Page 26 of Wallflower No More

My eyes go as big as saucers. What the hell has the Everything Fearless Insta posted now? That has to be the reason why my phone has been going haywire and why this stranger is talking stupid. I never get the chance to answer her, because Axel bursts through the door and frantically looks around the room for me. Both of us stand there slack jawed. Once I'm spotted, he quickly makes his way up to my counter. His appearance is disheveled, and he's on the verge of being out of breath. Oh no. This can't be good. “I can explain.”

He turns to my customer. “Excuse us, please.”

Livid, I pull him into the break room. My hands are firmly on my hips. “Axel, do you know why that girl out there just asked me if we were living together?”

Axel winces, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that he's behind the rumor. But why? My dad follows the page and will kill me if he gets wind of this lie. He looks apologetic, so I try to keep my temper in check until hearing the whole story. “Well?” He hands me his phone without another word. Shit. It takes a few minutes for me to be able to read the article because I have to hit ignore on about fifteen calls from various girls in between. I'll have to ask him who Shelby, Monica, Jasmine, Niesha, and so on and so forth is. This keeps getting better.

“The article explains why both our phones are going ballistic right about now, but it doesn't explain how it ended up on the Fearless page. Do you know how?” I’m staring at him.

He shrugs. “Not exactly how, but I may have had a little something to do with it.”

I move my hand in a forward motion, but he shrugs again, revealing nothing. “Axel, I'm trying very hard not to lose my shit. What are you not telling me?”

He exhales. “Brody McDougall came by your place, and I kind of told him we were living together.”

I stare back into his caramel-colored eyes, dumbfounded. Why would he do that? Jared comes into the break room. “Sorry, Scar, we're swamped again.”

I nod my head. Then turn on Axel. “I'll deal with you later.”

He smiles. “So, you're still talking to me?”

I roll my eyes at him. “Yeah. You can call it talking, but I'll refer to it as yelling.”

He scoffs. “Okay, Drama Queen.” I poke his arm. “Ouch!”

“Now, who's being a Drama Queen, big baby?” I cross my arms across my chest.

He flips me off and heads for the door. “What time do you get off?”

“At five.” Lies.

“See you then, Wallflower.” He turns around and gives me a big smile.

My smile, in return, turns sour. “You may want to call all those girls back and tell them we're not living together. I wouldn't want to spoil your bad boy reputation.”

Axel's beautiful face grows dark. He stalks back over to me, caging me in against the wall. “Red. I don't want any of those other damn girls. And after last night, you'd be crazy to think we won't sleep in the same bed every night.” Well, now my vagina is on fire. Thanks for that, Axel. He nibbles on my bottom lip and walks out like the big bad wolf that he is.

My blush starts at my hairline and reaches down to my toes. Jared laughs at me. “Damn, are you guys into voyeurism? Because I could be reticent while watching all the sexy times in the corner. And I thought we get off at four.”

“You wish, perv. And we do.” Axel may make my panties drip, but he deserves to show up and me not be here. Jared laughs at me again. I hate when he does that. We shove each other and then, unfortunately, have to get back to work. A tinge of guilt creeps into my senses, but it honestly serves him right. I'll already be back at my apartment when he comes to visit me at five. He should have never told Brody that lie. Brody is an asshole for treating me the way he did, but in the end, I allowed it. Some of that is on me, too. Why did he have to come back to Texas?

The rest of our shift is just as brutal as the beginning was. Exhausted and in a bad mood, my telling the lie to Axel was a favor to him. I leave with an iced coffee and what's left of my sanity.

After my shower, I get down to business. My outline for the Public Speaking speech is up first.

•Why did I choose my major?

•Talk about why you're passionate about said major!

•Tell the story about your mom's cancer, how it united all of your hometown, and how the news made it possible for her to be remembered. #Always

That last point will have me in tears, but the story needs to be told. It keeps her memory alive, and that's what matters most. It's also the most essential factor in choosing Journalism as my career path. Writing my topic takes more time than expected.

Finally, looking at my phone, my heart drops. I have four missed calls from Axel and one naughty text.

Rabies: Wallflower, you think you're so clever, but your ass soon won't. Spankings can bring more pleasure than pain, and my palms have an itch that'll quickly be scratched.

Heat starts in the pit of my stomach and travels all the way down. I've always wondered what it would be like to be spanked in the middle of a passionate tryst. I roll my eyes at myself. Who in the hell says things like tryst? Romance writers, that's who. Placing my laptop on my lap, I log into my favorite Dom/Sub writing site, Tongue Tied. It's where all my stories are published. With over two million subscribers, posting at least twice a week is a must. Taking a month off to regroup was imperative because I needed to develop a new storyline and set of characters.