Page 7

Chapter Seven

FALLON

“Shit, shit, shit! I’m so late!” I jumped out of bed, ripped my clothes from my closet, and ran to the bathroom. I got ready at an alarming pace and grabbed my bag, shoving my phone inside as I ran out the door. I cannot be late on my first day!

I pushed the elevator button when I realized I had forgotten to lock up.

“Of course.” I ran down the hall, turned the corner, and crashed to a stop.

“What the fuck?!”

My stomach was in my throat, and I couldn’t believe this was happening. Of all the people in the world, I had to run into Mackenzie.

It was my first day at work, and I was already on the verge of running late. Why do you hate me, universe?

“I am so sorry! Are you okay?” I said, rubbing my face, wishing I was anywhere else.

She looked at me, her bright blue eyes darkening as the seconds went by. “Do I look okay? You made me spill my goddamn coffee!” She glared down at her once-white blouse, now stained a coffee-colored brown.

My gaze traveled down to the stain. My eyes lingered without my permission, but I quickly shot them back up to hers, which were accompanied by perfectly polished raised eyebrows.

Did she see me checking her out? Of course not, because I wasn’t checking her out. Oh my God, I was. What the hell is wrong with me?

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” I said.

“Yeah, I can see that. I’m already running late, and now I have to change. So no, Fallon, I think it’s safe to say I am not okay!”

I was at a loss for words, so I did the only thing I could think of—I blinked.

She scoffed and leaned down. I followed her to the stack of papers scattered across the hallway floor. This was my nightmare.

“Shit. Here, let me help.” I bent down to gather some of the papers.

I felt awful. I spilled her coffee and made a mess of what looked like some important papers, probably spilling some coffee on them in the process. Drea would’ve gotten a kick out of this situation, but I was on the verge of tears.

We both reached for the same paper, our fingers brushing slightly, causing us to pause and look at one another. There was a glint of a sparkle in her eyes before it vanished, and her breath seemed to catch at the same time mine did.

I should’ve moved, but something was anchoring me down, paralyzing me. I had no idea what to do or say. I’d never felt such an intense spark from touching someone before. It was just friction from the carpet, right? Obviously, that’s all it was. It had to be.

She was the first one to break the contact, removing her hand and clearing her throat. “I think you’ve helped enough, thanks. Who runs around a corner? What if it had been a frail, old lady in the hallway? You would’ve killed her!” Her tone was unnecessarily harsh.

I laughed at her ridiculous dramatics. “She would’ve, at most, broken a hip. She wouldn’t have died. Don’t be so dramatic.”

She scoffed. “Just leave. Go, fuck, I don’t care, anywhere else. You’ve helped enough!”

I looked at her, shaking my head. “Wow. I guess it’s true when they say the third time’s a charm,” I muttered softly to myself.

“What?” she bit out, picking up the papers.

I took a deep breath and stood up. “You’ve heard me call you a bitch twice now, well, guess what, Mackenzie? The third time’s a goddamn charm. Why are you always such a fucking bitch?!”

She stopped and scowled at me. “Maybe because you keep showing up, making me act like one. First, you turned your apartment into a fucking rave in the middle of the night, and you were so drunk I’m surprised you could even?—”

“Would you give it a rest, grandma? It wasn’t a rave!” I cut her off with an eye roll. She just couldn’t let it go.

Ignoring me, she continued. “Then I tried to apologize because I was drinking too, and you didn’t even want to hear it.”

“I apologized first, and you blew me off. You don’t even acknowledge that, do you?” I lowered my brows.

“Whatever. And now you run down the hall like a damn lunatic, and you want to ask me why I’m such a bitch?”

I gaped at her, speechless, my mind drawing a blank. The nerve of that incredibly attractive, infuriating woman.

I was simmering with rage, mixed with surprise and a touch of something else.

Hurt? I scoffed at myself. No. I was not hurt. I wouldn’t let her hold that kind of power.

“Wow, nothing to say, huh? Color me surprised.” She scoffed. “I’m going to change. Try not to run anyone else down out here.”

