“Then follow me. Down the hallway to your right are two of the five bedrooms. The one on your left has an ensuite bathroom, and the one on your right goes to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. It dumps into a living room with plush carpets and many windows to let in the natural light, and as you turn and walk through the archway you come to the dining space attached to a kitchen with stainless steel appliances.”
I guided Cecily through the house, watching as she ran her hands along every surface she came across. It made me cringe, watching her muddy everything up with her fingers. And the fact that she kept that damn fur coat on made me curious. It was over eighty degrees outside. Why the hell was she wearing it?
She kept a tight hold on it until we came to the smaller hallway.
The hallway that held Anton’s room.
“This is the master suite,” I said, as I pushed open the door.”
“Oh, I love the windows in this one. Floor length, almost,” Cecily said.
“With its own private bathroom. It’s got a double-vanity, a jet tub, a walk in—”
I looked back at Cecily to see if she was still listening, and I stopped. She stood in the doorway of the bedroom, the fur coat piled at her feet. My eyes raked up her body as she stood there in nothing but some flimsy lingerie and some heels.
I raked my eyes all the way back up to hers before she took a step towards me.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
But her eyes only held mine as she kept moving closer.
“Stop it, Cecily. This is absurd.”
She pressed her hands against my chest and backed me into the wall. I gazed down at her, watching as her eyes came alight with fire. She raised up onto her tiptoes to bring her lips to mine, but I slipped against the wall and heard her crash into it. I strode over to the entryway and picked up her coat between my fingers, slinging it at her like the piece of garbage it was.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about you, that’s what I’m doing,” Cecily said.
“No, what are you doing in Anton’s house wearing nothing but that dusty fabric? Put your damn coat back on.”
“Or what?” she asked.
“Really? Or what? That’s all you’ve got?”
“I’m sorry, Gray,” she said. “I’m sorry for what happened in high school. I never should’ve stood you up the way I did. It was wrong, and I was nothing but a spoiled, selfish little brat.”
“Glad we got that cleared up. I won’t be sell
ing you Anton’s house today. You can put your coat on and leave,” I said.
“I never stopped loving you.”
I paused at her words as my face fell.
“What?” I asked.
“I never stopped loving you, Gray. All those years, passing one another in the hallway. The lingering looks. The small touches. What I did to you at prom was wrong, but it didn’t mean I didn’t love you. I should have gone with you and then made love to you afterwards. Showed you how much you really meant to me.”
“Sorry. Not interested,” I said flatly.
“That because you’re banging Michelle? Or because you don’t want to bang me in Anton’s bedroom.”
“None of that is any of your damn business,” I said.
“You should be careful with her,” she said, as she slipped her coat back on. “She seems innocent, but it’s a ruse. She’s still screwing Andy, and she always will. I’ve tried to talk that girl several times into leaving him for good, but she always goes back to him. Every single time.”
“Cut the bullshit, Cecily. Michelle isn’t that type of girl.”