DID THE OTHER RESIDENTS IN this apartment complex not complain when Brian threw parties like this? I frowned as we walked into the building and made our way to his second floor apartment. I wasn’t crazy about the location of the apartment. There had to be better options in this city. But Mack still had four more months on his lease. My hope was I would convince him to move to a nicer area by then. If I was paying half the rent I preferred to like the place.
“Mack!” a redhead called down the hallway when she spotted us walking off the elevator. Several doors were open and it appeared that the other residents had joined the party. “We’ve got Jell-O shots!” she told him.
He gave her a limp wave. “Save one for me,” he muttered halfheartedly. “Crazy doesn’t begin to describe that one. She left fifteen messages on my voicemail after I made the mistake of fucking her one night.”
“Then why are you going to get a Jell-O shot from her?” I asked the obvious.
“I’m not. That was called avoiding her the nice way.”
Rolling my eyes at his callus handling of the woman, I followed him to the apartment I would be calling home. The music was loud, the laughter and voices louder. “Do you not have complaints from people who live here?” I was amazed they were getting away with this scene.
“This complex is full of college students or college students that have dropped out. It’s a join the party kind of place. One of the many reasons I love it.”
This would be a regular thing? The noise? Fan-fuckin-tastic.
“Sounds swell,” I drawled annoyed.
“What you need is to lighten the fuck up. Relax. Enjoy life. Stop acting like a sixty-year-old man.”
“And you act like you’re still in high school,” I shot back.
“We’re twenty years old, Marty. We should act like it. These are the best years of our life. It all goes to shit after our twenties. We’ll get married and have kids and jobs and talk about the good ole days.”
Before I could respond Brian appeared in the doorway. He was shirtless. His tanned chest was oiled up and creepy as hell. The shorts he wore hung loosely on his hips and he was already staggering a little as he tried to stand there and focus on us. His smile was white and straight. Brian’s slightly long blonde curls that he normally tucked behind his ears looked like they’d been played with or pulled on tonight. Brian was a nice enough guy but I wasn’t sad to see him go.
“It’s about time y’all got here! The rum is almost gone!” he laughed after he said it as if that was hilarious. A tall brunette with a model thin body that was barely covered walked over and draped herself on his side.
“This is Kierra,” he said to me. “Kierra this is Marty and he needs to stop sulking over a woman. Show him a good time.”
Kierra turned her attention to me giving me a slow grin as if she liked the idea of a challenge. “Hello, Marty,” her voice was sultry and thick with a southern drawl I hadn’t expected.
I nodded at her. “Hello.” I turned to face Brian. “You can continue to entertain Brian. I’m good. I only need a beer.” Before either of them could say anything more, I walked past Mack and into the apartment. If I could find a beer and a room to lock myself in alone then maybe I’d survive the night.
“Come on, Marty boy! You’ve got to have some fun. If Kierra isn’t your thing then there are plenty others in there. Might find one better than Mary Jo!” Brian’s words were a touch on the slurry side. I ignored him.
“Mary Grace, dumbass, and don’t talk about her,” Mack snapped at him.
“You’re the one who wants to get his mind off her. I’m only helping.” Brian didn’t seem concerned at all with his mess up.
Pushing through the crowd I made it to the kitchen without making eye contact with anyone. The whole scene annoyed me. I’d thought this was a good idea, no, I never thought this was a good idea, I fucking went along with it. Because if I didn’t I was never going to hear the end of it from Mack. Right now, I figured listening to Mack bitch about my sex life was more appealing.
“Excuse me,” a woman’s voice said, annoyed as I felt, catching my attention. I turned my head toward the source as she repeated, “Excuse me,” but this time louder and feistier. She was shoving a couple making out against the counter so she could fit through the small space and escape.
Her dark hair cascaded over her shoulders ending with thick curls on the ends. Her startling eyes were a unique shade of green framed by eyelashes as thick as her hair. Slightly slanted, the shape give them an exotic appearance that caught your attention. Without looking at the rest of her I knew she was a model. She had the bone structure and poise even while pissed off. As stunning as she was, knowing she was one of them, Brian’s bunch, immediately turned me off.
