Big Box Of New Adult Romance

by Kelly Favor

  Alexis was in the kitchen. She was in the middle of making herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich. At seven o’clock in the morning.

  “Hi,” she said when she saw him. She gave him an easy smile. “Everything okay?”

  “Oh, yeah, everything’s great.” He tried not to get pissed off that she was eating his peanut butter. Obviously no one had told Alexis that you don’t take a knife that has jelly on it and put it in the peanut butter jar.

  She caught him looking and held out the sandwich. “Want some?”

  He stared at her. Was she really offering him a bite of his own food? “No, that’s okay,” he said. “Listen, Alexis, I hate to tell you this, but there’s been a bit of a … mix-up.”

  “What kind of mix-up?” She crossed the room to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. She looked at it for a moment. “I’ll pay you back for this, okay?”

  “No, that’s okay, you can have it.” What was this, freshman year?

  She shrugged, then uncapped the bottle and took a long drink. She stepped back and launched herself up onto the counter so that she was sitting on it. “So what’s wrong?”

  “See, the thing is, Jack got a little confused. I don’t need a roommate.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean, you don’t need a roommate?”

  “Just what I said.” God, this was turning into huge fucking headache. He glanced at the clock on the microwave. 7:17 am. He was late for his run. And if he was late for his run, that meant he was going to be late for work. He hated being late for work.

  “If you didn’t need a roommate, then why did you post an ad for one?” She pulled a crinkled up piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to him.

  Reid’s eyes slid down the printout. Nice two-bedroom in Manhattan. Own room.

  Awesome roommate. One thousand dollars a month, includes heat and hot water.

  Reid’s face darkened. The mortgage on this place was thirty-five hundred dollars a month. If a roommate was going to pay half, the rent would be seventeen-fifty. Plus utilities. God, Jack was such an asshole. But whatever. It didn’t matter. Because there was going to be no roommate. He didn’t need a roommate.

  He continued moving his eyes down the printout. The description was followed by pictures of an apartment that looked amazing. It was big and open, with floor to ceiling windows and modern furniture. It was followed by a small line at the bottom that said “pictures are approximations only, and are only used for dramatic purposes.”

  Reid sighed. “Look,” he said, pushing the paper back at the girl. “You can’t stay here.”

  She snatched the printout from him. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean there’s no apartment.”

  She looked around. “Yes, there is. It’s right here.”

  “Yes, but you’re not staying here.” He was starting to get annoyed. This girl was upsetting his perfectly ordered morning. He was supposed to be halfway around Central Park right now. He was hoping to run the New York City Marathon, and if he missed even one run, it was going to seriously set him back.

  “Oh, I get it,” Alexis said, crossing her arms over her chest. The motion pushed her breasts together, and they strained the material of her sweatshirt. It was too bad she was so bratty, Reid thought. He’d have loved to get a better look at what was under that sweatshirt she was wearing. “You don’t want me living here because I’m a girl.”

  “No.” He shook his head. “That’s not it at all. My old roommate – ”

  “Ha! So you admit that you do need a roommate.”

  “No.” God, she was infuriating. “He wasn’t really a roommate. Jack’s my brother. But he moved out. And now the place is mine.”

  “And mine.”

  “No, not yours.” What the hell was wrong with this girl? She obviously had some kind of screw loose and/or mental imbalance. It made sense. She was way too hot to be normal. Good-looking women were never normal.

  “I’ll sue you,” she declared, immediately supporting his mental imbalance theory.

  “Sue me? For what?”

  “For sexual discrimination, false advertising.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. A million different things.”

  “Your lawsuit would have no merit.” He wasn’t sure if it was true. He obviously didn’t know anything about the law. He was an advertising executive for God’s sakes.

  “Maybe, maybe not.” She said it like the merit of a case was inconsequential, like you could just bring lawsuits against people for no reason and possibly win. “My father’s a lawyer,” she said. “So I’d have to ask him. But most of the time these things settle out of court. To avoid a bigger lawsuit.”

