by Mel Ryle
I rolled my eyes at his comment and turned from his smirking face. I couldn’t help but feel happy in the moment, even though nothing had changed between William and me. Or am I the only one assuming it?
I didn’t know I fell asleep when I was woken up by a warm, hard surface on my back. Faintly, I could feel something moving behind me. When I realize and heard someone breathing on my neck, I quickly moved away from the figure. I didn’t realize I was close to the edge when an arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me back safely from falling off the bed.
“Careful there or you might fall.” William’s deep raspy voice was by my ear, evoking a sensation through my body.
“Let me go or I’ll make sure your mini you won’t see the light of day,” I hissed in reply as I sat up and moved towards the foot of the bed.
William quickly moved as he raised both of his hands in surrender. “Are you always this feisty?” he asked with his eyebrow raised and a mischievous grin on his lips.
“You should see her kick me out of bed. You’re lucky she just squirmed and yelled at you,” Terry agreed. His voice suddenly made me notice his presence by my desk.
I stared at him, shocked at his calmness. “How long have you been watching us sleep?” I asked in a low voice as I controlled my anger.
“I don’t really know. Since the soup has gone cold, I would say for a while,” Terry replied nonchalantly though I could still see the teasing glint in his eyes.
My eyes hardened at his words. I was about to scold him when I heard a faint chuckle beside me. I turned towards William and gave him a dry look, which made him stop mid-chuckle.
With a defeated sigh, I slid out of the bed and stood up while I lightly straightened out my wrinkled clothes.
“I’m going to get something to eat. Stay here and rest. I’ll get your soup,” I turned back to William as I reached the door and stared him down to make my point clear.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a faint southern accent, making me raise my eyebrow at him. He just gave me a wink in reply.
I shook my head in disbelief and got out of the room before things got weirder for me. As I finally took myself out of the current situation I was in, I recounted on what I just did today.
First, I had a make-out session with the man I thought I loathed and then I slapped him “accidentally.” Also, I rudely asked him to get out of my father’s hospital room, where he clearly overstepped a boundary. And now, I’m taking the responsibility of taking care of him because he is both sick and drunk and he is my boss’s brother. I didn’t know it would take a day to make life shift so quickly. And I almost forgot, I think I just flirted with him. Yeah, because agreeing to sleep with him is a form of flirting.
I felt the stupidity of my actions. Why do I feel so attuned to his presence? Do I really hate him in the first place? And I did admit to Terry that I had a thing for him. What is happening to me?
“Are you okay?”
I looked up, startled at Terry’s entrance. “I’m fine,” I assured as I placed a hand on my chest and let out a sigh of relief.
“Good,” he studied me for a moment before taking a few steps towards the main door. “I think I’m going to go now. Andrew wants me to pick him up from work,” he said as he took another step away from me.
“What? You’re leaving me with him?” I squealed in disbelief as I pointed at the door leading to my room.
“You’ll be fine. Besides, if he does something to you, just shout to your neighbors,” he proposed sarcastically with a light chuckle.
“You’re abandoning me…” I pouted my lips in a ploy to make him feel sorry for me.
Terry wasn’t falling for it. He laughed at my expression and continued to walk towards the door. I followed behind him, pleading half-heartedly. But in truth, I wanted him to stay. How was I supposed to act normal after what just happened with William and me?
Before I closed the front door, Terry gave me a brief farewell and a few lewd gestures— making kissing faces as he pointed at my bedroom. In reply, I closed the door with a slam. Now I’m alone with a man I may or may not have feelings for.
I silently walked back to the kitchen to check on William’s soup that I was reheating. When I was done, I carefully poured the soup in a small bowl and placed it on a tray. I grabbed a bottle of water to go with the soup. With ease, I carried the tray towards my room.
It took me awhile to open the door using my foot since I had my hands full. As I entered the room, I heard a soft rumbling snore coming from my bed. I stopped at the foot of my bed and watch William’s peaceful sleeping face. I can’t believe he went back to sleep when I just told him I’ll be serving him food.
I stood there for a few minutes debating whether to wake him up or not. And after much deliberation, I slowly walked out of the room and quietly closed the door behind me. With a strained sigh, I looked down at the wasted soup and decided to eat it myself.
That night, I decided to sleep on my couch. I’ve been destined to sleep in one since I’ve moved into this city. Even when I already had my own bed, fate made it clear that I will go back to sleeping on a couch. I sighed and mumbled a good night to no one in particular as I closed my eyes to a dreamless sleep.
The first thing I heard was a slight swish and chatter from somewhere in the kitchen. I was still half asleep and thought that it was just part of my dream, which was weird since I can’t seem to remember what I was dreaming about. And then, a loud crash made my eyes flutter wide as I stiffened at the sound.
Swiftly, I twisted on my back since I was lying face down and almost fell on the floor. I gasped as I balanced myself with my right foot while my right hand grabbed the head of the couch as my brain registered the situation I was in.
“God!” a deep voice called from where I heard the sound of metals and utensils clashing together.
