by Erica Lynn
“Hey. How are you?”
She looked at him with wide eyes that moved from Gracie, to Jen, and back to him again. “I, uh, I’m fine. Can I talk to you for a second?”
“Sure.” Alec told Jen and Gracie he’d catch up, then placed his hands in his pockets and waited as Stassi took a few tentative steps toward him. He couldn’t understand why, but her narrowed eyebrows and flushed cheeks had him thinking she was angry. “So what’s—”
“You’re married?”
Oh yeah. She was pissed. “Excuse me?”
“Is that your wife and…daughter?”
Alec opened his mouth to tell her the truth, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to toss a few of her own words back in her face. Childish, but still necessary. “Does it matter? You said we didn’t need to know personal details about the other, remember?”
Stassi’s eyes widened farther as her mouth dropped open. “I’d want to know if you’re married. That’s not okay with me at all.” She placed her head in her hands, then finally looked back up at him, the rage practically flying out of her eyes and toward his chest, ready to strike him dead. “Alec, I’m not that person. I’m not the other woman. I won’t do this. I would have never—”
“Hey, hey, hey. Hold on.” Alec reached out to touch her arm, but she immediately jerked back.
“Don’t you dare touch me.”
“Stassi—”
“No. Leave me alone. I can’t believe I was so stupid to actually feel something for someone—”
“Stassi!” Alec managed to get his arms around her shoulders and pull her in before they attracted too much attention. “I’m not married.”
She remained tense against him, her eyes still ready to strike him dead, but she didn’t pull away. “What?”
“I’m single. She’s not my wife, she’s my sister, Jen. And that’s her daughter, Grace.”
“Grace…” Alec watched as recognition dawned on Stassi’s face. “Gracie. You named your restaurant after your niece. That’s what you were going to tell me last night.”
“Yes.” Alec brushed her hair to the side, then tilted her head so she was looking at him. “I’m not with anyone. I’d never have approached you if there was someone else. That’s not who I am.”
Stassi backed away from him, and he grudgingly let her go. “Right. Okay.” She stood there for a moment longer, then turned and started to walk away.
“Hey, wait. Do you want to come with us to lunch or something?”
She turned back to him and shook her head. “No. Thank you, but I don’t think it’d be a good idea.”
Alec sighed and ground his teeth together. “What are you so afraid of?”
“Nothing.”
“Yeah, right. If it’s nothing, then why did you get so worked up over the thought of me being married?”
“Because that would have made you an asshole.”
“Oh please. There’s a million assholes out there. Why do you care if I’m one of them?”
Stassi crossed her arms and practically looked right through him. “I don’t.”
“Right. Okay. Here’s the thing,” he walked toward her placed his hands on the side of her face. “I’m not interested in whatever cat and mouse games you like to play.”
“I’m not playing g—”
“Yes, you are. And the sad thing is I don’t think you even mean to. I think you’re conflicted, and you don’t know how to handle it. So here’s how it’s going to go.” Alec let his hands fall to hers and rubbed her knuckles with his thumbs. “When you decide you want to get to know me, see where this goes, then call me. I think we both know there’s something between us, and yeah, it’s new, but it’s still here. When you’re ready to admit it, let me know. But no rules.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Doing what? Trying to get to know you?”
“Yes.”
“Because I have to. Because all I’ve thought about for the past day and a half is what you’re like when you aren’t putting on your fuck the world armor. I think I got a glimpse of it that first night. When you let me take charge. It was fucking beautiful.” He leaned in and brushed her mouth with his, a tortured growl escaping his lips when she parted hers slightly. He wanted to take advantage. To grab fistfuls of her hair and slide his tongue into her mouth…but he wouldn’t. Not yet. “I’ll see you later.”
“What? Why?”