  He glared at her. Who did this chick think she was? Showing up at his apartment, eating his goddamn peanut butter and jelly, and then threatening him with a frivolous lawsuit?

  “Yeah, well, I’m sure the judge will be interested in the fact that you basically just told me that you knew your lawsuit would be frivolous.”

  “Prove it.” Her eyes were on his, challenging.

  “I won’t have to,” he said smugly. “The burden of proof is on the plaintiff. Do whatever you have to do, but I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Again.”

  She looked shocked. She opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could get it out, her face crumpled. Her eyes filled with tears, and then, suddenly, she began to cry.

  Shit.

  Reid sighed. “You don’t have to cry about it,” he said, irritated.

  But she didn’t stop. She just kept crying.

  Oh, for the love of God. He crossed the kitchen to where she was standing and patted her shoulder. “Listen,” he said, “you’ll find another place. Don’t worry about it.

  There are a million listings for a million apartments in a million different parts of the city.”

  She mumbled something that sounded like, “NoIsland.”

  “What?” Reid asked. “No Island?”

  “No, I won’t find another place! I don’t know anyone in the city. I don’t have anywhere…anywhere else to go!” The volume of her voice had been slowly rising, and by the time she’d finished talking, she was wailing.

  Great. What the fuck was he supposed to do now? Throw her out on the street?

  He took a deep breath and patted her shoulder again. And then, suddenly and surprisingly, Alexis threw herself against him, burying her face in his chest.

  Her hair brushed against his face, soft and silky. She was wearing some kind of bright-smelling perfume. Her breasts flattened out against his chest, and even through her sweatshirt he could feel her curves.

  “I knew I shouldn’t have come here,” Alexis sniffed. Her tears were making wet spots on his shirt. “Everyone said the city was going to eat me up and spit me out, but did I listen? No.”

  “I’m sure that’s not true,” he said. “This is just a minor setback. You’re going to find something even – ”

  “No, I won’t,” she wailed. “I can’t even if I wanted to. I don’t have any money.

  I gave it all to your brother!”

  “Jack took money from you?” Reid was shocked. This was a new low, even for Jack.

  She nodded. “He took all of it! I paypaled him five hundred dollars, half of the first month’s rent.” She sniffed again “He said he needed a show of goodwill.”

  Reid shook his head. He was going to kill that asshole. First, Jack shouldn’t have taken money from this poor girl, especially not over the internet. And second, if Jack had taken money, he should have given it to Reid. It was Reid’s apartment!

  Alexis was crying again. She pulled back from him, reached for a paper towel from the holder and wiped her eyes.

  “I’m so embarrassed,” she said shyly. Her blue eyes were big and shiny from her tears. Her cheeks were flushed, but she didn’t look like a big crying mess the way a lot of women did when they started crying. She just looked vulnerable.


  An instinct to protect her kicked in out of nowhere. What kind of person would he be if he kicked her out onto the streets of New York? It wouldn’t be fair. She was obviously timid and afraid. Her attempt at trying to make him think she was going to sue him was almost laughable now. Apparently she felt like she needed to put on a front, some kind of false bravado to make him think he should be afraid of her. But really, she was just an innocent little lamb in need of rescuing.

  He pulled another paper towel off the roll and handed it to her. “Here,” he said.

  She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “I’ll be okay,” she said, trying to sound brave. “Like you said, it’s just a setback.” Her smiled wavered.

  Reid knew he was probably going to regret what he was about to say. But really, what choice did he have? “Fine,” he said, “you can stay here.”

  “Really?’ Her face brightened.

  “Yes.”

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She threw her arms around him. Her ample breasts flattened against his chest again, and he took in a deep breath. How was he going to keep his hands off her with her always being close by? It would be a test of his self-control for sure.

  “Come on,” he said. “I’ll show you to your room.”

  He led her down the hall to the room that used to be Jack’s, and opened the door.

  “It’s small,” he said, “but you should be able to fit a bed.”