I quickly stood up. I glanced down at the clothes I wearing, which were the same clothes from yesterday. I can’t believe I didn’t even bother changing my clothes last night.
“What is wrong with this thing?” the voice grumbled but this time it was clearer and louder.
I froze at the sound, recognizing to whom the voice belonged to. I looked down at the couch, which was a little messy from my sleep. So, I grabbed the pillows and neatly placed them back in position before going to the kitchen.
As I was about to make it known that I was awake, William cursed again as he flinched away from something. His actions made me raised one of my eyebrows as I glared at his back. I noted that he was also wearing the same clothes from yesterday, though his hair was slightly wet. I grimaced when I realized he had already taken a bath while I didn’t.
“What are you doing?” I asked, finally voicing out and making my presence known.
William quickly turned around, his eyes wide in surprise. I mentally chuckled at his startled expression, which was quite rare.
“You’re up,” he stated softly, his face softening as he continued to study me.
“Actually, I’m not. I’m sleepwalking right now,” I replied sarcastically as I shook my head in disbelief. “What are you doing?” I asked again.
“Oh. This…” He finally snapped out from his trance and twisted his body aside as his hand gestured towards a frying pan on my gas stove. “I’m cooking breakfast. Well… I’m trying to cook breakfast…” he continued with a soft chuckle.
“Oh. So, why were you screaming like a girl?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him though it was evident that I was teasing him.
William’s expression cracked as his amused face faltered. “I wasn’t screaming like a girl. This grease is splattering all over my skin,” he defended as he eyed the frying pan like it was his mortal enemy.
His response finally did it. I burst out laughing and grabbed the nearby counter as I clutched my stomach. William watched me with anger at first, and then his eyes slowly softened and his face broke into a grin.
“This isn’t funny you know…” William said but the
amusement in his eyes didn’t waver.
“Yes, it is,” I countered as I tried to catch my breath from laughing.
I quickly walked towards him and eyed the frying pan. “You get this reaction from cooking eggs. I can only imagine what would happen when you try frying bacon,” I remarked and chuckled from the thought.
“The bacon is already cooked. Didn’t you see it on the counter?” he asked and pointed at the island counter behind me.
I looked at the table with wide eyes. There were already two plates neatly placed across each other with a plate of bacon in between. There was also a glass of orange juice beside each plate.
“You did all this?” I asked breathlessly as I continued to study the counter.
“Yes. I was hungry and I saw you sleeping in the couch and I thought I’d cook you something… as a thank you…” he replied, mumbling the last few words.
My head whipped towards him as I flashed him suspiciously. I walked towards him and directly placed the back on my hand on his neck and the other on his forehead without second thought. This made his eyes grow wide, which I tried to ignore. His temperature had gone down from the last time I checked.
“Glad that your fever has gone down,” I muttered as I removed my hand from his skin. There was a fleeting knot in the pit of my stomach as I released that contact.
“Uhm...” William agreed silently as he stepped away from me and resumed cooking the eggs. “This will be ready in a few minutes,” he added softly.
“Okay. I’ll go and wash up while you finish here,” I mumbled as I stiffly walked away towards my bedroom, suddenly feeling the awkwardness of the situation.
“Okay,” he called back abruptly, his back to me.
As I took one last look at him, I could see the tip of his ear slowly getting red. I smiled at his embarrassment. It was a sight to see a blushing Mr. Mogul. Here’s another new thing I know about him. Even the most serious person can have such a cute expression.
When I finally reached my room, I quickly closed the door and scanned the place. The bed was poorly fixed, but the rest of it looked the same. I sighed in relief as my heart slowly thumped to its normal beat. I hadn’t noticed that I was nervous all this time. Now, how am I going to face him afterwards without making it awkward again?
Twenty-Eight
After taking a quick shower and changing into fresh clothes, I headed back to the kitchen. I stealthily made my way there, thinking that William was still cooking.
“Hey. The food is ready,” William greeted after he gulped down a glass of orange juice.
I stopped in my tracks as a blush slowly crept into my face. In my embarrassment, I quickly made my way to the empty stool across from him.
“So, any plans for today?” William casually asked after a few moments of silence.
“What?” I asked, startled by his question. I grabbed my glass of juice and took a huge gulp before giving him a proper reply. “Well, I’m heading out to the hospital as usual.”
“Are you going right after this?” he asked as I continued to eat like nothing had happened between us.
I gave him a brief nod as I chewed on my food. William eyed me for a second before getting back to his meal, swallowing it down like he was being timed. I looked at him with wide eyes as I gobbled up the food on my spoon. When he was finished, he quietly stood up and placed his empty plate on the sink where the frying pan he used was being soaked.
He stood there for a second like he was analyzing the situation. I smiled at his clueless expression as he suddenly grabbed the sponge and squirted liquid soap on it.
“Use the gloves if you’re washing those. It’s in the cabinet right there,” I said pointing at the location of the cleaning gloves. I kept my facial expression serious the whole time.
He turned towards me with a knowing look and followed my orders. I continued to study him as he rolled up his sleeves and put on the gloves. I watched as he slowly and messily cleaned the dishes like a kid. I smiled at his kindness and effort. I never thought I’d see a time when William Maxwell would be washing my dishes.
