“I know, but it’s annoying nonetheless.”
“I actually find it kind of amusing,” Axel said leaning his shoulder against me playfully.
“Of course you do. What are you up to?” I asked measuring his expression.
“Why do you ask sweetie?” His tone failed at innocence.
“Axel, please don’t get in their heads. I know my brothers can be jerks but, I love them,” I said.
“I won’t do anything you’re not comfortable with. I’ll just keep quiet.”
“Ugh! Axel, that’s not what I meant. I just don’t want you to push them to much.”
“No, I understand; don’t worry,” he said with a wink.
Smiling as we walked back towards the hospital room, our steps were in sync, and our hands were linked. I’d laughed about a hundred times before we’d gotten back to the room. Axel made sure that even though this was hard for me, he kept me smiling.
My mom’s eyes were scrutinizing as she looked down at our hands as we entered the room. I felt uncomfortable. Sliding my hand out to offer my mom food, I hoped that I didn’t offend Axel. I tried to make it seem like I needed my hands. It was stupid, but I wanted to keep the peace. Taking a seat next to my mom, I kept my eyes busy on everything else but Axel.
“Where are your brothers?” My mom asked just as I was about to speak.
“Um, I don’t know; they left us in the cafeteria,” I mentioned.
“Why? What did you say to them?” she asked me.
“Nothing!” I said in confusion.
“No; you’re brothers love you! They would have to have a good reason to walk away from you.”
“I know they love me,” I said looking down at my hands.
“They are not too fond of me,” Axel answered as she directed her sight towards him.
“Well, we were very fond of Ethan. It is shocking to see you here in his place.”
“Yes ma’am that’s understandable.”
“And by that same token, I’d never heard of you until today,” Mom said looking over at me.
“I knew this was going to happen,” I said.
“It possibly would’ve been better had you given us a heads up.”
“I highly doubt that giving you a heads up would’ve been any better.”
“Your brothers still don’t know why you two split in the first place!” my mom argued.
“They don’t need to, remember? Besides, I don’t think that would make the situation any better,” my arms crossed under my chest.
“You could’ve at least told us that he was white.”
“Mom!” I said incredulously.
“Your friend is part white so I understand the curiosity…”
“Mom, stop! That’s really offensive.”
“Don’t you mom stop me, he knows he’s white,” Mom said as Axel nodded his head in agreement.
“Axel!”
“I am honey. I’ve come to terms with it,” Axel said causing my mom to giggle.
“Geez Axel,” I said through one of my own.
“Thought I’d lighten the mood a bit,” Axel said genuinely.
“I understand more why she likes you. You are funny,” My mom commented.
“Thank you.”
“When is he going to wake up? Is sleeping this long normal?” I asked chaining the subject.
“The doctors just told me to let him rest,” she said standing up to touch his face.
“How long has he been out?” Axel asked.
“Oh, about three hours now; not too long before you two showed up.”
“And you said he passed out? Was it from exhaustion?” I asked her.
“Partially, it wasn’t like he just went to sleep, he had a few words before he went out,” Mom said with a chuckle.
“I bet he was blaming Sam and Luke huh?”
“You know it; they are always on his bad side.”
“Just like I’m always on yours.”
My mom gave me a look that told me she almost had no idea what I was talking about. But then the look faded, and was replaced with guilt. She didn’t say anything, only smiled and shook her head to keep the mood light.
Though that was short lived when my brothers came back. They slid in the room without a glance or a look in Axel’s direction. Rolling my eyes as I came to stand by my mom and dad, I watched my mother’s fingers as they wrapped around my father’s. It was such a sweet embrace, yet so simple. I smiled slightly when I thought about what that meant to them.
It was like every time their banded hands met, it was like re-sealing their vows every time. I looked away from them before my eyes met with Axel’s. He didn’t smile, but I could see the happiness in his eyes when he looked at me.
Chapter Five
Axel and I were on our way to my apartment in the city. The doctor had reported that my dad needed his rest and that they only allowed one overnight guest at a time. My brothers went back to Mom’s house to get her some clothes, and also to stay there so that it wouldn’t be empty. On the way home, we stopped at a fast food joint and were now eating in the living room.
Compared to every hotel and even Axel’s home in Tuscany, my home was by far the least impressive. I noticed immediately when I turned the lights on. Though I was proud of my little apartment, still, I felt a little self-conscious. Though in Axel fashion, he put my mind at ease by how comfortably he’d slumped down on my couch, and kicked his feet up on the coffee table.
“This is the most comfortable place away from home by far!” he’d said before diving into his burger.
“I’m really glad you think so, I was a little worried.”
“Don’t be, you’ve done a great job with this place,” he said approvingly.
After we finished eating, we decided to stay up and watch a scary movie. I’d never been able to watch anything like this with Ethan, and it was a very nice change. There were several points of the movie that Axel had to calm me down, and pull my hands away from my eyes. There was one point where I even jumped and screamed, to Axel’s amusement, of course.