I groaned, walked to my apartment, triple-checked the door, and headed to work.

My first day at the hospital, and I was already running late. Not to mention, I couldn’t find a parking spot, so I had to park three blocks away and haul ass just to be ten minutes late.

Luckily, my boss assumed I had gotten stuck in morning traffic, and wanting to put the morning behind me, I didn’t correct her. The rest of the day went smoothly, but I was glad when it was over. I wanted to go home and forget the whole day ever happened. It would’ve been too soon if I never saw Mackenzie again.

The next morning, I woke up an hour early to make sure my second day wouldn’t start as badly.

I set my clothes out the night before and made bacon and eggs for breakfast. I made sure I had plenty of time to grab coffee before work.

My favorite coffee shop, Brewed Awakening , was just down the street from my apartment. It was one of the first places I discovered after moving to Seattle, and it had been my daily caffeine stop ever since.

Not only was the coffee phenomenal, but the barista was a delight. She always gave me a little more espresso than she was supposed to.

She was around the same age as me, with blonde, wavy hair. She had a sleeve tattoo with different roses, leaves, and stems on her left arm. I’ve complimented it on more than one occasion.

“Hey!” she said when I walked in. “I’ll be right with you.”

I waved my hello. “No rush!” I had at least forty-five minutes before I needed to leave for work, so I didn’t mind waiting.

“Hey, Fallon, what can I get you?” When I reached the counter, she looked exhausted from the morning rush.

“Hey, Rylee. Can I please have an iced coffee? Extra espresso and hazelnut? Thanks.”

“No problem.” She smiled.

She started making my coffee before she spoke again. “So, what’s new? Last time we talked, you were about to start a new job. How’s that going?”

“It’s okay. Yesterday was my first day, and of course, I was late. It was a horrible morning, and that’s putting it mildly.” I groaned.

“Oh no, what happened?”

I sighed. “I woke up late, which wouldn’t have been a problem, but the universe thought it would be the perfect time for me to run into my new neighbor, Mackenzie.”

“Oh… you live at the apartments down the street, right? Cedar Cove , I think, is the name.” Her eyes growing a little wider than before.

“Yeah. I can’t believe you remember that.” I told her when I first came in months ago. I was sure she saw hundreds of people daily, so it said a lot about her if she remembered something as trivial as that.

“I have a pretty good memory.” She paused. “So, I take it you don’t get along with Mackenzie?”

I didn’t know what I said, but her smile seemed more forced when she handed over my coffee. “Not in the slightest. She is such a…” I took a deep breath. “Anyway, thanks, Rylee. Have a good day!” I smiled and took my coffee.

“Yeah, you too,” she said.

I went to open the door when someone was coming in. “Oh, excuse me, sor?—”

I stopped when I looked up to meet a pair of ocean-blue eyes. My lungs felt too tight in my chest, and my heart was doing somersaults.

Mackenzie, looking irresistibly sexy in a low-cut white tank top and jeans, stood in front of me. And there I was in my scrubs, with my hair in a librarian-style bun. So sexy…

“Excuse me,” I said dryly. She opened the door even farther so I could pass.

I walked by without a word, but I only got a few steps before I heard a sarcastic voice. “You’re welcome.”

I whipped my head around, shooting her a glare as I forced a fake politeness in my voice. “Thanks.” I turned back and continued walking away.

The past week had been nothing short of horrible. Almost every day, I ran into Mackenzie in one way or another—whether in the elevator, the laundry room, the hall, or my favorite coffee shop. She was everywhere I went.

I needed a distraction, and I needed to get her out of my head. So, I texted Drea and Penelope—one of them was bound to be free:

Me: Desperate for a girl’s night tonight. Who’s in?

Penelope: Why, what happened? I wish I could but I gotta work early.

Drea: I’m in! What happened?

Me: I got 99 problems and a bitch is all of them! And sorry, Pen.

Me: Perfect Drea! Swing by around 7?

Drea: Sorry Pen, I’ll pour one out for you!

