Chapter 22: Brick & Mortar

After three hours of restless sleep, my alarm fired off at 5AM.

"I keep forgetting to change this," I complained, reaching for my phone that was either buried underneath my pillow or swallowed with my sheets.

I discovered it after a few seconds and immediately advanced my weekday alarm by one hour. The one positive thing about the new apartment was the shorter commute to work which meant a smidge more sleep– if I could ever allow myself to get any rest.

Work.

I'm "Ms. Young" again and he's just my boss. I curled in my lower lip and wasn't surprised that I could still feel it– the kiss.

It was why I couldn't sleep. My nerves wouldn't rest, but I wasn't sure I wanted to either. He was gone by midnight but the second I would go to bed and wake up was really my definition of "tomorrow".

My eyes may have barely shut, but tomorrow had come anyways, and all I could do was think about what I wouldn't have anymore.

A little smile was on my face. He gave me his copy of my apartment key. He was actually going to give me my space. No more unexpected visits, and less stressful nights were mine to be had.

I should have been happy enough to scream from the top of my lungs but my conscious wasn't done making a list of what I would be without from now on.

Ezra.

My smile had faded in an instant. To think that I was only able to see Ezra Leoné for less than five minutes; the Ezra that had finally come to surface for some reason. I don't know what I did or what I said to see him, but I only had him for so little time.

Curiosity was a bitch, and it wouldn't go away the more I thought about what happened at my door. I could still feel the heat of his hand and lips across my skin, and it was confusing as to why I felt torn about knowing I had to mark these touches down as something I would never have again.

Maybe it was just the touch of a man that I was lingering over, not Ezra. Maybe, the familiarity bouncing around was trying to remind me about someone that I didn't want to miss anymore.

I still miss you.

Yet, I wasn't allowed to think on an old flame for too long, when I heard the scrapes echoing from the bathroom.

"Gross," I groaned, before I was immediately forced to shut up.

I was quiet as my head turned toward the sound of loud vibrations, and I saw Cinna Buns already taking back her half of my pillow. She nuzzled her face against mine, and I wasn't sure whose purring cat was in my apartment.

"What are you doing?" I asked with a dumbfounded expression.

But then suddenly she found it wise to lie down with her little tush against my cheek. I jumped up from the floor and wafted away the fresh smell of kitty litter.

Ya nasty poopin' machine.

I disappeared into the bathroom to start my morning ritual, but I apparently had an extra shadow for the morning.

"Right, right. You hungry," I drowsily confirmed, but after I poured her bits, she took a bite and immediately lost interest.

Umm?

Now, my adopted pet was rubbing against my ankles and trying to play with my feet as I trailed back to the bathroom. While she was entertaining herself in my personal space, I noticed how my little fuzzy sprout was growing bigger.

And finally so is your wittle heart.

Despite my cat's abnormal behavior, I prepared for my day– less misery on my mind than usual. A huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders, and I felt like I could start to enjoy the little things again when I linked Ezra's gift of the spare key to my existing set.

Just as I grabbed my purse, I put my other hand over my stomach when it rumbled loudly. Well, I don't really have much of anything in my refrigerator so maybe a trip to the Starbucks in Safeway was due. The odds that I would run into a particular person again, were slim, but the fact that it was still a possibility was clouding my mind.

However, I was able to obtain a small cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich in peace. Today was looking good. I grabbed grub, a cup of joe, and had half an hour before 7AM– though it only takes about twenty minutes max to walk to work.

Actually, today was looking too good. Knowing me, I must have forgotten something.

I was right.

"Shit, my charger," I cursed under my breath.

As soon as I hurried from the Safeway, I was rushing back into my apartment complex. The elevator was taking way too long, and I had to dash three flights up the stairs. My fingers fumbled around for my keys, and I yanked them from my purse just as I stumbled onto my floor.

"C'mon," I growled shoving the key into the door.

The damn key is in, so why isn't... it turning.

I removed the key from the knob, and looked at it closely. It was definitely the key he gave me last night, and... it definitely wasn't a spare to my apartment. Dangling the keys in front of my face, I peered at them. This wasn't an identical key, though it looked similar in body.

I grabbed the metal ring attached to the foreign key and finally took a look at it. There was a faint number printed on the side and I was so angry with myself for not noticing it before. I was going to have to forget about the charger, I was running out of time for my commute.

When I arrived, to work, I was distracted on such a massive level that I had an email draft wide and center on my screen for fifteen minutes. I kept wondering if he was upstairs in his office, I kept wondering where the key he gave me was supposed to fit into.

I licked my lower lip and bit down; I kept wondering if something would happen at noon.

Finally pulling from my stupor, I scrolled through my phone and looked up the number that was attached to the key.

"Wesker's Storage?" I whispered.

Still staring at my phone, I got up from my desk and hurried to Chris's office.

"I have to make a phone call," I mouthed to my manager, and he shooed me to acknowledge that it was fine.

In a hurry, I dialed the number and skipped hopping into the elevator and headed straight for the stairwell.

C'mon, c'mon.

"Hello? Hi... I didn't see any hours of operation online and I wanted to know what time you closed today?"

3:15PM. Shit. I'll never make that.

"Okay, thank you," I sighed, before ending the call.

I was going to be on my feet a lot today because I wasn't going to have an actual lunch break. Luckily, the fact that I needed to run out at noon distracted me from the fact that I didn't receive an email from someone on the thirty-third floor.

The storage facility was about ten miles away, and a taxi was my only timely way of getting to this place. It was located at the edge of the Business District, but it still wreaked of grandeur with an elaborate iron gate to the right of the two-story premises.

I pushed open the front door and spotted a fair, bald man at the front counter, already inspecting me before I could clear the doorway.

He lifted up his square chin and began, "County housing is a few blocks down."

