by Measha Stone
"Stephen. I have Alex, I'm happy with him. Please. Can't you just be happy for me?" His soft expression hardened at her words, and he scooted from the booth. She could feel the anger emanating off his body as he hovered over her. He placed one hand on the table and the other behind her on the booth, trapping her. His face lowered until their noses almost met.
"You need a stronger hand than him. That city boy can't give you what I can, and you know it. You go ahead and play your game, little girl, but you will be mine again. And this time, I'll know how strict to be with you. You've been on your own for too long." He took a deep breath through his nose and plastered on a large grin. "You better get back to waiting your tables." He ruffled her hair with his right hand and made his way to the door.
She watched him leave with a twinge of fear at his words. His again? What happened? Why was he so adamant about them getting back together? They'd been nothing but friends for the past year, why the sudden change of heart? Could he really have missed her after she left?
The only thing she knew for sure was that she could not tell Alex about it. He didn't seem the jealous type, but he very much gave the impression of being the overprotective type. She didn't want to worry him or start interfering in his day-to-day life. He worked two stressful jobs, and putting the burden of an old boyfriend on his shoulders didn't seem fair.
She'd deal with it on her own. Like she always did.
Chapter Twenty-two
Alex sat across the table from Royce and Kendrick while they ate their burgers. He sipped his beer while listening to Kendrick explain Kelly's newest idea for their wedding. She'd changed her mind at least three times so far, and still hadn't finalized anything except the date. Three months.
"She has the invitations all picked out, but she can't get them ordered because she can't settle her damn mind on where she wants to have the party."
"The reception?" Royce clarified, taking a bite of his French fry.
"No. It's not a reception, to Kelly it's a party." He took a deep breath. "That woman changes her mind once more and I swear I'm going to—" He caught himself and shook his head. "I'm going to lose my mind," he finished. Alex was fully aware of the relationship Kendrick had with Kelly. It wasn't losing his mind he was talking about.
"She's wanted to get married since the day I met her," Alex laughed. "How does she not have this planned out already?"
"No, she wanted to be married, not get married. She's explained this so many times it's starting to actually make sense." Kendrick took another pull of his beer. "It's getting to the point where her choices are extremely limited. She's put a hold on two different halls, but now she thinks she'd rather have an outdoor wedding."
"Outdoors? In October?" Royce chimed in.
"I know." Kendrick sighed again.
"Why don't you just tag along with Erin and Jonathan and get married with them." Alex gave a laugh. "He didn't reply to my texts this week, which is odd. Have you two heard from them?" Erin had been a no-show for the last several weeks for dinner, and he was starting to think more than wedding stress was going on with them.
"No, but Jess said she's going to head out there to see her if she can't get a hold of her by tomorrow." Royce shoved his plate away from him.
"What are your two hell cats doing today? Neither of them has pestered me with dating advice all day." Alex checked his phone again. No messages. She was working, and he'd let her get through her day, but damn he wanted to touch her, even if it was through airwaves.
"They are shopping." Royce responded with a look toward Kendrick. "Jess, has finally agreed to move in, so she's looking for a new desk to go in the office." Alex didn't miss the side-glance Royce gave him when he made his announcement.
"That's good." Alex responded, and he meant it, there was no pang of envy or bubble of regret forming as he said the words, either. "It's about time she moved in."
Kendrick eyed Alex. "And what about Alyssa?"
"Her apartment is a piece of crap; she's staying with me until she can find something better." Alex shrugged.
"Ah." Royce smiled. "Now that is great to hear." His features relaxed. The two of them had never discussed Alex's feelings for Jessica, but they both knew the truth of the matter.
"Just until she finds her own place?" Kendrick asked with a wry smile. "If Jess is moving in with Royce, won't her place be available? Maybe she could sublet it to Alyssa?"
Alex glared at him. He was becoming just as much of a troublemaker as his fiancée.
