I read, ‘My cock misses you, too. I’m ready for round two when you are.’
I blushed and sent him a quick text back for us to get together the next day. He responded instantly that he wanted to see my place. I sent him my address and agreed he’d come over for dinner after work the next day.
I tucked my phone away and settled back into the movie, feeling good about the not so awkward morning after.
Twelve
The next few weeks flew by. Xander and I spent a lot of time together, learning each other’s habits and moods, and bodies. I knew I was starting to fall for him and it both scared me and excited me. Before long we were spending the night together almost every night.
Melody caught wind of my new relationship and threatened to turn me in to Diana for violating company policy. We both knew she couldn’t really get me in trouble, but it didn’t help my chances of getting promoted. Of course that was exactly what Melody was after. If I was out of the way, she was guaranteed to get the promotion. Diana told me Melody and I were the two leading candidates. With me pushing the rules, Melody could easily sell me out and secure her position.
For some reason, she hadn’t done it yet.
“Mandy, have you heard from Mr. Carlson lately?” she asked one Friday afternoon as I walked past her cubicle.
Melody’s voice carried through the office, halting me and making me wonder what the hell she was up to.
“Yes, I’ve heard from him. Why?” I responded, knowing she knew full well I’d been seeing Xander.
“I was just making sure he didn’t have any other issues. If he’s calling you then I’d assume there’s a problem with his account. Did his previous claim get paid?”
I gritted my teeth, knowing she was implying he would only want to talk to me if he had a problem. Of course, I couldn’t exactly announce that our conversations had nothing to do with work and everything to do with… other things. “His claim was paid. As far as I know he’s not had any other issues with claims not being paid correctly.”
“Maybe I should call him and follow up. Make sure he’s happy with the service he’s received from you. See if there’s anything I can do for him…”
My blood boiled and my fists balled. I’d never wanted to hit someone as badly as I did at that moment. She was baiting me, and fuck if it wasn’t working.
“Of course, Melody. If Mr. Carlson finds my services… lacking… I’m sure you’ll be able to help him.”
With that I spun on my heel and raced back to my cubicle, hoping I could get in touch with Xander before Melody did.
I sent him a text first, but he didn’t answer right away. I called him, but it went to voicemail after a minute, which meant he was busy, but would call me back when he had a minute.
Unease churned in my gut as I waited to hear from him. The morning seemed to drag on, and by the time lunch arrived I was so anxious I couldn’t even eat. Every time my phone rang, I jumped.
It was almost time to go before I heard from Xander. His text said, ‘Busy day. Everything ok?’
‘Melody wants to talk to you. Trying to piss me off.’
‘Is that what that was about? Already talked to her,’ he responded, making my heart sink.
Before I could answer, the unmistakable click of Melody’s heels echoed around me, indicating she was coming closer. I tucked my phone back into my desk and clicked over to my email, hoping she wouldn’t bother me.
“Mandy, I just spoke with Mr. Carlson. I thought you should know since you were so interested in his case.”
I nodded, but didn’t speak, hoping it would all be over soon.
“Do you want to know what he said?”
“Of course, Melody. I care about our customers just as much as you do.”
Melody grinned like she had a secret. “Mr. Carlson said he was happy to hear from me. He promised that he would let me know if there was anything at all that I could do for him.”
“I’m sure he did,” I ground out, a mix of anger and pain filling me. Why would Xander say that?
“He was very grateful that I called him. I think I’ll put him on my list of customers to call regularly, just to make sure he’s doing well. After all,” she said quietly so no one else could hear, “he’s got a sexy voice. One that shouldn’t be wasted on someone who looks like you.”
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving me feeling like I’d been sucker-punched.
In a way I had.
I spent the last hour of my day ignoring my phone buzzing in my desk, knowing it was just Xander. I wasn’t ready to talk to him after hearing how happy he was to talk to Melody.
