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A soft snicker rolls along my throat. “My mom and dad didn’t come to the party.” Firming my lips and bringing a hand up to swipe beneath my eye, I glance across and study my friend. “They’re in town, according to the postcards I’ve gotten. But they didn’t even stop by and say hello.”
He leans over and presses a gentle, barely-there kiss to my cheek. “Some people simply don’t deserve to be in your life.” Reaching past me, he opens the door before pulling back to give me space. “Not everyone should have a seat at your table, Han. It’s up to you to decide who those people are, then kick them to the curb where they deserve to rot.” He lifts his chin and smirks. “Now get out.”
“Why’d you bring me home?” I glance to the lights illuminating my living room, though no one is home. Viv is still at the party, glammed up and walking the room to see who’s who. “What about Gina?”
“She’s at her place.” He lifts his phone, as though to show me. “She apologized for being presumptuous and unkind. Then she invited me over so we can talk. And you were done at the party, anyway. Your date left, and you drank a cocktail too many to drive home on your own, so…”
“Captain Always Right to the rescue.” Snickering, shaking my head, I lift one foot out of the van and set it on the road outside. Twisting, I do the same with the second, while holding my gown in both hands.
“Thanks for the ride. I hope things work out for you and Gina.” Pushing up to stand, then turning back to meet his eyes, I force my lips into a ghost of a smile. “If you think it appropriate, tell her I’m sorry if I did something that upset her. I don’t even remember seeing her there, so the fact she saw me…” I shrug. “I dunno. Whatever. You’ll know what to say.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He leans across the cab of the van and winks. “Head inside and lock up. I’ll wait until you’re in, then I’m going to see my girl.”
“You animal.” I reach up and swipe the moisture that still lingers under my eye.
But we’re done here. Gina’s been found, and my date long ago split.
Closing the door and stepping up onto the sidewalk, I keep hold of my gown and search my tiny purse for my house key.
I didn’t bring my phone tonight. No makeup but for a tube of lipstick.
Definitely no condom.
But I still feel Axel between my legs. Not his semen, which long ago dried up. But his rough hands. His brutal, pumping hips. I still feel his lips on mine, and his teeth biting hard enough to leave an impression. Literally.
I still feel his declaration of love, pulsing in my heart and making me weak.
I want him. I want to say yes to everything he’s ever said.
But it would be foolish of me to disregard Raul’s warning and throw myself back into the fire that already burned me once.
Moving up the stairs and slipping my key into the lock, I open the door to muted darkness before closing it again and listening for the locks to snick. My head pounds with a million thoughts as I remain standing in place long after Raul’s taillights fade in the distance. Then I stand for a little while longer, my palm pressed to my stomach, and a deep sadness sitting low in my belly.
For the relationship I should have with my parents.
For the relationship I hoped to have with Axel.
Exhaling a sigh, I turn on my heels and head through my home, keeping every light off except the living room so Viv can see her way when she returns. I step out of my shoes and leave them in the hall, then I slip the strap of my gown down over my shoulder and shimmy out of the fabric.
No underwear beneath it. No bra.
I walk the final length of my hall naked, with my dress balled in my arms, only to step into my room and jump a whole foot into the air when I find Axel’s powerful form, laid out on my bed. His head, resting against my wall, and his feet, crossed at the boots.
“What the hell are you doing!” I toss my dress at him as though it were a brick, and make my way to the dresser drawers sitting flush against the wall.
Yanking out a pair of panties and a sports bra, I fight my way into them before turning in the moonlight to face the man who watches me intently.
His eyes, burning in the darkness. His stare like a physical caress.
“I tried to call you.” With lazy movements, he reaches out to my bedside table and picks up my phone to show his missed calls. “You left the party in a rush that made me worry, and you weren’t answering your phone.” He sits up on my bed, leans my way, and tugs my wrist until I tumble down beside him.
He doesn’t touch the way I guess I expected he would. He doesn’t grope or demand something I’m not ready to give him right now.
But he cocoons me so I become his little spoon, and his legs cup the backs of mine. His lips press to my shoulder blade, and his breath on my skin sends me into a bundle of relaxation.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he murmurs softly. “I needed to be sure that asshole wasn’t leading you to your death.”
I close my eyes, yet they still roll. “He’s my friend. He made sure I got home safe.”
