Until Alex (24 page)

My breath caught in my throat.

A satisfied smile slid across her contented face, as she closed her eyes. “I thought so.”

My God. I loved this girl.

Loved?

Oh, fuck.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ALEX

I stared at my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I didn’t look any different except for my slightly swollen lips. But I felt different. Not my sore nether regions. My clear head. My light heart. And my easy smile.

Knock
. Knock.

I hurried into the living room and opened the front door. Hayden stood there wearing the same ridiculous grin as me. My God. Was it possible he got better looking overnight? Well seeing as though I slept next to him, I didn’t think so. But his light dusting of facial hair, faded jeans, and fitted navy shirt made him perfect in my eyes.

I dug my hand into my hip, shelling out some morning sass. “Can I help you with something?”

He nodded, but didn’t answer. He just walked in, causing me to step back. Unfortunately, it wasn’t me he sought. He made his way into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of water.

“You’re thirsty?”

He walked back in and grabbed my bag from the sofa.

“You’re making sure I stay hydrated?”

He chuckled as he stuffed the bottle into my bag.

“You’re kidnapping me?”

He smiled, his dimples digging in. I still couldn’t believe he belonged to me—as much as Hayden would let himself belong to anyone.

I walked toward him, giving my hips a little extra shake. I reached up and cupped his cheeks, pulling his face down to mine and planting a nice long kiss on his lips. His minty breath made it easier to dive in, tangling our tongues, consuming as much of him as humanly possible in the middle of my aunt’s living room.

Eventually, he pulled back, his chest heaving in tandem with mine. “Okay, okay. I want to drive you to school.”

My head retracted. “Why?”

He buried his hands in his pockets, his blue eyes peering out from under his long lashes. “Well, because I can.”

I cocked my head. “That the only reason?”

He stifled a grin. “Maybe I want people to know you’re mine.”

I tried not to melt into a puddle of goo for fear of inflating his already massive ego.  “Who said I’m yours?”

He grabbed my hips and pulled me to him. Okay. So I clearly affected his body. “I have it on very good authority that you are very much mine. And I want people to know it.”

I gazed up into his playful eyes.

Oh, he was good.

HAYDEN

I could see by Alex’s cute smile, as I helped her out of my truck, that she loved that I’d driven her to school. Loved that I had every intention of showing her off as my own. Especially after initially telling her we needed to keep us quiet.

My eyes raked over her tight jeans and long sleeve peach shirt that flowed when she walked, like the angel’s dress in my tattoo. Alex didn’t work overtime like other girls trying to snag a guy’s attention. Everything about her was so effortless. “Ready?”

“Ready.”

When I linked our fingers, Alex’s eyes shot to them. Her lips curved even more, but she didn’t say a word. She didn’t need to.

Given the turning heads as we crossed the quad, we were a huge surprise to everyone. Apparently, they hadn’t been paying much attention. I carried the girl out of the dining hall in my arms and threatened the life of anyone who had the picture. Did it really take a genius to figure out we wanted each other?

Alex needed to drop off a psych paper at her professor’s office before her first class, so I waited for her outside the building. I hoped Remy didn’t plan to drop by campus. I hadn’t heard from him or seen him since…well since the other night. I figured he’d be laying low for a while.

I stared out across the bustling quad at the people hurrying to their morning classes. The surrounding trees had begun to transform from green into dark hues of maroon, yellow and orange.

“Well how about that. A game of Russian roulette
…Too bad your luck’s run out.”

“Ready?”

My body jolted as Alex slipped her arms around my waist from behind, resting her cheek against my back.

I took a deep breath, clearing the visions from my mind. I could do it. I could push it all away.

I twisted around, but Alex didn’t drop her arms. So I snaked mine around her, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as we stood in a relaxed embrace.

After a long moment, she lifted her head and gazed up at me with those dreamy eyes. But something in them shifted. Darkened. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. But it was a lie. A lie after I promised to be honest. My eyes shot away.

Alex sighed
, a sigh
I
caused. “Well, I’m here if you need to talk. You know that right?”

My eyes focused on the door and the students passing through it en route to their next classes. I nodded again, knowing full well there were just some things I couldn’t bear to share.

After dropping Alex off at her first class, I didn’t see her again until lunch. I waited for her outside the dining hall, then we grabbed a couple sandwiches. I led her by hand to a table at the far side of the dining hall—the opposite corner from where I normally sat with the guys and Remy when he showed up. Thank God he hadn’t.

I sat down beside Alex and pulled her water from her book bag, handing it to her. “I saw the signs for the competition.”

“Yeah?” She twisted off the cap and took a sip. “It’s Saturday night. I thought I told you?”

I shook my head. “Where should I sit?”

I noticed her brows slant as she reached for her sandwich. “What?”

“Do you want me right in the front where you can see me or somewhere else?”

She laughed. “First of all, the spotlight is so bright I won’t see anyone.
Thank God
. And second, you don’t have to go.”

I reached for her chin, lifting her face toward me and leveling our eyes. “There is nothing that could keep me from being there.”

Her eyes searched my serious face for a long while. “You
were
the one who got me into this mess in the first place.”

I smiled, moving in before Alex realized I intended to kiss her. PDA had never been my style, but it definitely added a
little something to the kiss as we lost ourselves in each other’s lips, neither caring who saw us. 

* * *

I hung out in my truck while Alex finished rehearsal. When my phone vibrated on the seat beside me, I expected a text letting me know she’d be right out. But when I checked the screen, Remy’s name appeared.

Great
.

Knowing I couldn’t avoid him forever, I lifted the phone to my ear. “What’s up?”

