Almost Lovers Read Online Free PDF Page B

I told myself. Not willingly. It had been a
reaction like scratching an itch, an itch that hadn't been
scratched in a long time. Oh god, I wonder if he could tell. I
could feel my cheeks flood with color.
     
    "There is something about you, Prussia," he
whispered to me, "Something amazing. I can't even tell what it is
about you. You're …enchanting,"
     
    I don't know if I could have felt any more
self-conscious just then. I tried to remember how it was I came to
be standing outside my apartment building after a date with a man I
barely knew when I had a boyfriend upstairs wondering where I was.
I didn't deserve this man. As wonderful as he was, he was going to
hate me when he found out what I was doing, had been doing all
along. I bit my lip. I looked up at him and tried to think of how I
would begin to tell him. Where would I start?
     
    "Just the beginning," he said.
     
    "Huh?" I asked. Maybe he really could read
my mind.
     
    "This is only just the beginning," he
said.
     
    I looked down and we stood awkwardly for a
moment.
     
    "I should get inside," I said after a
moment.
     
    He nodded his head and waited for me to
begin walking. I ran through scenario after scenario and now I was
about to find out what Robert had been doing while I was out on my
pretend-but-real-date. We rode the elevator to my floor in silence.
We shared awkward glances now and again. My heart only had a
moment's rest.
     
    The bell for the elevator sounded. We were
at my floor and I could see Lydia's apartment door just ahead.
Around the corner was my apartment, and inside Robert would be
waiting. The pounding of my heart was loud in my ears.
     
    It was so loud I could hardly hear anything.
For a minute, I thought about just staying in the elevator. I never
should have gone on this date. I never should have put myself in
this situation. I looked at Sebastian as we began to pass Lydia's
door.
     
    I could hear the typical loud music coming
through her door and walls. If anyone could sleep through that it
was a miracle. She was throwing a party no doubt. I wonder if she
had stopped over to see Robert. By the time we got to my apartment
door I was starting to perspire. The nerves were balled up in my
stomach. Given a moment of privacy I would have hurled. Given a few
more minutes, it wouldn't matter if I was alone - I would hurl
regardless.
     
    What happened next was not what I had
expected. I opened the door to the apartment and saw that it was
spotless. Not a single rose in the entire apartment. Perhaps Robert
had become so angered that he had thrown them all out.
     
    "All the roses are gone," I said.
     
    Even I could hear the sadness in my voice. I
had really liked them. It was kind of neat to have an apartment
stuffed to the point of bursting with fragrant and beautiful
roses.
     
    "Yes," said Sebastian, "They are,"
     
    Sebastian pulled his phone out of his pocket
and it looked like he was sending a text message to someone. I
walked into the living room and couldn't find a single rose petal,
not one. But what stood out to me the most was that something else
completely different was missing too. Robert.
     
    I walked into the kitchen and checked the
counter. There was a note. It was from Robert, of course. It was
short.
     
    " Thought it was our date night. You
weren't here. Lydia stopped by. Going out. Don't wait up. ~
Robert "
     
    He didn't even put my name on it this time.
It was a note left for no one in particular. I let the note fall
out of my hand back onto the counter. There wasn't any mention of
the roses.
     
    "Sorry," said Sebastian, "It looks like just
after we left to go to the party, the building manager let the
landscapers back in and they cleaned up the mess. They were trying
to be helpful, they didn't think you wanted to clean up all the
flowers...I hope you're not too disappointed,"
     
    My heart sank even lower when his words
caught up with me. I didn't know what to think.
     
    "How soon after we left?" I asked.
     
    "They