But she breaks the kiss before it can develop into anything more. I know it’s for the best but I still frown and try to pull her mouth back to mine. She laughs softly and slips away, grabbing the door handle, ready to make her escape.
She pauses and looks up at me. “I’m sorry I acted like you were a cocky playboy, incapable of serious feelings,” she tells me quietly with the hint of a smile. As the knob turns in her hand, she adds, “Because you’re more than that, and you might not truly believe that yet, but I do.”
With one more soft, quick kiss, she’s gone.
Chapter 18
Brie
Four days later I wake up and the first thing I do is check my phone. Alex is on a road trip playing Vegas and Seattle so I knew I’d be asleep by the time he got back to the hotel and we wouldn’t be able to talk like we did the last two nights. But there’s no text. No missed call. No email.
I have to put aside my disappointment and pull on my big-girl pants here. I know this. He’s not ignoring me. He’s not used to being in a relationship and I’m not used to being in one that’s long distance every few days. Maybe I’m expecting too much. He’s home today and I’ll get to see him again and that’s what counts.
I sigh and get out of bed, wandering into the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee and some toast before work. Mac grumbles something and sits down beside me with a bowl of Cheerios and begins to cut a banana into it. Her eyes seem barely open, but she doesn’t sever a finger and manages to pour the milk in the bowl anyway.
I keep quiet and stalk Alex on Instagram. He’s posted two photos since he’s been on his road trip and neither are the usual hotel bathroom towel selfie. The last time he posted a selfie with a hot girl hanging off him was before he moved to Brooklyn, before I met him. His two shots from this trip are caption-less artsy photos he’s taken. One, a cityscape shot of Seattle at night and the other a black-and-white of a cactus in Vegas. The comments under them are mostly complaints he isn’t posting half-naked selfies anymore, and proclamations of love and offers for a good time. He never responds. This morning there’s a new post. It’s in black-and-white and it’s of the light I gave him. There’s a caption:My new favorite thing.
I smile so big my face hurts and Mac gives me a weird look, like she thinks I’m insane, but I ignore her as my worries disappear and my heart catapults itself back into my chest.
Four hours later I’m sitting behind my desk going through paperwork and still feeling awesome when there’s a knock on my door. I wasn’t expecting him to come straight here from the airport, so seeing Alex standing there in a suit and tailored wool coat is pretty overwhelmingly awesome. The grin on my face must make me look insane it’s so big, but I can’t contain it. A slow smile starts to spread across his face until it’s almost as big as mine, and as he walks into the room, he pulls the door closed behind him.
I stand up and walk around my desk.
“Hey,” he says simply, his French accent thicker than normal.
We’re standing so close I have to tilt my head back to look at his face. “Hey.”
“I have a work thing I have to go do, but I wanted to swing by and see how Mac’s doing,” he says.
Oh.
“She’s at school. She skipped again yesterday, so I grounded her,” I explain and take a step back. “She was pissed but didn’t run away. At least not yet…”
“I think her birthday is coming up,” he says, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jacket. I take another step back. “She mentioned something about it being this month when I met her.”
“Yeah. It’s Sunday,” I reply. “I asked her if she wanted a party and she said no, but that it would be cool if you and maybe Len came over. Are you in?”
“Of course,” he says. “Great. I’ll get her something too.”
“Is there something else?”
Please let there be something else.
He clears his throat. “I missed you. Like crazy.”
“I missed you too.” I bite my bottom lip, feeling light and coy and kind of giddy.
He reaches up and gently holds my chin using his thumb to pull my lip from my mouth. “Do you want me to talk to Mac? Like back you up or something?”
“Right now all I want is for you to kiss me.” My voice is barely a whisper because he’s dipping his head and our lips are closer and closer, and then he kisses me. It’s as passionate and carnal as I remember.
There’s a knock at the door and we leap apart. I run my fingers gently over my lips and call out. “Come in!”
Rose Caplan opens the door and steps inside. She smiling warmly but does a stutter step when she sees Alex on the other side of the room, rubbing the back of his neck and staring at his feet. I can feel the heat in my own cheeks so I know they’re pink…maybe even red. We not only look guilty, there’s an air of guilt in the room.
“Hi. Sorry,” she says awkwardly. “I didn’t know you were busy. I just wanted to say hey. I’m here for the tutoring session with the kids. I’m early but I thought maybe you’d want to grab a coffee.”
“Yeah. Sure,” I reply casually, like I didn’t just have my tongue in her friend’s mouth.