“Dude, where’ve you been?”

“Me? I hear you’ve been hitting it pretty hard these days.”

“Yeah, well you know.” Remy’s words came out rushed and jittery. “So you up for Baxter’s tonight? I hear the Webber twins are gonna be there.”

My gut twisted at the thought. How had I ever slept with those girls? All enhanced and dirty.

“It hasn’t been the same without you.”

“Yeah, well broken ribs can really cramp a guy’s style.”

Remy’s voice lowered. “He got you good, huh?”

Remembering the look in both dead men’s eyes, my voice came out hushed. “Yeah.”

“Not as good as I got him.” Remy’s maniacal laugh carried through the phone.

My stomach churned. Vomit crawled up the back of my throat. Me almost being killed. Remy killing them. Remy laughing about it. It was twisted and wrong on so many levels. “Look, I gotta go.” 

“Alright. Think about Baxter’s. I’ll be there.”

I disconnected the call, my mind reeling like a kite’s string on a windy day.

I could feel my loyalty to Remy faltering with every breath I took. In every moment I spent with Alex. But very few friends would kill to protect me. Remy would. And had. I just wished he wasn’t so hell bent on turning my life upside down with his.

I needed out. And I needed out now.

But what else could I do? If I hadn’t been such a screw up, I’d have more credits. I’d be able to get a liberal arts degree like Alex. Maybe I could turn it around next semester. Double up on classes. Maybe it wasn’t too late.

I dropped my head back on the headrest, trying to control the erratic racing of my heart.

I knew I was only fooling myself.

I knew too much about Cooper’s operations, or at least he assumed I did because Remy did. I was a liability. And a liability couldn’t just up and quit his organization. 

He’d kill me before he let that happen.

ALEX

I grabbed my backpack and headed for the theater exit. I passed Taylor who, for once, wasn’t glaring at me.

“Good luck Saturday,” she said, like she actually meant it.

I ignored her. I’d gotten good at it.

“Alex.”

That
voice had me spinning on my heels. Sophia hurried over. We had a test in class, and she’d been working on the set backstage, so I hadn’t talked to her.

She gave me a sly smirk as she walked out of the theater with me. “Guess you found a new seat at lunch.”

I smiled.

“I so called it.”

I laughed. “Yeah, you did.”

“Everyone’s talking.”

I rolled my eyes as we stepped out into the sunlight. “What else is new?”

She shook her head. “No. They’re wondering what your secret is.”

I arched a brow. “My secret?”

“Hayden Martin does not drive girls to school. Hayden Martin does not hold girls’ hands on the quad. Hayden Martin does not walk girls to class. Hayden Martin does not make out with girls in the dining hall. Hayden Martin—”

“Is more unbelievable than I ever imagined.” I tried to suppress a smile to no avail. “And, as you’ve noticed, he’s all mine.”

She patted my back. “You lucky bitch.”

“You have no idea.”

Sophia and I parted ways in the parking lot. I walked over to Hayden’s truck. Through the window I could see his head resting back like he was asleep. But when I pulled open the passenger door, his head whipped up.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.” I slid into the seat waiting for him to greet me with a kiss. He didn’t. He didn’t even smile. “Sorry rehearsal took so long.”

The roar of his engine was the only response I got.

Okay
? Were we playing charades again? Was he hoping I’d attack him like I had that morning to get him talking? I wondered if he realized normal relationships didn’t work that way. He needed to actually talk to me. He
promised
to.

But given his silence and the vacant look in his eyes as he drove through town, he didn’t plan to. And by the time we pulled into our parking lot ten minutes later, he still hadn’t uttered a single word.

The weekend had been perfect. What happened between then and now?

I needed to understand, but I didn’t want to push him by asking questions he
couldn’t or wouldn’t answer. So where did that leave me? Where did it leave us?

With my sanity holding on by a string, I did the only thing I could. Before he even switched off the engine, I jumped out of his truck. I’d almost made it to the building when his car door slammed shut behind me. The ominous echo sent my body spinning.
Okay, so I was pissed. Pissed at his silence. Pissed he didn’t explain what was wrong. Pissed he couldn’t trust me.

He
took his sweet time, but eventually he stopped in front of me. Instead of saying anything, his eyes fell to his feet.

“Talk to me,” I urged.

He lifted his head, but his eyes stared over my shoulder, avoiding me like he had earlier when he lied about being okay. “I never promised you I’d be good at this.”

“Good at what?”

He motioned between us without looking at me.

“After what happened this weekend, I’d say you’re damn good at this.” I did my own motioning between us.

A muscle in his jaw tightened. “I get angry and I don’t know how to deal with it.”

“Did I make you angry?”

His face squished up and he shook his head, like I’d asked a stupid question.

“Then who?”

“I got a call when you were in rehearsal. And I’m trying to figure out what to do about it.”

Relief swept over me. I slipped my hand into his, needing to comfort him any way I could. “Well I’m sure whatever you decide will be the right choice.”

The comment earned me cold eyes and furrowed dark brows. “Oh yeah, because all the decisions I’ve made up to this point have been brilliant.”

I drew in a quick breath, alarmed by the edge to his voice. “I just meant you’ll figure it out.”

He pulled his hand free from mine, burying it in his pocket.

That hurt.
“Look, Hayden, I can’t tell you what to do. I’d never even try. But sometimes a fresh perspective can help. So when you’re ready to talk,
if
you’re ever ready to talk, I’m here.” I contemplated walking away, but that would’ve given him the green light to run from our problems whenever he got the urge.