“Because even though I want nothing more than to take you with me, to pick you up and carry you off like the fucking caveman you bring out in me, I don’t want this to be purely physical. So I’m going to go catch up with my sister and niece, and you’re going to do whatever you had planned today, and think about whether or not you want to give us a shot.” He released her hands and stepped away, the movement feeling insanely wrong. “And I’ll wait to hear from you. Like the pathetic, lovesick puppy you’ve turned me into.”
Stassi laughed and rolled her eyes. “A little on the dramatic side, no?”
Alec smirked and gave her an exaggerated bow, then turned and made his way to Jen and Grace.
Chapter Seven
Stassi tapped her fingers against the keyboard, making a long line of “G”s across her screen. The week was dragging by excruciatingly slow, and the realization it was only Wednesday made Stassi want to bang her head against the desk until the sweet release of death wrapped its cold hands around her.
It’d been two and a half weeks since she’d seen Alec at the farmers’ market, and true to his word, he hadn’t reached out to her. Not. One. Time. The man made her brain hurt.
Stassi groaned and put her head in her hands. Her mind wasn’t the only thing that was totally fried. Her body was so tense she feared she was going to pop. She’d tried to ease the tension with longer workouts, but all they’d done was make her glutes extra sore. She hadn’t been to a single party, and she was so in need of a release she could barely stand it. She told herself she hadn’t gone because she didn’t want to run into Alec, but the truth was she didn’t want anyone else. Plain and simple. She wanted Alec. Wanted his hands on her, his tongue in her mouth, his cock inside—
“Get ready for food.”
Stassi jerked her head up and saw Lacey and Gigi round the corner with coffees and a paper bag. “You’re chipper today.”
“Being in love will do that,” Gigi said, following her words quickly with exaggerated dry heaves.
“You two can kiss my chipper butt, or I can take these away.” Lacey opened the paper bag to reveal toasted asiago cheese bagels.
“Take them and you’re a dead woman.” Stassi picked up a napkin and grabbed a bagel from the top. “After the past few days I’ve had I’m desperately in need of carbs. Toppings?”
Gigi placed a small bag on her desk full of cream cheese, jelly, and honey.
“Thank you, ladies. This is perfect.” Stassi went to splitting her bagel and smearing it with cream cheese, Gigi and Lacey following suit behind her. “Is that paint on your hand?”
Gigi looked down at the green and purple stains on her skin. “Yes. I’m painting again.”
“Really?” Lacey asked, her face lighting up. “Gigi, that’s great. You haven’t painted since—”
“He who shall remain nameless. Yes, I’m aware. Thank you.”
“Good for you.” Stassi nodded and took a bite of her bagel. Gigi was an amazing painter, and for the longest time everyone thought that jerkoff had taken the love of it away from her. Stassi was glad to see her back in the saddle. Or smock, as it were. “I swear, this has been the slowest week known to man.”
“I agree.” Gigi took a sip of her coffee, a small moan of approval slipping past her lips. “Damn, this is good.”
“I thought you weren’t much of a coffee drinker,” Lacey mused as she prepared her breakfast.
“I wasn’t, but my podcast keeps talking about some online coffee thing, so Jackson decided to give it a try. They send a new blend every two weeks.”
Stassi ran th
rough a million sarcastic responses to throw Gigi’s way, but one sip of the coffee had her changing her mind. “I was going to be a bitch, but you’re right, this is good.”
“Oh, wow. Did it hurt? Having to hold your most dominant personality trait in?” Gigi asked with a small smirk.
Stassi blew her a kiss as she gave her the finger, Lacey rolling her eyes beside them.
“The two of you, I swear.”
Stassi shrugged, then put her hand to her head and rubbed her temple. Her head was beginning to pound, and as great as the bagels had looked thirty seconds ago, one bite had her stomach doing sloshy somersaults.
“You okay, babe?” Lacey narrowed her eyes in obvious concern for her friend. “To tell you the truth, you don’t look so hot.”