"No. Jessica doesn't need any security net like that." He shook his head. "Besides Royce wouldn't allow her to do that." He looked at his phone again. Still nothing.
"Well," Royce gave a grin that matched Kendrick. "Turns out her lease was just up, and she signed for another year. The owners will let her out of the lease, but she'll have to forfeit her deposit as well as three month's rent. A clause they had in the lease. So, subletting is really a good option."
"No." Alex shook his head. "It isn't an option for Alyssa."
"He has it bad." Kendrick laughed. "I remember that feeling." He said as Alex checked his phone again.
"What feeling?" Alex asked forcing a casual tone.
"You've checked your phone every three minutes since you sat down. You don't know what she's up to, but you're pretty sure it's nothing you're going to like." Kendrick leaned his forearms on the table.
"She's at work." Alex slid his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. He needed to stop obsessing. "That stupid diner."
"Stupid diner?" Royce raised an eyebrow and gave a hearty laugh.
"The two of you are becoming as annoying as your women when they get an idea in their heads. It's nothing."
"Tell her to quit." Kendrick offered. "She's working at the club, right?"
"Club?" Royce shot a confused look at Kendrick then to Alex. "What club?" He asked when Alex's only response was to glare at Kendrick.
"Shit. Sorry." Kendrick scratched his head. "Kelly really is wearing off on me."
"She has a night job. I don't like it. She works nine to ten hours at the diner, and then works well past midnight there. It's too much. She looks exhausted." Alex furrowed his brow. "She's supposed to give notice at the diner today, but seeing as she's avoiding her phone I'm guessing that didn't happen."
"Maybe it's just busy. It is Saturday, you know." Kendrick pointed out.
"Yeah. Maybe." Alex allowed, but he didn't believe it.
"Jess used to do the same thing to me, she'd hide from her phone to avoid having to tell me something she didn't want to tell me yet." Royce commented.
"How'd you get her to stop?" Kendrick asked with a knowing smile. Alex had his suspicions about Royce's relationship with Jessica, but nothing had ever been confirmed. His desire to keep that section of his own life private kept him from pursuing the matter.
"Just worked itself out." Royce said in a tight voice with a quick glance toward Alex.
"The two of you are—"
"I have to head home to grab some stuff for Alyssa before I pick her up." Alex interrupted Kendrick as he stood from the table. He pulled out his wallet and threw down enough cash to cover lunch before either man could dispute then walked away. He waved a carefree hand at them from the door after they called out a sarcastic farewell.
Alex drove down the expressway toward his father's house with a silent Alyssa sitting beside him. She'd been ready to go the moment he pulled up to the diner, and hopped into the car before he could put it in park. Every question about her day was answered in short casual responses.
The radio played loudly in the car, her doing as well, he assumed to keep their conversation at a minimum. She didn't appear annoyed or upset in anyway, but did look distracted when her phone buzzed from her bag.
"Okay," he turned the radio down a few octaves. "What gives?" He looked at her briefly as he signaled to exit the highway.
"About what?"
"You've been quiet this whole ride. Is something bothering you?"
"No, what would be bothering me? I was at work all day. I'm worn out and starving. I hope your dad is grilling. He told me once he made the best burger in Chicago, I guess he’ll have to prove it now." She smiled at him.
Alex tried not to grimace, but wasn't entirely sure he was successful. He knew his father was human. He knew that his mother had forgiven and moved on, but he wasn't moving as quick in that department. He wasn't outwardly angry with his father, but there was a tender bruise on his pride for him. His father had always been the perfect man as far as Alex was concerned. Although it was unrealistic, he believed his father infallible. Realizing your father is just a man stings a bit when you've put him on the highest pedestal your whole life.
"Yeah, he does." Alex agreed. "Did you give your notice?" He finally asked, having had enough of waiting for her to offer the information. "Do they need you through the week?"
Her body stiffened at his question, and she looked out the window. No answer was needed at that point, he already knew. "It was so busy," she blurted out when he took a deep breath. "I just didn't get a chance."
