Nothing Less

My bedroom door opens, and Nora walks into the living room wearing a pair of my briefs and one of my white undershirts. Her dark nipples show through. I see Hardin and the random guy looking at her, and my chest flares.

“You can go back in my room.” I hope she listens. I hate the two of them looking at her so exposed.

“What the hell?” She looks at Hardin, then at the other man. “Cliff?” Her eyes harden suspiciously. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“You know him?” I look between the two of them.

“She knows him?” Hardin asks me, knowing that I have no idea what the hell is going on.

Nora’s eyes dart to me, but she doesn’t respond.

“I was looking for my friend’s place. He just moved into the building,” this Cliff says.

Nora stares at him for a few seconds, and I watch them exchange communication without any words.

Who the hell is this guy?

“He’s leaving; it’s fine,” Nora says at last, pointing toward the door. She’s so calm and casual about all of this. So calm it’s disconcerting.

Cliff rubs his neck and stands in the doorway. He doesn’t say another word before disappearing into the hallway.

Hardin turns to Nora and raises his hands. “You just let him leave? You didn’t find out why the fuck he was here in the first place!”

Nora walks farther into the living room, her eyes on Hardin. “Yes, I did. You heard his reason for being here.” She rests her hands on her hips, and I consider walking up and pulling the hem of the briefs she’s wearing down a little, just to cover a little more of her luscious body.

We just had a scene from a Fast and Furious movie go down in the living room, and I can only focus on the curve of Nora’s thighs. I need help.

“He was lying!” Hardin shouts.

Nora moves closer to him. “First off, don’t yell at me again,” she says through her teeth, challenging him. “And second, you don’t know that he was lying. You don’t know him.”

Hardin tilts his head back. “Oh, that’s right. You do. How about you explain that little gem?”

“Guys.” I walk between them. “Hardin, he’s gone. Nora, go to my room.” I feel like a dad with two temper-fueled children. Nora turns around and opens her mouth. Before she speaks, she closes it and turns to walk past me and down the hallway. I expected a fight from at least one of them.

“You better make her tell you who the fuck he is,” Hardin demands.

And here we go . . . “Shut up and get the broom.” I point to the closet next to the entrance to the kitchen. “I’ll figure it out. You just clean that glass up.”

Hardin glares at me. “I mean it. This isn’t just about you. Tessa lives here, and if anything happens to her—”

The oven beeps from the kitchen, and I remember Nora’s cupcakes. I had completely forgotten about them. Has it only been twenty minutes since we went into my room?

Heading into the kitchen, I grab an oven mitt and pull the pan from the oven. The tiny cakes smell delicious and are perfectly browned at the top. My mouth waters, and I rest them on top of the stove and go back into the living room with Hardin.

So many questions are running through my mind. Is the intruder Nora’s last boyfriend, whom she refuses to talk about? Is he just some regular thief, the one who broke into my apartment before? What would he have done if no one was home or if Hardin hadn’t shown up when he did?

I need to get the mess the brawl made cleaned up so I can get back to my room and talk to Nora. Hardin’s sweeping without complaint, and I grab one side of my late grandma’s table and turn it