My Dream Man | Book 1 | Sal Vulcano

Chapter Sixteen

"My goodness Addison, what's wrong?! What is all of this?" James questioned.

"I will explain, but here's the important question, I know it's sudden, but can I please stay the night?" I asked looking at him.

"But you just got home from Joe's!" James exclaimed.

I put my hands up. "I-I know, just, I need this. Please James, can I stay the night?"

I stood there for a good solid twenty seconds before James sighed. "Yes, yes you can."

I gave a small smile and hugged him. James hugged me back, making me feel welcomed.

"Thank you." I whispered.

"No problem. Anything for a friend." James said back.

>><<

I was on the couch with a blanket on my legs. James came up and handed me a cup of cocoa with another one for him. I thanked him and took a sip from it. James sat down across from me on the couch, also sipping from his cup. I closed my eyes as I carefully set the cup in my lap without it spilling everywhere. James set his cup on the table and crossed his hands on his lap.

"So what brings you here?" James asked.

I took a deep breath in. "It's has to do with Sal."

"Does it have to deal with what Joe told me? With the story line and how you guys argued?" James asked.

I nodded my head as I swallowed another sip of cocoa. James got comfortable on the couch. I could tell by the expression on his face, he was getting ready to tell me a story.

"Where did you leave off with Joe?" Murr asked as he rubbed his hands.

I swallowed and thought. "The last thing Joe told me was that he has never seen him so happy since he met me."

James smiled. "Okay, I'm guessing right after we figured out you lived across the street and got him to spill beans, correct?" I nodded. "Well, let's see. When we learned all of this knowledge, of course we told some of the crew about it. Not because we wanted his secret out, because people saw him so happy! I mean honestly, we know Sal, I don't think he's the happiest cookie out of all of us. But let's face it, after three years, we all knew something was up. After we told the crew, everyone started placing bets. And to this day, Joe has the highest bid. No one else tops Joe. But, again being honest, we didn't know what you looked like! We didn't know what to expect! That's when we told Sal, 'man, we get that you are in love or something, but please tell us what she looks like!' Sal wouldn't spill. So, we did it the hard way. That's when you had three men show up at your door! That's when we met you! The actual Addison Spears, the girl Sal would never shut up about."

My eyes widened. "That's all you're going to tell me?!" I asked.

"Yup. You have one more runner up to finish it off." James snickered.

I groaned and threw my head back. "I just want to know what made him snap the other night!" I whined.

Suddenly, my phone vibrates. I bring my head to look who texted me. If it was like he was stalking us, Sal texted me. I brought my head back down and grabbed my phone. I read the text he sent me.

Sal:
Put the dogs to bed. Just like you said.

I gave a small smile.

Addison:
Thanks. You're a lifesaver.

Sal:
No problem :)

I heard a snap go off. I brought my eyes up to see James on his phone, the camera pointing at me. I gave him a glare as he chuckled.

"What are you doing?" I asked slowly.

"Just taking a picture of you." James chuckled, not looking up at me.

"Let me guess, you're sending it to someone." I side smirked.

"No~" James said with a small chuckle.

I sat my phone and empty cup onto the coffee table. I crossed my arms across my chest, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. When I knew James wasn't expecting it, I leaped forward and ripped his phone out of his hand. James was caught off guard and tried to get his phone back.

"Hey! I was doing stuff!" James complained as he reached for his phone.

I looked down at his phone screen to see he was texting Sal. My eyebrows furrowed as I scrolled up to where their conversation started.

James:
Did you just text Addison?

Sal:
Yeah? Why are you asking? Oh wait-isn't Addison at your house?

James:
Yeah, I wanted to show you something.

Sal:
What?

James:
*Image sent*

Sal:
My sweet angel-what is she smirking at?

James:
Your text you dummy!

Sal:
My text?

James:
Yes! Isn't that what I just said?

Sal:
She's smiling at my small text. Oh my heart.

James:
Are you busy tomorrow?

Sal:
No why?

James:
Let's meet. I need to talk to you about something.

I handed James his phone back. James muttered a 'thank you' as he went started texting again. I leaned back against the arm rest, baffled. Does Sal actually love me? Or is he playing a game with his friends? Should I believe what they are saying? Should I just give up now? Or should I wait? All these questions popped into my mind that I couldn't seem to answer.

Someone snapped their fingers in front of me. I blinked back into existence, remembering that I was at James' house. He gave me a look of worry, which in return gave a small smile and wave.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Around eleven thirty. Why?" James asked.

I yawned and brought the blanket to my face. "Because I'm tired."

James told me to get up, which I did. He started to take the cushions off the couch, which gave me an excuse to brush my teeth. I set the blanket on the foot of the couch, grabbed my bag of nightly stuff, and headed to the bathroom. I did my business, washed my hands, brushed my teeth, put my hair up in a ponytail, then headed back out. When I got back to the couch, the pullout bed was out with blankets and pillows on it.

"I knew you wouldn't want to sleep in my room, so the second best thing I had was this pullout bed. Sorry about that." James apologized.

I placed my hands on my hips. "Are you kidding me? This is perfect. Just the fact that you let me stay the night was great. Thanks James."

I went over to James and gave him a hug. James hugged back. "No problem Addison, anything for a friend."

I smiled and squeezed him tighter in the hug. When we parted, we said our good nights and got ready for bed. I got my phone and put on some soft music that I could listen to. I then got comfortable under the blankets and fell asleep.