My friends had been bugging me to meet Xander. I knew they wanted to evaluate him for themselves. That night everyone was coming over for a movie night at my place. I knew I couldn’t avoid him forever, but I needed a little time to breathe, without Melody on my back.
Leading up to the day, I was nervous. The four people closest to me were all going to be at my place for the evening and I worried they wouldn’t get along. I thought maybe Xander wouldn’t like my friends or maybe they’d think he was a jerk. I wanted everything to be perfect.
With Melody’s conversation with Xander hanging over my head, I was no longer nervous. I was just hurt, frustrated, and confused.
After a trip to the liquor store to get a new bottle of vodka and a few bottles of wine, I stopped by the grocery store. I found the beer Xander liked, even though I was mad at him, and loaded up on raw cookie dough, ice cream, and cupcakes. We tended to eat a lot of snacks and drink a lot on movie nights.
The doorbell rang around five and I heard the door push open. I rounded the corner of the kitchen and walked into the living room in time to see Claire close the door behind her. “Hey,” she said. “Can I do anything?”
Claire knew me too well. I hadn’t come out and said how nervous I was about the night but that obviously didn’t matter when it came to best friends.
“I’m just trying to relax a little right now. Melody called Xander from work today and said he told her he was happy to hear from her, and that he’d call her if there was anything he needed.”
Claire’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you so upset about that?” She pulled out a corkscrew and filled two wine glasses, handing me one.
“It just felt like he was telling her he’d rather deal with her.”
“And you’ve ignored his calls since, haven’t you?” she said, picking up my phone and unlocking it. “Seventeen missed calls from him? Mandy, I’m screwed up when it comes to guys, but even I can tell Xander is trying here. Melody twists everything, you know that. He knows all your calls are recorded. He probably didn’t want to say anything that would indicate he had something going on with you, or be overly nasty to her without cause. He’s going to be here soon. You don’t need to be fighting with him when he’s here to meet us.”
I sighed heavily, knowing Claire was right. It was just like Melody to mess with me. For all I knew she didn’t even talk to him. No, he said she did, but that doesn’t mean he said anything she said.
“I’m acting like a crazy bitch again, aren’t I?”
Claire shrugged and sipped her wine. “You said it, not me.”
I laughed as I heard a knock on the front door, then froze. I knew it was Xander because Sam and Addi would have let themselves in. I took a deep breath and mumbled, “Better get it over with.”
As soon as the door opened he grinned tentatively at me. Feeling slightly better, I tried to let the tension I was feeling slip from my body. Xander stepped inside and cupped my chin in his strong hand. He turned my face up his and asked, “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
I stepped into his arms and smiled when they automatically came around me. I nuzzled into his strong chest and listened to his steady heart beat for a few seconds. His muscles tensed beneath me, picking up on my tension, and he held me close, pressing his lips into my hair. “What happened honey? Talk to me. Why didn’t you answer my calls or texts?”
“Melody made it sound like you wanted to deal with her from now on, like you liked her, and it just really threw me.”
“Oh, babe, I’m sorry. I knew she was up to something when I heard it was her calling me and not you. She asked if all my issues with my previous claim had been handled and it I was happy with the service I was getting from WNY Health. Then she said to call if I needed anything else. I said okay. That was it.”
I wanted to laugh. I’d been so worked up and it was over nothing. It seemed silly hearing about it from Xander. God, I was such a fool.
“What else is going on? Are you worried about tonight? You were tense when you got up this morning.”
“How do you know me so well?” He shrugged and pulled me closer. “Yes, I am a little nervous about you meeting my friends.”
He pulled back to look at me, keeping his arms circled around my waist. “Is it bad to admit I’m nervous, too? I want them to like me.”
I stepped up onto my toes and pressed my lips to his, sighing when he pulled me in closer and swept his tongue quickly through my mouth. My arms wrapped around his neck and I let myself melt into him. It’d only been a few hours since I’d been in his arms, but I’d missed him.
