Distractions (The Rebound Series) (14 page)

Alex blew out a soft breath, sliding his arms from Olivia.

And he knew he had a decision to make.

No
, his mind rebelled automatically.
 
But Alex gritted his teeth, his head giving a fresh pound at his panic.
 
But he knew he had a lot to think about.
 
And he wouldn’t be able to do it wrapped in Olivia’s arms, with the enticing smell of her around him.

Coward
, his thoughts sounded.

Maybe he was.

But with the image of Olivia’s red eyes firmly planted in his mind, he slowly and carefully rose from her bed.
 
Picking up his rumpled clothes off the floor, he carried them quietly into her living room, shutting her bedroom door softly behind him.
 
Once he was dressed, he pulled his phone from his pocket.

Ignoring the missed calls, he texted Caleb, figuring he had his car.
 
Alex knew his friend would be awake even at this hour and when Caleb replied back a few moments later, saying he would pick him up in ten minutes, Alex scribbled out a small note to Olivia even as he felt a stab of regret.

He needed a clear mind to think about his relationship with Olivia.
 
But Alex couldn’t help but wonder if he was fooling himself.
 
She occupied too many of Alex’s thoughts already.

Alex took her apartment key off her keyring so he could lock up without him worrying about her safety.
 
When he was done, he slid the key back under her door and quickly made his way down to the front of her building.

The streets were empty at this time of morning, especially on a Saturday when everyone was taking advantage of the weekend to sleep in.
 
Usually, the two of them did the exact same thing.

Caleb pulled up the curb a few minutes later and Alex got into the passenger seat of his own car.

“Damn, you look like hell, man,” Caleb observed dryly.
 
“I thought everything went well when you didn’t call me last night.
 
But I can see I was mistaken.”

“Drop it,” Alex said, tired, raking a hand through his bed hair.
 
He must look like a mess but Alex couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Are you okay?” Caleb asked instead, pulling neatly away from the curb.
 
Alex usually didn’t like other people driving his car, but Caleb was the exception.
 
Alex figured that if the man fixed high-end cars for a living, then he could trust him to drive them.

“I don’t know,” Alex admitted quietly, turning his face to look out at the dark streets whizzing by.

* * * * *

 
Olivia woke to sunlight softly filtering through her blinds.
 
She sighed and stretched, reaching out for Alex’s warmth.
 
But she frowned when she felt nothing but sheets.

Blinking open her eyes, she scanned the bed and then her room.
 
He was nowhere in sight and the apartment was quiet.
 
“Alex?” she called out.

Nothing.

Her brow furrowed as her heart began to pound.
 
She threw the covers off, shivering as cold air found her naked body.
 
Quickly throwing on her robe, Olivia checked the bathroom and then her living room and kitchen.

He left.
 

He left!

Olivia suddenly felt like crying even as confusion and anger flowed through her.
 
Then she noticed a small note on the counter of her kitchen and she felt a little pressure ease off her chest.
 
Maybe he’d be back.
 
Maybe he went to get his car from his friend.

But as Olivia read the short note, her heart dropped again.

I’m sorry for last night.

She’d never seen his handwriting before.
 
It was neat and efficient, just like its owner.
 
But the longer Olivia stared at the words, the angrier she became.

What the
hell
did that mean?

They were supposed to talk this morning about what happened last night.
 
Yet, Alex left before she even woke up.
 
And then this confusing note pops up.

Was he breaking things off?

She thought they were fine.
 
Yeah, they fought last night, but Alex had apologized.
 
Yeah, he had been drunk, but he seemed sincere.
 
Was he having second thoughts?

No, Olivia wanted answers.
 
And she intended to get them.

Scrambling for her phone out of her purse, she flipped it open, hoping that he might have called at least.
 
But nothing.
 
Pushing back her disappointment, she focused on her anger and scrolled to his name in her contact list.

Raising the phone to her ear, she waited for him to pick up.

He answered on the last ring.
 
“Olivia,” he said, but it almost sounded like a sigh.

Frowning even more, Olivia demanded, “What the hell, Alex?
 
Where did you go?”
 
He didn’t answer.
 
That made her madder.
 
“So, that’s it, then?
 
You disappear before I even wake up and leave a note and we’re done?
 
God, I can’t believe you!”
 
Her cheeks were blazing hot.
 
She knew she would cry later, but for now all she could feel was the rage flowing in her veins.

“It’s not like that,” he argued.

“Well, please, enlighten me then.
 
Why did you leave?” she asked, her voice hard.

“I just…” he sighed and Olivia could almost picture him running a hand through his hair.
 
“Look, last night was rough, okay?
 
We fought and then I showed up drunk at your door.
 
I’m still trying to piece everything together, but I thought that if I stayed, I would make a bad decision.”

“A bad decision?” Olivia repeated slowly.
 
“What decision do you even have to make?”
 
His pause answered her fear.
 
“Oh.”

“Olivia,” he started softly.
 
“I’m bad for you.
 
I think we both know that.”

“Really?
 
Because I don’t think that at all,” she said, a strange sense of calmness settling over her.
 
So, he
had
meant to break things off with her.
 
That jerk!

“I’m not good at relationships.
 
I shut down on you last night.
 
Again.
 
And I know that it will keep happening and we will have to go through this every single fucking time,” he said, frustrated.

“So, you’re saying I’m not worth it,” she clarified softly, her throat tightening up.
 
That hurt.

“No!
 
Jesus Olivia!”

