The Avoiding Series Boxset

by K. A. Linde

  “Great. Can you manage here until I get them in the cab?” he asked desperately.

  Chyna bit her lip, debating with herself. She really shouldn’t be alone with John at the moment. Probably not a good idea. But, she wasn’t that drunk, so she could handle herself. She nodded again, hoping she appeared confident.

  “Great. Hopefully, this won’t take long.”

  Adam put an arm around Nitya’s waist and helped her to her feet. Trey and Darius leaned on each other, putting a hand on Adam’s shoulder to get through the darkened hookah lounge. As they exited the enclave, Trey laughed and closed the burgundy curtain to their area. The only light now came from a single covered bulb in the ceiling.

  “Chyna,” John whispered into the darkness.

  She tensed and tried not to look at him. She knew she should have gone with Adam.

  “Chyna,” he whispered again.

  She swallowed hard, wishing she had a drink so she had something to do with her hands.

  He said her name one more time in the most seductive voice.

  She couldn’t help but turn to face him. “Yes?” she murmured.

  “Why did you leave last night?”

  “You know why I left,” she replied, resting her head backward.

  She heard him move closer to her and could feel the heat coming off of him. “Tell me why you left.”

  “No,” she said softly, barely audible. “You know why.”

  “Chyna,” he said, pushing her dark hair out of her face. “Why did you leave last night?”

  She sighed. The feel of his hand touching her face ignited a fire in her. “John, please.”

  “Please, what?”

  “Don’t make me answer. You know why I left. It was time to go. Simple enough,” she whispered.

  “It’s a simple question, and I don’t think that’s the answer.”

  She could hear her breath coming out unevenly as she debated on how to answer him. “What do your tattoos say?”

  “What?” he asked, clearly surprised by the question.

  “You answer, and I will.”

  He didn’t even think about it. “Deal,” he said, standing and untucking his shirt.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded, glancing anxiously at the curtain.

  “Answering your question.” He unbuttoned the top two buttons and pulled his shirt clean over his head.

  Chyna just stared. Holy fuck! That body literally killed her. If she had thought she was on fire before, she had been all sorts of wrong.

  “This one,” he said, sitting very close to her and pulling up his left bicep, “says ‘to define is to limit.’”

  Her hand came up and lightly traced the words on the inside of his arm with her fingertips. “You’ve said that to me before,” she told him.

  “You remembered,” he said with a smirk.

  “And the other one?” she demanded, ignoring her manners.

  He turned and showed her the inscription on his right ribs. “This one says ‘What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?’”

  “Wow. That’s deep,” she said, resting her hand on his leg. She reached across his body and traced the other tattoo as well.

  His breathing hitched as she pressed herself up against him while her fingers trailed across the sensitive skin.

  “They’re Oscar Wilde quotes. Just a personal reminder,” he said, lifting his hand and running it through her dark hair.

  She moaned softly, her eyes closing as his hand pulled through the long strands. She felt him stiffen beneath her hand that still held on to his leg.

  “That feels good,” she mused.

  “Your turn,” he told her. With both hands, he pulled back her black hair, making her face him.

  Her eyes fluttered open, staring into those gorgeous hazel eyes that were mere inches away from her.

  “My turn for what?” she asked, her feeling his body heat at his nearness.

  “Why did you leave last night?” he reminded her.

  Looking down at his lips, she finally told him, “I thought you were going to kiss me.”

  He beamed that gorgeous smile and leaned forward, bridging the distance, and he pressed his lips to hers.

  It was like the floodgates were opened. The sexual tension that riddled both of them cracked and then crashed apart. John pushed her backward, his mouth hot and demanding on hers. His body forced her back into the soft-cushioned chaise, covering her. His hands ran down her body.

  Chyna gasped against his mouth. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to dig her hands into his dark hair and have him fuck her, but all sorts of warning signs were blasting through her conscious. This was so fucking wrong. So, so, so fucking wrong.

