To anyone else what he’s saying would be abrupt, but to me it’s just J. He can’t understand all social situations and things have to be the right way for him to feel comfortable, but who the hell cares?
I want to say we haven’t had customers who look at him like he’s weird. And not the good kind of weird, the weird weird kind of weird. But he doesn’t notice the looks or the snarky comments. I do, and I want to smash each and every one of their faces in. I become she Hulk when it comes to the people I care about—minus the ripping of clothes and green-skin thing.
I shake those thoughts off, following him into the living room and sitting on the sofa. I’ve only just got my ass in the seat when Jeffery shouts dinner is ready.
We both make our way to the table, Jeffery at the head with J next to him and me next to J.
This new “Wednesday night dinners,” became a tradition after two weeks and they’ve continued on. J adjusted his routine to include me in it, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
With El in New York, I don’t really have anyone here, so J and Jeffery have become like family.
“I’ve finished,” J announces, placing his knife and fork on his plate at just the right angle, waiting for us to finish.
“Have you heard back about your drawings yet, Vi?” Jeffery asks, taking a sip of his drink as he looks at me.
Clearing my throat, I place my own knife and fork down, straightening in my seat and preparing to ask for time off.
“I have.” I nod. “They want me to fly out in just over a week.”
“Really? That’s great!”
“It is.” I wince. “But I need to take some time off to go and… I was wondering if you could look after Colonel Fourpaws too?”
“Time off is no problem,” Jeffery says, finishing up his meatloaf and leaning back in his seat. “J, how would you feel about watching Colonel Fourpaws?”
I wait while J mulls it over, his gaze batting back and forth between the wall opposite us and the chair in front of it.
“How many days?”
I double-check the email they sent with all the travel details on. “I leave on the twentieth and come back on the twenty-second. So I could drop him off with you the day before and pick him up the day after?
“Five days?” He pauses a beat. “I can do that.”
“Really?” I smile wide, standing up and wrapping my arms around J’s neck. “Thank you, thank you!”
His body is as stiff as a board but I don’t let go. He’ll just have to deal with my gratitude.
“It’s 6:45 p.m. Time to clean up.” J pushes his chair back, standing up and walking out of the room. I wonder if maybe I went too far, but when Jeffery smiles at me, I know I didn’t.
We both head into the kitchen and I grab a towel, helping dry the plates and pans. We all work in rhythm, cleaning the place up and keeping an eye on the time. As soon as the hand lands on the twelve, signaling 7 p.m., we all make our way into the living room to play the game J has chosen.
“Awww man! I love Mouse Trap!”
“Me too,” J says as he sits on the floor. “Better keep Colonel Fourpaws away.” He throws his head back at his own joke, laughter pouring out of him uncontrollably. Even though it’s not your normal kind of joke, I find myself laughing along with him.
And just as his laughter dies off, Colonel Fourpaws strolls in, staring at each of us in turn before jumping up onto the coffee table where the game is ready to play.
* * *
Clicking play on my playlist, I turn the volume up before dipping down and grabbing the box of supplies. Once I’ve checked everything I need is in there, I head toward the back to clean the puppy cages for the night.
Letting them all out into the main pen, I get down onto my knees—insert euphemism here—and spray the entire inside.
I’m on the third across on the bottom row when the bell sounds on the door.
“One minute!” I shout, giving it a final wipe and standing up. Swiping the hair out of my face, I walk toward the front of the store, coming to a standstill when I see the back of a suit jacket. A musky cologne wraps around me, taking me back to the first time I met him.
I’d recognize that back and cologne anywhere.
What the frack is he doing here?
“Axel?” I whisper, not believing he’s standing here—in the pet store, in L.A.
He spins around at the sound of my voice, a grin on his face that starts to wane when he looks directly at my eye.
“What happened?” His voice is deep, concern etching its way onto his features.