  “Oh.” She bit her lip. “Jack said the bed came with it.”

  Of course he did. “Well, then, I guess you can have his bed. But I’d at least flip the mattress and make sure you use double sheets.”

  She grinned.

  He glanced at his watch. If he didn’t hurry, he wasn’t going to have time for his run before work. “I need to get going.”

  He wasn’t sure if he should leave her in the apartment by herself, but what choice did he have? He couldn’t take his offer back now. The poor girl was obviously completely fragile. Who knows what she’d do or where she’d end up? Probably in one of those God forsaken hostels where people were always getting beaten and robbed.

  “Okay,” Alexis said. “I’ll just start unpacking my stuff.”

  He nodded, and then turned to go.

  “And Reid,” she called after him.

  He turned.

  “Thanks. You saved my life.”

  Cha p t e r T wo

  As soon as Reid left the room and shut the door behind him, Alexis rolled her eyes. God, what a poser that guy was. The way he answered the door all dressed in his workout clothes? Who was up and ready to work out at seven in the morning? Posers, that was who. And metrosexuals.

  Of course, he didn’t look like a metrosexual, with his dark hair and strong jaw line. He’d had a bit of stubble on his chin, and his hair had been slightly rumpled, like he’d just rolled out of bed.

  But still.

  She’d felt how hard his chest was when she’d been close to him. It had probably gotten that way from all the time he spent at the gym “taking care of himself.” She didn’t know for a fact that he used that phrase, but she’d bet anything that he did.

  Guys like Reid were always “taking care of themselves.” It was really just a fancy way of saying they were self-absorbed assholes. They all wanted women who took care of themselves, too. And of course all that meant was that they wanted an anorexic.

  Any sane person would still be sleeping at this time of morning. She would have been to, if it weren’t for… well, for what had happened.

  She looked over her shoulder at the bed, wishing she could just curl up and go to sleep. The bus ride from Pennsylvania had been bumpy and tiring. She’d tried to sleep, taking her pillow and folding it in two, then scrunching it up against the window and pressing her head against it. But the woman sitting behind her had been having a loud cell phone conversation about her nephew being sent to jail or something, and it had kept Alexis awake. It was just as well. She probably wouldn’t have been able to sleep anyway.

  She crossed the room to the heavy oak dresser and opened the top drawer. Inside was a copy of the Bible, with a yellow post-it note and a key labeled “front door” stuck to the cover.

  “Dear New Roommate,” the post-it said. “This is my favorite book. Welcome to the apartment. Love, Jack.”

  This Jack person was obviously some sort of creeper, she thought, as she pulled the key off and then dropped the book into the garbage can. Not because he was into God. It was more of the vibe he was giving off.

  She wondered if the Bible thing was meant to be a joke. When she’d talked to Jack on the phone last night, he’s seemed like the type to joke around. He kept asking her all these crazy questions, like what she thought of bologna sandwiches with ketchup or guys who rode motorcycles. He’d assured her that his brother would be fine with her showing up at seven am. And then she’d paypaled him five hundred dollars and hoped for the best. Not her smartest decision, obviously, but she’d been in dire straits. Hell, she still was.

  Alexis opened her suitcase and pulled out a tangle of clothes. Her tshirts were all rumpled from being grabbed and tossed in hastily. She’d apparently forgotten to pack pants completely, because there were none. Which meant all she had was the pair of black yoga pants she was wearing. She closed her eyes and sighed.

  When the few clothes she’d brought with her had been completely unpacked, she decided it was time to explore her new digs. She’d already been in the kitchen, and although it didn’t match the pictures online, it was still quite impressive. Light granite countertops with beveled edges, gleaming maple cabinets, and a subzero refrigerator that was so big Alexis wondered how you could possibly use all that space.

  The living room was nondescript. It was neat enough, with an expensive-looking brown leather sofa and the obligatory huge flat screen television guys thought they needed in order to watch sports and impress women.

  There was a tall oak bookshelf in one corner, filled with autobiographies and non-fiction books on advertising. Boring.