  “Stop,” she said, breaking their lip lock and rolling away from him. Her chest was heaving up and down as she wiped the back of her hand against her mouth. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

  John didn’t look much better, except he was still distractingly shirtless. “What do you mean what was I thinking?”

  “You kissed me!”

  “You told me to!” he yelled back.

  “Fuck that! I said I left last night because I thought you were going to kiss me,” she told him.

  “Chyna, I don’t fucking get you.”

  “What is there to get? I’m dating your brother, and you have your hands all over me!”

  “You don’t even love him.”

  Chyna came up short, her mouth hanging open. Who was he to tell her what she felt? How would he even know if it was true? He didn’t know her!

  “If you didn’t notice, you’ve been a fucking cock tease all weekend. How many times have you thrown yourself at me since we’ve been around each other? How many times have you eye-fucked me? How many times have you leaned forward, licking your fucking lips and pressing your fucking boobs in my face? Huh?” he asked, grabbing his dress shirt and throwing it back on over his head. “Don’t have an answer? Yeah, let’s not even bring up you fucking kissing Nitya and looking at me like you wanted to have me for dessert. Do you want me to keep going?”

  “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about!” she cried, wishing he was wrong. “I’m dating your brother, and you don’t even care about that. Who does that?”

  “Tell me that you don’t want to fuck me.”

  “I don’t want to fuck you,” she said, placing her hand on her hip.

  “Liar.”

  “What part of ‘I’m dating your brother’ don’t you understand?” she demanded, narrowing her eyes.

  “The part where you got all wet at my pool. The part where you pressed your ass against my dick when we were dancing. The part where you kissed me back.”

  “Shut the fuck up! Gah! Just shut up!” she yelled at him.

  “Cock. Tease.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “That’s all you want to do with me anyway,” he said.

  “Don’t flatter yourself, asshole.”

  John laughed and shook his head. “I hope you make Adam very happy,” he said, walking over to the curtain and pushing it open.

  “You’ll make no one happy but yourself…if you are even happy,” she said, glaring at him.

  He smiled. “I’ll let you think on that one,” he said before turning and leaving.

  Chyna watched him walk out of the room, and as soon as he was gone, she crumbled on to the cushion. She shook desperately, unable to believe the argument they had just gotten into and everything that had just happened. She couldn’t get his words or his hands or his mouth out of her head. What had she done?

  All she knew was that she needed to get it together before Adam got back. He would know something was up if she was shaking and near tears. He would want to know what had happened, and she couldn’t tell him yet, not like this. It wasn’t fair to him. Nothing she had done was fair to him.

  She took a few deep, healing breaths, trying to calm her pounding heart, as she pushed back the oncoming t
ears. This was ridiculous. This was why she didn’t date people. She liked to fuck around, and it had always been okay in the past because she hadn’t been attached.

  No matter what happened tonight, all she knew was that she didn’t deserve Adam, not by a long shot.

  She was composed by the time Adam walked back into the room.

  “Hey, John already left. He hopped in the cab with Nitya. It took forever because there were so many other people. He was blessed with perfect timing. You ready to leave?”

  Chyna was amazed that her facial expression didn’t even flicker when he told her that John went with Nitya. Of course, he would go somewhere to get laid. “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”

  “I think Carl is waiting outside,” he said with a smile, putting his arm around her waist as they walked out.

  “Great,” she said, hating what she knew lay ahead.

  Carl drove them back across town, and soon, they were parked out front of her building. Chyna slid out of the car, and Adam followed. Her doorman, Bernard, opened the door, greeting them warmly despite the late hour.

  “Man, I’m beat,” Adam said when the elevator deposited them on the top floor. “Working last night really wiped me out.”

  “I’m a little tipsy,” she murmured in response, pulling her gold key out of her purse as she walked down the hallway.

  “Yes, you are. Maybe a little more than tipsy,” he said with a smile, deftly extracting the key out of her hand and opening the door. “You should try to sleep it off.”