I lift my hand to my eye and wince as it throbs. I had a good run there, not falling over, but it all changed a couple of nights ago at Mr. Chung’s.
I let my hand drop as he steps forward. I’m speechless, not able to get a single noise out of my mouth as he lifts his arm, his hand cupping my cheek. His thumb rubs under my eye where the purple bruise is the worst.
My eyes close of their own accord, unable to stop the shiver rolling through me at the feel of his skin on mine.
“I’m guessing you fell over.”
His voice brings me out of the bubble he created and my eyes whip open. “What are you doing here?”
“What do you think I’m doing here?” he asks as I step away from him, wrapping my arms around my waist.
“I don’t freaking know, Axel! That’s why I’m asking.”
He frowns. “You’re not answering my calls and when I turned up at the L.A. office today, imagine my surprise when Della said you quit.”
“What—”
“You didn’t have to quit, Vi. If you wanted to put a stop to all this, all you had to do is—”
“Unbelievable!” I throw my arms out wide. “I called you, I goddamn called you to see why you got me fired and you hung up on me!”
His head reels back. “Wait… what?”
“Don’t even act like you didn’t, your new PA put me through and you called me Violet.” I sneer my name, looking at him like I wanna kill him. Which I kinda do by the way. “You full-named me!”
“I…” His brow furrows as he swipes his palm over his jaw. “I did?”
“You did,” I confirm, gritting my teeth.
“I didn’t mean to.” He lets out a long breath, his blue eyes flashing as he looks me dead in the eyes. “I’ve been busy. Majorly busy. A new contract came in and it’s—”
“Excuses,” I murmur, rolling my eyes.
He jerks forward but stops himself. “It’s not… I didn’t realize—”
“That Della fired me the second day I got back?” I start pacing along the end of the aisles. “She did it in front of the whole floor. She said I broke the contract by sleeping with a co-worker…” I spin around, pointing at him. “You. I got fired from your company for sleeping with you.”
“Vi—”
“Then she tells me you told her we’d slept together.” I stare at him, laser beams shooting out of my eyes. “So, imagine my surprise,” I mock. “When you hang up on me and confirm it all!” He opens his mouth but I cut him off before he has a chance to say anything. “So fuck you, fuck your company, and… fuck you!”
“Vi, I swear I didn’t know—”
“Of course you didn’t,” I scoff.
“Looks like someone forgot the no interrupting rule.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t work for you anymore so like I said: fuck you.”
I cross my arms over my chest, my eyes narrowed on him, waiting to see what he’ll do or say. When he steps toward me I mimic his move, my back colliding with the counter of the register. His arms come on either side of me as he dips his head, his face centimeters from mine.
“Are you done?”
“No—”
His finger presses against my lips, a ghost of a smile on his face. “I didn’t tell her; I didn’t know she’d fired you, and most importantly... I can’t stop thinking about you.”
I want to throw my hands up in the air, spin around and shout he’s l
ying. But the honesty in his eyes is all I need to see he’s telling the truth. Shit. Did he really not know what was going on?
Ugh. Della is a conniving birch.
“You should seek help then,” I mumble, still trying to save face.
He raises a brow. “You’re on my mind all the time. I look out my office and want to see your face, I get into bed at night and wish your body was against mine.” He lets his finger drop from my lips and grips my hip, moving even closer. “You’re driving me insane from thousands of miles away.”
“Well…” I clear my throat. “I haven’t thought about you at all,” I announce, the bitchy tone in my voice evident.
“Liar.” He nuzzles my neck, bringing his lips to my ear. “I can’t stop even if I wanted to. I need you, Vi. I need you in my life because without you in it it’s all darkness. You’re my light and I need you to shine bright.”
I snort at his corny, little speech. “Where did you get that from? A Hallmark card?”
He leans back, his lips spreading into a grin. “Maybe.”
I shake my head, not able to stop my responding smile. “Okay, I may have missed you, too. But I’m mad at you, madder than the Mad Hatter.”
