I knock. Nothing. I know she’s in there because I can hear her singing. Pushing the door open just enough to peek in, what I see makes me smile. Stella is dancing and singing at the top of her lungs. And let me tell you, the girl cannot sing. I’d goso far as to say she’s tone deaf. But, damn, she can dance. It’s hot as hell. Stella is twerking and shaking her ass to the music. Suddenly, she stops. It makes my attention change from her ass up to her face. That’s when she shrieks, “What the hell, Alex! Ever heard of knocking?”
“I-I did,” I say, but she doesn’t look convinced. Her hands are on her hips and she looks pretty damn pissed. I’ve got to say, I like this feisty side of Stella. “Seriously, Stella, I knocked a bunch. You must not have heard me. Your music was pretty loud,” I say, attempting to yell over the music.
“Fine.” Her arms drop to her side in defeat. Then, she reaches over to her desk and turns down the music.
Now that it’s quiet, I add, “Oh, and great moves, by the way. It was hot.”
She practically slaps herself when both of her hands cover her face. “Oh my gosh, I’m so embarrassed! You saw me dance? You heard me sing?”
Her face turns every shade of red and pink.
Choosing not to mention her singing voice, or lack thereof, I say instead, “Stella, you can dance for me anytime.” I step out of her personal space. “Ready for dinner?”
“I’m not going. I’m too embarrassed now.”
“Please don’t be embarrassed. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, and I’m going to do everything in my power to get another one. A very private one,” I say with a wink. “Come on, let’s go.” I’ve muddled her to the point that she just sighs, grabs her stuff, and walks toward the front door with me. I peer down at her. “One other thing, when you didn’t answer your door, I tried the knob. It was unlocked. That’s unsafe. You never know who’ll walk in here. Luckily, it was just me, Pixie. Promise me you’ll lock up from now on.” I run my finger down the side of her face. Her skin is as soft as silk. I’d love to let that finger continue its journey, but her eyes look wary. “Lock it up, Pix. Yeah?”
“Yes. Brooke must have left it unlocked. I’ll be sure to check next time.” Good girl. As we make our way to the elevator and down to the lowest level of the building, I keep my hands on her in some way. If my palm isn’t on her back, then I’m holding her hand in mine or touching her arm. No matter what, I never stop touching her. I stay with her while she chooses food, making certain she’s actually eating something other than dry rabbit shit. She does a better job tonight, selecting a small cup of mac and cheese, a side salad, and mini pudding cup.
I decide to help her out a little bit, screw her stupid calorie counting. “Here.” I place a piece of double chocolate cake on her tray.
“I don’t need any cake, Alex.”
“Need? Who said anything aboutneed? Besides, we’re going to share it. It’s for both of us.”
“Okay,” Stella groans.
“That’s my girl.” As we make our way to the team table, Stella remains pretty quiet, so I take over the conversation by telling her about my day and asking her about hers.
“You need to come to one of my games, Stella. It’s the best way to learn the sport.”
“Um, I didn’t get student tickets this year.”
“That’s okay, you can use mine. Each football player gets four tickets a game for family and friends.”
“Alex, I wouldn’t want to take any tickets away from your family and friends.”
“You wouldn’t be. My parents usually go, but my little sister only comes to games occasionally. She’s too busy for her big brother.”
Stella looks like she’s trying to come up with an excuse to turn me down.
“Look, the tickets just go to waste when no one uses them.I’d love for you to come to one of my games. We have a home game this weekend.”Please say yes, little one.
“I can’t. It’s Labor Day weekend, and my parents always have a big barbecue. My attendance is required, unfortunately. Plus, I’m sure they’re planning on an intervention.”
“An intervention?” I ask perplexed.
“Uh-huh, a Stella and Bradley intervention. They’re going to try to get me to take Bradley back.”
Damn. Is she going back to that douchebag? Over my dead body! “You’re not going to take him back, are you? That guy is dangerous.”
“He’s harmless, but no. No way am I taking him back,” she says it with determination.
Good. I don’t want to come off as too controlling, so I switch back to the topic at hand. “So, what about the following weekend? We have a home game then as well. Actually, we have three in a row, which is nice.”
“Um, I guess. My dad would probably love to go with me. He’s a big sports nut.”
“Awesome. It’s settled. I’ll get you two tickets to the second game.” Fucking awesome is what I should have said, but instead, I say, “I’m going to love looking up into the stands and seeing you, Pixie.”
