Chapter 22
Elena
On a bright day when I was locked in my room with Derek Hale, Alex waltzed inside and closed my computer in one swift motion. What had gotten him in such a good mood? Alex opened my curtains and dropped onto my bed. The sunlight was blinding.
“Let's go out for a drink! I need to get out. It's been too long.”
Eyes still squinting, I tilted my head to one side. It was at times like this that I remembered how different we were. Where I was the introvert who never left the house, Alex liked crowded places.
“You go out all the time. How is that possible?”
Alex flicked me on the forehead. “Because I spend all my time with you.”
He hardly ever saw his friends anymore because of me.
“Sorry.”
Alex grabbed my face with a smile, then touched the tip of my nose with his. “If I spend my time with you, it's because I want to. Now go get dressed, love. We're off.”
A shower later, we were downtown, heading for, and I quote, “a very nice little place with great mocktails”.
Alex knew I wasn't tempted by alcohol. At first, we talked about everything and nothing.
Then something in the air changed. I didn't understand what it was, but it had an impact on my friend, Alex became silent.
Something was bothering him. I acted as if nothing had happened, knowing full well that he didn't like to be rushed when he was in his own world.
By the time I saw the terrace of the café, Alex had stopped following me. He was livid, like an animal caught in the headlights.
“Alex, are you okay?”
I put my hand on his arm, and immediately withdrew it when he tensed under my fingertips.
“Hello, Alexander. It’s been a while.”
A man in his mid-twenties stopped in front of us.
He waited for an answer from Alex that never came.
He was petrified. The man took a step in our direction, and, without thinking, I stepped in between them.
I didn't know what was going on that had Alex in such a state, but something inside me was screaming not to let this guy get any closer.
The intruder raised his eyebrows, surprised by my intervention.
“And you are?” he asked, full of disdain.
“His girlfriend.”
Okay, total lie. My instinct told me to keep him away from Alex.
The stranger held out his hand. His smile was insincere, giving me a strange feeling.
Don't show weakness, Lena. I shook his hand with my most convincing smile.
This snapped Alex out of his torpor. In one movement, he pushed the man's hand away from mine as if he were contagious.
I gathered my courage; I had to react before Alex did.
A cornered animal was as unpredictable as it could be dangerous.
“I think it’s for the best if you leave,” I suggested in a voice I wanted to sound calm and controlled.
If my intervention displeased him, he didn't object. There were too many people around us.
“See you soon, Alexander.”
He also gave me a small nod before disappearing into the crowd. It took Alex a few heartbeats to come to his senses. It was as if he'd seen a ghost in this person's eyes. “Are you alright?”
His fear broke my heart. I nodded. He watched me from head to toe to make sure I was unscathed. Who was this man? And what had he done to Alex to petrify him like that? I tried to give him a reassuring smile.
“Are you?”
“I'll be fine.”
“Shall we go to your place instead?”
Alex nodded. I didn't know what to expect when he spoke, but I certainly didn't expect this:
“So you're my girlfriend, huh?”
He heard that? My cheeks flushed. Damn! Alex, on the other hand, sported a smug expression.
This was how his defence mechanism worked.
Alex had to pretend nothing had happened, or he'd collapse.
I cleared my throat and tried to look confident.
“Yeah, I thought he might leave us alone if I said we were together...”
Alex nodded with a hum. Was he mad at me for saying that? I headed for the car so I wouldn't have to look at him. It was best to move on.
“Would you like to be my girlfriend for the day?”
The shock his words gave me stopped me in my tracks. “Why would you want that?”
“Please?”
How could I refuse when he smiled so sweetly? Everyone knew I was at his mercy. I couldn't help grinning back. “Okay.”
In this moment, I was a way for him to forget what had just happened.
I could be a diversion if that's what he needed.
Alex intertwined our fingers. Unsure of what to do, I let him take the lead and followed him.
I had no idea how to behave in a relationship.
I'd never dared to be with a boy before because of my emotional baggage.
Ever the gentleman, he opened the Polo's door for me. On the way home, the silence was heavy, and I didn't know how to break it. Something serious had happened between them. Now that the truth was at hand, I didn't dare ask. Alex was the first to speak.
“You want to know what happened, don't you?” His eyes never left the road.