Penelope: Thanks, guys. Next time! Later, xx

Me: Xx

Drea: Later, love.

A few minutes later Drea sent me a private text:

Drea: What happened, girl? You finally bang her?

Me: Never going to happen! Had another run-in.

Me: This one was really bad. Tell you about it tonight.

Drea: KK see ya soon!

“So, where are we going tonight?” Drea said as I opened the door to let her in.

I laughed. “Well, hello to you too. I’m almost ready. I was thinking about dinner and drinks at Neighbors .”

Her eyes grew wide. “What?! You want to have dinner with your hot neighbor? What did I miss?” She grinned. She damn well knew what I meant.

“You’re so funny. The bar down the street, smart-ass.”

Neighbors was a casual sports bar. It was low-key, but it had the best mojitos in the city.

Drea made herself comfortable on the couch while I finished up my makeup—I was going for something light. I put on a black, above-the-knee dress with short sleeves and paired it with black wedges.

Since it was the weekend, we had to wait about thirty minutes when we arrived. I didn’t mind, though, because I needed to use the restroom.

We finally got seated, and I ordered two mint mojitos. “Saving a trip,” I told the waitress when her eyebrows shot up.

She turned to Drea as she spoke. “I’ll have a whiskey, neat, please.”

“Okay, Fal, spill. What is going on?” Drea said after the waitress left. I knew she wouldn’t leave it alone, but I didn’t want to think about Mackenzie anymore.

“It’s just been a stressful week,” I replied.

I didn’t want to get into it. I wanted to drink and forget about my problems, at least for one night.

She looked at me with raised brows. “Is it work? I thought things were going good?”

“No, they are. I mean, I’m still adjusting, but it’s great so far. I was late on my first day, but they were understanding. They assumed I got stuck in traffic, which was partly true,” I said.

“Then what—” She stopped when the waitress came back with our drinks.

I thanked her and ordered our food. I went with a bacon cheeseburger and onion rings, and Drea got a steak with shrimp, which, of course the classy bitch did.

She waited until the waitress left again before speaking. “Is it the bookstore? Do you need to change your hours?”

I chuckled. “No, sweetie, I love working at the store. Are you joking? I can’t thank you enough for helping me!”

She smiled and we raised our glasses. “To new beginnings.”

Drea had been there for me through everything—from my parents’ divorce to my breakup. Even when we were miles apart, she was always there for me, more than anyone else in my life. I would never be able to fully express just how much she meant to me.

We clinked our glasses, and mine was empty before she even brought hers to her lips.

“Okay, what the hell is going on with you?” She looked at me with a stunned expression.

“It’s Mackenzie. She’s driving me nuts!” The words tumbled out with a sigh.

“Who the fuck is Mackenzie?” Drea’s face twisted in confusion.

I groaned. “Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you. That woman I argued with at the party—my neighbor? I’ve run into her a few times since then. Her name is Mackenzie.” I took another drink, this time a little less desperately.

She looked skeptically at me. “Okay? So, what did she do to get your panties in a twist?”

I scowled. “My panties are not in a twist!”

She looked at me and didn’t respond to my outburst, knowing I just proved her point.

I sighed. “Okay, maybe they are. I ran into her the other day—literally, Drea. I rounded the corner and bumped right into her, spilling her papers and coffee. It was a total accident, and I felt awful about it. It was my first day at work, and I was already running late.”

She winced. “Oh, shit. So, what happened?”

I rolled my eyes at the memory. “I tried to apologize and help her pick up the papers she dropped on the floor.”

I left out the part where our hands touched, and it felt like my heart stopped for a split second. She would’ve turned that into a whole thing, and I wasn’t in the mood to have that conversation. It was nothing—that’s why I hadn’t thought about it since then… not once.

“After that, she yelled at me. She also insulted me, again! Oh, and by the way, she did hear me call her a bitch the night of the party. I was so embarrassed, I almost had a damn heart attack.”

She laughed. “Well, damn!”