“I’m not feeling great. I thought I was just stressed out, but now I’m wondering if I’m coming down with something.” She moved her head side to side and tried to shake herself out of it. “I can’t be sick. I don’t get sick. I—” and then it was there. It started in her jaw, revolting tingles making their way down her throat and stomach. She barely had time to grab the trashcan from beside her desk before she retched into it.
“Holy shi—”
“Shut up, Gigi. Go get her a bottle of water.” Lacey grabbed some extra napkins and came up beside Stassi. She pulled her hair out of the way and rubbed her hand along Stassi’s back in comforting circles. “It’s all right. You’re okay.”
When Stassi was convinced her stomach was void of everything she’d ever eaten in her entire life, she took the napkins from Lacey and wiped her mouth.
Gigi stepped back into the office and handed her a bottle of water and a Sprite from the breakroom. “I didn’t know which one you’d want, so I brought both.”
“Thank you.” Stassi took the bottles and sat back in her chair. “Well that sucked.”
Lacey and Gigi glanced at each other before replying in unison, “No shit.”
The day pretty much went downhill from there. Stassi had immediately gone home, terrified she was going to throw up in her car, and had passed out on her still made bed the second she’d walked into her room.
After a few hours of sleep she’d managed to pull herself into a standing position long enough to change into her comfy, oversized T-shirt and baggy shorts, and make her way to the couch where she intended to stay for the rest of the evening. She was currently sprawled out on said couch, an empty trashcan in front of her, as she watched Jordan Catalano and Angela Chase’s intense love affair unfold. She hadn’t spewed her guts in a few hours, thank goodness, and even though she still felt like crap, she was pretty sure she’d be better by morning.
What she needed to do was order some food. Even if she’d been in the mood to cook, which she wasn’t, all she had in her apartment was healthy food. Bleh.
She picked up her phone to place an order for delivery, when she saw a text message from Lacey about forty minutes earlier.
Don’t hate me.
Stassi read it a few times, convinced she was supposed to know some hidden meaning behind the three words on her screen. She took another sip of her Sprite, then messaged her back. Okay. I won’t. Glad we had this talk.
She was just about to make her way to the kitchen when her phone rang. Stassi reluctantly paused her show and answered Lacey’s call. “Hey.”
“So he isn’t there yet?”
“Who?”
Stassi shrieked as a knock on the door cut through the silence in the room. She tiptoed to the peephole and sucked in a panicked breath as Alec stared back at her. She quickly ducked and retreated as if he could see her, and angrily whispered into the phone, “Lacey Wilson. What in the actual fuck?”
“I’m sorry. I was at the garage with Cameron and he came by. He asked how you were and I mentioned you’d had to go home sick, and he insisted he bring you some food. It was really sweet, too. You should have seen his face.”
“So you gave him my address? Real great. I swear to you if I go missing and end up on one of Gigi’s stupid murder porn podcasts I’m going to come back and haunt the hell out of you.”
“Didn’t you give Cameron my number without my permission?”
“Yes, I did. And I can see how a phone number and an address is the exact same thing.”
“Hello? Stassi?” Alec knocked on the door again, and Stassi knew there was no point in pretending she wasn’t there. He’d have to be deaf to not have heard her surprised squeal when he’d first knocked.
“One moment,” she yelled toward the door as nonchalantly as she could, then turned and whispered back into her phone, “I’ve got to go. I’ve got a killer at my door. Thank you for that.”
“A stone cold killer, no doubt.”
“I hate you.”
“Love you. Bye.”
Stassi hung up the phone and tossed it on the couch. She tiptoed to the bathroom and peeked into the mirror, attempted to tame a few stray strands of hair, then gave up. She was pretty sure survivors of the zombie apocalypse looked better than she currently did, maybe even some of the zombies, and trying to fix her appearance was futile.
She took a deep breath, straightened her ridiculously ugly clothes, and opened the door.
“Jesus…”
“Yeah, thanks.” Stassi rolled her eyes and held open the door for him to enter. “Come on in.”
