A Graceful Mess by Nacole Stayton Read Free Book Online Page B

“level one” over and over until the orange light finally appears. My stomach drops as the steel box descends down towards the ground floor. I run as fast as my bare feet allow me to the exit, where I see his truck still parked.
    What is he still doing here?
    The ground is ice cold below my feet. It feels like when you’re cold and get into a hot shower, and the water that falls from the faucet feels like a million tiny daggers stabbing your feet. My hot skin pounds on the freezing pavement as I run towards his truck. As I approach it, I notice it isn’t running. It’s silent, unlike before when the gigantic engine was roaring life from under the hood. The windows are so dark I can hardly see if he’s in it. Going around to the driver’s side door, I pound on the glass with the palm of my hand. Then I see his shadow quickly dart up. He is almost hugging the steering wheel, as if he doesn’t want me to see what he is hiding on his lap.
    “Parker! Open up. I left my purse.”
    The window doesn’t roll down. Squinting through the dark tinted glass, I see him pull something from the back seat. I wonder if he got sick. He didn’t seem drunk, but he is wiping something off of his lap. Puke maybe?
    “Hello! Are you okay?”
    The window slides down in between its plastic tracks and there he is, wide-eyed and shocked. Why are his cheeks flushed, like he just ran a marathon? His forehead is clammy; I can see little beads of sweat on it. He must not feel well.
    “Are you okay?” He pauses, thinking way too hard for an answer and then chuckles.
    “What’s so funny?
    “Nothing. Perfect timing.” He smirks.
    “Uh, okay. I just left my clutch in here and my keys are in it. It’s over there on the floorboard. Would you mind grabbing it?”
    He leans over to pick up my forgotten purse and then holds it out of the window without a word. Silence hangs in between us. The moment almost feels uncomfortable, but I don’t want to be rude and leave him out here. If he was still sitting in his truck he must have been too ill to drive. The least I could do is invite him upstairs. We stare blankly into each other’s eyes, and I wonder what he is thinking as I silently debate whether or not to ask a total stranger to stay the night with me. All reasoning went out the window the moment my blue eyes met his.
    “You don’t look like you feel well. Would you like to come upstairs and at least get a glass of water? You might be dehydrated from drinking.” He looks down at the seat in front of him, but he doesn’t respond. The window slowly rolls up.
    Is he seriously ignoring me?
    I step back and allow myself to feel…what? Anger? Why am I angry? So he is a jerk, okay. It’s not like he’s the first or the last I’ll ever meet, and it’s not like I’m inviting him up to have sex. It’s just some water, and he is bluntly being rude. The sound of his truck unlocking grabs my attention. He steps out of the driver’s side door and is standing in front of me, just as sexy as before. It’s like sex appeal just oozes off of him. Even with wrinkly jeans and dirty boots – my doing – his demeanor still draws me to him.
    “I’d like that glass of water.”
    “Sure. Umm, follow me.” We walk in silence back to the glass doors and ride in the elevator to my floor. I bend to pick up my heels that are still resting in the hallway and dig in my purse to find my keys. When I open the door, the smell of Hawaiian Breeze from our plug-in air freshener hits me in the face.
    “Welcome to my humble abode,” I joke, holding my arms out on either side of my body and motioning around the open space. I’m not going to lie – our apartment is gigantic. Too big for us, that much is evident, but it’s nice, and it’s home. Laying my purse and shoes on the floor, I walk barefoot across the cold hardwood to the kitchen. We have an open floor plan so the only thing separating us is an island with granite countertops.
    “Is water okay?” My