“Go to sleep, Little Fox.We can talk in the morning.”
Chapter 7
Storm
Isleptlikecrap.No matter how many times I tried to clear my head and fall asleep, I couldn’t do it.Dixie’s words kept running through my head on repeat.
She can't honestly think I don’t have feelings for her, right?She has to realize there’s a special pull I’ve always had to her and I’ve never felt that towards any other woman.
I roll over to face her, more than ready to talk this out.I'm not letting her run away from me… Except the spot next to me is empty.
“C’mon, Dix,” I hiss as I scrub a hand down my face.
When could she have snuck out?I only slept for a few minutes at a time.How could she have timed her escape so perfectly?
Pulling myself out of bed, I know I'm going to be in a terrible mood today.I'm not sure if I'm angrier about the lack of rest, about Dixie’s disappearing act, or how she doesn’t think I care.Each option is completely valid and they’re all piling up in my mind, making it hard to think straight.
I'm showered and dressed in less than five minutes.Then I'm tugging on my cut and stomping out of my apartment.I head straight to Dixie’s apartment and bang on the door until a sleepy and hungover Oakley answers the door.
“Can you just… not?My head is killing me.”She rubs her eyes with the heels of her hands.Her black hair is a wild mess, sticking up in every direction.She looks like she had a rough night too.
“I want to talk to Dixie.”
“She isn't here, Storm.Jeez, you really had to bang like that because you were looking for Dixie?”She glances down at her watch and winces, grabbing for her head.“It’s seven o’clock in the morning.Where do you think Dixie could possibly be?”She rolls her eyes and slams the door in my face.
I let out a growl of frustration and head towards the mess hall.I don’t bother getting in line for the delicious smelling food or talking to any of the guys.I go straight to the kitchen and let the door slam behind me.
Dixie slowly lifts her gaze to meet mine before turning her attention back to whatever she was working on.It looks like some sort of dough.She’s stretching it in one direction, then folding it back on itself.
I don’t understand how she never flinches or jumps when there’s a loud noise or someone barging into the room.Somehow, she always looks bored when I feel like I'm seconds away from punching a hole in the wall.
“You left without telling me,” I growl, folding my arms across my chest and staring at her with narrowed eyes.
She doesn’t say a word.She keeps stretching the dough and folding it back into a ball.As the seconds tick by, my skin gets itchy.It feels too tight for my body and I feel like I'm seconds away from going insane.
“I'm talking to you, Little Fox.”I take three large steps towards her.The only thing separating us is the island and granite counter top.
“I believe I told you last night, I don’t want to talk to you anymore,” she mumbles without any sort of emotion.If I didn’t already know she was mad at me, I wouldn’t know based on her tone.
“Are you kidding me?”I roar, knocking an empty bowl onto the ground by accident.
I thrust my fingers through my hair and tug on the ends.I don’t know how she has the power to make me feel so unhinged, but she does.
“My memory is a little fuzzy, but I distinctly remember being mad at you and telling you I don’t want to talk to you.”
“And why were you mad at me?What did I do to deserve this?”I plant my palms on the cool surface of the counter and lean in until our faces are only an inch or so apart.
“I don’t remember,” she says simply.
She spins around and grabs a tea towel.After sprinkling it with flour, she places the perfectly round dough in it and wraps it up.It’s put in a bowl and covered with something else before she pushes it into the corner and begins working on another lump of dough.
“So, you snuck out of my bed and are refusing to talk to me, yet you don’t even know why?”
“I'm sure I know somewhere in the back of my brain, I just can't remember right now.It will come to me sooner or later.Until then, I'm mad and I’ll figure out my reasoning later.”She lifts one shoulder in a shrug and continues working.
“Why’d you sneak out of my bed?”
“I think that goes back to the ‘I’m mad at you’ thing.Plus, it’s a little weird.I don’t remember much from last night, but I woke up wearing one of your shirts and my clothes were all over the floor.”She scrunches up her nose in disgust and I want to scream.