"Okay." He turned down his old street. Kids were playing whiffle ball in the front yards, so he slowed down just in case one of them darted in front of him. He missed the carefree days of youth. No bills, no work, no girlfriend that drove you crazy one minute and made you starved with need to be buried inside her the next.
"I'm not lying." She said. He didn't respond as he pulled into his father's drive and parked the car. She put her phone into her bag and started to open the door when his hand on her thigh stilled her.
"Why would you think I was going to accuse you of lying? You haven't lied to me so far, right?" He hadn't meant the words to come out with so much bite, but she was clearly avoiding something.
"No. Of course not. I didn't mean it like that." Her muscles relaxed, and her gentle smile that was meant to calm him only irked him more. She was definitely hiding something.
"Why don't you want to quit?" He tried not to sound accusatory, but he didn't like the feeling that there was more to their conversation than she was letting on about.
"Would it be okay if we talked about it later? Your dad's waiting, and I have a feeling it's not going to be a short talk." Her response was given in such a soft tone with such a gentle gaze he couldn't think of a reason to deny her. Besides, nothing would be solved in the next thirty seconds.
"Okay," he conceded as he leaned over and brushed his lips over hers lightly, intending only to sooth away the worry she had in her eyes. But as soon as he touched her, his need to claim her erupted into a deep, passionate kiss that left them both lost for breath.
She looked at him with a smile when he pulled back. "More of that, too, later?"
"Oh, more of that and a few other things I have planned, too."
Chapter Twenty-three
Alyssa barely made it through the front door before Paul grabbed her in the bear hug she remembered as a child. She laughed when his arms tightened around her. Once he seemed to have his fill, he held her out to look her up and down. A habit he had taken to each time he'd seen her as a child.
"By god you're a beautiful woman!" He decreed after his assessment was complete. She laughed again as he dropped his hands from her arms. "It's been too long, Ally." His easy smile reminded her of Alex. It was obvious where he'd gotten his good looks from.
"Hi, Dad. Good to see you too, Dad." Alex stepped inside.
Paul waved him off and hooked his arm through Alyssa's. "Hey there." He winked at Alyssa and dragged her through the front room toward the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder at Alex trailing behind them and smiled. His brow was crinkled. He was jealous.
She took a seat at the dining table and accepted the glass of water Paul offered her. The house was filled with the smell of barbeque. The tray of pork chops on the counter looked delicious, and her stomach growled in anticipation of dinner.
"Didn't you eat today?" Paul asked as he began taking plates out of the cabinets.
"Of course I did." She laughed and looked over to Alex who leaned against the doorjamb. "The smell is calling to my stomach, that's all," she assured both of them.
"Well, let's get to it. I started cooking a bit early so everything is ready to go. Alex, don't hang there like a monkey, get the potato salad from the fridge." Alex obliged and took the seat beside Alyssa, facing his father. "Now. Catch me up." Paul handed her the plate of chops.
"We just talked a few days ago." Alyssa laughed. "Nothing's happened since then. Just working." She plucked a fat pork chop from the plate and handed it to Alex.
"Too much." Alex muttered beside her, but she ignored him and hoped Paul hadn't heard him.
"Now, you're working at that club, right, at night? Any thoughts about school?" Paul scooped some potato salad onto his plate before passing the bowl.
"Well, not yet. I still need to look into it. The apartment I rented isn't exactly five stars, so I'm going to start looking for something a bit better. Which means I'll probably end up paying more in rent, so it might be a while before I can start looking at schools." She kept her gaze down, away from both men who were undoubtedly staring at her with their own opinions on the subject.
"What's wrong with the apartment? I thought you said it was fine, " Paul held his fork in his right hand, a mountain of potato salad sitting on top stilled in midair.
"It is."