When the movie finally came to an end, I felt the need to watch something less scary, and more childlike. It was always something I did to help me sleep at night. Axel thought it was cute how I watched the cartoons like I was genuinely interested in them, but I was.
“You’re adorable, you know that?” he asked.
“Oh come on, like you don’t watch cartoons?”
“Not like that. I used to be hooked on watching Popeye. But I stopped after my dad died; he reminded me too much of him.”
“That must’ve been hard for you to deal with.”
“It was at first, but at the same time it wasn’t,” he said.
“I remember the story you told me about how he buried your dog. I got the message then.”
“Yeah, he wasn’t a very kind man, but he was my father,” Axel’s hands were in my hair as he spoke.
“So, speaking of family, do you want to run away yet?” I asked.
“Are you kidding me? You’re brothers crack me up. They will come around eventually because they love you,” he told me with sincerity.
“Let’s get to bed; I think if I stay up any longer I’ll pass out on this couch,” I said before releasing myself from his grip.
“Ok, honey, lead the way.”
I realized that I hadn’t tidied up before I’d left for Puerto Rico. There were bras hanging up on the knob of my bathroom door, a thong dangled from the corner of my closet door, and there were magazines all over the bed.
Flying around the room like a tornado, I all but avoided eye contact with Axel until I was done. Every place that I’d been to with Axel was spotless, even his home in Tuscany. So to come here to a less than clean place was a little out of order and not to mention embarrassing.
Axel laughed and undressed as soon as I was finished. Our clothes were still in the trunk of the car, but none of us were in the mood to go get them. So instead of pajamas, we settled for just our u
nderwear. Curling up under the sheets for comfort, we finally made it to sleep.
***
I awoke at exactly nine AM. As soon as my eyes were open, that was it. Sleep left my body, and I was ready to get going. I had to go down to the hospital to see my dad. Sitting up in my bed, I turned to look down at Axel to notice that he was still sleeping. I didn’t want to wake him, so I gingerly made my way towards the bathroom to start getting ready.
By the time I was finished, Axel still had not woken up. Reaching out to grab my notepad from the bedside table, I found a pen and wrote a message to him. Leaving it on my pillow, I kissed his cheek and made my way to the door.
I had completely forgotten about the luggage in the trunk until I arrived at the hospital. There was nothing that I could do about it now. As I walked, I started thinking about my family and their reaction. I wondered how relaxed they would be and how easier it would be with just me here.
Though I instantly felt guilty for thinking that. For actually feeling relieved that Axel was not going to be there made me feel like a bad girlfriend. Though truthfully, I just wanted to enjoy my family without having them strung so high.
When I entered the room, I noticed immediately how different the family was. They were calm, there was no hostility, and I felt like I had my family back. Samuel even gave me a hug, while of course Lucas followed suit. When I got to my mom, she threw her arms around me and kissed my cheek.
My dad was still sleeping, but my mom said that he did wake up that night and stayed up with her until the early morning. I was relieved that he wasn’t in some sort of coma. I took a seat next to my dad on the bed. The boys were watching, while mom hummed a melodic tune while crocheting powder blue yarn.
“So how have you been? I know you’re tired,” I commented on the bags under her eyes.
“Oh well you know, I got a few hours here and there, but I’m ok,” she said.
“Well, if you need to go home and take a nap, Sam, Luke, and I can just stay here and wait for him to wake up.”
“That’s ok baby. I’m doing just fine,” she said sleepily.
“So,” Samuel asked while bringing over a chair, “Where’s white boy?” he asked, his chocolate brown head glistening in the sunlight.
“He’s back at my place,” I answered.
“Oh! I thought we’d run him off,” Sam said while Luke turned to join in on the conversation.
“Not even close; he didn’t even know that I’d left,” I said trying to defend him.
“Well, ain’t that suspicious,” Luke commented.
“It’s not even like that.”
“Then why did you leave without waking him up? Are you sure you’re just not realizing how pointless this relationship is?” Samuel pointed out.
“I’m not having this conversation with you,” I said, and abruptly stood to storm out of the room.
I hated when my brother thought he knew what was best for me. He was only older than me by four years, what gave him the right to comment on my life? I reached into my back pocket for my phone. The time was ten thirty, and I noticed that Axel had not yet woken up.
That or he was too angry to call me after I’d just left him. I instantly regretted my decision to leave him alone. This made me look really suspicious, although I truly hated to admit it. Maybe it wasn’t suspicion, maybe it was a fact.
Maybe Samuel was right about the whole situation. I felt very strongly for Axel, and he felt the same, but we have only known each other for a short time.
My phone buzzed, snapping me out of my negative thoughts and grabbing my attention. I felt my stomach drop to my knees before I slid the button to answer the call.
“Good morning, Axel, how did you sleep?”
“I slept ok, how about you honey?” he asked. His voice was light and friendly.
“Great, I woke up early…”
“So you decided to go to the hospital instead of waking me up to go with you,” he stated simply.
“I’m sorry; I just didn’t want to wake you.”
