Chapter 3

Inside my bedroom, I opened my eyes just a crack. Maddie was staring at me with murder in her eye, as if I, not she, were flashing naked goodies all over the apartment.

When she spoke, her voice dripped venom. "And this is the thanks I get for letting you live here?"

"Well technically," I said, "I've been the one paying the rent so…"

"Shut the fuck up," she said. She whirled to Jake. "And you."

Jake looked oddly unconcerned. "Yeah?"

"You're cheating on me?" Maddie said. "Already?"

Jake gave her a bored look. He didn't answer.

"And with her?" Maddie said. She said "her" like I was the Bubonic Plague.

"For me to cheat," Jake said, "we'd have to be a couple."

Her gaze narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"Nothing to say," Jake said.

I glanced from Maddie to Jake. She had been wild about him. And in spite of my own crazy mixed-up feelings, I hated the thought of causing trouble between them. Besides, I couldn’t afford to make Maddie mad. Her name, not mine, was on the rental agreement.

"Uh, I'll leave you two alone," I said.

Maddie bared her teeth. "You do that."

Gripping the printout of that stupid resignation email, I snatched my purse off the dresser. The bus would be here any minute. If I hurried, I could reclaim my job before it was lost for good.

"And Anna?" Maddie said.

Technically, my name wasn't Anna. But it was the name I'd been answering to lately. I turned around. "Yeah?"

She tossed a strand of tousled red hair over her bare shoulder. "Don't bother coming back."

I stared at her. "What?"

She put her hands on her naked hips. "You heard me," she said. "We're done, sister."

I blew out a breath. "Oh Maddie, come on." I turned to give Jake a pleading look. "Tell her."

"Tell her what?" he said.

I gritted my teeth. "Tell her that nothing happened."

He gave me a wolfish grin. "If you say so, baby."

The bastard.

Fifteen minutes later, I was lugging my small overnight bag down the dimly lit hallway. Behind me, Jake was carrying my large suitcase, mostly empty, in one hand, and my favorite reading lamp in the other.

I'd like to say I'd be going back for the rest of my stuff. But the sad truth was, this was all I had. Even the furniture in my bedroom, as craptastic as it was, belonged to Maddie's former roommate, who'd left on the quick side a couple months earlier when she'd been busted for prostitution.

On a cheerier note, she'd be back in six to twelve months.

Behind us, Maddie was screaming obscenities loud enough to wake the dead. Down the long hallway, apartment doors were swinging open, with heads on all sides peeking out to look. Maddie had thrown on a loose, silky bathrobe but hadn't bothered to tie it. It flapped loose behind her as she stalked down the hall behind us.

"Nice bush!" called the guy from 211, some college student who'd once helped me carry in some groceries. Maddie was a stripper. Technically, she had no bush. Or maybe that was the guy's point?

"Fuck off," Maddie said.

The guy shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"Well don't!" she yelled.

I turned around just in time to see Maddie make yet another lunge for Jake's arm. Like he'd done the previous ten times, he shook her off and kept on going.

"Please, Jay," she begged. "Talk to me, okay?"

He stopped and turned around. "It's Jake," he said.

"Yeah, I know," she stammered. "But it's a pet name. Jay. For Jake. See?"

"I'm not your pet," he said.

Her voice rose. "Yeah? Well you weren't complaining last night."

"Yeah," he said. "Because I wasn't listening."

Even to me, the words felt like a slap. Poor Maddie. Sure, she hadn't been the best roommate. And sure, she was kicking me out when I hadn't done anything wrong. Still, the way Jake was treating her, it almost hurt to watch.

Maddie glared at him. "You asshole," she said.

Glancing in my direction, Jake flicked his head toward the stairway. "Keep going," he told me. "And if you stop one more time, I'm dropping the lamp."

Behind him, Maddie made another lunge. With a guttural scream, she ripped the lamp out of his hands and hurled it straight toward me. I leapt to the side, and it whizzed inches past my head. It bounced off the door of 204 and clattered to the floor in three pieces.

A split-second later, the door flew open, and Julian, the building's undisputed tough guy, stuck his head out. "What the fuck's going on out here?" he said.

"None of your damn business," Maddie said.

"Girl," he said, "you keep waking me up, and it's gonna be my business quick."

Her gaze narrowed. She turned toward me. She stuck out her arm and pointed a long finger in my direction. "She's stealing my stuff."

"Oh come on!" I said. "It's not your stuff. It's mine."

Again, Jake turned to face me. "Luna," he said through clenched teeth, "for the last time, keep moving."

"Or what?" I said. "You'll drop the lamp?" I glanced at the thing, lying in pieces just a few feet away. "You know what?" I dropped the overnight case. "I've had enough of you bossing me around."

"Hey!" Julian barked out toward us. "You stealing from my girl?"

Was he talking to me? Or Jake? Honestly, I had no idea. "We're not stealing anything," I called back. "And besides, she's only 'your girl' when she needs extra cash. You do know that, don't you?"

"Your ass," he said. "Julian Webster don't pay nobody for pussy."

Liar. According to Maddie, Julian paid for a whole bunch of stuff whenever he had the money, which granted, wasn't very often. As for Maddie, she bought condoms in bulk and went through them fast.

Maddie gave Julian a pleading look. "Baby," she said. "Stop her, will ya?"

Julian's gaze swiveled back to me. Between us stood Jake. His gaze was on me, and his back was to Julian. Embarrassingly, Jake was still shirtless, with one hand now empty, and the other hand still clutching that giant suitcase.

I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. If the situation weren't so pathetic, I might have laughed. The whole thing felt like an old Jerry Springer rerun, starring me as the slutty, boyfriend-stealing hoochie.

It was ironic really, considering Jake and I had never so much as kissed.

"Anna!" Julian barked. "Get your ass back here." His voice ground to a low menace. "Now."

Slowly, Jake turned around, facing off in Julian's direction. He set down the suitcase. "You got a problem?" Jake said.

Julian's eyebrows furrowed. "Hey, aren't you–"

"Holy shit," the guy from 211 said. "It is him." He turned to call into his apartment. "Wayne! Get your ass out here! Quick! You gotta see this!"

My gaze drifted from Jake to Julian, and finally to the guy in 211, who was gazing at Jake, star-struck, like he'd just seen his favorite movie star in the men's room.

This was getting way too weird. "Oh for crying out loud," I muttered. I picked up my overnight case and called out, "Forget it. Let's just go." I'd barely turned around when I heard a door slam. I whirled back just in time to see Julian lunge for Jake.

Well, this was just great.