Chapter 26
TWENTY-SIX
Alex
I haven’t felt this good in a very long time. The future looks bright, and having Mona back is a sure thing. I have no doubts about it after last night. I would bet everything I have on the fact that we are officially back together. Nothing will come between us again.
My heart jumps in my chest at the thought of her.
She went downstairs only minutes ago, but it’s as if I haven’t seen her in forever.
With that in mind, I rush through a quick shower.
I put on the same clothes I wore last night, then take a moment to stare at myself in the mirror.
I look the same on the outside, but I feel different on the inside.
Being this happy is such a foreign concept, and I’m sure it'll take me some time to adjust to it.
As I make my way downstairs, I look around, wondering if Mona would like to live in a house like the one where Ray and Hayden live. Cal and Evie own something similar, in the same neighborhood. Kyle and Zara are not too far away from here, and the rest of our friends are in close proximity as well.
All this is making me rethink living in the city. I’ve always thought that I needed to be there to conduct business, but with today’s technology, I could be anywhere. I could commute to the city a couple of days a week.
I continue making plans as I go down the stairs, completely unaware of anything else around me. The closer I get, I hear voices, recognizing Mona’s chuckle as she chats with my friends.
I am so into my own head that I need a moment to process the complete silence shrouding the room upon my entry.
“Good morning, everyone.” My voice is loud and chipper, so unlike my usual self.
I walk directly to where Mona sits, bend over and place a hard kiss against her lips. When I lean back, I see her squinting her eyes at me. She doesn’t seem to be as happy to see me as I am to see her.
“How are you, Zara?” I ask when I notice Kyle’s girlfriend staring at me with incredibly wide eyes.
She is startled that I asked, which throws me off. I know we started off on the wrong foot, but I can’t believe she’d be holding a grudge for this long. Kyle assured me she’d come around.
“I-I’m good.” She clears her throat nervously before glancing to Mona. “How are you, Alex?”
My eyes move back and forth around the room, hoping someone would give me a clue about what’s going on. Kyle shrugs, and Ray stands up from the table.
“I’m gonna go check on Hayden.”
I grab a plate and start piling food on it. I woke up with an appetite, and it shows. Just as I turn to go back to the table, Mona drops her fork to the plate. It rings loud in the awkward silence.
“I’d like to leave now, please.”
She doesn’t even give me a chance to ask why when she’s already up and walking toward where I see her coat and bag.
With the plate of food still in my hand, I stare after her, then look at my friends. Zara looks guilty as hell, while Kyle tries to act nonchalantly, but I can tell something’s up.
“Can I eat first?” I call after Mona.
“No,” she snaps at me. “In fact, I hope you starve to death.”
“Ouch.” Kyle winces in sympathy.
I widen my eyes at him. “What the hell is going on?”
“I’m so sorry, Alex,” Zara jumps in. “I assumed you…”
Kyle wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Don’t, baby. Let them work it out on their own.”
“But I should’ve never…”
He cups the back of her head and presses a thumb to her lips. “Shh, trust me.”
Angry steps approach from behind. I turn just in time to see an angry Mona looking like she is about to beat me with her purse. She points at my plate.
“Pack yourself a sandwich and move it.” She spins on her heels and marches back out to the front door. “God forbid you starve,” she mumbles, probably to herself, but I can still hear her.
I drop the plate to the table, not hungry anymore.
“Seriously, what the fuck is going on in?” I mutter toward Kyle.
He stares back, eyes full of concern. “You should probably talk to her. But, dude…” He leans over the table. “She knows,” he whisper yells.
Feeling as confused as ever, I am about to ask for clarification when Mona yells after me.
“Alex! We’re leaving! Now!”
Her tone is angry and unforgiving. I can’t imagine what could’ve happened from the time she left the bedroom upstairs to the moment I walked into the dining room. Because it is obvious that something did. Then, there’s Kyle’s ominous warning. She knows.
“Talk to you guys later,” I tell my friends. “Tell Ray I said thanks for hosting us.”
I walk over to where my coat is and take my time with putting it on.
The slower I do it, I can see Mona’s body tensing more.
She really is not happy with me at all. It’s really bursting my happy bubble that I was in since waking up earlier this morning.
