CHAPTER 36
JORDAN.
NEVER IN MY LIFE DID I IMAGINE I WOULD BE TIP–TOEING AROUND MY OWN HOUSE.
It was ridiculous, really. I owned the place, which meant I owned everything in it. My house, my money, my rules. And if I decide that I need to have a late night snack, then so be it.
And if that late night snack turned out to be something I had denounced previously, I had every right to change my mind, didn’t I? I entered my own kitchen feeling like a criminal and made a beeline for the fridge. I opened it and carefully took out two slices of the pizza Melanie made earlier then crossed over to the microwave and stuck it in, setting the timer for two
minutes.
As I waited, I got out a carton of orange juice and poured
myself a glass, my eyes sweeping the kitchen as I remembered the events of the previous day.
Melanie had said she could make pizza, but what she didn’t say was that it involved making a big mess too. At some point, she’d abandoned the endeavor to start chucking flour at Blaine and soon enough my thousand–dollar Armani suit was covered in the white substance.
I’d nearly chucked it in the bin- it was ruined in my opinion- but she’d argued with me until I’d sent it off to the dry cleaners. They’d cleaned up the best they could but the table still had a slight white look to it. I sighed and got out a rag. “Well, isn’t this a nice sight” Melanie’s smooth voice wafted over to me. I hated myself for nearly jumping like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I looked over at her and wished I hadn’t. She was wearing a short, sheer robe and as she moved into the kitchen I caught a view of really short shorts.
“What are you doing down here so late?” I asked, slightly blocking the microwave from her view.
“I don’t know who needs to answer that question more. Me, who just wanted to get some water, like any normal person, or you who’s cleaning at 2 in the morning like you’re trying to hide evidence? Tell me, where’s the body?” she drawled, trailing her hands over the back of a chair.
I wasn’t hiding a body- I wouldn’t need to- but I had something to hide, so as she moved I moved too. She caught the movement and narrowed her eyes, “Don’t tell me you’re actually hiding a body. I thought you don’t bring that stuff into your home.”
I kept my movements casual as I lifted my glass of orange
juice to my lips.
“Don’t be absurd. Of course I’m not.” I said.
Her eyes finally moved to the microwave and she started to smirk, “Don’t tell me…”
She evaded me and walked up to it, looked in. Then turned it off. She faced me with that smirk and I let out a small sigh of defeat. She was going to nag me senseless.
“First of all, horrible way to heat up pizza” she said, throwing me off–guard. She took it out of the microwave and hunted up a skillet, “You’re not a pizza eater, so I’ll forgive you this once. Your way, it’s going to get all soggy. But this way“…
I watched as she placed the slices in the skillet with a glass of water and covered it all with a lid, “the bottom remains crispy and the top gooey.“Sshe turned the heat on and stepped back.
“I didn’t realize there was a science to it” I muttered under my breath.
“Now” she gave me that smirk again and I braced myself.
“So you just pretended to hate it yesterday. You’ve been caught, so now you can admit it’s good.”
I thought of replying that I just needed something to snack on and it was available, but seeing as there was a whole pantry stocked with snacks, that wouldn’t play well.
“Fine. It’s good.”
Her smile was so bright it hurt my eyes. I knew she was going to keep taking jabs at me, so I changed the topic.
“Nice robe” I commented. All the clothes she had were the ones I’d gotten for her, and I sure as hell didn’t get her a fuck–me robe. I had an inkling where she’d gotten it but I needed confirmation.
Setting
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CHAPTER 36
She looked down at it and gave a little twirl, unaware of the view she’d just given me of her tank top and shorts underneath
“I know right? Blaine got it for me as a welcome back present. He’s so nice”
“Huh. I didn’t get a welcome back present“, I thought to myself.
“So. You and Blaine, huh?” the last time I asked her this, I hadn’t put much thought into it but the way they’ve been acting lately.
She stopped twirling and chewed on her bottom lip.
“We’re just seeing where it goes for now. Is there a problem?” she asked. Her reply settled a weight on my chest I couldn’t quite shake off.
“No problem. Just that, like Katnissa, people would assume you’re sleeping with him to climb the ladder” I took another casual sip of juice.
God, what was I doing? Fishing for information like an old aunt with nothing better to do? Still, I waited with bated breath until she answered.
“That would be incorrect, because I haven’t slept with him, and I’m not interested in climbing any stupid ladder. No offense” she said absently, turning the heat off on the skillet.
The weight on my chest eased, then it registered that she said ‘Haven’t‘ and not ‘I’m not going to‘, and it came back full force.
“Come here and look at this” she instructed and I crossed over to where she was and stood behind her.
“Look” she pointed at the pizza slices where the cheese on top was bubbling slightly.
“Perfect. Now you know how to reheat a pizza” she said triumphantly and turned.
I hadn’t realized how close we were standing and from the look on her face, she hadn’t either. I could count every eyelash and as she took a startled breath, her breasts lightly grazed my chest. The slight contact burned and one glance down showed me her nipples, which were now visible through the thin tank top and robe, had hardened.
Neither of us seemed inclined to move and so we stood there staring into each other’s eyes. Hers were more gray than blue today, and as I moved closer, darkened with a hint of lust. She moistened her lips and my gaze shot down to them. “Could you move?” She asked.
Her voice was little more than a breathless whisper.
I’m not sure what happened, but I heard myself saying “Do you want me to?”
She gasped, a light, delicate sound so at odds with her usual dry and abrasive nature that it snapped me back to my senses. I took hold of the skillet and stepped back like she’d burned me, and in some ways she had. I immediately missed the heat the brief contact had brought but I grabbed a plate and slid the slices onto it before walking back to the table. I set it down and refilled my glass.
She still stood by the sink watching me with those darkened eyes.
“Running?” she asked in that same breathless voice. A part of me was tempted to go back and see if she still tasted like she had all those years ago but instead, I picked up the plate and glass, bid her goodnight and did exactly what she accused me
