Needing Her Read Free

like she had when she’d come to California the morning of the fire. What I hadn’t been ready for was her telling me to leave, or how she’d relaxed into him when he came near her, like he was a safe place for her.
    But I hadn’t stopped worrying about her, and no matter how many girls there were, and how many nights I’d tried to wash away thoughts of her with drinks . . . she was always there. Her honey-colored eyes and soft smile still haunted me, and it was a daily battle to not contact her even though I was dying to know she was okay.
    I pulled into my spot and slowly made my way up to my apartment. I’d been so lost in my thoughts of a girl over a thousand miles away, I didn’t notice the one right in front of me until her voice filled the otherwise silent hall.
    “Hey there, super-mysterious neighbor. You’ve been gone a lot lately.”
    “Maci,” I grunted by way of acknowledgment.
    “Where’ve you been?”
    “Is that your business?”
    “Wait, wait! Don’t tell me.” She stopped trying to unlock her door, raised one dark eyebrow, and pointed at me. “I can smell you from here . . . was her name Sweetheart? Or maybe it was Sweetheart.”
    “Hilarious,” I said without emotion.
    “Well I thought it was.”
    I rolled my eyes and walked past her to my door. “Good night, Maci.”
    “Yeah, whatever. Good seeing you too, Connor,” she mumbled to herself as she went back to her door. “Don’t ask how I’ve been, it’s cool. Asshole.”
    “Maci.”
    “Yes, douchebag?”
    My eyes narrowed and I watched as she fought her smile. “You think you can try keeping it down tonight?”
    Her smile instantly fell and her head jerked back as confusion settled over her face.
    “I’m tired of being kept awake from your headboard hitting the wall.” When her gray eyes flashed, I unlocked my door and glanced at her again. “And you really need to work at faking it. You sound pathetic even from my bed.”
    “You are such an asshole, Connor Green!”
    “So you’ve said.” I stepped into my apartment and locked the door behind me seconds before I heard her door slam.
    Heading back to my bedroom, I stripped out of my clothes and went straight into the bathroom for a hot shower. The girl I’d gone home with tonight had taken a bath in her perfume, and I could feel it seeping into my skin, causing a headache to form that had nothing to do with what I’d drunk earlier. Pressing my hands against the wall, I dropped my head and let the water pour over me as the tightened muscles in my body started relaxing. As soon as I reached behind me for the shampoo, the water turned ice cold and I jumped away from the spray, slipping in the process and barely catching myself on the edge of the tub before hitting the bottom. I scrambled to get out of the shower and when I continued to slip, grabbed the handle and shut the water off instead.
    On the other side of the thin wall, I heard the water running, and loudly cursed Maci when I heard the distinct sound of her laughter filling her bathroom.
    I slapped my hand on the wall connecting our apartments and shouted, “You sure you want to play this game, sweetheart?”
    More laughs came from her side before I heard, “Hope you didn’t bust your ass too hard!”
    “Turn the damn water off, Maci!”
    “Enjoy your night,” she said in a singsong voice and then there was nothing but the running water from her shower.
    Payback is about to be one hell of a bitch, Maci Price.

 
    Chapter Two

    Maci
    T URNING THE WATER on in my shower, I waited for a good five minutes before stepping in, afraid that Connor would give me the same treatment I’d given him the night before. When I didn’t hear movement from his bathroom, I jumped in and stayed tense as I washed my hair and body, ready to get out at a moment’s notice if his water kicked on. When nothing had happened by the time I started shaving my legs, my body relaxed and I wondered again what was going on with him.
    The