Page 8 of From You to Me

And I stood there, watching his back disappear down the hallway. I heard the front door slam as he exited the apartment.

I sighed. Can’t a girl even enjoy a cup of coffee now?

I cleaned up the kitchen and wiped down the counters till they gleamed under the dim golden light. Then I ventured upstairs to assess the situation. The spiral stairway ended in a long hallway with about five rooms upstairs.

The right side took up a huge library/office room, probably one of my favorite rooms in the apartment. The rich woodenshelves had rows and rows of books with detailed spines that looked like they were specially curated to fit the vibe of the library. A massive solid teak desk sat in the middle of the room, with golden beaded windows behind it that were draped with dark green velvet curtains.

A small reading nook was nestled in the corner, with fluffy velvet pillows overlooking Central Park outside. It would be a dream to sit there and read when it rained.What a waste of space,I thought sadly. No one would probably use it.

I usually cleaned up the library only once a month. It looked exactly as I last saw it, so I closed the door and headed to the guest rooms to see if they needed any cleaning.

Unlike the library, the guest rooms were decorated with new furniture and decor. They must have done all this in a week. It must be nice to move into a new place and get settled in this fast when you have the money and the means. When I moved into my apartment, it took me two whole months to even make it look presentable.

I tried to nudge open the last guest room in the far corner, but it was locked.

Hmm, interesting. I wondered why. What was he hiding? But I let my thoughts fade as I turned to the last room down the hallway.

My heart thudded in my chest as I continued on my little inspection stopping short in front of the huge walnut door that led to the largest room in this apartment.

The main bedroom, a.k.a. his room.

My hand twisted the cold golden handle as I stepped inside. The room looked like it had been completely renovated.

Wow, how did they do all this in such a short time? I sighed happily when I saw there was no white in the room.

A huge unmade California king-sized bed dominated the center of the room and was topped with a tangled, thick graycomforter. The headboard was a solid dark wood that blended so well with the aesthetic of the whole room. Opposite the bed was a TV set with a fireplace beneath it. The soft gray carpets were the exact shade of the walls and continued down to the entire room. The left side of the room had the same floor-length windows as the downstairs one, giving off a clear view of the city’s skyline. A black velvet armchair with a bright red acoustic guitar was tucked away in the corner near the windows.

I first started with the bed. My fingers traced along the fabric as I felt the softness of it. The thought that Jay was just here on this bed, sleeping a few hours ago, made my body tingle.

It smelled like him. I missed that smell. It was the exact clean, woodsy scent with a hint of sea salt.

I smiled as I arranged the pillows thrown all over the floor. Jay did that all the time when we used to sleep together. I missed the good old days.

I then headed to the bathroom, and the same gray interiors continued. The steam from the glass shower reminded me that Jay was naked here just a few hours ago. Oh, what would I give to have had a show of that?

I picked up the clothes strewn on the floor of the walk-in closet. I inhaled all of them for good measure. God, I loved that smell. It smelled like home. Sadly, a home that I could no longer return to.

All of the clothes in the closet were either black or gray. I got curious as I snooped in the drawers. One was filled with so many watches that looked so expensive, one with his socks and the other with underwear.

I blushed. God, he was turning me into a horny fool. I thought I’d become an asexual being after I left him. The last time I shattered in pure blissful pleasure was when he fucked me on the floor of that wretched bedroom. Just moments before he toldme he never wanted to see me again.Well, too bad, Jay. Looks like you didn’t get what you wanted. I internally laughed in glee.

How very interesting that there were no personal effects in the room. No photos, trinkets, guitar picks, or even the pieces of paper Jay always had on him that usually littered his old room. It was almost as if he only used this place to sleep. But then what was I supposed to know about him now? He was completely different from the Jay I used to know. And he just moved in a week ago, so maybe he hadn’t set everything up.

By the time I got started on the laundry and made myself another cup of coffee, it was already around eleven o’clock.

Ugh! This could’ve been such a good job for me. The perfect job, even, since I didn’t have to move around a lot. And with the pay like this, I could’ve been settled for a while. But misfortunate souls shouldn’t complain. That was one of the hardest lessons I had learned over the past six years.

“Yes, Tyler. Make sure you get it done. I don’t want it delayed anymore.”

“Yes, sir.”

I jumped when I heard his voice fill the apartment. Jay breezed through the hallway followed by a man so tall that I guessed he must surely be around six-five. With his dark skin and sculpted body evident against his suit, he looked like an NBA player.

I was glad that the whole living area was an open setup because I could admire the view from the safety of the kitchen while I pretended to work. Well, his rules didn’t state that I couldn’t look at him.

Jay was deliciously gorgeous, sitting there on the plush leather couch looking at the Manhattan skyline. I licked my lips, and all the years of pent-up sexual frustration came crashing back in full force. Fuck, he was the only one who still did it for me. I was soaking wet just looking at him.

As if he realized my eyes were on him, Jay’s head snapped in my direction. I turned around so fast that I hit my elbows on the sharp counter edge.