Anessa's face flushed; she was embarrassed on her best friend's behalf.
Steve, on the other hand, was dumbstruck. He had no idea Emily was so shameless to strip her lower half in the open hallway.
'She must really want to get away from them,' he thought to himself.
He knew it was wrong to blatantly stare at her like she was a well-roasted turkey on a platter, but he couldn't help it.
Black lace looked so good on her, Steve couldn't help but have perverted thoughts which of course resulted in even more excitement in his pants.
Emily adjusted the pants around the key so that she could still use it even though it was still literally stuck in the pants' pocket.
She glanced to her side to see Steve staring at her, "Eyes up ahead, Steve."
"Right," he promptly responded and quickly turned around. And that's when he saw him, his enemy and fellow competitor for Emily's heart.
Steve firmed his stance as he glared at the shirtless man not too far away from him taking to Anessa who really did give up and started taking her heels off.
He clenched his fists and stood at a certain angle so Blake wouldn't see Emily's almost half-naked body. 'I refuse to let an undeserving man like him gaze upon the sexiness of my woman's lower half.'
A confused expression appeared on Blake's face as he looked at Steve. "What's this guy's deal?" he mumbled to himself.
"Yes!" Emily celebrated when she finally got the door open. She rushed inside, but peeked her head back out for a second, "Don't let my stupid roommate pass you either okay?"
Steve nodded maintaining the firm glare on his face, "Wasn't planning on it."
With that, Emily closed the door to the apartment but didn't bother to lock it since Blake has a key too. She locked her room door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief as she reassured herself, "I'll be safe in here."
Meanwhile, Anessa and Blake were busy negotiating with the stern and stubborn blonde guarding the apartment door.
Anessa knew Steve wouldn't move if she told him to so she decided to bargain. "Whatever Emily promised you I can give you a million times better if you let us pass."
Steve scoffed, "What can you offer me that could be better than a date with Emily?"
Anessa brought her fingers to her chin and spoke quietly to herself, "So, that's what she promised him."
Blake stood behind Anessa completely confused about what was presently going on. He slightly stooped to whisper in her ear, "Can't I just beat him up or something?"
Anessa gasped and whispered back, "Of course not! You just be quiet, I'll handle this."
Blake furrowed his brows, 'Handle what exactly?' He was still so confused, but he didn't ask any more questions.
After thinking properly, Anessa finally had an offer or two in mind. "I'll unblock you from her Instagram." Steve still didn't look interested so she added, "And her Snapchat."
He rose a brow and looked at her, "I'm listening."
Upon gaining his interest, Anessa continued to sell. "I'll send you five hundred photos of her."
Steve folded his arms, "One thousand photos."
Blake quietly chuckled to himself when he finally picked up what was going on. 'So, this guy is obsessed with Emily and she's using that to sway him into letting us in.'
He hummed as he rubbed his chin, 'Pretty clever.'
He looked sympathetically at Steve, 'I kind of feel sorry for him though, he's obsessively in love with someone who might never feel the same way.'
Anessa was running out of things to bargain when a stupid but brilliant idea came to mind. She fished out a bunch of keys from her purse, "I'll give you the key to her apartment."
"And the key to her bedroom," she added.
Steve's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"
Anessa grinned upon seeing how excited he was, "Yes, I just need you to open the door."
The creepy smile returned to Steve's lips as he thought to himself for a while. 'With the key to her bedroom, I wouldn't have to get close to that shirtless freak at all."
Everything for Steve's plan of getting rid of Blake was falling into place, unfortunately for his plan to work, he would have to give up the date with Emily.
"Deal," he announced.
Blake quickly swiped the keys from Anessa's hands, "Woah...easy tiger."
Anessa furrowed her brows, "What?"
Blake rose a brow, "You do know Emily is going to kill you if she finds out you gave her room key to her personal stalker right?"
"She won't find out if no one says anything."
Blake looked at her determined face for a hint of hesitation, but she was dead serious about giving away the she-devils key to a potential psychopath.
He shrugged and dropped the key into her outstretched hand, "I won't say anything, but if she finds out...you're hella screwed."
Anessa held the keys tightly in her hand, "I accept those consequences." She turned to Steve, "If I give you these keys, do you promise to let us in?"
Steve smiled, "I'm an honest man."
And so, she hesitantly dropped the keys in Steve's outstretched hand. "Now let us in," she commanded, but Steve only laughed as he pushed the keys into his back pocket.
"You should learn more from your parents, Anessa," he teased. "Have they never taught you to reap the benefits before you pay the bill?"
Anessa clenched her fists so tight her nails threatened to pierce her palm. "You lying bastard," she angrily spat.
Blake cracked his knuckles, "Can I beat him up now?"
"I'm definitely considering it," Anessa responded through gritted teeth. She sighed, "But it wouldn't be worth it and I'd hate for you to get in trouble."
Anessa's shoulders fell, "I have nothing else to bargain and Steve won't let us in no matter what so we should just give up."
Blake sighed and pushed his hand deep into his front pocket, "I guess it's my turn to bargain."
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DollyRoma: Happy International Women's Day to all my lovely female readers! :)