Absolute Love: A Second Chance Romance (Blazin' Love Book 6) Read online

  His hand dives back into the bag. “It’s this or I can carry you like a caveman over my shoulder.”

  “Give it to me.” I snatch the shirt, and he pats my butt as I head to the ladies’ room.

  “We’ll leave when you get back.”

  “Cool.” I wave my hand in the air. All I want is a pillow. I enter the bathroom. I use some tissue to whip the toilet, praying I don’t catch something, but I have to sit or lay down.

  I slip on the shorts and start peeling off the dress when I hear talking in the bathroom. I pay it no mind, I’m almost out of the dress. Now to put on the shirt.

  “Who is that with X?”

  “Nobody. She’ll be here today, gone tomorrow.”

  The door opens and closes. I toss my dress over my shoulder. I step out, and I’m alone. I dismiss what I heard. I’m not looking for anything serious. I wanted to have a good time I did. I wanted to get laid, I didn’t do that, but I’m not letting bathroom chatter ruin my night or day.

  I wash my hands and try to press my makeup back in place with a damp paper towel. It’s hopeless. I open the bathroom door, and X is waiting for me.

  His smile is bright, but he looks the way I feel, exhausted. He stands up and takes the dress from my hand, tossing it in his gym bag.

  “You good?”

  “I’m great.” I walk towards the front. It takes a moment for him to snap into motion.

  “What happened Ryann?”

  “What are you talking about?” I dig around in my purse for my phone. I bet the guys are worried sick.

  “Ryann?” I find it and scan my text messages, ignoring him. “Ryann?”

  “Yes, Xavier.”

  “Xavier?” He snatches my phone. “What happened from the time you went in and out of the bathroom?”

  “Nothing.” I take my phone back, scanning the area wondering who it was since there are waitresses and bartenders still hanging around. “Did Tia leave?”

  “Yes, she wanted to make it home before Tyson woke. Let’s get out of here.” He turns his back in my direction, and I climb up. He stands tall, wrapping my legs around his waist.

  We’re almost at the door, and I hear the voices from the bathroom. They’re standing near the door. I can describe them both at once. Petite, curvy, plump lips, oversized asses.

  I’m salty. Their petty comments ruined a perfect night. But I don’t want to think about X having another woman, especially not Thing 1 and Thing 2.

  “See you later X.” Thing 1 says.

  “Goodnight girls, drive home safely.” I respond. I guess I’m petty too when I don’t have a right to an opinion because Xavier is not my man. However, he’s mine until we end our date.

  X stops in the middle of the sidewalk and makes a left.

  “The car is that way.”

  “I’m not putting you down until you talk to me.” He stops glancing over his shoulder. I snap my mouth closed. “Fine.”

  He walks and walks until I rest my head on his shoulder. This is nice.

  “It’s nothing X.” I yawn.

  “It is, if you close me out. Just minutes before we were on the best date of your life, and now you won’t even look at me.” He stops looking, left and right. “I’m hungry.”

  He sniffs and follows his nose, making a right at the end of the block.

  “Breakfast tacos. I knew I smelled something.” He stops in front of the menu beside the taco truck.

  “Potato, egg, and cheese on flour and water.” I lay my head back on his shoulder while he orders the food. “You can put me down.”

  “I’m good.” He walks to the end of the block. “That’s dope.”

  “What?” I lift my head and see a wall covered in graffiti. “I agree.”

  “The building is empty.” He walks closer, trying to look inside the windows. “How far did we walk? A few blocks?”

  “Give or take. I can see The Dungeon from here.”

  “Hum.” He snaps a picture of the sign in the window then he glances up and down the street. “How far would you say we are from downtown?”

  “Two miles, maybe three. What are you thinking about?”

  “Nothing. Passing off the time until you tell me the truth.” His eyes meet mine in the reflection of the dirty glass windows of the building.

  “I heard some bathroom chatter, and I didn’t like it.”

  “About?”

  “You and me?”