“Thank you for cooking breakfast and washing the dishes,” I said after he placed the last plate in the cabinet. “You know I have a dishwasher right?” I added with a smirk.
William turned towards me with wide eyes. “You could have said something before I did all of that,” he stated, his eyes blazed in annoyance.
“And, what? Ruin my fun on watching you finally do some chores? I bet that was the first time you’ve ever washed the dishes,” I remarked as I watched his lips stretch into a thin line at his discomfort. By the looks of it, I knew I was right.
“Yeah… Yeah...” He waved in dismissal as he removed the gloves.
I chuckled at his reaction and stood up. I walked towards him and carried my empty plate and glass, placing them in the bubbly sink.
“You go rest now. I’ll clean this up,” I stated as I nudged him towards the living room. “You can use the couch or the bed.”
“I’m fine,” he mumbled in annoyance but followed my orders.
I watched him walk towards the couch and slump down in relief. I shook my head and turned back to the work at hand. It only took me five minutes to finish cleaning in the kitchen, which is a short amount of time to distance myself from William. I let out a huge shaky breath as I walked towards him.
“I’m done. I think I’m going to go now,” my voice quivered slightly as my nerves sunk in. I don’t know why I felt nervous all of a sudden.
“Oh. Okay.” He turned towards me and stood up quickly as he straightened his wrinkled clothes. I don’t know why he even bothered.
I quickly grabbed my things from my room while William waited for me outside. After I locked the door behind me, I heard a loud gasp. I turned towards the sound, feeling the air being sucked out of me. The situation felt familiar but this was more dreadful since the man beside me was no other than William Maxwell.
“Andy! Morning!” Ally greeted awkwardly, her voice slightly an octave higher than normal.
“Morning,” I greeted back with a strained smile.
“Oh, and Mr. Maxwell, good morning.” Ally turned to William, giving him a shy smile.
“Good morning. And, you must be…?” he replied with a small smile as he offered his hand to shake.
“Allison Coleman. I live just across from Andy.” Ally quickly grabbed his hand and shook it lightly as she pointed at her door with her free hand.
“Right. Uhm, we need to go now. We’re running a bit late for his meeting and stuff…” I grabbed William’s elbow and pulled him towards the elevator.
Ally noticed the urgency in my voice and made a quick retreat towards her apartment, saying she left something behind. As William turned his back on her, walking towards the lift, I gave Ally a quick glance as she looked at me with a playful look in her eyes.
I mentally cursed at the bad luck that just rained on me the moment I stepped out of my apartment. I wished I had stayed inside and let William go ahead of me. But that would be a bit rude, considering he’s still not well. We finally got out of my apartment building without experiencing another awkward encounter and as I was about to bid him farewell, he had another plan in mind.
“Would it be a bother if you walked me back to my apartment?” he asked. From the tone of his voice, I didn’t really have a say on that matter.
“I don’t know why you have to ask. From the looks of it, you aren’t letting me go until I say yes,” I replied sarcastically, rolling my eyes at him.
He studied my expression for a moment before giving me a sly smile. “Right this way then,” he said as he gestured in the direction of his apartment building.
The walk back to his place was short and silent. I spent most of the time glancing around, checking if anyone was following us. I was starting to get a bit paranoid whenever I was out in public with Mr. Mogul. I don’t really want a repeat of last time. I sighed in relief when we reached the main lobby without being ha
rassed by the paparazzi. I was about to leave when he stopped me again.
“Can you come up with me? I have something to give you before you go,” he asked, making me close my mouth before I could say anything.
“Oh. Uhm… sure.”
As we stepped inside the elevator, I started speculating about what William wanted to give me. If it was about work, Alexandra would have given it to me through her other connections. From the last task she had given me with the gallery, it seemed like she didn’t trust William.
When we reached his floor, my heart started to pound from nervousness. I was hesitant when William stepped out of the elevator. I thought about closing the elevator and leaving him but William instantly turned around and held out his arm to stop the metal doors from closing
“I know what you’re thinking,” he stated scornfully.
“I wasn’t thinking anything,” I replied shyly as I felt my face heat up. I turned away and walked past him.
We went inside his apartment silently. I didn’t think I would come back to this place in such a short time. The memory from last time was still fresh in my mind. I flinched as I heard William walk behind me.
“Please make yourself comfortable while I go get that thing…” he offered, his voice faint as he slowly backed away towards the direction of his room.
I nodded in reply as I walked towards the huge black couches. When I heard a distant sound of a door closing, I let out a huge sigh of relief as I sat down. I looked around his apartment again. The dim light seeping through the clear glass window made the room feel empty and spacious because of the lack of furniture. I can’t understand why he wanted so much empty space. Is he claustrophobic?
“Thank you for waiting.”
The sudden sound of his voice made me jump in fright. I turned towards him with wide eyes. “Can you please not sneak up on me?” I mumbled in annoyance as I tried to calm my frantic heart. For a second, I noticed that he was wearing fresh new clothes.
