turned around to find Alexa standing at a side door dressed in an emerald-green satin robe. “Alexa,” he sighed. Man, was she a sight for sore eyes.
Darius’s immediate reaction was to take her in his arms, but he didn’t want to repeat their earlier encounter by crossing the line.
“Can I come in?”
Alexa paused for a moment then beckoned him inside. “What are you doing out at this time of night?”
“I came to see you,” he replied, stumbling past her.
“Are you drunk?” she asked, catching a whiff of alcohol as he passed by. She turned on the light above the stove.
His eyes widened at the sight of her standing there in the thin wrapper, her feminine curves bringing tempting images to mind.
“I had a little to drink,” he replied as he flopped down on one of the kitchen bar stools.
She crossed her arms before her chest. “Darius, why are you drinking and driving? And more importantly why are you here at this hour?”
He exhaled loudly. “Because I want to apologize to you. I don’t know why I said what I said. No, I know why I said it, but I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry.”
His attempt at an apology was a little loud and jumbled, so rather than have him waking the whole house and risk having to explain his being there, she ushered him up the stairs to her room for privacy.
The first thing Alexa did when she closed the bedroom door was excuse herself to go to the bathroom. She did not want to give Darius any ideas by lounging around in her robe. She pulled out a pair of boxer shorts and a T-shirt and slipped them on.
As she exited the bathroom, she immediately spotted Darius’s coat and shoes on the floor beside the bed. He, on the other hand, was stretched out on her bed with his hands behind his head staring up at the ceiling. The hem of his fitted T-shirt was raised just enough to expose the downy hairs on his packed abs. Alexa gasped as she remembering the treasure hidden just beyond the band of his jeans.
Darius raised up, catching her by surprise. “Alexa.”
She took a seat on the bulky chair away from the bed. “Yes.”
“I’m really sorry about today,” he started again. Alexa knew it was his alcohol-induced state that caused him to continuously apologize because the Darius she knew was more reserved with his feelings.
“You were wrong for calling me easy. You, more than anybody, know that there is nothing easy about me.”
“I know,” he replied, sitting up.
Alexa’s heart began to beat fast. “Then why did you say something so stupid?”
He paused. “Because I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to see you hurt like I did. I’ve forgiven you, but I know I can’t forget it. You hurt me when you walked out on us.”
“What?” she exclaimed, unsure if she was prepared for what was to come.
“When you left me like you did,” he repeated. He proceeded to go on with a faraway look in his eyes. “Young brother was in love. I would have done anything you asked me to, but you were totally oblivious to my feelings.”
Alexa searched for words to say that would ease his pain, but she couldn’t come up with an excuse that would be fitting.
“You were my world, girl,” he whispered. “How could you end things like you did?”
The topic of conversation was too much and Alexa did not feel like discussing the past. The way she handled the situation was wrong and she realized it, but she wasn’t prepared to discuss it. Not at the moment, anyhow. The last thing she wanted to talk about was what she did wrong because that had been haunting her from day one.
“Look, Darius, it is apparent that you are intoxicated,” she announced, standing. “You are in no condition to discuss serious subject matter.”
Darius shook his head. His movement was so exaggerated that he looked as if he might give himself whiplash. “I may be a little faded, but I’m not incoherent.”
She shrugged. “Okay, how about I don’t want to talk about it.”
Darius looked at her strangely. “Alexa. Don’t you think I deserve to know?”
Rather than respond, she turned away from him, focusing her attention on the dresser before her. The next few days would be hard on both of them. For Alexa, trying to maintain a civil posture would be easy under other circumstances, but if every time she peered over her shoulder to find Darius watching her every move, she would likely falter.
Darius groaned and fell back on the bed.
The sound escaping from his throat caught her attention and she turned to find him stretched out on her bed. “What’s wrong?”
He moaned with a shake of his head. “My head is killing me. Can you get me an aspirin and some water?”
“Sure,” she quickly replied, heading to the bathroom. She located a bottle of Tylenol in the medicine cabinet. She turned on the faucet and filled a Dixie cup with water. When she returned to the bedroom, she found Darius fast asleep. Rather than wake him, she placed the cup and pain reliever on the nightstand.
Although she wanted to leave the room, she couldn’t help remaining in her place watching him sleep. Even in slumber, Darius was a fine piece of art. His sculpted arms and washboard stomach revealed that fitness was one of his priorities. The rise and fall of his chest with each breath, followed by the familiar growl-like snore added to his powerfulness. The slight furrow of his brow caused her to wonder what he was thinking.
It was funny how she couldn’t recall him frowning in his sleep in their younger days. She remembered how much she used to love watching him sleep. He seemed so masculine. His snoring always made her feel secure. Alexa missed that, and the old sinking feeling dwelled in her stomach.
Shaking away the longing like rain off of an umbrella, Alexa made herself walk away. She returned, moments later, only to lay a quilt on top of him before snuggling under one herself on the chair.
As soon as she propped her head against the cushioned padding, she fell fast asleep.
In the middle of the night, Darius awakened to find Alexa curled up on the chair in what looked like an uncomfortable position. He glanced at the alarm clock. It was a few minutes after 2:00 in the morning. He decided he could sleep the alcohol off for another two hours and be gone before the other inhabitants woke up.
Watching Alexa snoring peacefully made Darius determined not to sleep alone. He slipped out of bed and gently picked her up from the chair and carried her over to the bed where he laid her down. After covering her with the comforter, he lay down beside her, on top of the covers, pulling her into his arms. His heart beat like an African drum. He had imagined, actually dreamt about this moment many times. Having Alexa in his arms again felt so right. Like it was where she belonged.
Chapter 4
Just as smoothly as he had come