  “What about us?” That one word, us, makes it sound more permanent than it should.

  “That’s the thing, there is no us.”

  “Then why did you let it get under your skin?”

  “I had too many shots.” I turn from his probing gaze.

  “Oh, so you T-Paining it? Blaming it on the alcohol?”

  “Whatever Xavier. The taco man is trying to get your attention.”

  “He can wait. Ryann, so you know, I didn’t get here by rushing and letting other people decide for me. When I find something I want, I’m an extremely patient man.”

  He turns back to the taco truck. He passes me the bag, and I hold it while he takes me back to his vehicle. We make it back, and he opens the door lowering me to the seat.

  “What did they say?”

  “That I’d be here today, gone tomorrow.”

  He takes it in with a sway of his head. He closes the door, and I cradle the warm tacos in my lap. He climbs in behind the driver seat.

  “My place is up the street. Let’s sleep a few winks and then I’ll take you home.”

  “Fine.”

  We ride in silence. I send a quick message to the guys, I’m good. We had a blast. I’ll tell you about it tonight. Dinner at my place @ 7 pm. Text your item. I hit send. I’ll order pizza. (I’ll check back later.) Then I drop my phone back in my purse.

  By the time I glance back up we’re exiting the highway and heading towards Central Austin. It’s been years since I’ve stopped through this side of town. Then he brings the vehicle to a stop.

  “Where are we?”

  “Brand X Entertainment.” I reach for the door. “Hold tight, I’ll get you.”

  I climb back on his back, and we head inside a building. “You live in a corporate building.”

  “No. But I have a place here for long nights. It keeps me safe since my place is in the country.” We ride up the elevator and pass a conference room. He inserts a key into the door at the end of the hall, tucked in the corner.

  “Wow! Nice place.” Then my inner voice whispers, Did he just take me to his booty-call spot?

  Chapter 7

  I drop my keys on the table and lock the door then I lower Ryann to the floor. “There’s fresh slippers down there.”

  “This is where you entertain?”

  I leave her standing at the door. I can’t decide if I’m pissed off at the person in the bathroom or Ryann. Both are equally responsible.

  “Xavier?”

  “Ryann, I’m tired.” I face her. “You can stand there and fuss or come this way and rest. We can warm up the tacos in a couple of hours.” Her glare burns through me. I turn around and head towards my bed.

  I strip naked and find some shorts. I need twenty minutes of sleep then I can think straight. Because if I talk to Ryann right now, I’ll never get a second date. I hear the sounds of her sock covered feet stop at my doorway. I pat the bed. I open an eye when I don’t hear her move.

  “Ryann, please have a little sympathy. I’ve been awake for over twenty-four hours. Let me sleep for a few minutes.”

  She drags across the room.

  “Put your bag down because I don’t want that gun in my bed.” I tuck the pillow under my head.

  “Fine.”

  “And stop saying fine.” The bed shifts, but I don’t feel her body heat. I open my eyes, and she’s laying on the edge of the bed as if my arms can’t reach her.

  “Whatever.”

  “You know what, I’ll make a cup of coffee and take you home.” I rub my eyes, rolling over on my b
ack. I can’t sleep if she doesn’t feel safe or doesn’t want to stay.

  “No, thank you. I’ll call my friends in a couple of hours.”

  “I picked you up, and I’ll drop you off.” I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand.

  “Anybody ever tell you you’re bossy?”

  “Anybody ever tell you you’re childish?” I glance back at her. My bed is the best money can buy for a reason. I work hard, and when it’s time to crash, I’m out. This bickering is not me. I need some sleep, and I won’t get it with her here.

  “What?!” She snaps up, running around to stand in front of me. She’s teeing up for some shit. “Don’t clam up now. Finish what you started.”

