Page 5 of Jaked

Chapter 3

Inside my bedroom, I opened my eyes just a crack. Maddie was staring at me with murder in her eye, as if I, not she, were flashing naked goodies all over the apartment.

When she spoke, her voice dripped venom. "Andthisis the thanks I get for letting you live here?"

"Well technically," I said, "I've been the one paying the rent so…"

"Shut the fuck up," she said. She whirled to Jake. "Andyou."

Jake looked oddly unconcerned. "Yeah?"

"You're cheating on me?" Maddie said. "Already?"

Jake gave her a bored look. He didn't answer.

"And withher?" Maddie said. She said "her" like I was the Bubonic Plague.

"For me to cheat," Jake said, "we'd have to be a couple."

Her gaze narrowed. "What are you saying?"

"Nothing to say," Jake said.

I glanced from Maddie to Jake. She had been wild about him. And in spite of my own crazy mixed-up feelings, I hated the thought of causing trouble between them. Besides, I couldn’t afford to make Maddie mad. Her name, not mine, was on the rental agreement.

"Uh, I'll leave you two alone," I said.

Maddie bared her teeth. "You do that."

Gripping the printout of that stupid resignation email, I snatched my purse off the dresser. The bus would be here any minute. If I hurried, I could reclaim my job before it was lost for good.

"And Anna?" Maddie said.

Technically, my name wasn't Anna. But itwasthe name I'd been answering to lately. I turned around. "Yeah?"

She tossed a strand of tousled red hair over her bare shoulder. "Don't bother coming back."

I stared at her. "What?"

She put her hands on her naked hips. "You heard me," she said. "We're done, sister."

I blew out a breath. "Oh Maddie, come on." I turned to give Jake a pleading look. "Tell her."

"Tell her what?" he said.

I gritted my teeth. "Tell her that nothing happened."

He gave me a wolfish grin. "If you say so, baby."

The bastard.

Fifteen minutes later, I was lugging my small overnight bag down the dimly lit hallway. Behind me, Jake was carrying my large suitcase, mostly empty, in one hand, and my favorite reading lamp in the other.

I'd like to say I'd be going back for the rest of my stuff. But the sad truth was, this was all I had. Even the furniture in my bedroom, as craptastic as it was, belonged to Maddie's former roommate, who'd left on the quick side a couple months earlier when she'd been busted for prostitution.

On a cheerier note, she'd be back in six to twelve months.

Behind us, Maddie was screaming obscenities loud enough to wake the dead. Down the long hallway, apartment doors were swinging open, with heads on all sides peeking out to look. Maddie had thrown on a loose, silky bathrobe but hadn't bothered to tie it. It flapped loose behind her as she stalked down the hall behind us.