Alexis' POV
My eyes flew up to see it was Quinn, his ocean blue eyes staring hard at me. Slowly, he took his hand away from my mouth, placing it beside my head on the wall, with his other arm still wound tightly around my waist, pressing me hard to him.
A breath of relief slipped out of my lips, my shoulders relaxing and my erratically beating heart calming down the moment I realized it was Quinn. But as soon as I was calm enough to register he was the same man that I was struggling to get away from, my heart sped up, as I tried to shove him out of my way so as to get away from him but like a wall, he blocked my path, refusing to leave.
"Leave me alone," I gritted out, beating hard on his chest but he wasn't deterred. He remained there, staring at me, with an annoying smirk etched on his already handsome face, pricking at my heart at how he managed to look so good even when he was being so annoying and a pain in the ass.
"Jealousy looks good on you, kitten," he smirked harder, gliding his tongue across his lips to distract me.
"I'm not jealous," I spat out in a high-pitched voice, giving off my destabilized emotions.
"Yeah, so you stormed out of the gym because…"
"I was done with my session and have more important places to be at,"
"Hmmm… So you wouldn't mind if I was sitting across the street in that café, in our favorite booth with Miss Adams, discussing and laughing like I didn't give a fuck about you?" he cocked a bro and I shook my head.
"I… It's none of my business whatever you decide to do with anyone. I literally do not care," but who was I kidding?
My words came out in a broken voice, betraying me.
"Baby," he tipped my chin upwards, starting deeply into my eyes, past the tears blurring my vision. "You know I'd never hurt you right? And I wasn't going to have breakfast with her or go on any date with her. I got rid of her the moment you stepped out,"
My heart leaped with joy at his confession but I wasn't about to let him in on how elated I was, knowing he wasn't planning to go out with the woman.
"I don't care about whatever plans you have or whatever you choose to do with her. Just let me go,"
His hand around my waist tightened, pulling me flush against him.
"Alexis, stop denying it and I can see the tears in your eyes, love. You're a bad liar," he leaned in, placing his lips close to my ear. "And do not ever lie to me. You asked for the space, didn't you?"
I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out as I diverted my eyes away from his. The intensity of his look was so much that I just couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. It felt as though he could see through my lies and walls.
"Tsk," he tilted his head, his eyes meeting mine again. "Your time is counting love, just know I'm not about to let another man have what's mine,"
Hearing those words from his lips, had my heart thudding, threatening to escape from my chest. It was so loud that I didn't doubt he could hear it and not just that but I could feel my anger dissolving and all I wanted was to fall into his arms and let him take care of me, to give him the chance he deserved to make things right but could I really do that? I subconsciously shook my head, knowing that was a risky path that I couldn't afford to thread on.
The old and younger Alexis wouldn't have had a problem falling into this beautiful man's arms but with everything I'd gone through and while still struggling to fend off the terrible past and erase the scars that were trying to define my existence, I just couldn't do it. It felt like adding more to my problems instead of dealing with the ones on ground. And again, I couldn't do that to Quinn. The last thing I wanted was to heap my troubles on him and have him running away as soon as he discovers how deep they run.
The more I stared at him, the harder it was to refuse him. I bit down hard on my tongue struggling to remain calm and not utter any words hence I destroy the progress I'd made so far.
As if sensing my struggle, he wrapped his arms around my back, caressing soothingly, resting his forehead against mine.
"Take all the time you need, love," he placed a soft kiss on my temple, causing me to melt against him, my knees weakening like jelly and at that moment, I was thankful for his hands that were holding me tightly to him.
It was surprising that even after all I was doing to push him away, he was still so nice to me and he wouldn't even budge or give up.
"I just need you to know that no matter what happens, I'll always be here. I don't want any other woman if it's not you, Alexis. The little times I've spent with you mean the world to me and I'll continue to lurk around the shadows until you're ready to let me in,"
"It might take more than a while," I whispered, resting my head against his chest.
"Well, at least you're not telling me it won't ever happen," he pointed out and we both laughed, easing me up a little and calming me down.
"But you owe me something," he pointed out and my eyes suddenly sought him. "Remember the dinner party? It's tomorrow evening,"
Arrrghhh… I silently cursed, making a mental note to give my roommates hell for throwing me into this situation.
"Fine, you have a date," I rolled my eyes and he chuckled, the sound warming me up. I could literally stay in his arms forever but I couldn't let myself get used to that so I pulled away. "I have to go,"
He took a step from me, releasing me from his hold. Disappointment hit me but I quickly ignored it.
"See you, tomorrow love," he winked at me, reaching for my hand and leading me out of the alley into the street. He even stayed long enough for me to get a cab before he left.
While in the cab, I released a breath I hadn't known I was holding after rattling off my address to the cabman.
Now I had to think of how I'd survive for the duration of the dinner date without giving in to my feelings and the intense need for the man.