But whatever it is, I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Nothing is that bad, I decide.
When I see her ready to pull the front door open, I rush to catch up to her. Just as she’s about to step outside, I grab her arms and turn her around. Mona’s eyes widen in shock, and, with the element of surprise on my side, I cup her face and bring her up onto the tips of her toes.
“Alex,” she growls in warning. It’s a cute growl, like a little kitten angry at the world. Or maybe scared of the world, hard to tell in this moment.
Our mouths collide, my tongue probing at the first contact. I coax hers to do the same, and before long, I have her pressed against the doorjamb while our tongues are in a duel for control.
“Alex,” she moans. “I’m so angry with you.”
Someone clears their throat behind us. “It looks to me like they resolved their issues.”
That seems to be what Mona needs to snap out of the kiss induced stupor I got her in. She brings her hands to my chest and pushes with all her might.
“Take me home right now!”
This time, she doesn’t waste more time. Instead, she about runs to my car that’s parked in the driveway. I watch as she pulls onto the handle of the door on the passenger side, then almost falls back when it doesn’t open.
“Why the rush?” I tease when I get closer. The doors click as they unlock automatically once the key fob is within range.
We get in the car, and I start the engine. Before leaving, I mess around with the controls, making sure that we’re both comfortable for the drive back into the city.
Mona doesn’t say a word to me. In fact, she looks the other way for the entire time.
“I feel like I’m missing out on something,” I joke while pulling out of Ray’s driveway. “Do you care to share?”
She crosses her arms over her chest, and I swear there’s steam coming out of her ears.
“Oh, don’t you worry,” she says. “I’ll share.”
My curiosity is piqued, to say the least, but I remain quiet so that I give her some space to regroup. She seems to need it.
I get us onto the main road, and then onto the expressway. Still no word from Mona. Instead, she’s positively sulking now. When she finally speaks, it’s through obviously clenched teeth.
“You missed the exit.”
I frown and stare in the rearview mirror, hoping to see what she’s talking about.
“We have five more to go before we get to the one closest to your apartment.”
She turns her head to look at me. If stares could kill, I’d be six feet under already. She actually gives me the chills, and it takes everything in me not to look away. I am also turned on. There’s a definite shift in the balance of power in our relationship, and I don’t hate it.
“You’re supposed to take me to the train station.”
I nod in agreement. “Yeah. But I want to take you home instead.”
“There’s no parking assigned to my apartment,” she informs me in a haughty tone.
“I don’t care. I’ll find parking.”
“Parking in the city is very expensive,” she retorts.
I shrug. “Worth it.”
Her eyes bug out of her head, making me laugh. I understand why she’s shocked. In fact, I am shocking myself with this. And now I wonder how much parking by her apartment does cost. I bet it’s a lot. Maybe we should take the train for part of the trip back…
“I don’t know what’s going on in your head right now,” Mona snaps at me. “And I’d rather not discuss it while you’re driving. I don’t want to die when you lose control of the car.”
I snort. “Why would I lose control of the car?”
There is no scenario that I could come up with where I’d lose control of the car because of whatever she thinks she’s mad at me about.
“Wanna bet?” she challenges, making me laugh.
“Are you reading my mind?”
I stretch my arm over the middle console and cup the back of her head. Her body stiffens up in an instant, fighting me when I try to pull her closer to me. I stare to the side of her head for as long as I can while not driving off the road.
“Seriously, what’s the problem?”
She looks like she’s having an entire conversation in her own head as she mumbles to herself, shakes her head a few times, and rolls her eyes even more.
“I’d love to be able to defend myself,” I chime in. That gets her attention.
“Oh, yeah? Defend yourself against what, pray tell? I thought you didn’t do anything wrong.”
I take my hands off the wheel and throw them up in the air.
“I don’t even know what the hell is going in.” I am well aware that I raised my tone of voice, but things are getting ridiculous. “I thought we had an amazing time last night, and again this morning.” I glance her way again. “Didn’t we?”
Her jaw looks clenched. “Fabulous time.”
“See, you say it, but the way you say it implies the opposite.”
She harumphs. “The nerve.”
By now, we are close enough to the exit, and I feel like it would be wise if I remain silent until we get to her apartment.