Taming Ember (An Erotica)

Chapter Nine

Chapter 9

Ian was leaning against my door when I got home. I froze, not knowing what to do or say. He looked at me and smiled. My stomach flipped and I blinked. "What are you doing here? Where have you been?" I asked, walking to my door and unlocking it after Ian slid to the side.

"I've been giving myself some time to think, and I came to the conclusion that I want to be with you." He says, and I stop in my tracks and turn around to look at him. His face is hopeful and it completely tears me apart when I say this. "I'm sorry, Ian, but I can't be with you." I say and then I feel a lone tear run down my face. I wipe the tear and look back into my apartment. I feel his eyes burning a hole into my face.

"Are you saying that you feel nothing toward me?" He whispers, and I look at his face and see the complete insecurity in his eyes. A fraction of my heart breaks looking at this grown man fall apart in front of me. Why, though? Why would a man as attractive as Ian be upset that a Plain Jane like myself couldn't be with him.

"No, Ian, that's not what I'm saying at all! What I'm saying is that I can't deal with all of the drama that is going on. I am with Caine. I mean, kind of. I am not interested in starting anything with anyone else." I say and I see all hope drain from his eyes. "But in the end I have no idea what to do, so for now I'm just going to clear my head for a day and spend time with some other people in my life." Saying this has me thinking of Anna and how I have been neglecting our friendship.

He nods his head and walks away without a word. This guy confuses me but so does Caine. It's just something about them that makes me think they're so different but alike at the same time. I shake my head to clear my thoughts, giving myself a minute to catch my breath. After I'm done I close my open door and plop on my cracking leather couch, pulling out my phone. I dial Anna's number. It rings three times before she picks up.

"Oh, so my best friend finally decides to grace me with her call. I have just been dying to know what is so important that you forget about me." Anna's sarcastic voice rings out over the line.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes, I have a lot to tell you." I say and hang up, not giving her a chance to reply. My phone immediately rings and I ignore it while I grab my keys and leave my apartment, being sure to lock my door.

Twenty minutes later, I'm at Anna's nice apartment building. I see her face pressed up against the window overlooking the parking lot. I wave to her and she goes crazy. She disappears from the window and not even 15 seconds later she's running to me as I head to the stairs.

"Ember! You can't leave me hanging like that!" She screams and I notice the people around us starring. I guess she finally made the scene she'd been threatening me with.

"Anna, you need to calm down, sweetie, or you won't get your cookie." I say fake cooing her while I pinch her cheeks. She slaps my hands away and stands with her hands on her hips waiting for me to talk. I let out a sigh. "Can we talk about this inside? I don't really want your creepy old neighbor hearing about my personal life." I say while sending a forced smile to Mr. Jenkins. He sends a creepy closed lip smile back, and I shuddered. Anna just shrugged and started heading towards her apartment which was on the second floor.

Once we were in her apartment, we both sit on her couch, sitting sideways so that we could face each other. Her eyes were bright with interest and she gave me a playful smirk. "Okay, so where is my cookie?" She joked and I laughed.

"Do you promise not to flip your fucking lid?" I asked and I just got a 'duh!' face. I took a deep breath. "Well... I'm working at The Sandbox, and I may or may not end up dating the owner, or possibly his best friend." I would never admit it to Ian, but I still thought about him.