What?

"Pardon?" I asked with a slight turn away of my head.

"How may I help you?" he asked, scrutinizing me without hesitation.

My chin didn't delay to lift as high as his while I caught a glimpse of his name tag, "I have a unit here."

Christian, huh?

He lifted a brow and scoffed, "Is that so?"

"Yes," I snapped back, my eyes growing wider at his petulance.

He wasn't buying it. "This is an elite storage unit–"

"Is this how you treat your customers?" I snipped.

"No, because I'm very aware of who the actual occupants of this storage facility are. And you are surely not one of them."

I looked away and clenched down on my teeth. I'm used to rude, but it was always extra hard to deal with the obvious truth to a stranger's instant attitude.

I couldn't waste anymore time, so I went about progress the only way I figured would work.

"Does this... key look familiar to you?" I asked dangling it in front of him.

His arm had extended and his palm was exposed to me. Uncomfortably, I put it in his hand and he examined it carefully.

He slid an open book with lined pages across the counter. "I need your name, signature... and your I.D."

I held it together as I did as I was instructed.

"I will hang onto your I.D. while you are here. Right this way," he finished with hostility.

He led me to a back door and outside to a farm of units that had a padlock waiting for the key in Christian's hand.

"It is Unit 1200," he lowly informed me.

"Tell me, are the customers able to pick their units?" I asked pacing down the row with him.

He quickly answered, "Yes. And if there is an opening, it can be moved to a prefered, larger, or smaller storage unit."

I sensed the mild irritation in his voice, however I was too distracted to give him a look as I stared up at the number to the storage unit in front of me. But after a few seconds, I turned to the employee and lifted my brows.

He returned a condescending grin as he extended the key to me between his thumb and forefinger.

I guess I'll do it? Douche.

I heatedly approached the shiny padlock. With caution, I grabbed the sheet door at the bottom, and since it was not a light lift, I wasn't surprised that I nicked my hands a bit. It was a slight struggle while still hanging onto my purse and lifting in skirt and heels, but I got it done. Staggering back as I wiped the oil and dirt from my throbbing hands, I peered inside of the small unit.

There was an enormous smile on my face, relieved to see that my old bed, dresser, and desk weren't in a landfill like I thought they might have been. Though seconds later, my internal celebration was distracted by the small cardstock foldover that was perched on my mattress.

Simply say my name, and he will be at your command.

-Ezra

"Such pretty handwriting," I whispered to myself.

I was pulled from the enchantment of the card by the loud sigh I heard outside of the unit. Tucking away the note in my purse, I stepped back out and resealed my spot.

"Is there more that I can help you with today?" he prompted with an aggressive tone I wanted to believe was his natural intonation.

"Actually, that is all," I smiled. "And I'll be sure to let Mr. Leoné know that the service here was just as welcoming as a perforated, eight-foot iron gate at the edge of a city is to any able bodied criminal.

He looked as though he lost a little momentum on his shitty-attitude streak. And I had to admit I was enjoying Christian's color of gloom that washed over his face.

The shade was fitting for him.

*

I returned to my desk, hungry in more ways than one. I did need to refuel my body, but I also needed to feed my brain too. I wasn't sure I had ever wanted to speak to Ezra so badly, but I just knew that that was out of the question. I had no real reason to initiate a conversation with him during business hours.

Time had run out for me anyhow, and I sat at my computer staring at the top right of the screen

3:05PM

"Heading out, Ada?" Chris peeped from behind.

I turned to smile at him, "Yeah, I just have a few more files to look through before I call it quits."

"Alrighty, don't stay too long now," he winked.

I giggled back, "I won't."

I kept my word, leaving my work station five minutes later, and I was standing in front of the elevator contemplating which button to press.

Down... or up?

"Just go home, girl," I finally sighed, pressing down.

I wasn't sure where this sudden brick of disappointment flew from to hit me in the face, but it hit hard. It was obvious that my feelings were conflicted, but then there was the added layer of me not knowing what I was particularly conflicted about in the first place.

The elevator doors opened to the lobby and I was strolling out– head down, gears in my head trying to shift without any oil.

"Hey, Ada!" I heard, and I immediately lifted up my head to find Chris and... Mr. Leoné standing by the front doors.

There I felt it again– the tingling sensation across certain parts of my skin. My pace toward them was regular, even though I felt like everything else was moving in slow motion.

Finally.

After not having seen hide nor hair of him of him all day, I was finally getting to catch a glimpse of the man who left a small card for me at the edge of the Business District.

"Mr. Leoné and I were just talking about you," Chris smirked with evil.

I stuttered at the beginning of my playful response, "Oh... oh is that so?"

"Mmm hmm," Chris chuckled.

I smiled with suspicion at my manager, "I feel like I should be scared."

Our boss didn't hesitate to answer, "Not at all. I was simply inquiring with Chris to confirm that everything was in order with his team today."

I shifted my attention to him and swallowed hard before beaming. "Today was very good. Great actually. The support queue has had so much weight lifted off of it that I even had enough time to do some exploring around the district during my lunch break. I'm sorry I never got a chance today to say thank you... Mr. Leoné."

"You're welcome, Ms. Young. But my actions were surely overdue," he finished confidently, though his eyes were revealing the opposite effect.

My smile was threatening to fall into a mixture of disappointment and frustration, so I turned to Chris to make sure that it wouldn't completely disappear.

I shot off my finger guns, "Well, I won't let the intern kept you from the rest of your conversation."

"Oh, you're not bothering anyone, Ada," Chris reassured me.

I beamed at him, but shook my head, "No, no. I do have to go. I should probably be on my way to get some food. I'm starving."

With my last words, I had to give a last cursory glance to Ezra, and I had to admit to myself that as I turned away, I did see the hint of a smile on his face.