Alexxxa (11 page)

I heard the faint chimes of my cell phone coming from my purse, which was laying on the floor next to the bed. I hurried to answer it before I missed the call. My caller ID let me know it was Tara. “Hello?”

“Hey girl, I just wanted to check in on you.”

“Me? What happened to you last night?” Now was probably not the time for the conversation I really wanted to have with her.

“I showed Josh and Mac a good time.” She snickered. “A really good time.”

“You can’t possibly mean what I think you mean?” The three of them? And Tara said she’d be no good at porn.

“Oh yes. I’m starting to understand the appeal of the nerdy boys. They’re very…attentive.” She snickered again.

“All right. As much as I’m dying to hear the details, now really isn’t a good time.”

“Oh, you naughty girl! You hooked up with David! You’re with him, aren’t you? You were all over him last night, well before Devlin showed up.”

I heaved a huge sigh. “I really don’t want to talk about David or Devlin right now.” I paused and then mused aloud. “You know, I’m just now noticing how similar their names are. David, Devlin… Double D’s…” I laughed. “I used to think Double Ds were so much more fun. What a let down.” I glared at the still closed bathroom door. That’s when I realized… David was in the bathroom. Mac and Josh were nowhere in sight. I could make a getaway. “I gotta go. I’ll call you later.” I hung up the phone before Tara could respond.

I gathered my things and made my exit before David emerged from the shower.

I gazed out the window as the cab rolled to a stop in front of my Aunt Suzy’s modest house in Monroeville, PA. I’d wanted to buy her a bigger, nicer home somewhere, but she’d refused. “Thanks,” I said as I handed the cab driver his fee, plus a big fat tip. I hadn’t wanted to take the car service because then David would have been able to track me down.

Before I’d even made it up the driveway, my Aunt Suzy was sprinting towards me; her blonde curls bouncing with each step. “Andy!” She exclaimed brightly before hugging me. “What a surprise!”

“Then how did you know I was here before I even knocked on the door? Hell, before I even made it up the driveway?” I asked while trying to breathe around her massive mop of hair.

“I happened to glance out the window when I heard a car door shut.” She let me go and took my arm, leading me into the house.

“Were you expecting someone?” I asked, noticing that my aunt was looking less than casual to be hanging around the house, in her tight black pants, heals and fitted sweater. Aunt Suzy was only a few years older than me and had always been like more of a sister. She’d only been twenty when my mom had died and she’d come to take care of me. She’d sacrificed so much for me and I just wished she’d let me do more for her than pay a few bills.

“Well…umm…” Her face heated and she averted her gaze. “I was going to tell you the next time I talked to you, but I’ve been seeing someone.”

“Oh my God! That’s fantastic! When? I mean, for how long? Is it serious?” I bounced up and down. “You need to tell me everything!” I was so excited for her. A few years ago she’d had a mastectomy for part of her breast cancer treatment. Even though she’d turned down my offer to buy her implants and to have her scars treated, I knew she wasn’t as secure with her body as she pretended. Since the cancer I’d thought she’d given up on dating completely, which made me worry about her constantly. I’d tried several times to convince her to move to L.A. so that I wouldn’t feel as guilty about leaving her all alone. I mean, she had friends and everything, but it just wasn’t the same. At least I didn’t think so.

I followed Aunt Suzy into her living room and sat down next to her on the couch, and waited expectantly for her answers. A grin spread across her face as she began. “I met him a few months ago at the gallery. He’s a very talented artist. At first I’d refused to go out with him. But he—“ She blushed. “—he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

I bounced in my seat. “So what’s he like? What’s his name? Come on, I’m dying over here!”

Aunt Suzy laughed. “He, well—“ her smile turned inward as she thought about him. “He says I’m beautiful just the way I am.”

My chest tightened and tears pooled in my eyes. Of course I thought Aunt Suzy was beautiful. She was tall, thin, in amazing shape—she was only thirty-one and still full of so much life. But to hear that she’d found someone else—a guy that she obviously cared about, that thought the same thing… I was beyond happy for her. I was about to cry her a happy river I was so excited. “I can’t wait to meet him,” was all I could choke out.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the front door. “That must be him!” Aunt Suzy exclaimed as she bounded to the door. “Oh hello, can I help you?”

“Yes, is Alexa here?”

Oh shit!
How had he found me? Somehow, in record time, David had managed to track me down. Fresh anger surged through me as I stalked to the door. “I didn’t invite you here, David. And so help me God, if you think you’re filming here I’m going to—“

While still on the other side of the screen door, David raised his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t bring any equipment and I’m alone. I just came to—“ His cerulean eyes bore into mine. “I…um… I came to check up on you. I got worried when you disappeared without saying anything.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and scrunched my face up at him. “You know what you could have done to keep me there.” His eyes darted back and forth between Aunt Suzy and me. I could tell he was not wanting to air out our hotel room debacle in front of her.

“Why don’t you invite your friend in, Andy?” Aunt Suzy smiled sweetly at me, a twinkle that I didn’t like very much dancing in her green eyes.

