by Leila James
They all shrug and make a pact not to shower alone. Awesome. These are the days I wish I had more friends. Shaking my head, I open my locker, pull out my clothes, and quickly dress.
Back outside, I hurry over to my friends and family … and Xander, Beau, and Micah. I still have no fucking clue what they are doing here, but apparently, they are waiting for me. I stop first in front of Aunt Liz and Uncle David with a bright smile.
They wrap me up in a three-person hug. “Great job, sweetie. You sure are fast. I don’t know where you get that from. Your mom and I always used to joke that we needed someone to run in front of us with a bar of chocolate to get us to move.”
I scoff good-naturedly at her joke. “You were a lot alike, that’s for sure.”
“She’d have been proud of what you did today, Scarlett.” A faint smile crosses her lips, as her eyes drift toward the building. “She’s probably here somewhere watching you run like the wind.”
I nod at the thought, my eyes a little misty. If I didn’t get my running abilities from my mom or aunt, they must have come from the other half of my gene pool. I can’t help but wonder about what kind of athlete Sebastian was in high school. Because my speed had to come from somewhere. I know he played football, but that’s about it. I’ll have to see if I can find out. I swallow down my curiosity and turn to Uncle David. “What’s for dinner tonight?”
He pats my shoulder. “Spaghetti and meatballs. Are you coming straight home now?” His gaze slides over to where Daphne and Max appear to be talking to Beau and Micah. My heart thumps as Xander’s eyes connect with Uncle David’s and an uncomfortable alpha male moment passes between them. Definitely a Watch it or I’ll take you out from Uncle David, and I’m fairly certain I’m reading a You can’t stop me from seeing her from Xander. I huff out an internal laugh at that. I was definitely the one calling the shots last night.
“I’m actually going to see a movie with Daphne and Max now. I’ll be home later this afternoon, in plenty of time for pasta … and hopefully garlic bread?” I grin big, batting my eyes at him. It always works.
“I can manage that. We’ll see you at home later, then. Be safe.” His eyes flick back to Xander one last time.
With that, Aunt Liz and Uncle David say their goodbyes and make their way back to their car.
As I join everyone else waiting for me, I debate whether to say anything now about the incident in the shower, but then I figure, fuck it. I’m not holding back. I pull Xander aside, which definitely surprises him. I work my jaw, trying to decide if it was really him. Just ask. Get it over with. “Was it you?”
His eyes scan my face, lingering. “What?” He looks confused.
I whisper low, “Was that you outside the shower? Someone was standing right outside my stall again.”
His eyes narrow with concern. “I wouldn’t do that to you, Scarlett.”
“What, because you haven’t before?” My voice raises.
“Technically, I didn’t before either. That was Aria.”
Beau steps closer, a frown sliding over his features. “Did you say someone was in the locker room with you?”
Micah, Daphne, and Max join the conversation, a cautious look exchanged among them.
My heart pounds as I heave out a breath. “Yes. Tall and dark hair. Definitely not Aria this time. Whoever it was is way too big to have been a girl.” I whirl on Micah and look pointedly at his dark hair and broad frame. My brows go up a fraction right before he raises his hands and shakes his head.
“No way. I’ve been right here the whole time. We showed up to make sure you were okay after your misadventures last night. Ask Daphne and Max.”
Ah, hell. I sure hope by “misadventures” he’s talking about my drunken dancing and not anything else. I’d been hoping Xander and I could keep my payback stunt between the two of us. I side-eye Xander, and he gives a little shake to his head. Apparently, he’s read my expression and knows exactly what I’m worried about.
Daphne peers nervously at Micah but speaks up. “He’s telling the truth. He was right here the whole time. In fact, we all were, Xander included.” She chews on her lip. “Who would do that?”