“But I made sure she heard me this time, when I asked why she was such a fucking bitch!”

Drea nearly choked on her drink. “Goddamn, Fal, I honestly didn’t think you had it in you.”

“Yeah, me neither, but she seems to bring it out in me. Every time I try to make peace or ignore her, one of us says something, and it just ends up being a shitty situation. I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. I mean, she lives across the hall, so avoiding her isn’t really an option. But it’s clear we aren’t meant to be friends. I don’t know what to do.” I groaned in frustration and tried to force the tears to stay away. It was ridiculous to be upset over something that seemed so insignificant, something that shouldn’t have affected me as much as it did.

“Well—” she started, just as the waitress was bringing our food. We smiled politely until she left.

“Well, darling, I think you just need to fuck her senseless. You never know, what if she just needs to get laid? Lord knows you do.”

I snorted at the absurdity of her suggestion. “Yeah, right. That’s the worst idea I think I’ve ever heard you come up with. That is definitely never happening! Next?”

That was the worst idea I’d ever heard, even if my body might not have agreed with me.

She laughed, seemingly oblivious to the low heat simmering inside my body. “Listen, sweetie. You can’t let her bully you into moving, okay? Just try and talk to her. Like, really talk to her. Or just ignore her. Shit, I don’t know, maybe kick her ass?” She shrugged.

“I don’t want to move, but I don’t know if I can handle feeling awkward every time I see her. Surely, as adults, we can find a way to exist in the same building.”

She frowned, her expression shifting from lighthearted to serious. “I know. Like I said, either try and talk to her or just don’t let her affect you. Just fake it until you make it.”

“Such great advice, Drea, but I get what you’re saying. I’ve tried to make amends, and it clearly didn’t work. So maybe really ignoring her is the best alternative.”

We paid our tab and headed out. She linked our arms together as we started walking toward the bookstore. Drea had a little couch set up there in the back room, and she slept there when we went out so she didn’t have to drive home.

“Thanks for coming out with me. I really needed this,” I said, laying my head on her shoulder as we walked.

“Of course, love.”

“I’m sorry I complained about Mackenzie the whole time.” She was the last person I wanted to talk about.

She nudged me and laughed. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry you have to deal with that. Your move wasn’t supposed to start off like this. But it will get better, I promise. Hopefully you guys can come to some sort of civil agreement. Or maybe she’ll move?” She shrugged.

“I doubt it, but thanks. Enough about me, let’s talk about you. How are things with Skylar?”

Her eyes glistened at the mention of her partner, but she quickly brushed any trace of tears away. “Things are the usual. We fight, we make up—for hours—and then do it all over again.”

“Babe, when are you going to lock that down? You two are so in love, it’s kind of sick. And you fight over the dumbest things, just because you’re both too stubborn!”

She scoffed. “Excuse me, I am not stubborn.” I shot her a glare because, yes, she was!

“And that word is so…” She made a face like she’d just smelled something disgusting at the mention of love. “We’re just existing, Fallon.”

They had been “existing” together for three years. I couldn’t help but smile at my best friend. She was in love, no matter what she told herself.

“You’re delusional, but fine, I’ll drop it—for now.”

She smiled at me. “I would expect nothing less from you, darling.” Her expression grew oddly serious, as she admitted quietly, “I don’t want to lose her.”

“I know, Dre. She knows too, but you need to get your shit together and stop being so hard-headed. If you don’t want to lose her, pick your battles. You have to compromise sometimes. You gotta break the back and forth cycle, it’s not healthy.” I spoke as if I had any clue about what made a healthy relationship.

She rolled her eyes, but I saw the slight glossiness in them. “I know.” Not missing the crack she tried to clear away, I squeezed her tighter.

“Good, and thank you for this, Dre. I love you. Now, go call your woman!”

She laughed and gave me a tight hug. “Things will get better, I promise. This move was not a mistake,” she whispered.

I forced the tears away before I pulled back and looked at her with a smile. “Goodnight.”

I wasn’t entirely convinced she was right, but I kept that thought to myself.