Chapter 10 – Gavin
10
Behaving’s No Fun
Gavin
IT TAKES ME a few seconds to get my bearings when I open my eyes, but the second the daylight peeking in from the wrong angle registers, I jerk upright.
Fuck me.
I accidentally spent the whole night at Al’s. And not just at her apartment.
In her fucking bed.
Last night, after we watched the first movie on her couch, she started looking sleepy. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to move to her bed so she could be more comfortable and doze through White Christmas if she wanted to. I never expected to fall asleep myself.
Not once have I spent the night with a woman. Never so much as drifted off. I didn’t run out the door the second the deed was done, but I always went home.
Only last night, there were technically no deeds done. No reason to rush myself from the comfort of Al’s bed. So is it really so bad that I stayed?
Yes. Yes, it is.
Alexis stirs beside me, pulling in a deep breath before letting it out on a yawn as she rolls my way. Her eyes go wide, like she forgot I was here.
That makes two of us.
“Morning.” I reach out to smooth back her hair, letting my fingers linger over the pillow-creased skin of her cheek. “Sleep well?”
Alexis gives me a sheepish nod, lower lip pinching between her teeth as her eyes drift down my naked upper half. I don’t have to look hard to see the heat flare in her gaze, but we’re supposed to be at her parents’ house in under an hour, and, after fucking up in every way possible, the least I can do is show up on time.
“I need to go home and shower and get changed for Christmas breakfast.”
Alexis drapes one arm across her eyes. “Shit. What time is it?” She sits up, grabbing her cell phone beside the bed. Her brows pinch together as she holds it up, scanning the attached cord. “Did you plug my phone in?”
I force my feet to the floor, knowing if I linger too long, I might try to convince myself I don’t need to leave. “You left it out on the coffee table, so I brought it in after you fell asleep.”
Alexis unplugs it as she slides off the mattress, giving me an odd look. “Thank you.”
I shrug, because it’s genuinely not a big deal. “Not a problem.” I give her a little smile. “I wish I’d thought to put my T-shirt in the washer. You think your neighbors will notice me sneaking out shirtless?”
Again, her eyes drag down my body. “You’re hard to miss.” Her eyes widen, jumping to mine as she lifts a finger. “Hang on.” She disappears into the closet, coming back with the green shirt I wore to the Christmas party. “Here.”
She passes it off and I tug it over my head, offering a grateful smile. “Perfect.”
Alexis glances at her phone again, frowning at the time flashed across the screen. “We have to be at my parents’ house in forty-five minutes.”
I jerk my chin toward her bathroom. “You start getting ready. I’ll let myself out.” I know Alexis likes to look nice, and while she’s gorgeous bare faced in sweatpants and a T-shirt, I know she wouldn’t want to show up anywhere looking like this.
“I’m going to take you up on that, because it’s going to be cutting it real freaking close.” She shifts on her feet a little bit, looking uncertain. “I guess I’ll see you soon.”
Before I know what I’m doing, I snag her by the front of the shirt, pulling her close. The second my mouth meets the plush softness of hers, I realize what a terrible mistake I’ve made.
Up to this point, we haven’t kissed. And maybe that was by design. Maybe I knew what would happen if we did.
My intended quick peck goodbye, quickly turns into something else. Something more. Something undeniable and unavoidable. For years, I refused to let myself see Alexis as anything besides Leo’s little sister. Refused to admit the anticipation I always felt at seeing her. But with her soft body pressed tight to mine, I can’t ignore the truth anymore.
There’s something there between us.
I palm the curve of her ass with one hand, tangling the other in her hair as I pull Al as close as I can get her, tilting my head so I can fully claim her mouth. Fuck morning breath. Fuck bad decisions.
Fuck the fallout.
I’m nowhere near ready to let her go when she pulls away, hands pressed to the center of my chest, breathing heavy. “I need to get ready.”
I should be grateful she did what I couldn’t, but all I want is for her to be against me again. Under me. To feel those lush thighs wrapped at my waist as I plunge into her body.
Alexis shoves at my chest, giving me a stern look. “And you need to go home and shower, because if you show up in jeans and a T-shirt, my mom’s going to be pissed.”
The mention of Babs sobers me, knocking the need and want coursing through my veins down a few notches.
Fuck . I keep making the same goddamn mistake. Keep pretending like what I’m doing won’t lead to losing so much of what matters to me.
The worst part is, I don’t see that changing. Not when that mistake is Alexis.
She pushes at me again, harder this time. “Go.”
I don’t think I’ve ever been shoved out of a woman’s house before, but it doesn’t surprise me that Alexis would be the first.
Giving her one last look as she disappears into the bathroom, I collect my clothes from the living room floor. After pulling on the discarded jeans and tying my shoes, I grab my keys and head for the door. Jerking it open, I come face-to-face with another guy. He’s carrying a bouquet of red roses with some sort of green ball things dispersed throughout. Deep green paper inlaid with gold plaid wraps around the stems, reminding me of the packaging on the scarf I gave Alexis.
It doesn’t take a genius to know who the flowers are for, and it has my teeth grinding together.
Al’s unexpected visitor doesn’t seem any happier to see me. His brows shoot up, lips flattening out as he looks me over.
Leaning against the doorframe, I tuck my keys into the back pocket of my jeans so he can’t see them and won’t deduce I was on my way out. “Can I help you?”
The guy is the polar opposite of me. He’s clean-shaven, with perfectly styled blonde hair. Where I prefer jeans and T- shirts, this guy is fully decked out in tailored slacks and a well-cut button up layered under a jacket. He’s not short, but he’s nowhere near as tall as I am. And while he looks like he works out, he sure as shit wouldn’t win a fight between us.