  A big coffee table sat in the middle of the room.

  She peeked into the bathroom.

  Countertops that matched the granite in the kitchen. A chocolate brown shower curtain and matching rug. She expected the bathroom to be a mess, but it seemed as if everything was neatly organized. The room smelled like hair gel, which was standard for someone who liked to “take care of themselves.”

  She headed back down the hall, stopping when she got to what she assumed was Reid’s room. The door was closed. She knew it would be wrong to go in. It would be a horrible breach of trust. If he caught her, he’d kick her out for sure. And then where would she go?

  But she’d been good all her life, and look where that had gotten her. Running away from home, ending up in New York City where she knew no one. She had no money. No car. No family. Nothing.

  She pushed open the door.

  A big oak framed bed sat in the middle of the room, covered with a navy comforter and flanked by two nightstands. A small television was mounted on the wall across from the bed.

  She felt like a thief, and her conscience screamed at her to stop. But she had to know what she was dealing with. If she was going to be staying here, she needed to know if Reid was some kind of crazy psycho. Not that crazy psychos would leave anything crazy hanging around. At least, she didn’t think they would. But what did she know? Her track record when it came to figuring out who was psycho wasn’t exactly stellar.

  She took a deep breath and slid the nightstand drawer open. There was nothing of note in it, unless you counted condoms as being of note. Which she didn’t. In fact, it was so predictable Alexis was almost disappointed.

  She poked her head into the closet. A line of suits hung on the rod, along with a tie rack. Shoes were arranged neatly on the floor. A quick peek into Reid’s dresser revealed a row of carefully folded sweatshirts. Probably for when he was out “taking care of himself.”

  There was a desk against the wall, and on it sat a pi
cture of a smiling Reid with an older couple. Probably his parents. She was disappointed that Jack wasn’t in the picture.

  She would kind of curious to see what he looked like. A framed diploma from Harvard was propped up against the wall, like Reid hadn’t gotten around to hanging it up yet.

  So that was it. Alexis was disappointed. Reid was exactly what she thought he’d be. The kind of guy who was raised somewhere like Connecticut or Westchester in a normal, wealthy family and who grew up to wear suits and go running and watch sports and go out to bars and pick up girls so he could come home and have sex.

  Whatever. As long as Reid wasn’t crazy, it didn’t matter what he was like. She was only going to be staying here until she could figure out what to do next. And then she would be gone.

  She returned to her own room, unpacked her laptop, and plugged it in.

  The battery was dead -- she’d been using it on the bus to watch a movie in an effort to drown out the woman on the phone behind her.

  She decided to take a shower while her laptop charged.

  She wandered back into the hallway and opened the small door across from the bathroom, hoping it was the linen closet. It was. She pulled a towel down and sniffed it experimentally. It smelled clean. Reid probably had a cleaning woman. And sent his laundry out. He obviously had the money. And there was no way any man kept their place this spotless.

  Alexis grabbed another towel, then took them both into the bathroom. She would take a nice long, hot shower. And then she was going to come up with a plan.

  ***

  Reid’s run was all off. He couldn’t get into any kind of rhythm, and his favorite playlist – the one he’d entitled GET IT DONE – had inexplicably disappeared from his iPod. Actually, it wasn’t that inexplicable, when you took into account the fact that Jack had borrowed the iPod a few days ago. He’d probably deleted it by accident.

  It was this girl, Alexis, showing up at his apartment that was throwing him off, Reid decided. He hated when anything came along that messed with his routines.

  Especially on a day when he was supposed to be working on a huge pitch.

  Reid was the creative director at The Lawson Agency, an advertising firm his father had founded twenty years ago. Today Reid was supposed to be spending the day trying to come up with campaign ideas for Vista Collection, a new women’s clothing company. It was a huge account, and getting in on the ground floor with a sophisticated brand like Vista could mean millions of dollars of business for years to come. But first Reid had to come up with something amazing. And he couldn’t do that if he couldn’t concentrate.