He steps back, leaving some space between us. “I swear I didn’t know she was going to fire you, Vi. I wouldn’t have let her if—”
“It doesn’t matter now,” I tell him, knowing I’m much happier working here than chained to a desk all day.
The silence wraps around us becoming thick with tension as he takes another step back, pulling on the cuffs of his suit jacket. Is the great almighty Axel Taylor nervous?
I shuffle on the spot, my hands clutching the counter. “So…”
“So.”
I roll my eyes. “You came here to see me, you saw me, so… you can go now.”
“No, I can’t.” He runs his hand through his hair, pulling on the ends as he turns his body so his side is facing me. “Fuck, Vi, this was never meant to happen. It was meant to be a little fun and now…” He turns back to face me. “I need… I… shit!”
“Spit it out, Axel.” My voice is confident but my insides are quaking because this is what I wanted to hear the day he drove me to the airport.
“I need to be with you.”
My heart thumps in my chest, my pulse racing as fast as a racehorse on a track.
“It won’t work,” I tell him, but even I don’t believe myself. However much I try to say it can’t happen, I can’t deny the feelings flowing through me when I sit and watch his photo at night with Colonel Fourpaws.
“Go on a date with me,” he announces, stepping forward but stopping before touching me. “Let me do this right and take you out.”
I bite down on my bottom lip. “I don’t know…”
“One date. If you don’t want to see me again, I’ll obey your command.”
I raise a brow. “You will, will you?”
He tries to keep a straight face but fails when I grin at him. “I will, anything you say goes.”
“Anything?” I push up off the counter. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Mr. Taylor.” I place my hand on his lapel, smoothing it out. “Pick me up at eight tomorrow with a box of cat treats and you have yourself a date.”
“Really?”
I walk toward the door. “Really, but you have to go.” I tap my empty wrist. “I’m on the clock.”
Pulling the door open, I wait for him to walk toward me.
“Tomorrow then?”
“Tomorrow.”
He leans down and I close my eyes as he places a kiss on my cheek but hovers longer as he breathes me in. I’d be a liar, liar, pants on fire if I said I wasn’t doing the same.
I open my eyes when he pulls back, watching as he walks out the door. He heads toward a shiny, black sports car parked outside and as he opens the door, I shout, “Don’t you need to know where I live?”
“Nope.” He turns to face me. “I’ll find you.”
It’s not until he’s pulled away and driving down the street I realize he found me here.
What a freaking stalker!
Chapter 16
Confession #10: I dropped my hairbrush down the toilet… is it okay to use again orrrr?
Twisting to the left, I take a good look at myself. Hair slicked back into a high ponytail, my makeup on point and covering my black eye. A flowing, navy-blue jumpsuit covers my body and accentuates my curves.
“I don’t scrub up too bad, huh, Colonel Fourpaws?” He sits on the end of the bed, watching me with keen eyes and probably wondering what all this extra effort I put into my appearance is about.
Butterflies take flight in my stomach as I face the mirror again. I should’ve told Axel to go and swivel, but instead I caved. Not tonight though, I want to know what has been going on. Or is that pushing it too much? It was meant to be a little fun, nothing serious, yet, in my mind I was practically married to the guy.
Good old feelings, huh.
Knocking sounds throughout my apartment and my stomach dips. Colonel Fourpaws—ever the protector—jumps off the bed and strolls into the living room, lifting up onto the arm of the sofa and sitting like a sentinel.
Taking a deep breath, I tell myself it’s only Axel—the sexy guy with arm veins I want to lick—before slipping my feet into my strappy heels and heading toward the door.
“Hey,” I say when I open it, my gaze running the length of him, taking in his suit pants and shirt with the first couple of buttons undone.
I swallow against the lump in my throat when he stays silent, his gaze tracking me until finally he meets my eyes, his flaring with unbridled passion.
“Hey,” he replies finally, his voice deep and husky.