“If you could get the fuck out of my way then you could go right back to sucking face and catching STDs!” She was angry and disgusted if going by the harshness of her words. Her irritated expression made me grin.
She was definitely more annoyed than me.
“Jesus, Fiona, leave if you’re just going to be a bitch,” the guy currently getting ready to screw the girl right here in the kitchen said.
Fiona rolled her eyes and shoved the entwined couple hard enough that they fell backward, causing the guy to let go of the blonde in his arms to catch himself. The blonde fell forward hard and the guy made a loud grunt. But they were both now out of the brunette’s way.
“Thank you,” Fiona said with an arched brow before walking past them. Her gaze never met mine or looked my way. She was avoiding eye contact with everyone else. Much like I had. I wasn’t interested in models or females that cursed. It turned me off. But something about this woman was entertaining. Little entertained me lately. I waited until she had left the kitchen before turning to follow her. I was curious now. The beer could wait.
“Fiona! Baby! You’ve not given me any goodbye lovin’.” Brian hollered out across the living room.
“I’ve never given you any kind of loving, Brian,” Fiona replied matter-of-factly as she walked toward him and a new girl was by his side now. Fiona stopped and took the drink from the girl’s hand. “You’ve had enough, Chantel,” she told the girl.
The blonde she was speaking to had a drunk grin on her face and reminded me of a Barbie doll.
“Don’t be a buzzkill, Fiona,” Brian said leaning in like he was going to hug her or kiss her. She quickly stepped back and he stumbled.
“You’re taking advantage of her. You know she’s upset about Kel. She’ll regret this in the morning,” Fiona said to Brian.
Brian sighed loudly then his eyes met mine across the room. A big smile lit up his face. “HEY! Marty! I found you one. Fiona here is as boring as you are! It’s a match made in heaven,” he then clapped gleefully.
Fiona glanced back at me over her shoulder frowning. Her eyes were concerned. She wasn’t interested in me. She was worried about her friend. Her gaze swung back to the girl. “Let’s go, Chantel,” she said ignoring Brian’s comment.
Chantel looked like a child who had been caught misbehaving and nodded agreeably.
Brian was already focused on someone else when Chantel stumbled on drunk legs to Fiona who wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. Both women were tall and slender. Chantel’s gaze shifted to me. Her watchful eye didn’t leave me as they walked in my direction to exit the living room. Fiona wasn’t making any eye contact again. But Chantel was studying me. As they got closer, she smiled. “Why did Brian call you Marty?” she asked.
“Excuse me?” I wasn’t sure I heard her correctly.
“Brian called you Marty,” she repeated. I understood then. She knew Mack. She thought I was him. Even at twenty years old we were identical.
“That’s not Mack,” Fiona said with her no-nonsense tone.
That caught my attention. There was no doubt in the way she said it.
“Yes it is! Look at him! It’s Mack’s pretty face!” Chantel said happily as if this was a game and she had won.
Fiona looked at me. And although it was brief, the depth and weight of her attention stuck with me. She saw past my face. “Mack has a brother. That’s him.”
“But he looks just like Mack! It’s you isn’t it Mack?” Chantel asked.
I opened my mouth to reply, but I wasn’t fast enough.
“That is not Mack. He doesn’t look exactly like him. There are obvious differences. Come on, we are getting out of here.”
Chantel shrugged, then waved goodbye to me before heading down the hallway and out the door with Fiona. I stood there quietly watching them. I didn’t want them to leave. At least I wanted Fiona to stay. She was everything I wasn’t attracted to, but I had a couple questions for her. What was different about Mack and me? How she knew with only two brief glances?
Mack walked up beside me. I didn’t have to look to know it was him. Our connection worked that way. “See something you like?” he asked.
“Who is she?” I asked already knowing her name.
“Which one?”
“Brunette.”
“Fiona, and you don’t want to go there. She’s gorgeous, and that body is sweet. But she’s a bitch. Fiona is everything Mary Grace isn’t. Not what you’re looking for.”