Apartment 4B

Chapter 4 - Brooke

The last week has gone by in a blur of blissful unpacking, careful consideration of how to set up my new place, and take out dinners as I can't for the life of me get my new stove to turn on. The bottom of my lip comes into bite, as I stare at the black screen in front of me.

It can't seriously be this hard.

I lean my side around, making the straps on my fitted overalls jingle, as I stare at the assortment of cables behind, and wonder how in the hell such a simple thing can have that many parts. I mean, where do they all go for goodness sake? The breath leaves me as I sigh, and turn towards the door.

Stuff this, I'm just gonna see if Deacon’s home.

I'm half way to the door when I see it scuttle across the floor, and let rip on a scream that would wake the damn dead. I try to keep my eyes on it, but the moment something pounds on the door, I do my best Spiderman impression and fling myself in that direction. He's half naked, his hands gripping the sides of the frame, while his chest heaves like he's literally dropped everything and bolted to my door. Despite my recent, and well warranted freak out, my eyes drop and take the man in.

Jesus, damn, heck…

Was he made, or fracking ordered like that??

The bloody muscles in his chest and abs are so defined, the lines looking like they’re carved from stone, while those carefully sculpted indents on his hips, make no room for error as they lead in a certain direction… but it’s his arms that hitch my breath. The powerful, smooth lines, rounding up and down, along each large mound in them…

I repeat.. Jesus, damn, flipping heck…..

His hand runs under my chin, guiding my face up to his, as his eyes dart from me to around the room.

“Hell, are you ok?”

I blink back at him for a moment, the look of concern not lost on me, and try to swallow past the lump that’s wedged there.

“No! The most massive spider you have ever seen just scurried under the couch, and I bloody lost sight of it when you pounded on my door, then your muscles half blinded me. It could be anywhere by now. I’m going to have to burn the place down…”

It’s his turn to blink back at me for a second, before his mouth starts to twitch. My hand comes out to thump him in the arm, which he probably barely felt, before shoving my finger in his face and narrowing my eyes.

“.. I swear, mountain man or not, that I will end you if you laugh at me right now. This is serious!”

Holding in the laugh I know he wants to do, his hand comes up to rub the back of his head as it drops, half ruffling his hair in the process.

“Alright.. Point me in the direction of the culprit and I’ll see if I can find it, but the next time you scream like that you better be trapped under something, or bloody dying.”

He slides to move past me as I swing my arm around, and point in the direction of one of my couches, the words leaving me before I even think about them.

“Or coming freaking hard. It went that way.”

He half stumbles, before his head drops back as he lets out an epic groan. We’ve been messing with each other the last few days off and on, and I can’t say I’m mad about his reactions to the things I say… Or the things he counters back with…

“Damn it, short stuff..”

I giggle internally at that, but manage to keep my mouth shut this time. Staying a safe distance back, and having my escape route already well planned, I watch as he bends down to all fours to start his inspection.