Chapter 19
Myssa
Afew hours later, the warm bitter taste of coffee slowly starts to wake me up. My toast lays untouched, mostly because Zayne plays headliner in my thoughts. Now that this is all out, I do have a few questions. What does Vix know exactly? What part does she play? What does she know about her boss? Is he single?
Geez, obsessed much,Myssa,I internally scold myself.All this talk about other worlds, some villain coming at you in your dreams, and your go-to is,is he single? Who does that?You! You do that, Myssa.I’ve lost it, that’s what it is. I have lost my fucking mind, and at some point, I’m going to wake up from all this and realize I was dreaming.
Just then, a loud knock jolts me out of my thoughts.
Setting my coffee down, I slide off the stool at the kitchen island and head to the door. Looking through the peephole, I’m greeted by Knox, who is wearing sweats and a t-shirt, jogging in place. I silently groan, realizing it must be Thursday. Being off work is really messing with my days. Putting on my fakest cheery persona, I open the door, ready to mess with him,
“Sup butterc…up…” My voice stutters, startled by the man dressed in cut-off sweats and a T-shirt leaning against the wallon the side of my door. I can’t help but drink him in. First, can I ask when did calves covered in tattoos become hot? Because just, damn.
His shirt hugs him in all the right places and I follow the veins on his forearms, then follow his tattoos that disappear under the shirt that’s stretched taught against his biceps. When I finally continue my way up, I’m met with eyes that shapeshift between emerald and amber hues. Realizing that I’ve been gawking at this man way too long, I stutter out the only words my brain can unscramble in that moment.
“Um, hi,” I say with a goofy grin, my cheeks reddening.
“Myssa?” Knox chuckles.
“Ye-Yeah?” I say, still looking at Zayne, who’s looking back at me with an intensity that’s making my knees weak.
Knox lifts my jaw to close my mouth.“You gotta a little drool right here,” he says, pretending to wipe the side of my lip.
Breaking out of the stare-off with Zayne, I immediately smack Knox in the arm.
“Ow.” He laughs, rubbing his arm. “Damn, why you always gotta hit me?”
I just glare at him, not bothering to answer, and move to the side, gesturing for them to come in.
I make a note to murder Knox for not giving me a heads-up that he was bringing Zayne. Because, holy shit, Zayne is in my apartment. Suddenly, my stomach drops at the thought—oh God, is my place even clean? I was so wiped last night; I can’t even remember the state of it.
Keeping it cool, I close the door behind them. I turn and notice Zayne looking around the living room already, and I follow his gaze. Luckily, everything looks ok. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turn to watch Knox already making himself at home by grabbing a cup out of my cupboard and pouring himself a cup of coffee.
“Zayne, would you like some coffee?” I ask, ignoring Knox’s obnoxious smirk.
“Nah, I’m good,” he says, still examining the pictures lining the shelves on my wall above the TV.
I watch Knox in dismay as he goes to the fridge, grabbing the oat milk and pouring the last of it in his coffee. Then he has the audacity to put the empty carton back in the fridge.
Totally oblivious to the death stare I’m giving him; he proceeds to sit on the stool I was just at before I opened the door. And with no care in the world, he picks up my untouched toast. Taking a big bite, he finally looks up at me, mid-chew, and pauses.
“Were you eating this?” he asks innocently as he takes another bite before he was done with the first.
“Not anymore,” I mumble, grabbing the empty carton out of the fridge and throwing it in the garbage.
Zayne, still looking around, has his back to us and says, “This is a nice place you have here, Myssa.”
Immediately, Knox looks at me, batting his eyelashes and mimicking what Zayne said. Then, to my horror, he proceeds to do a childish interpretation of us, hugging himself and doing kissy faces at me.
Too busy acting like an ass, he isn’t prepared when I whack him hard in the gut. He immediately starts choking and spitting little pieces of toast all over my counter as he gasps for breaths. Serves him right. He takes a sip of his coffee, while I wickedly grin at him with satisfaction.
Zayne turns around, looking at us. “Everything ok?”
“Yeah, everything is fine,'' I say, stifling my giggle and looking at an annoyed Knox as Zayne comes back to the kitchen.
Knox rubs his belly dramatically, glaring at me, and without even looking, snatches the last of my toast from the plate and stuffs it in his mouth.
I burst out laughing. Zayne just watches in confusion and shakes his head at Knox.