I shake my head, my gaze wandering to my aunt and uncle’s car, which is pulling out of the parking lot. I inhale deeply and then let out a steady stream of air, thinking. “To freak me out, I guess? Maybe it was someone from the other team.” I look around, shivers washing over me. “I don’t want to think about it right now.” My eyes cast down to my shoes. I’m really disturbed to realize I don’t actually know who was with me in the locker room. I’d almost rather it have been Xander or Micah.
Max pats my shoulder. “I hear that, Cupcake. You still up for the movie?”
I lift my head and give him a smile. “Yeah, that’d be the perfect thing to take my mind off of all the crazy around here.” I sneak a peek at Xander out of the corner of my eye.
Daphne nods her head in the direction of Max’s SUV. “We’re going to head over. Meet us there?”
“Sounds good. Thanks so much for coming to support me today.”
Max grins and winks. “Always, Cupcake.”
Once I watch them walk away, I turn back to find Beau and Micah fist-bumping Xander and telling him they’ll see him later.
Beau hooks his arm around my neck in an odd sort of hug. “Awesome run today, pretty girl.” He winks at me. “Glad to see your party antics didn’t fuck with you too much. You’re not still mad at me for trying to vodka-block you, are ya?”
I shake my head. “No. Thank you for trying to look out for me.”
“No problem. We’ll catch you later.”
“Thanks for dancing with me, Micah.” A slight blush steals over my cheeks.
“Anytime.” Micah lifts a hand and nods at me with a small smile—totally a Micah thing—silently saying goodbye before he follows Beau.
Xander takes a deep breath, his face registering a fair amount of regret. “I get that you were pissed at me last night and feel like I’m yanking you around. I even respect what you did.” He slides the pad of his thumb over his lower lip, the gaze of his dark eyes penetrating mine. “After last night, I’ve had a change of heart. I’m biding my time, trying to figure things out. I still want you, Red. Bad.”
I cross my arms in front of me as my gaze skims over his strong cheekbones, chiseled jaw, and corded neck. I find him so attractive it muddles my thinking.
“We’ll figure out who is messing with you.” His body tenses, and his hands fist at his sides.
I shrug, not sure what to make of anything he just said. “Maybe next time I’ll open the shower door in all my naked glory and see who it is.”
He hisses through his teeth while his heated gaze travels down my body—it’s almost like a physical touch. “Naked glory is right.”
I feel him everywhere, sparks going off beneath my skin. It doesn’t seem to matter what the state of our relationship is, the attraction between us hums like a live wire, snapping and crackling with intensity.
“I’ll see you around, Red. We’re just getting started.” He winks.
I know in my heart that he’s right. I still can’t resist a verbal tussle, though, and shoot him a small smirk. “I’m pretty sure I told you to fuck off last night.” My brows raise, challenging him.
“You’ll find I don’t fuck off very well.” He sends me a devastating grin, complete with the dimple I can’t get enough of, before he takes off for the parking lot.
Damn, I’m screwed.
The honest truth is I can’t resist him.
And I’m beginning to see that he can’t resist me, either.
Chapter 18
Scarlett
I guess it should come as no surprise after Saturday’s conversation, but Xander and I are on somewhat friendly terms right now. I feel better having had the chance to tell him to fuck off, and he seems to have rolled with it, understanding that I needed to be in control for a minute, needed to be the one to push him away. While it’s
nice to feel like I’d done the right thing by telling him to back off, I know he wants me the same way I want him. I swear, we’re like addicts who keep coming back for more of each other.
No matter what my heart tells me it wants, I wish he’d be forthright with whatever he’s keeping from me. It makes me hesitate. Makes me cautious with the one person I’m inexplicably drawn to in a way I’ve never been drawn to anyone else. When I look deep inside, I’m not sorry about my attraction to him—not for a second. But man, I wish he’d talk to me.
For days I’ve tried to figure out what he’d meant when he said he wishes he could tell me. He’s hiding something, but is it more than the revelation about Sebastian being my father? I can’t fall back into his arms again without an explanation, no matter how much I want to.
Tuesday evening, I mindlessly scoop one ice cream cone after another at Teri & Terry’s. I sigh, wiping my hands on my apron as the last customer takes their ice cream, makes their payment, and leaves the shop.
