‘You’re beautiful, but not the kind of picture I have in mind. ;D’
Lexi lets out a sigh and stares up towards the ceiling. She misses Adam and she’s getting quite horny with his absence. He’s still in London for his meeting with the investors and won’t get back in a couple of days. With a full schedule everyday, they barely get a chance to message one another, and after spending the past months as his assistant and most hours of the day together, Lexi realizes that Adam has become a huge part of her life. Without him here, she’s getting bored as hell.
‘Maybe later when I take a shower. ;D’
When Adam doesn’t reply after a few minutes, Lexi sets her phone down on the coffee table in front of her. Then, she reaches for the remote and turns the TV on. She flips through various channels, grimacing, laughing, and cursing from time to time at the random shows being played. After a while, she settles on a business channel. It isn’t her first channel of choice, but Adam’s on TV. He’s being interview about recently closing the deal. Lexi knows this is a pre-recorded interview, but still, she’s hooked – just because it’s Adam on screen.
“Congratulations Mr. Sinclair,” says the interviewer. “When can we expect the opening of The House?”
The House is the name of the luxury chain of department stores which is the newest brand of The Sinclair Group of Companies. With already two locations in the US, in New York and San Francisco specifically, and a third one to open in the UK, SGC is diversifying its holdings and expanding at a fast rate. Lexi can’t be any prouder of Adam and everyone else on the team.
“Thank you, I’m still on a high after the meeting yesterday,” he says, unable to hold his happiness as he’s smiling from ear to ear. “The first London store will open early next year, so everyone watch out for that.”
“I’ll probably be one of the first in line!” gushes the interviewer. Lexi can see she’s unintentionally flirting with Adam. Who won’t? The man can hold a stare and make any woman feel like the most special being on Earth. The interviewer’s voice suddenly rises up a few notches when she says, “So what can everyone expect? How is The House different from other department stores?”
Adam lets out a deep cough before he straightens his back even further, and then answers, “Well The House isn’t only a store. It’s a lifestyle brand. You won’t only be shopping for clothes, accessories, and shoes but there will be a couple cafes inside and even a salon. It’s the whole package.”
“Oh! That sounds great,” says the woman. “So it’s mainly targeted to women, am I correct?”
Adam shakes his head and sends the interviewer a small smile.
“Definitely, not,” he begins, hands on his sides. “The store takes up five floors, and two of those will cater to the men’s section while one is for children. As I mentioned earlier, The House is a lifestyle brand, so you can’t expect to do much more than shopping.”
The interview carries on as the woman continues to ask one question after the other, and Adam, unsurprisingly, manages to answer each one effortlessly. As Lexi watches Adam onscreen, she wishes she has his confidence and quick thinking. He has mastered the art of eradicating ‘uhm’ and ‘ah’ from his vocabulary and answers questions with well thought-out, yet unpracticed answers.
“Last question,” the interviewer then says, and she has a smirk on his lips. “It’s unrelated to the previous ones…” Lexi has a feeling she knows what the question is. “So do you have a girlfriend?”
Adam lets out a soft laugh before he looks over to the camera. The lens zooms closer to his face, and now, it’s as if he’s staring at Lexi. There’s a secretive expression on those jade green eyes of his, and Lexi opens her mouth for a moment. She misses those eyes.
“No, I don’t,” he answers.
The interviewer then says, “Now, there you have it folks…Mr. Adam Sinclair!”
When the show rolls into a commercial, Lexi’s short of breath. The scene a while ago keeps replaying in her head, and she doesn’t know how to react.
“So do you have a girlfriend?”
“No, I don’t.”
When the words finally sink in, Lexi suddenly feels a heavy pain in her heart. She’s extremely disappointed and sad, and she’s trying her best not to cry, but she also knows she has no right to expect anything from Adam. She knows he gave the right answer.
He doesn’t have a girlfriend.
Having sex multiple times is no indication of being in a relationship, but Lexi hates to admit that since she wishes for the opposite. She wishes there’s something going on between them, something more than sex.
That day when she told him about her virginity, she remembered clearly what he offered – a solution to her being a virgin. That solution was sex. There was no talk of a relationship or exclusively dating. Adam took her out on a date because he didn’t want her first time to be just sex. He wanted it to be a little more special. That didn’t mean there was something more.
To her dismay, Lexi starts crying as tears leave her eyes and fall down her cheeks. She’s sniffing and trying not to let snot run down her nose. She knows she looks despicable at the moment, and she knows how pathetic she’s being. She spends the next half hour just crying and letting everything out. It’s quite a stress reliever. When she has no more tears to cry, she walks over to her bathroom and takes a hot shower.
When she’s all fresh and bathed, Lexi plops herself on the king-sized bed. She stares at the ceiling and forces herself to drift off to sleep, but her mind’s aflutter. She keeps recounting the interview earlier and all their intimate moments together. Now, she feels bitter that her first sexual experiences include him. She’s hoping these won’t hunt her seventy years down the road. She doesn’t want to be thinking of Adam still by that time.