Alec gave her a small hug and chuckled into her hair. “I’m sorry, that came out wrong. You just look like you really don’t feel good.”
Stassi raised an eyebrow in the direction of the plastic bag he carried. “I don’t, and consider yourself lucky, otherwise I’d kick your ass out of here. But as it is, I don’t have the energy, and whatever you have in there smells divine.”
Alec smiled and held it away from her reaching fingers. “I’ll take care of it. Go sit down.”
Stassi’s first instinct was to argue, to tell him she could take care of herself, but she wasn’t lying when she’d said she didn’t have the energy. So instead she nodded and went back to her well warmed spot on the couch. She tucked her feet underneath her and pulled the blanket up to her chest as she watched Alec move through her kitchen.
She’d never had another man in her apartment before, and to see him moving around as if he’d been there from the beginning stirred something deep in her belly. She’d only known the man a few weeks, and she hadn’t even talked to him the last two, but somehow he’d found a way into her…her what? She wasn’t sure, but she knew enough to acknowledge that wherever he was, nobody else had been there before.
“Here we go.” He came into the living room with two bowls. “I brought chicken soup, because everyone is supposed to want chicken soup when they’re sick. I also brought Lo Mein.”
Stassi arched an eyebrow in amusement. “You brought me Chinese food?”
Alec shrugged and set down the bowl. “Yeah. I love this stuff when I’m sick. They say the grease soaks up the germs.”
“I’m not sure I’ve heard that theory before.”
“I read about it once in a very credible source. Food Network Magazine.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve heard of that journal.” Stassi smiled as she grabbed the bowl of Lo Mein and snuggled back into her seat. “Thank you for bringing this. I’ve been meaning to text you, but—”
“No need to explain. I told you I’d be here whenever you were ready, and I still am. I’m not trying to rush you into making some sort of decision. That’s not what this is. Lacey mentioned you’d gone home sick and I…I…” He thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I wanted to take care of you.”
Stassi stopped mid-chew and looked at him. Really looked at him. He was unfairly handsome, even in his blue jeans and basic Browns T-shirt, successful, and so unbelievably sweet. Maybe Lacey was right. Maybe it was time to take a chance. Wow. Either she was too easily swayed or she was a slut for good Chinese food.
“Anyway,” Alec shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I’ll let you get back to w
hatever you were doing. I just wanted to drop the food off and check in on you. Make sure you were okay.”
“You can stay if you’d like.” Stassi watched him as he watched her, both so obviously unsure of what the next move was. “If you aren’t busy, of course. Just, you know, hang out or something.”
Alec looked at her for a moment more, then cleared his throat and nodded. “Yeah, that’d be great.”
Stassi un-paused her show as Alec sat down beside her.
They sat that way, in awkward silence, for three more episodes. And just as Stassi was trying to think of something to say, Alec went and blew her world up.
“This show is ridiculous.”
Stassi paused it and turned her head to face him, her eyes wide with shock. “Excuse me? My So Called Life is far from ridiculous. It’s only the best show of all time.”
“Seriously?” Alec shot her his perfect smile, and she felt it deep inside her core. “Jordan and Angela are a little on the melodramatic side.”
“Melodramatic?” Stassi’s eyes got wider as she took in his words. “Melodramatic? Have you lost your mind? It’s in no way melodramatic. It’s damn near akin to poetry.”
“Akin?”
“It means similar.”
“Yeah, I know what it means, I just didn’t think you were the type of person to say akin. Then again I also didn’t think you were the type of person who liked chick flicks, but now I see I was terribly wrong.”
Stassi grabbed the pillow she was leaning on and shot it at him. “Dude, chick flicks are awesome.”
Alec chuckled and pulled her legs onto his lap, then began to rub her feet with his big, talented fingers. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Look, look at this scene right here. I’m telling you, it’s the most romantic scene in TV history. I swear it.”