We both stand, taking each other in, a thousand things said with only our eyes. Sounds all romantic and shit, but if I’m honest, it’s kind of awkward. I’m not a person who does well with silence, so I always feel the need to fill the space with stupid words that escape without any control.
“Want to meet my pussy?” Annnd, that’s exactly what I mean. I slap my palm on my forehead, laughing awkwardly. “I mean, my cat. Do you want to meet my cat?”
His lips lift into a smirk as I move to the side, but I don’t move enough for him to come inside. Nope. No. Because if he steps inside this apartment, I know I won’t be able to control myself.
“Colonel Fourpaws, meet Axel. Axel.” I wave my arm toward the cat. “My new cat: Colonel Fourpaws.” I swing my gaze back to Axel when he doesn’t say anything, raising a brow. “Well… say hi then.”
His face scrunches up. “I’m not talking to a cat.”
“If I remember rightly, you’re very vocal when it comes to pussies.” I bite down on my bottom lip as I silently scream to shut the hell up!
He takes a step toward me, his eyes flashing with promises, and suddenly I’m panicking, becoming the fourteen-year-old girl about to have her first kiss.
Abort! Abort!
“Shall we get going?” I ask, grabbing my purse and practically knocking him over as I rush out of the door, slamming it behind me.
I power walk down the hallway and the stairs, making it out into the warm L.A. air. Taking a breath as I halt on the sidewalk, I jump when Axel’s hand lands on the bottom of my back.
“Stop freaking out, it’s only me.”
“Only you,” I snort, looking up at him. “You have no idea the effect you have on people.”
He dips his head down, whispering, “Neither do you,” before he stands to his full height, his eyes piercing mine. “You’re beautiful, as always.”
I nod, not knowing what to say. For the last six weeks all I’ve done is sit and stare at his picture, feeling like the three weeks we had together were a dream. But now he’s here, in the flesh, taking me on a date. A date.
“You hungry?” he asks, pushing his hand on my back to silently tell me to walk.
“Starved.”
“Great.” He steps toward the same sports car he was driving
yesterday before opening up the door. “I know a great place.”
“Sure,” I reply. I’m an awkward mess and he’s gonna know how much of a freak I am. He already knows, a voice says in the back of my mind. I tell the voice to shut the hell up and stuff a metaphorical banana in her mouth.
The air in the car blasts me in the face when I get inside and he turns the engine on, pulling out onto the road.
I can’t stop staring at his hands, the way they clutch the steering wheel and maneuver without a second thought. Why does he have to be so freaking hot? Couldn’t he look like an ogre or something? It would make this whole situation so much easier.
“Why?” I blurt out after five minutes of silence.
He side-eyes me, raising a brow. “Why, what?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Taking you out on a date?”
“Yeah, duh.”
He chuckles. “Because I want to.”
He pulls up outside a seafood restaurant, bringing the car to a halt without any effort before he slides out, walking around and opening my door.
“I don’t get it,” I tell him when I’m out of the car and walking toward the double glass doors.
He doesn’t answer me as he pulls them open, walking toward a woman standing behind a wooden stand. She smiles wide at him before telling him to follow her.
Axel extends his hand to me and I take it without a second thought, following them to a table toward the back.
“Can I get you anything to drink?” she asks when we’re sitting down.
“I’ll take a water, Vi?”
“Glass of white wine, please.”
“Any particular kind?” she asks.
I look around at all the tables full of people smiling and having fun. “Erm… any will do,” I tell her, the nerves taking me over full force as I look back at Axel.
I’ve had sex with this man, worked for him, gone out with him. But this? A proper date? It’s making me a nervous wreck. I wish he would have taken me for a burger. I’m so out of my element and I know for a fact it’s showing.
“Because I can’t stop thinking about you,” Axel announces when the waitress has left.
Confessions Of A Klutz: Confessions Series #1 Page 14