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I shake my head. Right now, his hair looks fine, but I can imagine him washing the product out and finding the color turning his hair orange, or worse, creating random spots he’ll never be able to get out. I suppose that’s for us to worry about later, though.
“So, you gave the delivery girl a fifty-dollar tip,” I say as nonchalantly as possible before taking a sip of beer, enjoying the burst of flavor on my tongue. “Very sweet of you.”
Alex scoffs. “I didn’t give her fifty dollars. My parents did.”
I shrug while watching him open the pizza box and take out a slice. “Still, you didn’t have to do that.”
I notice how he keeps his gaze away from me, how his cheeks pink, contrasting with his bright red hair. “I like tipping. Besides,” he turns towards me, and I see a mischievous gleam in his eye, “maybe next time she delivers pizza she’ll slip me some garlic bread, too.”
The more I watch Alex, the more I realize he hides behind a facade. The mischievous, smirking, tongue sparring Alex is a mask, whereas the real person beneath is shy and sensitive. It’s interesting to see this now, given Seth’s hate for the guy. They’re always fighting verbally, and Alex has always remained one step ahead due to his advanced vocabulary and sharp wit. It’s good to see the other side of Alex from time to time, but recently I find myself wanting to see more.
I want to see the Alex I met at the party; the one who asked to be my boyfriend and kissed me.
I grimace. I shouldn’t be wanting that.Alex is a friend, I tell myself.That’s F.R.I.E.N.D. Friend.
My gaze lowers to his lips, remembering how they felt against mine, how his tongue stroked me deep inside. I clench my jaw, trying to wrench my gaze away, but it’s difficult. There’s marinara on his lip and his tongue swiftly slips against the sauce, making my insides boil. I shove a slice of pizza in my mouth, tasting pineapple and pepperoni, but I still can’t get the feeling of his tongue out of me.
“So,” I say between mouthfuls of pizza, “new school, new tats, new hair. It’s like a whole new you.”
Alex leans against the counter. “Yeah, I suppose so.” I watch him licking the pizza crumbs from his fingertips, my eyes zeroing in on the way he sucks them, imagining him sucking something else. “I kinda empathize with Lucas a bit. My parents have pretty much controlled my entire life.”
“Including your girlfriends?” I ask, my mind taking me down memory lane to when I was with Lucas in Paris and how cruelly his parents treated me. They thought I was below them due to my upbringing. I don’t think Lucas has spoken to them since that hellish brunch. I can’t say that I blame him.
I’m shocked when Alex shakes his head. “Nah. My parents aren’t that old school.” He sighs and slips past me, sitting on the edge of the bed. “However, they really want me to follow in their footsteps. Everyone in the Goode fam has become a doctor at some point in their life. They want the same for me.”
“And let me guess,” I say while sitting next to him on the bed, my thigh bumping against his, “you want something else, which is why you came here.”
Alex winces. “Well, I didn’t exactly come here for the right reasons, but something has kinda dropped in front of me. Something I really want to pursue.”
“Which is?” I ask, my eyebrows rising in interest at the serious look on Alex’s face.
“Coach told me to try out for the Olympics next year.”
A gasp escapes me, and I lean towards him, feeling excitement brim within me. “Really?” I breathe.
I watch him nod. “He’s amazed by my scores. I never thought I would ever be able to do much with running other than some modeling with Puma, but,” he shrugs and continues, “yeah, I plan on trying out.”
I clap my hands together. “I’m so happy for you.”
Alex chuckles. “Really? I thought you would boo me in the crowd with Seth.”
“Yeah, right. Seth can boo you on his own.”
Alex’s eyebrows raise, his look questioning. “I can’t see you leaving Seth all alone like that.”
I roll my eyes. “Seth can be an ass sometimes. Of course, I’ll be rooting for you.”
“So, that means you won’t be helping Seth make ‘Goode Sucks’ signs.”
“I don’t think those are the kind of signs Seth would want to make,” I say while waggling my eyebrows suggestively, enjoying Alex’s sultry chuckle and the way his eyes dilate. “More like ‘Break a Leg Goode’.”
“I think that’s a bit too soon,” says Alex, his hand resting on the bed, nearly touching mine.
I gasp, only realizing now that my words were a little insensitive to Seth, given he broke his heel in the Paris Marathon not too long ago. “Aw, crap.”
“Don’t worry,” Alex says, leaning so close I can feel his breath on my lips. “I forgive you.”
I flutter my eyelashes, enjoying this bantering, enjoying his warmth and the proximity of his body to mine. “Do you?”