I wander into the back to find Terry, hiking my apron over my head as I walk. “Hey. I’m taking off, if that’s okay?”
He glances up at me. “Yep. Do me a favor and flip the lock on the front door and then you’re free as a bird.”
I smile. “Great. Did you need me at all this weekend? I have another meet on Saturday, but I could come in on Sunday if you need me to work an extra shift.”
“I heard you were amazing at the last meet.”
“Thanks. Just doing what I like to do, I guess.”
He eyes me carefully. “You know what? Take the weekend off. You seem tired lately.”
My teeth graze my lower lip, and my eyes cast down. Jeez, even Terry can tell I’m off my game. “Okay. And thanks. I appreciate it. See you Thursday.”
After locking up, I grab my bag from the employee’s area in the back and head out to the parking lot. When I get to Ruth, I unlock her and climb in. After plucking my phone out of my back pocket, I decide to check my text messages before I take off. I’m definitely not one to text and drive. That’s just stupid.
I see movement out of the corner of my eye, and my head jerks up. My heart jumps and then thuds back into place when I realize it’s only Terry locking up. He takes a second to wave at me, then hurries to his car as soon as I wave back. He hops in and zips out of the parking lot, no doubt eager to get back to Teri at home.
Somehow, as I’m about to turn the key in the ignition, I know the truck isn’t going to start. Call it an odd premonition, but Ruth sputters and dies. Crap. I try to start her again. Nothing. I lower my forehead to the steering wheel, and breathe for a few seconds. I huff out a frustrated sigh as I straighten and pull up Uncle David’s contact info to call. It rings through to his voice mail, so I hang up and try Aunt Liz. Come on, come on, come on. The phone rings, irritating in my ear, until Liz’s voice mail picks up. Cringing, I say, “Hey. It’s Scarlett. Ruth won’t start, and I’m stuck at work. I don’t know what’s wrong. Terry already left and, um— Call me back. I’m— Um. I guess I’m going to start walking home.”
I look around at the dark parking lot. The single bulb over the back door of the shop gives off hardly any light. Great. Totally creepy. Swallowing hard, I push the truck’s door open, its hinges creaking angrily. Yeah. Me too, girl. I reach across the seat for my bag and phone and slide out. I slam the door with more force than necessary and lock up. Shit. I can’t believe this.
At the front of the building, I look up and down the street for a few seconds before taking off. I guess it’s too much to hope that my aunt or uncle would have gotten my message already and zoomed to the rescue. Just what I need at the end of a long day. I take off at a good pace in the direction of our house, constantly scanning around me. After a while, I pull out my phone and try Aunt Liz again. Still no answer. That’s when it hits me: this morning they’d told me that they were having a date night at some restaurant in the next town over. I’m definitely going to have to walk all the way home.
I hear the rumble of a vehicle approaching from behind me. I glance over my shoulder and spot a large, dark-gray truck. I turn back around and lower my gaze to the sidewalk in front of me and continue walking. The truck slows and rolls along next to me, making a cold shiver skid down my spine. I pick up my pace, but the car stays with me. Oh, shit. I try to stay composed and not panic. My eyes dart over to the side. If I take off into the woods, is someone going to get out of that vehicle and chase me down? I’m about to take my chances, trusting in the fact that I’m a well-trained runner and know my body and what I’m capable of, when an SUV approaches from the opposite direction, stops, and honks. The truck beside me takes off like a shot. I try to get a look at the plates, but only catch the first three letters—ZXT. I stare after the taillights as it speeds away from me and around the next corner. The sound of the window coming down on the driver’s side of the stopped SUV has my attention whipping back toward it. I give a sigh of relief when none other than Xander stares at me from the driver’s seat.
No matter our history, the only thing I want to do at this moment is to run to him. So I do.
Xander hauls ass out of his Cadillac Escalade, leaving it running while his door hangs open. In the middle of the road, he catches me tightly in his arms. “What the fuck was that all about?”