“Of course, I want to know.”
“Then why aren’t you asking?”
“Because you have to decide if you want me to know.”
I knew all too well what it was like to carry wounds from your past, and how difficult it was to talk about them. Often, the pain we feel can be suffocating, and the mere idea of having to say out loud what's destroying us seems unbearable. I couldn't push Alex.
Alex knew what was going on in my life; he'd been in the wrong place at the wrong time. If things hadn't gone the way they did, I'm not sure I would’ve ever told him. It was too hard. Alex put his hand on my thigh.
“I want you to know.”
“Okay.” My pulse quickened. I'd been trying to find out what had happened to him for months, but now that I'd seen his pain, I wasn't so sure anymore.
At his house, we passed Audrey and their mother. I barely had time to greet them before Alex dragged me to his room.
“Gosh, you must really want to spend time alone with me,” I quipped as I entered his room.
“So? You got a problem with that?” Alex raised a mocking eyebrow. Every trace of tension in him seemed to have disappeared.
It was a delusion, so I pretended nothing had happened. “Nope, not at all.”
Without warning, Alex placed a quick kiss on my lips. Before I could kiss him back, he was already backing away. “You can't say no today.”
A part of me wanted to protest, but seeing his playful, childlike expression, I smiled like an idiot despite myself.
After all, I was his girlfriend for twenty-four hours.
This should get interesting. Alex brought his face closer, and my eyelids closed, waiting for him to kiss me again.
Nothing happened. Had I misinterpreted his intention?
I opened my eyes, finding Alex just two centimetres from my face.
My cheeks heated under his piercing gaze.
From here, I could count the few freckles dotting his nose and cheeks.
His tender eyes took my breath away. No one had ever looked at me like that.
Unlike the others, Alex looked at me as if I meant everything to him.
He was able to make me feel loved without even saying it.
Deep down, I hoped he'd tell me anyway. Then I could tell him how I felt about him without him running away.
“I never realized how much you look like a doll,” he observed, taking my face in his palm.
That was rather unexpected and, if I may say so, a little anticlimactic.
Maybe I should be brave for once in my life and tell him how I feel.
Would he be ready to accept my feelings?
The words were on the tip of my tongue, but when I opened my mouth, no sound came out.
Why was it so hard? I pushed his hand away.
“Are you trying to tell me I'm pretty or artificial?”
Alex pretended to think, as if the question was really worth asking. “Good question. I'm not sure.”
I gave him a little tap on the shoulder. “You're ruining the moment! Shouldn't you be kissing me now that you finally have the chance?”
Alex burst out laughing. Where did this courage come from? “Oh, I see. You find me irresistible and you want to kiss me desperately, but you don't know how to ask.”
Touché. My cheeks flushed hotter. He'd hit the bull's-eye, as always.
I shrugged nonchalantly, trying not to lose face, but it was all in vain.
Alex knew me too well. Of course he was aware that I had an urge to kiss him.
Fuck it! Leaving him no time to tease me or time for me to chicken out, I put my lips on his.
And it was a failure—I'd gone too hard. It wasn't the first time we'd kissed, but it was the first time I'd been the one initiating it. Alex chuckled against my mouth.
“Sorry...”
“Don't be.”
“I'm not a good kisser.”
“Sure you are. You just put too much pressure on yourself, that's all.”
He drew invisible shapes on my cheeks without ever moving away from me.
His scent made my head spin. Alex ran his fingers over my arms, sending shivers down my spine.
He kissed me again, gently. Not wanting to spoil the moment, I hesitated before kissing him back.
His kisses were so soft and patient, and every time he touched me, I wanted more.
He pulled away from me, grinning. “See? You're a good kisser.”
“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”
Alex rubbed the back of his head. His cheeks reddened slightly. “I've been dying to kiss you again ever since that time in your kitchen.”
“Really?”
“You have no idea how addicted I am to you, now do you?”
Before I could say anything, Alex pulled me closer.
This time, his lips were hungry, and the pressure I'd felt before evaporated.
When he was this close to me, my body went on autopilot.
I couldn't tell how long we'd been there, or how we'd ended up on his bed, but it felt like time had slowed down.
Like, there was no one here but us. Kissing him was addictive; every kiss made me feel drunk in the best possible way.