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Chapter Fourteen
Blue
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Harris’ apartment ispretty much exactly what I expected. Sleek, modern, void of common personal items that you usually see in someone’s home.
He lives on the top floor of a six-story building less than ten blocks from me. I had no idea we lived so close. Then again, I never really had a reason to care until now.
His apartment is modest but also much larger than mine. He has at least double the square footage as well as an additional bedroom and bathroom.
His décor is simple. Black furniture. Silver accents. Glass tables. It’s much different from my place which looks like Pottery Barn vomited all over it. What can I say, I love patterns and lots of color. I want my home to feel just like that – a home. Not that Harris’ apartment doesn’t, it’s just not the same.
While he’s taking a shower, I pass the time by looking around. I flip through a couple of books on his bookshelf and peek inside his cabinets. I’m not looking for anything, just being nosy.
When I make my way down the hall, I notice his bedroom door is open and I hear the shower running. Slipping inside, I look around the space.
There’s a king size bed in the middle of the room. It’s unmade and the gray linens are rumpled. I have to resist the urge to straighten the comforter as I make my way to his nightstand. Sitting on top are two framed pictures.
One is of a couple I would guess to be somewhere in their twenties. The woman is holding a baby while the man has a toddler propped on his hip. It doesn’t take me long to realize the little boy is Harris. Even at such a young age, his features are unmistakable.
A sad smile crosses my lips. How awful to lose both of your parents. I try to imagine my life without my mom and dad, and the thought alone makes me want to shrink into a ball and cry hysterically.
I set the picture down and reach for the second. This one is much more recent. Harris looks almost the same as he does now, except in the photograph he’s clean shaven instead of sporting the short beard I’ve become accustomed to seeing him with. He has his arm around a guy who looks like him – same hair color, same naturally tanned complexion – only the other guy is a bit shorter and stockier than Harris. I don’t have to guess who this is. I know by looking at him, and by the camo outfit he’s wearing, that this must be Everett.
“Find anything interesting?” Harris’ voice causes me to jump and I turn to find him standing in the doorway of his bathroom, a white towel wrapped around his waist.
I swallow hard, not able to stop my eyes from traveling the length of him.My god, this man...
“Sorry, I was just looking around.” How did I not notice that the shower had shut off? “You know, you really should make your bed.” I point to where his pillows and comforter are strewn on top of the mattress.
“Why?” He props his shoulder against the doorway and crosses his arms in front of his bare chest.
“Because it makes the room look tidier,” I state the obvious.
“And I would care about that why?”
“So when you have guests over...” I clear my throat, my mind jumping to all the women he’s probably had in this room.
“Well, considering you’re the only one that’s been here since I moved in, I don’t think it much matters. Besides, had I known you were coming over beforehand, I would have made the bed.”
“What do you mean no one has been here?”
“I moved here six months ago and I don’t make it a habit of bringing people over.”
“You expect me to believe that you’ve never brought a woman into this apartment?” I give him a disbelieving look.
“Whether you believe it or not, it’s true. My private space is just that. Private.”
“And yet here I am.” I hold out my arms.
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“When I...” He rubs the back of his neck like he’s not sure how to phrase what he’s about to say next. “When I meet up with a woman, we always go back to her place.”
“So I’m different because...”
