SWNOVELS : Chapter 119
I snoozed my alarm and told Alexander I absolutely had to get up when it went off again in seven minutes.
He smiled sleepily and grabbed my wrist, dragged me close to his warm body, and then pulled the covers back up around my shoulders. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the shiver of comfort that slid down the length of my body.
“I’m sorry,” I said into his chest. “I told you I’d schedule more time for us to be together this morning,
but with everything that happened yesterday…”
“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart.” His voice was deep and raspy with sleep. He tried to clear his throat before he continued, but it didn’t help. “I’ll make some coffee though. And make you some breakfast. You need something in your stomach other than chocolate.”
It occurred to me that Alexander had never called me
“sweetheart” before. He was more lovey-dovey than usual when he was in this kind of half-awake state in the early mornings, though. I tried to forget he’d said it before the nervous feeling in my chest, which had fluttered to life at the sound of that tender pet name, could gain any momentum.
I got dressed and ready much more quickly than usual to make time for that promised breakfast. I was starving. I definitely hadn’t taken in sufficient calories
Alexander poured me another perfect cup of that sweet, spicy, creamy coffee he’d impressed me with the day before. And, when I was ready for work and sat down at the table, he presented me with dishes of cinnamon oatmeal and fresh cut fruit as well. It was perfect, just what I needed to bring my energy up and get me ready for my day. Or as ready as I could be, still running on so little sleep for so many days in a row at this point.
While we ate, I gave Alexander the short version of the story about what was going on at work. The industry problems, the closures, and the impact on our project. He listened, nodding, and if he wanted to ask for details, he refrained. I appreciated this, took it as a gesture of respect for both my time and my competence as his employee. His silence told me that he trusted me to handle the situation.
He hugged me goodbye at the door before I headed off to the car. And then did another out-of-the-ordinary thing.
He brought his face very close to mine and looked me deep in the eye. Our lips were an inch apart. And then, slowly, like he was being conspicuously careful, he planted a kiss on my cheek. Or rather, the place right beside my mouth, sort of between my lips and my cheek.
He was playing a risky little game.
We had made a deal a long time ago not to kiss on the mouth. It was too intimate for me. I still didn’t like the thought of letting things get to that place with me and Alexander, not while I was still unsure about his intentions for our relationship in the long term.
My lips were the only part of me that I kept off limits from him. He kissed me everywhere else, all the time.
My neck he liked very much. My forehead and the top of my head he had a habit of kissing sweetly when he was trying to be tender.
But this slow kiss on the cheek that brought our lips so very close together, flirting with the boundaries of our agreement… it was not something Alexander usually played around with.
I found that I liked it.
There was a package outside on our doorstep, a small box that rattled when I picked it up. I read the label on the front: it was my medication.
Perfect. I slipped it into my purse while I walked to the car, feeling relieved to have that on hand now.
I was skimming news headlines on my phone during the drive into the city when I received a text from Nina. She sent a video.
Nina: Check this out. My new routine on the aerial hoop, my new obsession!
In the video, Nina was in the middle of a big, mirror-walled room—clearly a dance studio. Her hair was down and long, a pale blonde color that made her olive skin look darker by contrast, and crimped in tiny waves. She was wearing a cropped black long-sleeved shirt with the tightest, tiniest gym shorts that ever existed, and white thigh-high socks with two black horizontal stripes at the top.
She started out on the floor, holding a big hoop that was hanging from the ceiling by a rope. Some slow, bass-heavy music started, and Nina began to dance.
She touched the hoop and spun it, sending it moving fast in a spiral. She moved her body in some impressive, slinky choreography all around the hoop as it moved. It barely missed making contact with her as she curled and turned underneath it in perfect timing. Then she stopped the hoop suddenly; it soared a couple feet up into the air. Nina sat down into it as it rose and rode it up into the air, holding it at the edges like she was on swing.
A tiny movement of her shoulder sent the hoop spinning again, more slowly this time. It turned and rose, and once it stopped its ascent, she suddenly grasped the very bottom of the ring and inverted her body, going upside down with her legs in a perfect split.
The routine only got crazier from there. I felt like I was watching a circus performance. One that would have a slack-jawed stadium crowd on their feet.
I texted: What the hell, Nina? I didn’t know you were an acrobat!
Nina: Hehe. I just learned the hoop a few weeks ago.
It’s addictive. So fun.
Me: Impressive, too. That was crazy to watch!
Nina: What are you gonna do. I am kind of awesome.
Wish you could come watch one of my shows!
I had never in my life been a fan of crowded nightclubs packed with go-go dancers and strobe lights and sweaty, alcohol-fueled men desperate to feed me tequila shots. And in my current condition –
pregnant, insanely busy with work, exhausted all the time – that environment sounded extra awful.
Me: I know. I’m sorry. You know it’s just not my
Nina: I get it. I just miss you though. Been a while since we hit the diner. When are you gonna have time for me soon?
I had been enjoying getting together with Nina in the mornings. We always had fun when we met up for indulgent, greasy breakfasts together. And I had learned that when I didn’t carve out time for her, it had a negative impact on my life. Laughing with Nina was good for my soul.
But I wanted to start devoting my early mornings to extra moments with Alexander, instead… it felt really good to start my day with him.
I asked my friend what she thought about coming to the palace this weekend, and if she’d mind hanging out with me and Alexander together. Seemed like a
way to split the difference: time with my Alpha, which my body needed, simultaneous with Nina time, which I needed for the maintenance of my sanity. Of course she and I wouldn’t be able to speak as freely with him around, but it would have to do.
Nina agreed to my plan happily. I loved her for being so easygoing.
Then Alexander started texting me too, just as my car rolled up to the front of the colossal glass skyscraper that was Crescent Ventures headquarters.
It read: Don’t forget to send me a pic today.
I replied: I’ll see what I can do.
Alexander: Will you do it if I send you one of me, first?
My cheeks flushed as I started imagining what kind of
photo he was thinking of sending me.
I wrote back: I suppose you could try that and see…