Chapter 25
ALEX
Despite what he says, Theo just wants to fuck and play house, and I’m fairly sure that he won’t kill me if we keep doing that.
It’s nice, sometimes, and if I keep him at arm’s length, I can keep control of the situation.
If we stop getting to know each other, everything will be fine.
If I can ignore how I’m starting to feel about him, I can keep this going until I figure out how to get away from him.
***
hey, i’m inside. i’ll get popcorn?
Jessica, 11:46 AM:
i’m out. food poisoning. do NOT get the teriyaki burger at Mikes.
oh no! i'm sorry
Will, 11:48 AM:
too hungover
feel better!!
I sigh, disappointment and irritation rising. I’m trying to make plans with my friends, but so far, everyone seems a little flaky. I’ll take what I can get, though, because I still get to have friends. Theo’s weirdly respectful of that, even though he seems to have no friends whatsoever.
“Hey, Alex.” I look up to see Ben walking towards me from the ticket counter. “Zach couldn’t make it. Guess it’s just us?”
I force a smile. “Oh, um, I haven’t heard from Anna yet, so maybe not?”
Anna, 11:51 AM:
I got called on shift last minute! You guys enjoy the movie.
Rain check???
I stifle a groan. Anna chose the movie, and I don’t want to spend three hours watching another franchise action movie. I only watch them to annoy Theo, who hates them just as much as I do.
Alex, 11:52 AM:
shoot!!! definitely rain check :)
“Anna’s out?” I look up at Ben and nod.
“Yeah. What do you want to do?” I ask, hopeful he won’t want to see this movie either, but he smiles, pointing towards the concession stand.
“I’ll get the drinks if you get popcorn?”
I force a tight smile. “Sure.”
***
Ben and I go to lunch at a brewery after the movie, which was the plan I’d made with the group, but it’s a little awkward with just the two of us.
Ben’s nice, but he’s boring, and we don’t have much in common.
He seems eager to talk to me, so I mostly ask him about himself and act interested, which he seems to buy.
I don’t think about how it looks that we’re having lunch together until I see Theo sitting at the bar, watching us. His face is locked in a tight, cold smile when he catches my eye, and I can tell that he’s furious.
Why is he even here?
Right.
Stalker.
I’m looking over Ben’s shoulder at Theo when I realize Ben is still talking to me.
“...a ride?” I glance back at Ben, trying to figure out what he just asked me.
“Huh? Oh, no, I, um, I have one today. I should get going, actually. Thanks for coming to the movie,” I say, grabbing my purse and standing up quickly. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Theo stand up, throwing cash on the bar.
“Yeah, it was fun,” Ben says enthusiastically. “We should do this again sometime.”
“Sure, okay,” I say, tracking Theo’s slow approach.
“Awesome. I’ll see you Tuesday?” Ben goes to give me a hug, and I let him, barely returning it as I watch Theo’s face flash in anger. He tries to school it back into a neutral expression but fails miserably.
“Uh-huh, see you then,” I say, not looking at Ben or Theo as I hurry towards the exit and start walking away from the brewery, trying not to panic.
Danny was a jealous prick, but as long as I didn’t look other men in the eye when I spoke to them and didn’t seem too interested, he usually didn’t freak out. I have no idea what Theo’s going to be like, but since his ex cheated on him, I assume he’s going to be a fucking nightmare.
He probably won’t hit me, at least.
Theo grips my arm halfway down the pier, and I look up at him, opening my mouth to explain. He shakes his head tightly and starts guiding me back to his car, and I spend the walk figuring out how to get him to calm down.
He’s quiet when we get in the car, but the air around him is crackling with anger.
“Theo, it’s not wha-”
“Don’t,” he snaps at me.
“Theo, I need you to listen to me,” I say sweetly, resting my hand on his forearm, which is so tense it’s shaking slightly.
“Everyone else canceled at the last minute, but Ben showed up before I could leave.” I pull up the texts and hand him my phone, and I see his eyes flick down and read the texts when we hit a red light.
“Ben wanted to get food afterward because that was the plan the group made originally, and I was really hungry.” Theo’s jaw tenses and I start to get angry, but I keep my voice even.
“You said you weren’t going to keep me from having friends, right?
” Theo drags in a long, deep breath and exhales it slowly, shoving my phone back in my hands.
“I’m not keeping you from having friends,” he grits out, “but I’m not fucking stupid. That was a date.” I can’t help rolling my eyes and groaning.