“You could’ve at least theft my clothes for me. I realize that our relationship in public and social situations is going to be hard at first; that’s why we have to face those obstacles together.”
“I know.”
“I don’t want you to take the easy way out of things like these, because that’s cheating both of us,” Axel said truthfully. I knew what he was saying was right.
“I’m coming home, and then we’ll come back together around dinner time.”
“How long have you been there?” he asked concerned.
“Just a little over an hour; my brothers are there, they’ll keep my mom company.”
“Did something happen?”
“Snakes on a Plane was just running his mouth again.”
“Haha! You and your Samuel Jackson references!” Axel commented with a hearty laugh.
“I’ve done that since I knew who Sam Jackson was. I just always thought it was weird that my mom would name him after the movies star. You know how embarrassing that is?” I said trying to keep my laughter down so I could be understood.
“I nearly died trying to keep it in the first time. I could feel my face turning red,” Axel laughed.
“Sorry, I’ll try and keep it under wraps so you don’t lose composure.”
“Haha! Thank you, I appreciate that.”
“Are you hungry, Ax?”
“A little bit, I’ve wanted some Denny’s for a while now.”
“Oh good, there’s a Denny’s right across the street from the apartments.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“I guess you can get ready once I bring you your clothes,” I said.
“Don’t feel too guilty, I can at least take a shower.”
“Ok, be there in ten.”
When I got to the apartment, Axel was dressed in boxer shorts. I was surprised; had he gotten those throughout the night? Closing the front door behind me, I walked in closer to scrutinize them. They felt new. Where had he gotten new underwear from?
“You had a pack of underwear under the bed along with some shirts, some pants, and shoes. Were they for Ethan?”
“Actually no, they were for his brother. He’d stored them here one weekend so his brother wouldn’t find them, but we forgot. Anyways, they’re up for grabs.”
“Cool deal.”
“You’re going to look so sexy in these,” I said with excitement as I pulled out the outfit and set it on the bed.
“You think?”
“Yeah are you kidding me? This dark blue jacket, those blue eyes and these slate gray pants, are definitely going to contrast well and show off that bod,” I said with a wink.
Chapter Six
We both turned heads as we walked down the street to Denny’s. We’d parked the car not too far from the restaurant, and decided the fresh air would do us some good. Sitting down at the booth, we ordered our food and waited for its arrival.
“I figured that we’d bring Chinese food since my mom loves it so much.”
“I’m sure she’d like that.”
“They haven’t called me since I left though.”
“Did you not let them know you were leaving?” Axel asked before taking a sip of his coffee.
“Not exactly. Sam and I got into it, and I just stood up and walked out. I probably missed my Dad waking up,” I said with a frown.
“You’ll get to see his eyes eventually, honey, I’m sure of it.”
Axel reached out his hand to rest it against mine in comfort. His reassuring outlook put me at ease for the moment before our food came to the table. As we ate, we actually discussed quite a different topic, which was my job status. Axel told me the parameters of what he wanted to be done, and what needed to be done to run the company’s accounts smoothly.
It didn’t seem too different from working at the law firm, save for the legal jargon. I noticed immediately that this was going to be a challenge for me at first. But I accepted challenges as th
ey came to me. I was looking forward to my first day at the company. I asked him when I would be starting, but he only gave me the date of my interview.
“So what if I don’t pass the interview?” I asked honestly.
“I have faith in you that you will, but if you don’t, I can still have you do accountant work at one of my other smaller businesses. You’d be making the same exact amount, though you wouldn’t be able to travel as much.”
“I’m hoping that you feel enough confidence in me to work for you,” I said thinking about the farm house back in Tuscany.
“I have the utmost faith in you, Jaida. You’re smart, your head is on your shoulders, and you have remarkable intuition. I’m pretty sure you’ll pass my interview,” Axel said before tossing back the rest of his coffee.
“Aren’t you a box of compliments?”
“They’re not compliments; so much as they are truths. But regardless, you’re welcome.”
“Your check, I’ll take those plates for you,” the waitress said before disappearing behind the counter.
We quickly made it out of the restaurant and down the street to my car. Just as I reached the door to open it, Axel snatched me into his arms, and took my lips in a deep and hungry kiss. His body was pressed firmly against mine as my back met with the cool metal of the car door.
My temperature rose against the temperature of the atmosphere. My skin tingled with every touch and every flick of the tongue. I moaned against his firm grasp, and just before we got to the point of no return, Axel broke the embrace with a smacking of lips and heavy breathing.
“Holy crap Axel, what was that?” I asked.
“A preview of tonight when I get you home,” he said seductively against my lips before rubbing his hard length against my belly.
“I love when you do things like this. It’s so erotic,” I said my bottom lip between my teeth.
“I’m glad, because there’s more where that came from,” he said before giving me a firm slap on my bottom.
“Damn Ax…What was that?” I asked.
“I think your phone vibrated the second my hand connected.”
Reaching into my back pocket, I pulled it out to notice that Luke was calling me. When I answered the phone, his voice was muffled. I thought that maybe it was my phone, so I walked away to try and get some signal.
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