“Oh, sorry,” I heard Claire say behind us. I backed up from Xander and he winked at me as he let go of me and stepped over to Claire.
“Hi, I’m Xander. You’re Claire, right?”
“Yes,” she stammered. “How did you know that?”
“Oh, well, Mandy’s shown me pictures of the four of you and she’s told me so much about all of you. I’m sorry if I’m being too forward, but I feel like I already know you. Mandy adores you.”
“Uh, thanks. It seems she’s pretty smitten with you, too,” Claire countered, making me blush.
“Well, she not the only one smitten around here. She’s pretty amazing, but you already knew that.”
Claire smiled and nodded. “We already started drinking. Would you like some wine?”
“No, thanks,” Xander answered. “It gives me a headache. I’ll grab some water or something.”
“I bought your beer, babe,” I offered as Xander headed toward the kitchen.
“Thanks honey,” he called back.
Claire grabbed my hand and said, “Is everything okay? Did he explain?”
“Yeah. I was being crazy as usual. He said it was really nothing, just Melody asking if everything had been resolved and telling him to call if there were more issues.”
Claire nodded as Xander came back in the room with a beer in one hand and my wineglass in the other. “Is this yours honey?”
I thanked him and took the glass from his hand, the familiar spark of awareness rushing through me as our fingers brushed. His eyes met mine and I saw he felt the same. He winked at me and I knew he was thinking about our morning. Where he held my hands as I rode him.
Addi and Sam arrived a few minutes later, rushing through the door and introducing themselves to Xander and hugging me and Claire. When everyone had a drink, we ordered pizza and started looking for movies.
“What movies do you like to watch Xander?” Addi asked him.
He smiled at me before he said, “Lately whatever Mandy wants to watch, but usually I’ll watch action flicks. I like having something to figure out or a task to accomplish. I’m not into lots of blood or horror movies, but hand-to-hand fighting or something with fast cars is pretty cool.”
“I like fast cars,” Claire admitted. “I’ve loved the Fast and Furious movies. I liked the action movies that have a little comedy element to them, like 21 Jump Street with Channing Tatum. Of course anything with him is good, even with the sound off.”
Xander laughed and Claire waggled her eyebrows at me. We’d talked many times about the finer points of Channing Tatum. And there were many finer points. He’s the only man we’ve ever said we’d be willing to have a threesome with, if he wasn’t willing to have us separately.
“I could go for a Channing Tatum movie if you guys want. What about you Xander?” Sam asked.
“Anything is fine. He’s a good actor, although I would like to keep the sound on,” he teased Claire.
She laughed at him and said, “If you insist. I’ll dream about him while you watch the movie.”
I scrolled through and found a list of Channing Tatum movies. “How about one of the GI Joe movies?” Addi suggested. “It’s got action for sure, but I think there’s a storyline.”
“You guys don’t have to change your normal movie routine because I’m here, you know. I’d be fine watching She’s the Man or Dear John if you want one of those. Hell even Step Up is fine.”
I smiled and kissed him lightly. His hand tightened on my thigh and I could feel the restraint he was using not to ravage me in front of my friends. I appreciated it, but it made me ache between my thighs. It was going to be a long night.
We finally settled on Step Up to start with because we all loved watching Channing Tatum dance. Xander said he was okay with it and settled in to watch the movie.
Xander sat on the floor at my feet, letting the four of us take up the couch. I wondered if he was bothered by it but he offered. There was a recliner in the corner that I offered him, but he said he wanted to be close to me. I caught a look pass between Addi, Sam, and Claire out of the corner of my eyes, but Claire just squeezed my arm. It seemed they were warming up to him.
Thirteen
Halfway through the movie the pizza arrived. Xander paid for all of it, waving off offers to give him money. “If you’re trying to buy our approval with pizza, it just might work,” Addi teased him.
He laughed and said, “I was hoping to gain your approval with my charm and wit but as long as I have your approval I guess it doesn’t really matter how I got it.”
