Chapter 21
Xander
Charlotte and I spend all day Friday together. We eat breakfast at the hotel restaurant, and she grabs a tourist map from the front desk to give me a quick overview of Chicago.
After we eat, we buy a deck of cards in the gift shop and spend the afternoon having sex and playing games in my suite.
The snow is still coming down but not as hard. Chase and Jamison will arrive in the early evening, and their flight miraculously isn’t canceled.
Around six, we stop at Charlotte’s so she can get changed. The guys are staying at Noah and Piper’s, and everyone has been invited to their place before we head out to Club D.
Charlotte walks out of her room in a metallic-gold club dress and matching stilettos, and my pants instantly feel tighter. When I whistle at her, the sexy blush crosses her cheeks. I kiss her. “I swear you just get hotter.”
She laughs.
I kiss her again. “Maybe we should stay here,” I murmur against her lips.
“Ha, ha!”
I step back from her. “You ready?”
She nods, and I hold out her coat and help her into it. Once outside, we catch a taxi and are soon at Noah and Piper’s.
As we thought, Quinn and Vivian are over. When we arrive, everyone looks at us in surprise, and I realize no one knows Charlotte and I have reunited. Well, Vivian and Noah know a bit, but they don’t know we’ve gotten back together.
The elephant is in the room. It’s quiet, and everyone is staring at us. Charlotte looks at me, and I pull her closer. “Are you going to stare all night?”
Noah smiles and winks at me. “Nope.” He walks over and kisses Charlotte on the cheek. “Good to see you, Charlotte.”
“Okay, you have some explaining to do.” Quinn points at us, and everyone laughs.
Charlotte blushes again.
Piper grabs her hand. “You come with us.” She pulls Charlotte out of the room, and Quinn and Vivian follow, but not before Vivian gives me a big smile.
Chase hands me a beer. “You better start talking.”
“Hey, guys, nice to see you, too,” I sarcastically say.
“Yep. Now spill it.” Jamison grins at me.
I wrack my brain, trying to think of where to begin. Noah jumps in. “Charlotte and Xander are at the same hospital.”
I nod.
“Do you remember her?” Chase asks.
I start to nod then shake my head. “I remember certain things but not everything.”
“That’s great, Xander!” Jamison exclaims.
Noah flashes me a knowing look, and I know he’s thinking about how I dream about Charlotte, but he doesn’t mention it.
“Do you remember other stuff now?” Chase asks, and I know that by other ‘stuff,’ he means about Billie.
“A little. Not all of it.”
“But enough?” Chase doesn’t have to say more. He wants to know if I’m done being obsessed with her.
“Yep.”
“Good. It’s about time,” Jamison mumbles.
I nod. “Any more questions?”
Noah pats me on the back. “No. But we’re glad you’re finding your way back, man.”
We get to the club, and Noah’s reserved a VIP room for us. I haven’t found out from Charlotte how badly the girls drilled her, but I can only guess it was worse than what I got.
Inside the VIP room, Piper is sitting next to Noah. Jamison and Quinn are looking pretty cozy, and Vivian and Chase are sitting next to each other. Chase keeps giving Vivian looks like he wants to get in her pants. She looks like she likes him but is trying to keep somewhat of a distance.
I wonder again what is going on with all four of them, but I’m not about to ask.
I’ve got my arm around Charlotte. Everything seems right. She’s laughing and looks so happy, and my heart soars at the sight of her smile.
We’ve had a few drinks, and I lean into her ear. “Ready to go dance?”
She smiles at me. “Yep.”
I pull her up with me. “We’re hitting the dance floor,” I announce. It doesn’t take long before everyone else is standing and following us.
When we get on the dance floor, Charlotte and I easily fall into a rhythm. It’s hot and sexy, and our bodies fit together perfectly. The shot girl comes over. I grab two for us, and we throw them back and continue dancing.
A guy comes up to Charlotte and tries to cut in.
I’m claiming you as mine tonight unless you have any objections, runs through my mind as I pull Charlotte into me, making it clear to him and anyone else she’s off-limits.
Images of her gazing at me, but with pink lipstick, pop up.
She’s wearing red tonight, and I stop dancing, Visions of her face with both pink and red lips flash so quickly in my mind I almost get dizzy.
“Xander, you okay?” she yells through the music, looking at me concerned.
I nod, but her face is still flashing. “Can we sit down a minute?”
“Sure.” She grabs my hand and leads me off the dance floor, through the club, and into the VIP room. By the time we get there, my flashbacks have left.
We sit down. I pull her onto my lap, and she puts her hands on my face. “Xander, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry. Did you wear pink lipstick the night we met? And you wore a pink dress?”
She pauses, thinking. “Yes, I think so.”
I nod. “I just had a flashback. And did I tell you, ‘I’m claiming you as mine tonight unless you have any objections?’”
She strokes my head and nods. “You did. What else do you remember?”
“Nothing. I don’t know if it’s because of the lights and music, but your face was flashing between now and then in my head. I’m sorry I ruined our dance.”
She puts her finger over my lips. “Shh. You ruined nothing.” She leans in and kisses me so sweetly, I’m sure I did something extra good in my last life to have her in my arms.