“Yes, you are.
 
You’re saying that what we have isn’t worth having to fight for.
 
That’s exactly what you’re saying, Alex.”
 
She could already start to feel the sting of tears, but she refused to let them fall quite yet.
 
She wanted to hold on to what little dignity she had left.

He paused for a moment, the silence washing over her like ice.
 
But when he spoke, his voice was firm.
 
“Do you think I like hurting you?
 
Every time I make you cry I know I don’t deserve you.
 
So don’t think for one second that you’re not worth it to me.
 
That’s the most fucking ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard and it makes me mad that you would even think that.”
 
He took a breath.
 
“I left this morning because I have to decide if I’m selfish enough to keep you.
 
Because I will keep hurting you.
 
I will keep shutting down on you.
 
And I’ll probably make you cry again.
 
But what I feel for you makes me think that it will be impossible to let you go.
 
And, darling, I don’t think I’m that honorable.”

Olivia fell silent, her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest.
 
But one thing bugged her.
 
“And I don’t get a say in this?”

Alex gave a short laugh, but it was almost bitter, “Olivia, you have more say in it than me.”
 
But he didn’t elaborate on that statement and she frowned, partly in confusion.

“Do you understand?” he asked softly, his voice wrapping around her.

“I still wish you would’ve stayed,” she said.
 
He didn’t respond and she looked down to her bare feet.
 
The silence stretched between them until Olivia broke it again.
 
“I’m having that dinner with my friend Christie on Wednesday at 8:30.
 
At the Italian restaurant you took me to.
 
Think about what you want and if you decide that you want to continue our relationship, then meet us there.”
 
She paused, her chest aching.
 
“If you don’t come, then I’ll have my answer.”

Olivia quickly said goodbye to Alex and flipped her phone closed with an angry snap.
 
She stood motionless for a few moments, going over their conversation in her mind over and over again until she gave a huff of frustration.

He made her crazy.
 
But she knew that if he didn’t show up to dinner, she would be heartbroken.
 
And it would feel much worse than what Miles had done to her.

Her phone dinged with an incoming text message and thinking it was Alex, she flipped open her phone once again and looked down expectantly.

But no, it wasn’t from Alex.
 
It was from a blocked number and what she read made her blood run cold.

You belong with me, not him.

Olivia stared at the message, completely frozen.
 
At first, she thought it was from Miles.
 
But why block the number?

Her fingers moved rapidly over the keypad, making several mistakes since her hands were trembling.

Who is this?

But Olivia received no reply.

The following evening Alex sat at his desk in his home office.
 
He was attempting to finish a report he’d started on Friday, but he was quickly realizing it was pretty much useless.
 
His mind kept wandering to Olivia.
 
He thought about how a few nights ago, he had taken her on this very desk.

Between that and sorting through his feelings for her, he certainly wouldn’t be getting any work done at all tonight.
 
Guaranteed.

Leaning back in his chair and running a hand through his hair, he wondered if he should head out for an overdue run.
 
These past few weeks he’d put off going to the gym.
 
He had spent most of his free time with Olivia and being with her definitely trumped working out.

He figured it was exactly what he needed, but just as he rose from his chair, intent on changing into sweats and his running shoes, his doorbell rang.

A jolt shot through Alex and his heart sped up automatically, wondering if it was Olivia.
 
He quickly made his way to the door and tugged it open, anxious.

But it wasn’t.

“Hey, man,” Luke greeted, lifting up a six-pack of beer like an offering.
 
“I wanted to check in on you and see how you’ve been doing since Friday.
 
Haven’t seen you drink that much in a while.”

“So naturally, you come with beer,” Alex commented dryly, but despite his disappointment that Olivia had not showed up on his doorstep, he was glad to see Luke.
 
He held the door open wider and gestured for him to come in.
 
Even though he and Luke had a past, Alex could never deny that Luke was a good friend.
 
He wished this tension between them could simply disappear, forgotten.

Maybe someday it would.
 
But even now it lingered.

Luke made his way to the kitchen with a familiar ease, but stopped abruptly just short of the counter.

“What is it?” Alex asked.

“There’s a cat inside your house,” came Luke’s dumbfounded reply.
 
Alex’s eyes immediately went to the white ball of fur hunched over the cat food bowl.

“Oh,” Alex smiled sheepishly.
 
Damn.
 
He was caught.
 
“Yeah, well, whenever I opened the door to feed him—,“ well, Bubbles was technically a
her
, “he ran in before I could catch him.
 
So I eventually gave up and I just let him eat inside now.”

Luke was looking at him as though he’d gone completely crazy, so Alex tugged the beer out of his hand, popped the tops off two of them, and set the remaining four in the fridge.

“Well, shit, I think you’re whipped,” Luke muttered behind him.
 
Alex frowned and turned to face him.
 
Luke gave him a knowing look, cocking his head slightly to the side.
 
“The cat was her idea, wasn’t it?”

Alex’s silence was answer enough and Luke shook his head, smiling, but wisely chose to stay silent on the matter.
 
He mumbled his thanks when Alex slid his beer across the counter and Alex said, “I think I have a game recorded from earlier this morning.”

Luke nodded, “Yeah that would be good.”

As they settled down onto the couch, both cradling their beers, silence stretched between them as Alex found the recording.

Luke and Alex had always been close.
 
Growing up together cemented their bond and Alex knew that they would eventually get past this little road bump in their friendship.
 
Luke had always been the one Alex confided in, especially during high school and college.