“Hello?” he said, eyeing the camera.
“Answer it, Angelina,” Lizzie said. “You’ve got to be curious how he looks in person.”
Sure I was, but to open the door to him, the one who scooped me off the floor after I passed out with fear? No way. I’d dissolve into a puddle of embarrassment.
“Oh, see, I knew you wanted to. Look at you primping your hair.”
What?Then I realized my hands were up in my hair, fluffing it. I’d gotten out of the shower a couple of hours ago and hadn’t done anything with it. Then again, I never did do anything with it. Why bother since I never went anywhere?
“You can open the door. You don’t have to go out or let him in. Just open it.”
“No. I—”
“You can!” Lizzie pointed to the screen. “Try it. I’ll stay online. You can do this, Angelina. Youhaveto do this.”
“Angelina? I know you’re in there,” Hunter’s voice trickled through my thick door.
God, I wanted to go to him—I mean—to the door. And it was true, I wanted to see him in person. The video feed I had was good, but not great. He looked so big, though. So scary with the long hair and tattoos I’d seen on his bare arms yesterday when he’d knocked on my door.
I pushed my chair away from the desk.
“Yes!” Lizzie said. “Go. Go. Go. Do this for us.”
I gulped through the nerves.For us.Okay. I could do this. I could…no, I couldn’t. I stopped in the middle of my office area. The door tilted slightly, and I put my hands out to stay balanced. I shook my head and patted my warm cheeks. I was already starting to sweat.
I’m a complete and total freak!
“I’m just checking to make sure you’re okay. You’ve got me a little worried.”
Worried?For me?
A soft thump sounded, and I glanced back at my computer. The video feed showed him sitting, back against my door.
How strange.
“Today’s the first time I’ve heard anything from your apartment since that night. You—are you okay?”
I opened my mouth to say yes, but I shut it again. Instead, I took the final five steps to the door and sat down, facing the door. Pressing my hand where I knew his back was, I could have sworn the wood felt warmer than normal. I knew it was my mind playing tricks on me, but I went with it. I’d not felt the warmth of a man’s touch in years. Hell, I’d not even seen anyone in person since my mother last visited more than nine months ago.
Other than Mom and Dad, no one came into my apartment. The mail was left at the door, and I waited until it was clear to get it. Same with the groceries. I’d had this carefully laid out plan for years to avoid seeing anyone ever again.
But now, I sat on the floor, touching my door because I knew another human being leaned against it. I really was sick.
Lonely.
Horny.
Alone.
Broken.
The joys of being in therapy for so long, I could identify my feelings easily. Too bad these particular ones slapped me in the face until it stung.
“I can tell you have your windows open. It’s nice out, isn’t it? I was out today and thought of you. I hope you don’t mind, I picked something up for you.”
I sat straight and pulled my phone out of my back pocket. I clicked on my video system so I could see him from here and smiled. He held something in his right hand. Looked like a bag. Yes, one that was filled with little yellow and orange pieces of goodness.
Candy corn!