A ‘ping’ coming from her phone has her reaching out for it on her bedside table. When she reads the message on the screen, she tries not to cry for the nth time.
‘So…still waiting for that picture…;)’
Lexi throws her phone towards the carpeted floor. She doesn’t want to think of him. All she wants is to fall asleep and start a new day. It takes two hours until she drowses off to sleep. She has no plans of replying to him.
Chapter 8
“Don’t you fucking play dumb…” Adam says, voice low and very pissed off.
He has just gotten back from his trip to London and wants nothing else but to confront Lexi. She hasn’t been responding to his calls and texts. When she picked him up in the airport an hour ago, she’d been colder than ice. He asked her if she was hungry and wanted to grab lunch. Her reply was to tell him his schedule for the day. When he gave her the postcard of the Buckingham Palace, all she said was a ‘thanks’. Then, she asked him if he wanted his clothes to be dry-cleaned.
Now they’re in his office with the doors locked and closed behind them. Now, Lexi has no escape. Adam walks closer to her until a couple inches separate them. He’s towering over her, and all he wants is to take her small frame in his. He wants to hug her flushed up against him, but he knows Lexi won’t allow that.
“Now, tell me the truth,” he then says, trying to meet her eyes, but Lexi’s looking at everywhere but him. “Seriously, Lex…” he says, using his special nickname for her. “I’m at my wit’s end trying to figure out what’s wrong…”
It’s only then Lexi looks at him. There’s an incredulous look on her face. Her eyebrows are furrowed together, but her mouth is opened in a small ‘oh’. She can’t believe what he’s saying.
“Are you serious?” she asks, raising her voice. “You really don’t know what’s wrong?”
He shakes his head, and then pleads, “Please. I can’t fix this if you won’t tell me what’s wrong.”
Lexi then crosses her arms over her shoulders. She looks so disappointed it pains him. She can’t stand seeing her face looking so infuriated. Worse, she’s not only angry, but she’s angry at him.
“My bad…” she says, heading for the double doors of h
is office. “There’s nothing to fix.”
He rushes up to her and stands in front of her. Now, he’s blocking her way, and he won’t let her out until they fix things between them. Adam has no idea, but there’s a strong pull within him to resolve the issue. If Lexi were some other woman, he would’ve let her walk out. He doesn’t know what is it about Lexi that has him wanting to fix things. Her tirade should infuriate him, but it’s doing the opposite. He’s concerned.
“Don’t lie to me,” he says, his tone hard yet worried at the same time. “Now, answer me...what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” she says, when Adam makes a move to cut her, she lifts a finger up to stop him. “But I’m just so disappointed...I’m so disappointed, and I’m so mad. I know I can’t get mad, but I am. I’m mad because I expected…I expected that we had something more than sex.”
He stays silent and lets her continue. He’s looking at her solemnly with his arms crossed over his chest. His jaw is clenched and his jade-colored eyes never break contact with her hazel ones.
“What’s new?” she asks rhetorically, the tone of her voice dripping with sarcasm. “The virgin falls for the playboy...and now she’s attached. It’s just sex for you, but I can’t separate my feelings from sex. I thought we had something more. I only realized it when the interviewer asked you if you had a girlfriend, and you said ‘no’.” By this point, Lexi’s crying a river. She looks so unflattering with her swollen eyelids and moist, tear-stained cheeks. “I didn’t realize how deep my feelings for you were. That night when I watched your interview, I felt my heart break into pieces. I thought that only happened in the movies and in books.”
When Adam opens his mouth to speak, Lexi shakes her head. She shakes her head because she doesn’t want him to say anything. She knows she’s just going to be disappointed.
“Now, that you know, can I take the rest of the day off?” she asks. “You can deduct it from my pay or whatever.”
Lexi doesn’t wait for his answer. She turns on her heel and walks towards the door. She opens and then closes it behind her before she heads to the elevators. She keeps her head low since she’s not the only one inside and fits herself into a corner. The moment the elevator doors open, she runs as quickly as she can to the building exit. Once outside and with the cool wind calming her senses a bit, she hails a cab to take her home.
On the drive home, she can’t stop thinking about what happened earlier. She’s distraught at acting that way in front of Adam, but she can’t keep her emotions in check, not when she’s realized she’s fallen in love with the man. She won’t deny sex with him is great, but there’s more to Adam than his good looks, corporate achievements, and his skills in the bedroom. She’s fallen in love with his approachable personality and his drive to succeed. He knows what he wants and knows how to get it. Lexi is so unlike him. She knows what she wants – him – but she has no idea how to get the man. In this scenario, she’s on the losing end. She’s already fallen in love, and the man believes he’s still single.
When the cab stops right in front of her apartment building, the one Adam’s paying for. She pays her fare and rushes up to her unit. Once inside the privacy of her bedroom, Lexi plops down on her bed and snuggles up to her pillows and duvet. She just wants to sleep and forget what happened.
