Chapter 34
Lexie
As soon as I unlock my door, I drop my purse, kick off my shoes, unbutton my caplet letting it drop, and race to the kitchen. I barely greet my animal friends as I go. “Oh, my god, Cy. I’m starving.”
I wrench open my 1970s olive green refrigerator and grab the first thing I see, a package of processed cheese and one remaining tortilla. Remaining from when? That’s the question. I pull out the stale tortilla, dry and crunchy on the edges, and lay it on a plate. I unwrap three pieces of cheese and set them on top. I place, what I’ll call a quesadilla, into my toaster oven and set it for five minutes at three fifty.
That gives me just enough time to strip out of my clothing and into my jammies. Once the bell chimes on my dinner, I pull it from the toaster oven, fold the tortilla in half, and bite into it. “Mm, mmm, Cy,” I say with my mouth full. “It sucks but it’s something.” I open the fridge door again looking for milk. “No milk, Cy. I need to go to the store.” I look at the stack of dirty dishes in my sink and sigh.
Carrying my food into my tiny bedroom, I see a pile of laundry in the corner. “Cy, I need to stay home and get some things done. I can’t keep up this hectic schedule with Gabriel. How does he do it?” Oh, I know how he does it. He’s got help. No doubt he’s got a maid at home that takes care of all of the mundane household tasks like cooking, cleaning, and buying groceries.
I’d say he was lucky, but I actually enjoy cleaning my house, doing my laundry, and choosing my food for the week. I feel a sense accomplishment when my house smells lemony and bleachy, and my clean clothes are folded and put away.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I finish my dinner and sip from the glass of water from my nightstand. I think it’s been here for a few days, but I shrug.
Once I’m finished with the water, I take my plate and glass into the sink. “Okay, guys. Now I’ll come check on everyone.” I start with Shelly. She’s sitting in a shallow puddle of water, tucked into her shell. I reach into her habitat and take out some water-drenched food pellets along with remnants of carrots left from her treat the other day. “I’ll clean your cage tom… I mean Sat… Sunday.” Crap, that’s three days away.
Ron and Hermione are awake. Not surprising since it’s one in the morning now. They skitter into their dome house when they see me coming. Why they’re still scared of me is beyond me. I think it’s the nature of the species. I refresh their water and refill their food dish. I grab a hunk of chopped straw and set it into the cage. They like to refresh their bedding with straw. “I’ll clean your cage on Sunday too, kids.”
At Cy’s cage, I see the disappointment in his eye. I haven’t been home lately. Hell, it feels like I’ve been gone a month. “Sorry, buddy. It’ll be over soon.” He chirps, and I swear he just told me to eff off. Okay, I’m projecting, but I can’t help it. I feel guilty.
I change his water, give him some fresh seed and talk to him. Essentially, kissing his tail feathers. “Oh, Cy, you’re so handsome, yes you are. Yes, you’re a handsome boy. Mama loves you.” And so on. You get the idea.
However, his one eye says it all. “Good try, but I’m not buyin’ it.”
Once everyone is squared away, at least for now, I slide into my full-size bed. I barely get my eyes closed when there’s a knock on my door. “No,” I moan. Maybe if I ignore it, they’ll go away.
Knock, knock, knock. “No such luck, Cy.”
I lumber to the front door, dragging my feet along the hardwood floors. I’m too tired for this. “Who is it?” I ask through the door. It’d better not be my creepy neighbor again. I can only be nice for so long.
“Gabriel.”
Huh? “What? Why?”
“Please open the door, Lex.”
I unlock the door and pull it open. The chain still engaged. I peek out and see him standing in the same outfit from the awards thing, but he’s holding a brown paper sack. “Did you forget something?”
“I came to feed you.”
Just then, I smell it. Italian spices are emanating from the bag. I shut the door, drag off the chain and re-open the door. Opening it wide, Gabriel walks down my short hallway right into my kitchen. Placing the bag on my counter, he starts to open my cupboard doors. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for plates.”
I scoot past him in my tiny kitchen and reach for the cupboard above my toaster oven. The reach results in my pajama top riding up exposing some of my skin. Apparently, that didn’t escape Mr. Handsy. His palms start at my sides then they slide forward until he’s got them wrapped around me. “I’m sorry.” He says into the top of my hair. “I was an asshole.”
My body tingles from his touch. “Yes. You were definitely, a jackass.” My arms are still raised attempting to grab my only two plates from the cupboard. I’m sort of afraid to move at this point. I’m not wearing a bra. As soon as I put my arms down, the girls are going to drop.
Damn it, my arms are starting to hurt like this, so I slowly lower them. If I ease them down and arch my back a little bit, perhaps he won’t know.
Oops, bad idea. Arching my back caused my bottom to bump into his pants. His hard pants.
Without a word spoken, Gabriel slides his big, warm palms beneath my sleep shirt until they’re resting beneath my breasts. “Lexie?” he says hoarsely.
“Yeah.” I know I sound equally turned on.
“Can I touch you?”