  She walked through the foyer and kicked off her heels before padding across the clean white carpet. Chyna sighed, looking at the floor, and then she glanced back up at Adam. Here goes nothing. “Adam.”

  He followed her, yawning wide when he made it to the end of the foyer. “Yeah, sweetheart?”

  God, she did not want to do this, but she couldn’t lie. He was too good for her, and she knew it. He might as well be clued in.

  “John kissed me.”

  The silence was excruciating. It was like the anticipation of the roller coaster ticking slowly up to the top of the hill before plummeting down the other side. She didn’t know if she should speak and try to explain. Instead, all she did was stand there, staring at him.

  “Come on, Chyna,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s too late for this.”

  Of all the reactions, that had not been the one she was expecting. “What?”

  “John didn’t kiss you.”

  “Yes, he did,” she insisted. “When you took the others to the cab, he kissed me! He tried to take advantage of me.”

  Adam sighed heavily. “Do you really expect me to believe that?” he asked, glancing up at her finally.

  “I do,” she murmured.

  “This is my brother we’re talking about.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” she asked, flabbergasted by his refusal to believe her. She thought he deserved the truth, and he wouldn’t even listen to it.

  “No, you’re not thinking, and you clearly don’t know anything. Nothing,” he said, enunciating the word very clearly. “John is my brother. He would never do that. In fact, I can’t even believe I have to justify his behavior. I know him. I’ve known him my entire life, and he would never in a million years do this. Not to me.”

  “So, what? I’m a liar?” she asked, her anger rising quickly. “I’m just your lying girlfriend?”

  “I take a lot of shit from you, Chyna. You get away with a lot of shit, all right?” he said, a bite cutting through his voice that she had never heard. “But, I would be the liar if I didn’t say that you’re making this a bigger deal than it really is. You blow everything out of proportion. I don’t get it, but I’ve endured it because I care about you. You can’t bring this shit up when you’re drunk this late and expect me to take you seriously.”

  “I’m not drunk!” she cried back, infuriated. She was tipsy. She’d had a few drinks, but that was it. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and Adam wouldn’t even believe her.

  “Please, Chyna, I know when you’re drunk. Stop being a drama queen.”

  “A drama queen?!” she all but shouted at him. “Are you fucking serious? I come to you with this, and you call me a drama queen?”

  “Yes! God, how do you think people see you?” he asked, slamming his fist in the foyer wall. “You’re a big fucking drama queen! All John had to do was look at you for you to think he wanted to get with you, Chyna. That’s how you treat everyone else.”

  “I don’t know if you haven’t noticed, but your girlfriend is wanted by every fucking guy who looks at her!”

  “See!” he said, clenching his fists at his sides, restraining himself. “Drama queen! You take the cake! This is my brother!”

  “Then, why do you think I brought it up?” she yelled back. “You think I wanted to hurt you with this?”

  “I don’t know what you wanted,” he yelled, barely holding it together. “You probably just misinterpreted whatever happened. You drank enough to blackout tonight. Do you even remember the night?”

  “I can’t believe this shit!” she cried. She was shaking from her anger. “I am not drunk! I know my limits. I try to tell you the truth. I try to be honest, and you throw it all back in my face!”

  “Well, imagine how I feel!” he cried. “I do everything for you, and you know I worship John. Yet, you still tell me that he—what? He tried to take advantage of you? Are you fucking kidding?”

  “Fucking ridiculous! You can’t even trust your own girlfriend to tell you the truth.”

  “From how it sounds, I shouldn’t trust you farther than I can throw you!” he yelled back at her angrily.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “You know what? Fuck it! Just fuck it!” he said, throwing up his hands. He ran a hand back through his hair in frustration. “Find someone else to deal with all the drama, Chyna! I’m done! This shit is out of control. You had to bring him into this.” He pointed his finger at her like he was going to say something else, but then he just shook his head and walked out of the door.

  He walked out and left her. He left her all alone. Who does that?