I pull back and grin at her. “You look hot with pink or red lips.”
“Hey, I have to go to the restroom.”
“Okay, I’ll go with you.” I put my arm around her waist and lead her down the hall. She goes inside the restroom, and I stand against the wall, waiting.
I’m looking at my phone when a familiar voice says, “Xander?”
Slowly, I gaze up, not believing it.
“Billie?” I’m in shock as I stare at her. She doesn’t seem like she’s changed much. Her honey-colored hair looks the same, but I realize she’s been drinking pretty heavy when I look at her brown eyes.
“Xander.” She flings herself at me, and I catch her in my arms so she doesn’t fall.
“Whoa. Steady there.”
Before I know it, she grabs my neck, pulls me to her face, and kisses me.
I try to pull out of it, but she is wobbly, so I move my hand on her back to keep her from falling.
She has her hands on my face and on lockdown. I try to pull back, but she’s hanging onto me, she’s so drunk. When I finally pull away from her, Charlotte is standing in front of me, her eyes wide and blinking back tears.
“Get off me, Billie. Charlotte, this isn’t—”
I can’t say anything else because her eyes widen farther. She turns and bolts down the hall. Billie is still in my arms, and I try to steady her to go after Charlotte, but she’s off-balance, and if I let her go, she will fall.
“Billie, stand up,” I tell her sternly.
“Xander?”
I turn to see Sally, one of Billie’s friends, staring at me.
“Sally, get her off me,” I growl.
Sally looks at me in shock and grabs Billie, trying to steady her.
As soon as she does, I take off down the hall to find Charlotte. I’m entering the VIP room as she tries to get out the door. She has her clutch, and tears are streaming down her face. Vivian and Chase are back in the room, with worried expressions.
“Charlotte, that wasn’t what you thought it was.”
“Move, Xander.”
“No.”
She shoves me, and I grab her hands. “Stop. That wasn’t what you thought.”
“You were kissing...her,” she hisses. “Move.”
“I wasn’t kissing her.”
“Get out of my way,” she yells as tears stream down her face.
I try to put my arms around her, but she pushes me so hard I stumble back. She slips past me and heads toward the elevator.
I follow her. “Charlotte!”
“Leave me alone, Xander. Once and for all, just leave me alone.” Her eyes are full of pain, and my heart shatters.
“You don’t know what you saw. Let me explain,” I tell her.
The elevator opens. “I know what I saw.”
“No, you don’t!”
Vivian is suddenly next to Charlotte and puts her arm around her. “Leave her alone, Xander.”
I point to Vivian. “Stay out of this.”
She scowls at me and steps into the elevator with Charlotte, shaking her head.
“You don’t know what just happened,” I tell them both.
Charlotte is crying, and Vivian pulls her face into her shoulder, then pushes a button.
I step into the elevator.
“Get out, Xander,” Vivian yells at me.
“No. You have this all wrong.”
The bouncer puts his arm against the door. “Sir, you need to step out of the elevator.”
I reach for Charlotte, but Vivian smacks my hand. “Don’t touch her.”
“You have this wrong,” I sternly say again, looking Vivian in the eye.
“Sir, you need to step out now, or we will remove you,” the guard says.
This isn’t happening. I step off the elevator. “Charlotte!” I try one more time. Vivian glares at me as the doors shut.
I turn to figure out where the stairs are, but Chase is right behind me. “Xander, just let it go tonight.”
“I didn’t do anything. It’s not my fault. I didn’t want that.”
He puts his hand on my shoulder and nods. “Let them be tonight. Tell me what happened.”
“Billie’s here.”
“Billie?”
I nod. “She’s wasted and practically jumped on me. I held her up so she wouldn’t fall, and she grabbed me and kissed me. I tried to pull out of it, and I didn’t kiss her back, I swear.”
“Shit, Xander.”
I rub my palms over my face. “Tell me this isn’t happening.”
Chase nods toward the VIP area. “Come back into the room.”
The elevator opens again, and a few people get off. I step inside. “I got to go.”
Chase rides down with me. “Xander, leave her alone tonight. Let her cool off.”
Angrily, I glare at him. “Charlotte isn’t just a girl to me, Chase. I love her.”
“Okay. Still, let her be tonight.”
“Advice coming from the king of players himself. Sure, Chase,” I tell him.
He snarls, “What the fuck does that mean?”
“Nothing,” I mutter.
“No. You said it, so explain yourself.”
I sneer. “Okay. Fine. What the hell is up with you and Vivian? Are you playing her like you play all your other girls?”
Chase steps closer to me. “What’s going on between Vivian and me is none of your concern. But, for your information, no, I’m not playing her. I like her. And I don’t play girls. They all know the arrangement.”
I take a deep breath. “I’m sorry. It’s not my business.”
He pauses for a minute. “Nothing good will come of you going after Charlotte tonight. I’ll talk to Vivian. Come back upstairs with me.”
I shake my head. “No. I’m done with this place for the night.”
The elevator opens, and we step out.
“Okay, then, let me come with you. We’ll go grab a beer or something.”
“Thanks, but I need to be alone.”
Chase sighs. “Don’t you think you’ve been alone enough this year?”
I scoff. “Apparently not.”