"Alyssa's staying with me, Dad." Alex cut in, and she clamped her mouth shut. She knew they had to tell Paul about their relationship, but she hadn't expected him to lead with it over dinner. "Her apartment is falling apart, literally. So, she's staying with me."
She felt Paul's eyes on her and tried her best to look casual, but the sly grin that crept over his mouth told her she had failed. "Oh." A knowing grin took over his features, and he looked as though her were going to burst.
"It's not what you think," she cautioned him.
"Of course not." Paul nodded.
"Well, not entirely." Alex added, resting his hand on the back her chair. The expression on Pauls' face told her he had already made up his mind about their relationship.
"I think it's fine," he finally said after glancing between the two of them. "You make a good pair."
"Well—"
"Well, nothing." Paul cut her off before she could downplay the situation. His tone was firm, and familiar. Alex had taken a few lessons from his father, apparently. "Just roll with the punches." He added with a soft pat to her hand. "Now, eat up." He motioned to her untouched pork chops. "How's work?" He turned his attention to Alex.
"Fine. Fine." Alyssa noticed the tension rise in his muscles and realized that Paul didn't know about the club either. Why did he hide such a large part of his life from his father? Paul was the easiest person to talk to; she'd been doing it since she was a kid. He didn't have to give Paul the details of Top Floor, but there were three other floors that had nothing to do with kink, why not tell him? Was he forever going to be the advertising executive by day and kinky club owner by night? Meanwhile, he plagued her about her two little jobs?
A fit of coughing interrupted their conversation as Paul pounded his chest. He waved off Alex who had stood to help him. Once Paul had finished coughing, he sat back in his chair taking deep breaths. Unshed tears from the forcefulness of the hacking sat in his eyes.
"Dad. It's getting worse." Alex retook his seat and glared at his father from over the bowl of potato salad. "If you don't see a doctor I'm going to drag you there myself."
Paul waved a hand in the air and sipped his beer. "I'm fine. Just a chest cold." He took another swig of his beer.
Alyssa leaned over and rested her hand gently on top of his. Once she held his gaze, she smiled. "You sound horrible. See the doctor and get some medicine to break up that cough. What, are you scared of the doctor?" she teased. He tried to glare at her, but chuckled instead.
"Fine. I'll see the doctor this week." He patted her hand and looked over at Alex. She noticed
his surprised look and grinned. "She's not as demanding as you are, son," he said and went back to his meal.
The conversation took a normal curve, and she was glad to be sitting with such comfortable men. Paul was like a father to her, but Alex, his son, was nothing like a brother. Just having him sitting next to her made her warm with desire for his touch. As they sat at the table talking after having finished eating, his elbow rested on her chair and he fondled her hair. It was an endearing caress that she was growing fond of. She loved how she could sit with him watching cheesy old movies in her sweats. There was no pressure between them, no urge to outdo the other with looks or personality. She was able to just be herself with him.
"I'm sorry I didn't make it down for your mothers' funeral," Paul said solemnly. She knew her mother would be brought up eventually. Alex's fingers stilled in her hair, and she felt him stiffen.
"No, don't be sorry." Alyssa shook her head. "You had a lot going on and my mother really was the very least of your worries." She caught the firmness in Alex's jaw and added, "Besides you two never really knew each other."
"No, but you probably could have used the help."
"Help? With what?" She tilted her head. "You have a life here. She was what she was. I handled it. It was fine." She patted his hand and picked up her dish, along with his and Alex's, bringing them stacked to the sink.
"What about going back to school," Paul said from the table.
"We already talked about that." She reminded him as she scraped the scraps into the garbage can. She glanced at Alex who was watching her with an amused look on his face. Did he know something she didn't?
"Remind me what we said," Paul encouraged.
"Remember, I told you I had to apply still, but with my new hours I wasn't sure—" she paused as Paul began shaking his head. "No?"
"No. What I remember is you giving a load of crap as to why you couldn't. But I also recall there being a time where you wanted to go to college and get a degree. You wanted to be… oh what was it… a nurse?"