  Chyna grabbed her cell phone out of her bag. She was furious. Who the hell did he think he was? He couldn’t just walk out on her. She chewed on her lips, her hands shaking, as she searched for Alexa’s number. She wanted him to come back. She wanted him to fix this.

  She had been the one to mess things up, but John had been the instigator. She hadn’t even really done anything wrong. She just had bad thoughts, but who didn’t have those?

  By the time she found Lexi’s number, her heart was racing, her palms were sweaty, and tears were streaming from her eyes. How could he handle all this so callously? Why wouldn’t he believe her? She clicked Call on the phone and placed it to her ear, slumping down into her leather sofa.

  “Hello?” Lexi answered.

  “Lexi...” Chyna cried. She never called her Lexi, but she just wasn’t thinking clearly tonight. Hysterics were taking over, and she couldn’t calm herself down. She needed her best friend.

  “Chyna, are you okay?” Lexi asked.

  “No, oh my God, no, I’m not,” Chyna told her, not able to stop the tears.

  “What happened? Chyna, calm down. It’ll be okay. Just tell me what happened,” Lexi said reassuringly.

  “I don’t know. I just...I don’t know where to begin,” Chyna said, wondering how she had gotten to this point. Had she really been all that wrong? She had told Adam everything.

  “Just start wherever, C. Tell me from the beginning. Are you safe? Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you? Do I need to call someone to come get you?” Lexi asked, nearing hysterics herself.

  “No, no, I’m not hurt...not physically. It’s just...Adam. Alexa, it’s Adam,” she whispered into the phone. It was physically painful for her to utter the words.

  “Adam?” Lexi asked anxiously. “Is he all right? Did somethi
ng happen?”

  Chyna chewed her bottom lip and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, begging the tears to stop. She needed to tell Alexa. She needed her to know, and she needed her to understand what had happened. She couldn’t keep it all bottled up, and Adam hadn’t believed her. Alexa needed to believe her.

  “Chyna, what happened?” Lexi demanded.

  As much as she wanted to tell Lexi, her stomach twisted at the thought, and her heart hammered in her chest wildly. “Oh, God, Alexa. I can’t talk about it. It’s awful. We got into a horrible argument, absolutely horrible argument. My chest hurts unlike anything I’ve ever imagined,” Chyna whispered, her voice pained. “He was so calm at first, and then the floodgates opened. We both just screamed at each other. I don’t know what I’m doing!”

  “Oh, Chyna,” Lexi murmured softly. “I’m so sorry. Did you guys break up?”

  Chyna stopped to consider the question. Oh my God, had they broken up? Was that what had just happened? “I don’t know. Yes. No,” she moaned, wishing she knew the answer. “Maybe. He was so mean to me. I don’t know what we are anymore…”

  “Maybe it was just a misunderstanding,” Lexi reasoned. “Tell me what happened.”

  Chyna sniffled a few times into the phone. She might as well start from the beginning. Here goes nothing. “Adam’s brother, John, lives in the city, but he’s a businessman who travels all over the world. He’s not here much, so I’ve never met him.” Chyna began setting the scene for Lexi. She wanted her to understand. She wanted her to see what she had gone through—how he had been her type and how it had all gone horribly wrong.

  “Well, he was in town for the weekend, and Adam wanted to introduce me to him. I thought it was a big step.” Her tears renewed, and she broke down on the phone.

  It had been a big step. Adam adored John, and he had wanted them to be around each other. He had forced them around each other, but John had taken it too far. Chyna sniffled a few more times before continuing.

  “The three of us went out and had a few drinks. I tried to be low-key and handle my liquor. I wanted to make an impression,” Chyna said, summarizing the weekend for Lexi in one swoop.

  It didn’t matter how much time they had spent together because she had tried to be smart about it. She had tried to be smart about John, but she had found out that he hadn’t wanted that from the start. She had certainly made an impression on him, but now, it was clear that it wasn’t the right one.