  I glance down over my folded arms. “Start by following your own advice. Finish what you started. Why give some gossiping females the privilege of mattering? Instead, you let whoever it was petty enough to engage in bathroom gossip ruin our date. It’s obvious who I want to spend my time with. I’m the one who sent you flowers all week. I’m the one who invited you as my date to a significant milestone in my business, with my family. It was you.” I thrust my finger in her direction. “Not them, whoever it was. I made my choice. And if you can’t see it, well, I don’t know what else to say, except goodnight.”

  I walk back to my comfortable-ass bed and lay down. But I can’t sleep. My heart is racing. I waited all week to spend time with Ryann. Our date went from perfect to this. It’s mad fucked up right now.

  “Xavier?”

  “Yes, Ryann.”

  “What did you mean by ‘the real thing is what you make it’?”

  The bed shifts, I feel her move closer. She smells like a little of her perfume and a little of me from my clothes. Despite the arguing, I like being near her. I think back over our time and recall the conversation on the way to The Dungeon.

  “Life is what we make it.” I open my eyes, and she’s right here. I reach out and touch the side of her face, then I rest my hands on my chest. I search the ceiling for the words beyond my agitation and exhaustion. “We get millions of choices. Each choice opens more choices. I have the free will to make every moment count. So tonight, you chose to let them upset you, just like I chose to let your response get under my skin. My fault, I apologize. But did you stop and consider that your best date ever was my best date ever too? And that maybe I was fighting to keep the night about you and me?”

  Ryann cups the side of my face and kisses me. Not hot and filled with a lustful ache but it's intimate holding the promise every soul aches for…connection. Not a career, not a promotion, not a possession. But love.

  She crawls closer, straddling my body. She leans forward until her chest rests on mine and I take a moment to wrap my arms around her. Her ass fits my hands. Her body molds to mine perfectly. It doesn’t get better than this.

  “I’m sorry X.” Her beautiful face hovers over mine. “I made up my mind before I came that I didn’t want this.”

  “You didn’t want me?” I tense, remove my hands from her. But she grabs them and places them back without missing a beat.

  “Yes, but it wasn’t about you. It was anyone. I don’t have time in my life for this—staying out all night, clubbing, arguing. This requires energy I don’t possess.”

  “You don’t or you won’t?” I hold her eyes, ashamed that I’m checking for this chick and she’s not willing to even try.

  “Xavier, I don’t come and go as I please. I have obligations and responsibilities.”

  “Just like every-fucking-body else. Welcome to the real world.”

  “Stop Xavier.” She sits back on her heels.

  “Stop what?”

  “The cursing and angry words. I’m telling you my truth, and you’re making it about you.”

  I push to sit up, and Ryann rests her hands on my shoulders.

  “We’re staying like this. We’re talking this out because I plan to finish what we started. But not with this energy between us.” Her words are loud and clear.

  I feel the smile crossing my face.

  “Don’t give me that sly ass smile X.” She smiles back. “Talk to me.”

  She’s trying, and I’ll have to tread lightly because I want to get to know this woman. “Your truth is a facade.”

  “What?” Her neck snaps back. I got her full attention.

  I worked in Torsion for seven years. Most of those years I served people, day in and day out, thousands of people. It taught me one of the best skills in business, the ability to read people. I’m about to shatter her whole situation.

  “So, all of the partners at your firm are single?”

  “No.”

  “Childless?”

  “No.”

  “Do they all work tirelessly like you?”

  “No, Xavier.”

  “That tells me it’s a personal choice.”

  “You know how this shit works. We work twice as hard to get half as far.” She yells.

  “Only if you’re playing their game. Playing their game means you play by their rules.”

  Her eyes dart off, it’s the moment of truth. Her arms cross and remain like a block of cement. She’s chewing on the inside of her lip and staring out over the city. I wrap my arm around her.

  “I play their game because I want to make a difference.” Her eyes find mine. “Do I bust my ass? Yes, because we can’t be caught slipping. One slip up and it could be another ten years before another minority gets a shot.”

  I kiss her, running my hands up and down her back. This is the woman I saw in the luncheon.

  “I get it. But is this what you want for your life?”

  “Everybody can’t quit their jobs X.”