Not that there’s anything to fight about, because I was in Al’s bed last night and he wasn’t.
I tip my head at the flowers. “Those for Alexis?”
The guy doesn’t answer me, but his scowl tells me they are. “Who the fuck are you?”
“None of your business.” I grab the bouquet, yanking it from his grip. “Merry Christmas.” I slam the door in his face.
Then I stand there for a second, because what in the hell do I do now?
And what the fuck would’ve happened if I wasn’t here when that prick showed up? Would Alexis have jumped out of the shower and answered the door in her robe?
Worse, would she have let him in?
“You’re still here?”
I spin at the surprised sound of her voice. The sight of Al in her robe comes too close to confirming my worst fears. “You shower fast.”
“Not usually.” She huffs out a little laugh. “I skipped a few steps.” Her eyes drop to the flowers in my hand. “Where did you get those?”
I don’t want to tell her about the twat at her door, but I do want to gauge her reaction to the news. See if he’s anything to worry about. “Some guy dropped them off a minute ago.”
Her brows pinch together as she comes my way. “Some guy?” Her full lips press into a frown. “Who?”
I shrug. “Some preppy looking asshole.” I sound aggravated. I am. I don’t like knowing men who look like that are trying to bring Al flowers.
“Ugh.” She grabs the bouquet from my hand. “Did he have highlights?”
“I didn’t look that close.” I was too busy glaring. “He had a stick up his ass though.”
Al’s nose wrinkles as she plucks the card from the roses. “Dillon.” She pulls the square out of the envelope and gives it a quick scan before rolling her eyes and dropping both onto the counter. “We work together.”
Fucking great. Not only does this ass know where she lives, he also gets to spend five days a week with her. “He came to your doorstep on Christmas morning with flowers, Al. I think that’s more than a coworker situation.”
Her brows lift at my accusing tone. “Why are you being weird?”
“I’m not being weird.” I shift on my feet. “I’m just pointing out the obvious.”
She crosses her arms. “ You spent the night in my bed.” Her chin lifts. “And we’re not more than a situation .”
I work my jaw from side to side because I don’t know what to say to that. She’s not technically wrong.
But she might not be right either.
So I do the same thing she did to me when shit got complicated at the party. “I gotta go.”
I turn and stalk out into the hall, digging the keys from my back pocket as I take the elevator to the main floor.
My scowl holds the whole drive home. It’s still there as I let myself into my condo, stripping away my clothes on the way to the shower.
We’re not more than a situation .
I don’t like the way she said it. So easily. As if it never crossed her mind to want more. It’s not like I want her to want more, but she could’ve at least considered it.
Jumping under the hot spray, I scrub down, rushing through the process before toweling off. I run a quick comb through my hair, pausing a little too long to question if I should be spending more time on my grooming.
Was that dick on Al’s doorstep the kind of guy she wants? Someone with a line of hair products on his counter and an expensive wardrobe in his closet? It would make sense. I used her bathroom. I saw how much stuff she smears on her face and hair every day. Why wouldn’t she want a man who does the same?
I glance down at the items next to my sink. I’ve got a bottle of Jergens I’ve had for a year, deodorant, and cologne. That’s the fucking extent of it.
My wardrobe is even worse.
After brushing my teeth and tucking a towel around my hips, I fish through the racks of jeans and T-shirts—glaring at the limited options like I’m not entirely responsible for the lack of selection—to find the reindeer pajamas I bought to wear this morning. I dress, spray on my cologne, collect the gifts I got for Babs and Dan, and I’m back out in the hallway in under fifteen minutes.
The drive to Al’s parents’ house isn’t long, but I’m still late. And I’m not the only one who’s late.
Alexis is just getting out of her car as I pull up, and fuck if she doesn’t look as amazing as always. I can tell she cut some corners getting ready, but only because I know she was short on time. The curls that are usually cascading over her shoulders have been replaced by smooth straight strands. Her makeup is minimal, giving her a softer sort of expression than her normal sexy smirk. The silky pajamas she’s chosen to wear accent every curve of her body, but the accessories she usually adds are missing.
Only one single item accompanies the satiny pants and top, and it pleases me to no fucking end.
“That scarf looks good on you, Al.” I reach out to run my hand down the cashmere, tracing the tips of my fingers across one nipple in the process.
Alexis shifts the gifts she’s carrying to hide where I’m touching her, eyes darting to the front porch before bouncing back to me. “Behave.”
“That doesn’t sound like any fun.” I stall, because the minute we step in there I’ve got to pretend like I don’t know how she smells. How she tastes. The expression she makes when she comes. “Or possible with you wearing something so fucking sexy.”
Her brows pinch together as she glances down. “I don’t know what it says about you that you think these pajamas are sexy.”
It probably says a lot more than I want to think about. Luckily, I’m saved from myself when Babs opens the door. Instead of greeting us with a boisterous ‘ Merry Christmas’ like usual, her lips are pressed into a deep frown. Her eyes barely find where her daughter and I stand close together before she turns away, leaving the door open.
Alexis turns to me, brows lifted in surprise. “What was that about?”
“I don’t know.” I’m afraid I do know though. Someone at the party must have seen Al and I sneak off to the treehouse and Babs is ready to lay into me for not only taking advantage of her daughter, but also ruining her sanctuary.
Al’s frown matches her mother’s as she takes a tentative step inside.
Like it or not, I’ve got to face the music, so I follow her, stomach clenched with dread. I’m barely two steps in when I hear yelling in the kitchen.
Alexis turns to me as her father bellows something about stupid decisions. Her eyes are wide as she mouths, What the fuck is going on?
I shrug, but again, I’m afraid I do know.
And I hate how relieved I am that it’s not my ass getting chewed out.