Everyone laughed as we filled our plates with pizza and headed back to the living room. Xander snagged my arm before we left the kitchen and pulled me into a rough kiss, his tongue forcing into my mouth. He probed me, gripping my ass and grinding his hips to mine while I stood there, pizza and wine in my hands.
He pulled back from me as quickly as he’d grabbed me and said, “I’ve been dying to kiss you. It’s hard to keep my hands to myself when you’re this close. Just a whiff of your scent is intoxicating.”
Stunned and turned on beyond belief I stood there staring at him, “You can’t just kiss me like that and walk off. Shit, I didn’t even get a chance to touch you.”
He picked up his pizza and bottle of beer and winked at me as he left the kitchen to finish watching the movie with my friends. I stared after him, willing the throbbing between my thighs to stop, but I knew only one thing could make that happen. And it seemed I was out of luck there.
When Step Up ended Xander collected plates from the pizza and carried them to the kitchen. “He’s really sweet,” Addi said when he was out of sight. “I like him. And he’s totally into you.”
“Yeah,” I said, glancing toward the kitchen, “I still can’t believe it most of the time. Women gawk at him whenever we go out but he doesn’t even notice. It’s weird.”
“He likes you a lot, Mandy. Don’t question it, just enjoy it,” Sam said. “I wish I could capture the way he looks at you when you aren’t watching him. The look in his eyes… It’s the same look most grooms have when their bride steps into view the first time. It’s just powerful and amazing.”
“Well, we’re nowhere near ready to get married yet, but I know he cares. He hasn’t said he loves me and neither have I.”
“Do you? Love him?” Claire asked, sounding surprised.
I shrugged, unsure how to explain the sudden and powerful connection we shared. I knew I was well on my way to falling in love with Xander, but I also knew, for me, love had been elusive my whole life. I wasn’t entirely sure what love would feel like and I didn’t want to confuse love with enjoying great sex.
“I don’t think so, not yet. But I do feel something very strong toward him. I’m just not ready to say it’s love y
et.”
Before I had a chance to tell them that the idea of falling in love with Xander scared the shit out of me he came back into the room. He had a tray loaded with the cupcakes I bought, a tub of cookie dough, and a large bowl of fresh popcorn.
“I hope you ladies don’t mind. I like popcorn when I watch a movie and always like something sweet with it. Besides this one,” he said with a wink in my direction.
He settled back onto the floor at my feet and kissed the inside of my knee. He opened his mouth slightly to suck the skin of my thigh and I nearly moaned at the sensation. Movie nights usually lasted all night with a sleepover at the end, but having him around was making me crazy. I kept wondering if I could ask him to help me with something upstairs without my friends knowing it was code for ‘Come fuck me while they watch the movie.’ I was pretty sure they would see through anything I came up with.
We picked Fast Five for our next movie, agreeing Vin Diesel and Paul Walker were on par with Channing Tatum. Xander rested his head on my knee and ran his fingers up and down my calves during the movie. When he got up for another beer he kissed me softly and whispered in my ear, “The sound you make when something startles you is the same one you make when I shove my cock inside you. You’re making me fucking crazy.”
I smiled at him as he walked away, watching his jeans pull tight against his ass. His shirt stretched against his broad back when he turned to catch me staring at him and he flashed a million dollar smile at me before he disappeared around the corner into the kitchen.
When I heard him coming back I tipped my head back against the back of the couch and waited for him to lean down and kiss me. His hand, cold from the beer bottle, rested on my throat as his tongue slipped into my mouth. I jumped from the cold and nearly bit him. He laughed and sat down in front of me again, holding his cold beer bottle against my leg. I startled from the contact and felt his hand tighten around my ankle at hearing the noise that came from me. I brushed my hand over his short hair and he leaned into it, like he couldn’t get enough of me touching him.
Chubby & Charming (Big & Beautiful Book 1) Page 10