be honest, we tell each other everything. I know about the time in seventh grade where he made out with my girlfriend behind the football stadium bleachers. We didn’t know each other then—and it was actually how we became friends: we duked it out in an afterschool fight over Amber Brooks. It got pretty bad, and of course we had to suffer our weeklong suspension together.

Turned out he was a cool guy, and had no idea I was dating Amber, too.

Since then, we’d taken a solemn oath, that we would:

1. Never fight over a girl again; and
2. We would never lie to each other or hold back the truth.

Ironically, we have Amber Brooks to thank for our friendship. If she hadn’t played us both, we wouldn’t have become best friends.

And I wouldn’t be here, being his guinea pig for a jaguar tattoo on my right bicep.

“I’ll tell you all about it, man. Let’s get comfortable first, though.”

“If by comfortable you mean get me needling you, then alright,” he smirks.

“Sounds fantastic.”

He nods. “Never met anyone who enjoyed it as much as you.”

I sit down in the seat, and put my arm on the rest, clenching my fist. “I’m a weirdo, what can I say. I like the pain.”

He shakes his head. “Hey, I appreciate it. It means I can practice my new designs on you.”

I shrug. “The original is always better than the second try, anyway.”

He pastes the tracer drawing onto me, peels it off, and then starts. I clench my fist a little bit, and breath deeply.

“So tell me about this girl,” he says, and the buzzing of the needle starts.

“I always like a little therapy with my tats.”

“I bet you do.”

I swallow. “So I hooked up with someone last night,” I admit.

Axel nods. “Someone who?”

“I broke my number one rule.”

“You got back with Julie?!” he exclaims, and his jaw drops.

“No,” I chuckle. “God, no. But I slept with my tenant.”

I fill him in on the night. How I didn’t see it coming in a million years, but once the chemistry sparked between us, there was no denying it. We had to have each other. So we did—we indulged after just one night.

“Wow. I want to see this girl.”

“She’s amazing. But…”

“Oh yeah,” Axel nods. “There’s always a but.”

I nod and cringe just a little as he hits a tender spot with his needle.

“Well, she used to be engaged to this guy. And he came over this morning.”

Axel stops what he’s doing. “He came over in the morning?”

“Yeah,” I nod. “At eight a.m. He cockblocked us, that motherfucker.”

He goes back to my bicep, and arches an eyebrow. “Did he? Or did he just come by like he normally does?”

“Whoa, bro. Whoa. Krista’s a good girl.”

“Oh really? How do you know? How are you sure?”

“I just know, man. You know how I operate.”

He laughs. “You’re just going with that gut feeling.”

“Yeah. And fuck me if she doesn’t give me the best gut feeling I’ve had in years.”

“Dude. I don’t need to bring up the last girl you had a great gut feeling for.”

I clear my throat. “Julie does not count. She was a sociopath.”

“Man, I’m just sayin—proceed with caution. That’s a big red flag. I would if I were you.”

“You don’t know her. I don’t want your opinion until you meet her.”

Axel takes a deep breath. “Look, you’re my boy, Mr. Toolman. I need your handyman skills around here. And when you fall, you fall hard. We both know that. I’m just trying to protect your feelings. Plus, I’m going Midnight Ride tonight. And I want you to come with me.”

“Fuck, man. Midnight Ride? You know I’m trying to get away from the lifestyle.”

“Come on. The rich guy who’s paying me a lot for the second version of this jaguar tattoo is gonna be there.”

“Bullshit. You just want a wingman.”

Axel bites his lower lip. “Fine. Randy’s traveling tonight so he can’t make it. I know you want a Midnight Ride tonight.”

I tense up a little as he keeps going with the design.

Midnight Ride is the premiere adult nightclub in the city. It’s got everything—from private rooms to BDSM, and a casual bar area up top.

“I don’t want to go there, being honest,” I say.

“Don’t forget, I’m the one with a needle,” he winks.

“You didn’t let me finish.”

I think about how Krista said she’s got a late night shift tonight anyway.

“I’m all ears, Toolman,” Axel says.

“I’ll go with you to your sex club,” I finally say, grinding my teeth. “Only because of the Amber Brooks pact.”

We pound fists solemnly.

“God Bless Amber Brooks. If it weren’t for her, we’d never be friends.”

“You know, I was just thinking that on the way in. Now finish this tattoo so I can show this bad boy off tonight.

An hour later, I walk out of Axel’s shop with a new tattoo and a tender arm.

And unfortunately, Axel’s advice about the ex-fiance red flag has me wondering what to do about Krista.

Is her ex that big of a red flag?

I definitely don’t want a repeat of the Julie debacle.

Oh well.

I’ll think through everything tonight over a drink at Midnight Ride.

You never turn down a wingman in need.

That’s bro code.