“Why sure. David, would you like to come into my Aunt Suzy’s house, where I most definitely did not invite you? But don’t let that stop you.”

David grimaced but stepped into the foyer when Aunt Suzy unlatched the door for him. “Is there somewhere we can talk…in private?”

“Nope. Whatever you have to say you can say in front of Aunt Suzy.” Judging by the expression on David’s face, things were about to get very interesting.

~David

I gulped to try and combat the sudden dryness in my throat. As I gazed at Alexa’s hostile expression I began to wonder if coming here had been a good idea. It had seemed like one at the time. Now, I wasn’t so sure. “Okay, well, I don’t want to leave things the way they were between us. What happened this morning—“

“You mean when I gave you probably the best head of your life and you ran and locked yourself in the bathroom like a scared little girl afterwards? Well sure, we can talk about that if you really want to.”

My face heated and sweat pooled around my hairline. “It wasn’t that simple. You wouldn’t take no for an answer and—“

“Are you hearing this, Aunt Suzy? Poor little David wants to explain why he was such a little girl this morning.”

“That’s enough, Andy.” Alexa’s aunt chastised. “How many times do I have to tell you that relationships aren’t all about sex? Sometimes I think you’re really a man trapped in a woman’s body.”

I couldn’t help but to laugh. Alexa’s gaze swung back to me and her eyes narrowed into a death glare.
If looks could kill
, sprang into my mind. “If I’m a man in a woman’s body then you’re a woman in a man’s body,” she snapped.

“Andy.”

Alexa threw her hands up in the air in defeat. “Fine. You want to talk, David? Then come with me.” I hesitantly trailed along after Alexa. Her body was radiating anger with each step she took. I was worried she was going to explode at me at the slightest provocation, so I temporarily kept my mouth shut.

“When you’re done with your little chat, Eli should be here, so come out and I’ll introduce you!” Suzy called.

“Okay!” Alexa responded brightly before turning her attention back to me. “This is going to be a quick talk and then you’re leaving.”

I nodded numbly; realizing for certain that coming here had been a mistake. I also realized that even though I hadn’t had sex with Alexa, I was already caught in her web. The minute I’d discovered she’d made a run for it, I’d tracked her down like some lovesick desperate teenager.
Fuck me, maybe I actually am turning into a woman.

She led me towards the back of the house and into a small room. When I saw the inside I stopped short. Everything—the comforters, pillows, dresser—was black. “Aahhh… what’s with the décor ala depressing?”

Alexa seemed to forget she was pissed and chuckled. “You should have seen my room in our house in Penn Hills. Even the walls were black.” Her eyes glazed over and took on the look of someone lost in memory. “It was kind of depressing, but of course I was rebelling, against what I’m not really sure. I was just an angsty teenager.” She shrugged.

I walked over to the dresser and ran my hand over it. “You painted this yourself?” I asked, but the answer was clear to anyone with eyes.

“Yeah, I was dedicated to my abhorrence of color. The brown of the wood just wasn’t good enough for teenage me.”

I thought back to the younger version of myself. “A lot of things weren’t good enough for teenage you.” Of course I hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Alexa tilted her head at me. “Is that what this is all about? Was I mean to you in high school or something? Because I was kind of a bitch back then.”

“No, you never really noticed me.” Which was almost worse. Again… of course I hadn’t meant to broadcast my thoughts.

She slithered into me and gazed up the line of my body as she wrapped her arms around my waist. “I notice you now.” And my dick was noticing her noticing me now.

“Look, Alexa, I—“ Could I or even—should I tell her that I had feelings for her? “I care about you. And that there is where the problem lies.”

Her dark blue eyes widened as she continued to study my face. “So you really are like a girl? You wouldn’t be able to have casual sex and then let it go?”

I flicked my gaze away from her, and shook my head slowly. “No. I don’t really do casual sex. And you and I know I’m not the guy who gets the girl,” I muttered the last part and untangled myself from her.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Frustration won and I blurted out exactly what I didn’t want to tell her. “Everyone knows that nice guys finish last. Guys like Devlin are the ones girls like you end up with. Not me. I could never really get a girl like you. Or what I mean is that I could never keep you for mine.” I was suddenly overwhelmed by an uncontrollable urge to kiss her. Something inside of me was telling me that after my confession it may very well be my last chance…ever. I grabbed her hair at the base of her neck and ducked down as I pulled her to me. My lips slanted over hers and I pushed my tongue into her mouth when it opened in surprise. She tasted so sweet, and yet bitter at the same time, which figured because she was both of those things. I put all of my pent up emotions into that kiss, taking control of her like I’d never done with anyone before. It only took her a moment before she responded, hopping up to wrap her legs around my waist. I groaned when she swiveled her hips, my growing dick harder than I ever thought possible.

“Alexa!” Suzy called. “Come meet Eli.”

Both Alexa and I froze. She pulled away from me and cleared her throat. “We can finish our conversation later, back at the hotel.” She slid down my body like she was climbing down a tree and left me standing there, unsure, even though I’d been the one to instigate our physical interaction… What exactly had just happened?