Chapter 9
Lexi looks around her apartment. Everything is squeaky clean and the unit looks like no one has been living in the place. By the door is a large carton box with all her things – mostly clothes. Lexi has always been a minimalist instead of a hoarder. Growing up and living on a shoestring budget, she’s learned only to buy the bare essentials to save on expenses.
She grasps the handle of her carry-on suitcase where her personal laptop and a few other knick-knacks are. She takes a look around one last time, making sure that she’s packed everything and that the place is pristine. She doesn’t want to leave a bad impression, a worse impression especially after resigning from her job.
She knows she can’t continue working with Adam, not because he doesn’t want her to. She can’t stand seeing the man she loves. She can’t stand seeing him go about his normal life as if she isn’t hurting. She’s not a masochist. She prefers to just break contact and distance herself from him. With a heavy sigh, she turns around to face the door and walks towards the entrance.
When she opens the door, she’s shocked to see the one and only Adam Sinclair standing by her doorway. He looks like a mess. His espresso black hair is in disarray and his jade green eyes look like they need a rest. But he still looks so gorgeous, and Lexi hates it. His shoulders are tensed and tight despite the day being a weekend morning. When she tips her head up to meet his eyes, she tries her best to keep her resolve. She’s leaving his apartment and out of his life.
“I was just about to leave,” she says. She can’t walk around him since both his arms are spread out. His hands are planted firmly on the doorway. “Excuse me…please.”
He shakes his head and whispers out a single ‘no’. When Adam takes two steps forward, Lexi takes a couple steps back. When he closes the door behind them, he walks to the living room, but Lexi doesn’t follow.
“What are you doing here?” she asks, fingers tightening around the handle of her suitcase.
“Looking for you,” he says, and then, “You can stay here for as long as you like. Don’t leave.”
Lexi shakes her head. ‘What is he trying to do to me?’ she thinks. She stays frozen on her spot and looks at him straight in the eye. She’s searching for emotion, a tell-tale expression of what he feels at the moment. Is he happy she’s here? Sad she’s here? Or irritated? All she can see is that his eyes are clouded and devoid of life.
“Adam…” she says, trying to end the conversation before it can even start.
“Hear me out,” he then says to her.
When the words leave his mouth, Lexi tries not to gape like a fish out of water. Adam’s not the type to pour out his feelings. He’s a ‘this’ and ‘that’ kind of guy and prefers to leave out explanations to save time. When Lexi nods her head, to give him the ‘go’ signal, he heaves a deep sigh.
“I miss you…” he begins, and just like that, Lexi feels her chest tighten and her heart pulls at the gravity of Adam’s words. When he continues, she’s trying to not to tear up. She knows she’s been repressing so much emotion in her. She also knows Adam’s words will be the one to break the dam. “I didn’t realize what was right in front of me until you left. I really miss you, and the office has never been the same since you left last week.”
He lets out another heavy breath before he continues.
“I know we never put a label on us, but I never saw our situation as a ‘friends with benefits’ one. At the same time, when the interviewer asked me if I had a girlfriend, I know I gave the right answer.”
Lexi’s trying to keep a straight face, but deep inside, her feelings are going through a roller coaster ride. She has no clue what Adam’s trying to get at.
“But I know we should’ve talked about what was happening between us. I knew I had feelings for you then. I know because if it’s just a fuck, I’d do it only once with the same woman. You know that isn’t the case with us.”
When Adam takes a step closer to her, Lexi hitches her breath. He looks like he’s about to kiss her, but she doesn’t want to get ahead of herself. She can’t stand her heart breaking for the second time.
“And I’m thirty-two years old already…” he says, and then, the edge of his lips tip up into a small smile. “I think I’m ready to settle down.”
When Lexi’s eyes widen into saucers, Adam’s trying not to break out into a laugh. Suddenly, there’s fear in the woman’s eyes, and Adam realizes he should’ve chosen his words more carefully.
“I mean…I want us to get there in the future…” he says, retracting his earlier statement. “But I want you to be my girlfriend. I want to date you and show you the world. I don’t want to share you with anybody else.” Lexi�
�s starting to smile, and for a few seconds, she breathes out a sigh of relief. “I want to have sex with you and with no one else.”
At that, it’s Lexi who closes the distance between them. She wraps her arms around his neck as she pulls his head closer to hers. Adam’s feeling like he is on Cloud Nine and even more so since Lexi’s doing the initiating and the leading. Their lips move against one another as Adam nibbles on her bottom lip. There’s even a little teeth action happening.
Adam’s hands rest just above Lexi’s ass, and she can feel the slow bulge forming in his pants. She’s smirking against his lips, proud of the fact that she has that kind of effect on him. Soon enough, they’re trying to get rid of one another’s clothes. Lexi pulls Adam’s polo shirt above his head before her hands explore the expanse of his torso. Her fingers trail past his tight chest, pinch his nipples, and then wander down his abs. They rest on the ‘v’ peeking out of his khakis before Adam does the same.
Touch Me: A Bad Boy MC Romance Page 29