“I wasn’t on a date, Theo. I’m not stupid, either – you’d probably kill me.
” He shoots me an angry, insulted look, and I gesture at his rigid posture and white knuckles.
“Look at how you’re acting right now! You’re being a jealous fucking maniac over me having lunch with a friend.
” He turns up his driveway and parks the car, looking out towards the house, forcing himself to take deep breaths.
“That wasn’t lunch,” he says, his voice menacing. I groan in aggravation, my patience completely gone as I wrench the car door open.
“You’re so fucking paranoid,” I snap, slamming the door and hurrying up the porch.
Theo gets out of the car, following me up to the porch with slow, deliberate movements.
Everything about him still seems strung tight and furious, and his jaw is clenched hard as he leans down, crowding me back into the door and looming over me.
“You can’t be this fucking naive, Alexandria,” he says through gritted teeth. “He thought that was a date.” My temper flares, but he’s not listening to me at all, so I need to try a different tactic.
“Baby, you’re being crazy,” I coo sweetly, and his eyes widen as his head tilts to the side slightly. I put my hands on his chest and lean up against him, and he slowly straightens up.
There we go.
I wrap my arms around his waist and look up at him with wide eyes, resting my chin on his sternum and rubbing his back, feeling some of the tension ease out of him.
“Theo, I get that you’re jealous, but you need to listen to me.
Ben’s just a friend, and not even one I like that much.
I would never date him, so calm down, okay?
” Theo’s rigid body relaxes a little more, and I take the keys from his hand, opening the front door and pulling him inside.
“For the record, he’s not my type,” I say quietly.
I don’t think I have a type, but Ben looks a little bit like Danny, and that’s definitely not my type.
Hearing this seems to calm Theo down further, and he seems less worked up than a minute ago, but he’s still tense and quiet, watching me intently as I turn around to kick off my shoes and set down my bag.
“Honestly, Theo, you’re bei-” I scream in surprise as he grips me around the waist and picks me up, quickly heading up the stairs. “Put me down, you fucking lunatic!”
He barks out a humorless laugh but puts me down on the second-floor landing, shoving me back up against the wall, kissing me furiously.
I gasp and his tongue sweeps into my mouth as he bends down, his hands gripping my ass hard enough to bruise as he picks me up, shoving his hips in between my legs.
His teeth are sharp against my bottom lip and my jaw and my neck as he bites his way down, slamming me back into the wall with his hips, the friction of his jeans against my thin underwear making me writhe.
He carries me back towards his bedroom and throws me down on the bed, pulling my clothes off so aggressively something rips.
Theo’s got all of my clothes off within moments and he seems nearly feral, grabbing me roughly and making low, angry sounds as he kisses me brutally, his hands roaming my body, his fingers digging into my waist and thighs and ass.
He’s intense in a way I’m unfamiliar with, and it’s genuinely scary, but heat pools between my legs all the same. I grab onto his shirt and pull him closer, but he pulls away and starts undressing quickly.
“If you actually think, for one fucking second,” he says, ripping off his shoes and socks and throwing them across the room.
“That fucking asshole is your friend,” he snarls as he reaches behind his head and yanks his sweater and t-shirt off in one movement.
“You’re the one who’s a fucking lunatic.
” He rips his belt out of his pants with one hand, and I flinch hard, but he’s looking down and doesn’t notice my reaction.
I relax when he throws the belt to the ground without a second thought before he shoves his pants off and stands in between my spread legs.
He grabs my throat and shoves me flat on my back, his grip firm but not painful, and leans down over me, his pupils blown wide as he stares at me.
“You’re mine, Alexandria,” he snarls, and I stare at him, speechless. It’s not surprising he feels that way, but I’m still shocked at the hard, possessive edge to his voice.
What’s more shocking is how my body reacts to his words.
He tightens the hand around my throat as he grabs my jaw with his other hand, hooking two fingers against my bottom teeth to hold my mouth open.
I make a shocked noise when he spits into my mouth and pushes his spit down my tongue with two rough fingers, finally breaking eye contact to watch his fingers slide deeper into my mouth.
He makes a low, satisfied sound when I gag on his fingers.
Suddenly, it feels like a part of my brain shuts off, and I’m beyond thinking, beyond feeling anything other than what’s happening in my body.
He keeps his eyes on my lips, his face focused and intense as he raises his eyebrows expectantly.
I suck on his fingers, and he nods in silent approval before he pulls them out of my mouth and slips them between my legs.