chapter 2

That night Cham locked me out of the apartment. It was around eleven at night. It happened a lot, if I did something to set him off. I hated having to walk around on eggshells.

Cham had caught my eye three years ago. His smooth skin and brute size were a weakness of mine. He came into the bakery where I worked now and ordered an apple turnover. He told me how good it was and asked me out. Of course I said yes.

Cham picked me up and dropped me in the hallway. I was not particularly heavy at 113 pounds or all that tall at 5'5". I was still wearing my pajamas. I took the elevator down to the first floor and walked to apartment 101. I knocked lightly and realized how late it was, it was rude to just show up somewhere in the middle of the night.

"Hello?" his voice called.

"Brady, I'm sorry. I forgot how late it is."

"Eli?" He opened the door and I got to see him shirtless for the first time. Oh god he was hot. His broad chest had large fleshy nipples. Below that was a nice round tummy. He must have eaten recently because he seemed a bit bloated.

"I'm sorry," I said again, unsure of what to say to atone for showing up out of the blue. "Cham locked me out again."

"He what?" he asked, astounded. Brady hadn't experienced me getting locked out before.

"I, uh, got locked out by Cham."

"Do you want me to let you in?" He had a set of keys to each apartment.

"Can I stay here for a while?" I asked. "It's best to let him cool of for a bit."

"Yeah, of course," he said.

"Thank you."

"Let me grab a shirt." Anything but that. It was serious torture being so close to something I couldn't touch. Like the coolest exhibits in museums.

"Okay," I said reluctantly. I followed him into his room and sat on his bed. He pulled a t-shirt over his head.

"Has this happened before?" he asked.

"Yeah," I admitted. He sat next to me on the bed. It groaned a bit. I felt my heart flutter and felt a dumb smile spread across my face.

"You can come here any time."

"Thanks so much, Brady," I said. He was so close to me. I wanted to kiss him and I felt like scum. Cham might not have treated me the best, but he was my boyfriend. He leaned over to face me directly. His eyes were so green. I felt his breath on my face and it smelled like sugar. His lips pressed against mine and I loved it.

I fell back on the bed and his body followed. He was lying on top of me and his gut pushed against me. As he was breathing it went in and out of my body. It felt like our bodies were meant to be together. He sat up quickly. "I'm...I'm sorry," he said as he panted.

"Yeah, me too," I said as I stood up. I walked out of his apartment and went back up to mine.

I sat on the ground in front of our door. I had been gone for thirty minutes. I fell asleep on the ground, how embarrassing. Cham let me back in at around three in the morning.

I went to work and answered the phones. People were placing orders for holiday pastries. We had loads of leftovers and I volunteered to take them, but of course I wasn't going to take them to my apartment. I wouldn't let any food go to waste ever again.