  “I’m not talking about everybody. I’m talking about you. And who said anything about quitting.”

  “I can’t think without sleep.”

  “Exactly. But someone was set on arguing.” I chuckle as she snuggles in my arms. “How about we rid ourselves of any expectations and start with where we are?”

  “I don’t know. We’ve technically known each other less than a week, and we’re already at each other’s throats.” Her long legs circle my hips.

  “Arguing only means we’re passionate. The next step is to refocus that passion. Use it to benefit us instead of hurting us.”

  “Are you sure you’re only twenty-three?”

  “You said, you made up your mind to diss me.” She pulls back, wagging her head. “What?”

  “Nobody said anything about dissing you.”

  “Whatever.” I mimic her voice to get a smile from her.

  “Talk, man.” She playfully smacks my chest and falls back into my arms.

  “Fine.” I hold her tighter again. “So, what changed your mind?”

  She’s silent. The longer I wait, the more I feel anxious to hear her response.

  “You.” She whispers the single word into the crook of my neck. The warmth of her breath awakes my need to have her, all of her.

  “Explain Counselor.”

  Her shoulders rise and fall. “I guess last night I saw a version of myself that I haven’t seen since college. The part of myself lost in office politics, perceptions, and stress. So, to spend the night listening to live music and dancing it was….”

  “Perfect.” She nods. “What do you do when you’re not working?”

  “I hang with my guys mostly.”

  “Your guys? Who are these guys of yours?” I figure they’re her friends, but I’d need to hear it from her.

  “My guys are Hunter, Harper, Charlee, Parker, Taylor, Chase, Payton, Alex, and Jordan. We’re all females with guy names, hence the guys. They’re family, my best friends, my business partners.”

  “Good to know you don’t have a crew of guys aiming to keep me away.”

  “Well, I do have their husbands. We’re amassing a formable crew in that department.”

  “Good to know.” I kiss her forehead. “And what are their opinions about your current situation?”

&nbs
p; “They support me. I’ve never have to question that.”

  “You’re a lucky woman.”

  “I am,” she whispers while yawning.

  Her body goes heavy, and I know she’s out. I gently unwrap her legs then lay back with her across my chest. This is different. For once, I want more with a woman but not anyone but Ryann.

  I tuck the covers over us and glance at the clock. It’s almost nine. I kiss her lips and close my eyes finally able to get some sleep.

  Chapter 8

  The bed shifts and I open my eyes trapped under Xavier’s heavy arm. His head darts back and forth trying to move from the sun shining on his face. I push his solid as a rock arm aside and close the blinds, which calms his stirring.

  I stretch and notice my phone on the nightstand, I bet I have a million message from the guys. Will I tell them about Xavier? I’m not sure I’m ready to explain his age or if I want to open it up to the group opinion yet. I shrug it off, I’ll take care of it later.

  Snippets from our conversation weigh heavy on my mind. He talked about choices, and I’m not foreign to the concept, but I had my sight set on the title and the bigger office. I never gave the lifestyle much thought, that I’d sign on for more hours and more responsibility.

  I’m okay with both. I think. I glance back at the man keeping the bed warm.

  Maybe it’s the alcohol still talking. I grip my groggy head in my hands, dragging to the little door across the hall, hoping it’s a bathroom. I still can’t believe I had shots last night. His folks are wild. I open to see a porcelain sink. Yay! I relieve myself and head back to bed.

  “That’s a good idea.” He mumbles. Xavier retraces my steps. I lay in his spot, appreciating the view and warm sheets. He’s shirtless with boxers hanging low on his hips. He’s a large man all over with tats covering a significant portion of his body. My eyes drop below his waist, and his morning wood makes me glad we made peace.

  “Want something?” He points to the doorway.

  I bite my lip, wondering if he’s on the menu. I’ve fulfilled my physical needs with toys and my hand for over a year. Men were a complication I couldn’t work into my schedule. But with Xavier ready and willing I’d be asinine to pass on the real thing.