Xavier
I climbed out of my Model X in front of Jay’s home and pulled up short when I didn’t see his car in the driveway. Instead, there was a cherry red Tesla Model S sitting there. I knew whom that vehicle belonged to. My head told me to turn around and hop right back in my car, but the unnatural pull I felt toward the owner of that vehicle had me walking up to the front door and knocking before I could recall moving.
“Coming!” Tori called out, sounding rushed. “Xavier, hey, I didn’t know you were coming by today. Jay’s—”
“At work, but he said he’d be in soon,” I blurted, cutting her off and looking over her head to see the rest of the house.
“Hello to you too,” Tori retorted, annoyed.
“Hey. Sorry.” I apologized for my rudeness, but still took glances behind her. She twisted her head to look over her shoulder and then turned back to me with an amused expression.
“Looking for someone?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Where is she?” No need to play games. We both knew damn well I was looking for Chanel. Her car in the driveway and the smile that played at Tori’s lips all told me she was there. I stepped through the door and closed it behind me while Tori kept that goofy ass grin on her face.
“Well?”
“You two are a trip.” She sighed.
My patience was growing thinner by the second. I hadn’t seen Chanel in more than a month, save for the brief exchange we’d shared at the restaurant earlier that week. And yes, not seeing Chanel or communicating with her was mostly my doing, but now that she was this close again, every cell in my body ignited with the yearning to lay my eyes on her.
“Tori, who’s—?”
My back straightened as my eyes flew to the sound of that voice. My stomach tightened as soon as our eyes locked on one another.
“Oh.” Chanel was the first to break eye contact, her gaze skirting around the room before finally landing on Tori. “Um, I was just going to say goodbye to Jason Jr. and Amalia before I head out.” She quickly turned and headed in the opposite direction, where I knew the kid’s playroom was.
I frowned and took one look at Tori before stepping around her and making a beeline for Chanel. Not only was I pissed she didn’t even bother saying hello to me, but now she was practically sprinting down the hall to get away from me.
“What the—?” she started, when I grabbed her elbow from behind. Instead of allowing her to proceed, I pulled her into one of the guest bedrooms, shutting the door behind me.
“What the hell are you doing?”
The way her lips were downturned and arms folded over her breasts spoke to how pissed she was at my interruption. I stared, drinking her in. It’d been weeks since I’d been this close to her. My eyes drank in her whole body from head to toe. The black skinny jeans she wore hugged the legs that I’d loved so much, and the beige flowy top complimented her dark brown skin to perfection. Even the healed booties on her feet that had a peep toe allowing me to see the bright pink coloring of her toenails looked great on her. It’d become a habit of mine, committing every detail about this woman to memory, every time I saw her.
“How are you?” I finally asked.
She refused to look me in the eye, and that pissed me off. “Like you care,” she scoffed and attempted to take a step around me to the door. She halted when I took a side step as well, cutting off her access to the only exit.
My frown deepened. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
This time she did look at me. “Exactly what I said. Can I pass, please?”
“No.”
She huffed, refolded her arms and stared at me, tapping her foot.
I stood there staring at her face. “You haven’t been sleeping.”
She squinted at me. “How would you know that?”
“I can see it in your eyes.” I’d noticed it at the sushi restaurant too. Her makeup was immaculate, and I’m sure most people wouldn’t notice the slight bags, but those people weren’t me.
“I’m fine.” She dropped her arms and attempted another time to step around me, but I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“You’re lying. Again.” That came out a little more accusatory than I’d intended.
“You don’t have to worry about whether I’m lying or not. I’m no longer your problem, remember? You made that quite clear when you walked out on me.”