I shake my head against his sturdy chest. “I don’t know. I couldn’t see who was inside the truck.” His arms around my body may be both literally and figuratively holding me together—the only thing keeping me from seriously wigging out.
“What are you doing out here walking in the dark like this?” His voice is gruff and curious.
I have an immediate flashback to another recent night I’d had to make my way home in the dark. At least I had my wits about me this time. My teeth sink into my lower lip for a second before I answer. “It’s not the first time I’ve had to do it, Xander.”
His body stiffens for a second before he relaxes again. His lips are in my hair at the top of my head. “I know, Red. And I’m so sorry for it. But, baby, why are you walking tonight?”
It’s crazy scary how quickly we slip back into couple-mode. I don’t know if he realizes he called me baby. “My truck wouldn’t start, and I couldn’t reach my aunt and uncle.”
“You should have called me.” He speaks into my hair, giving me shivers. “I know trust is an issue for us right now, but—”
“I don’t like bothering people.” I pull back to stare up at him. “What are you doing out here, anyway? Stalking me?” I laugh a little, trying to make a joke. Judging by the stony expression on his face, it flops pretty hard. I poke him in the ribs. “I was teasing you.”
He sighs. “It’s all good. I deserve that and probably worse from you.” He guides me to his vehicle. “Anyway, no. Mom sent me out for Children’s Tylenol for Janie. Come on, let me take you home.”
“Oh. Is she sick?” A weird feeling winds its way through my stomach.
“She’s got a touch of something. Probably a virus. My mom swears I was never sicker than the year I started school.”
My heart thuds thinking about that little girl. Xander’s half sister. Sweet pigtails, sass for days, and wiser than her years. It occurs to me—she and Xander share a mother … but she and I could very well share a father. I squeeze my eyes shut, unready to consider the full ramifications of it.
“Where’d you go just now?” Xander eases back to look at me.
“Nowhere. Nothing.” I can’t. I’m not ready to know for sure yet. He opens the door for me and helps me inside. He even goes as far as buckling my seatbelt for me.
I watch as he jogs around the car to the driver’s side. I don’t know what to make of this Xander. The concerned one. The kind one. This is the boy I met while running that day in August. The boy that made my heart go pitter-patter and my lady parts sigh in appreciation.
I wish I knew if he’s back for good or if he’ll flip on me again at some point.
We take off toward my house. The silence a
s we roll down the dark street is almost enough to choke me. There are so many things I want to say, want to ask, but I don’t have the courage yet.
Xander reaches across the center console, touching my leg, lightly at first, then more firmly. “Red, I wish things weren’t so mixed up between us right now.”
“Care to explain that to me?” My teeth grind together as my frustration mounts.
“I can’t.”
“Stop here, please.” Thankfully, we are close to my aunt and uncle’s house.
“What?”
I glance at him as panic surges through me. “I said stop the car. I need some space to think. Let me out.” I unbuckle and start to open the door as if I’m about to jump out if he doesn’t stop.
He brakes, pulling us off to the side of the road. I don’t hesitate. I burst from the car as he shouts, “Scarlett!”
I slam the door shut on his words.
Chapter 19
Xander
Liz and David really ought to lock up better. After not being able to sleep for shit for several hours, I’d driven back over to try to talk to Scarlett. I’m ready to meet this head-on. I could tell by the set of her jaw that she’d meant what she said—that she’s done with me unless I trust her with this. Worse, I could tell how much it hurt her to get out of the car, how much she didn’t want to. But she knew it was for the best. She’s stronger than she knows.
And it will break me if I let her go. I’m finally ready to put my growing feelings for her ahead of everything else. Easing open the unlocked back door to her house, I quickly slip inside and shut it behind me. I stand for a few seconds, allowing my eyes to acclimate to the darkness. Once they have, I steal through the bottom floor of the house until I reach the stairs near the front door. She’s up there somewhere. Just have to find her.