Crossing Paths

Chapter 16: No-Strings-Attached

Copyright 2014 © Rosesareforever

Crossing Paths

Chapter 16

'No-Strings-Attached'

When Alexis finally left her apartment late at night, Jade called Sedric and told him the coast was clear. She hated that she had to tell her sister the truth, but she knew it would happen someday. Keeping a secret from Alexis was like trying to keep a sliding car on an icy road, close to impossible.

It didn’t surprise her Alexis was angry and didn’t understand why Jade would still hang out with Sedric. Her sister would never be able to forgive Marcus if he cheated, no matter how much she loved that man. Jade understood and respected that. It didn’t mean she had to listen to her sister and do the same. She was in a much more complicated situation.  

“I’m sorry I caused trouble, buttercup. I swear I had no idea your sister was visiting,” Sedric said the moment Jade opened the door to let him enter her apartment. He honestly looked troubled, his brows drawn together and his lips pulled into an apologetic small smile.

“It’s okay,” Jade assured, putting her hand on his shoulder and squeezing softly. It had been a turbulent few days. Jade still didn’t know how she felt about the way Sedric and her relationship developed. She’d been ready to move on from him, ready to finally let go of her past feelings and find someone trustworthy she could build a future with. He shattered her perfect plan the moment he decided to return to her life and make sure she stopped seeing Tyler.

She should just tell him to leave her alone. It should be easy like that, but it wasn’t. If it had been, she wouldn’t have accompanied him to that family dinner. It had been a capital mistake on her part. She’d come to accept that she couldn’t let him go as easily as she wanted.

“She didn’t harass you too badly, did she?” he asked, resting his hands on her hips and pulling her a few inches closer. Jade knew she should put a stop to this – whatever it was. Yet, she didn’t do anything. Instead she leaned in to Sedric’s touch and stared deeply into his charcoal eyes. She was a junkie and he was her damned drug.

“She said what she had to say before eventually accepting my decision. Alexis is just protective of me.” It was nice to have someone that cared as much as Alexis did, but also damn annoying at times. Jade wished her sister wouldn’t interfere. Especially since Alexis tended to go overboard with her protectiveness.

“And what exactly is your decision?” Sedric asked curiously, one of his hands leaving her hip to caress the side of her face. Jade smiled contently as she accepted his touch and closed her eyes to think for a moment before answering his question.

“What are we doing, Sed?” she asked instead of replying. She needed to know Sedric’s intentions before she made any real decisions or stated her own. Jade admitted to her sister that she was sleeping with Sedric and told the woman to stay out of her business. That didn’t mean she actually knew what the hell she was doing. Damn. This was such a mess. Why couldn’t she keep her heart at bay?

Sedric sighed, closed his eyes and inhaled deeply before refocusing his gaze on hers. “You can’t forgive the mistakes I made in the past and don’t trust me. I understand why and don’t judge you for it. I’ve my own reasons not to trust you. That being said, I like spending time with you - outside and inside the bedroom.”

Jade nodded in agreement, his words sounding reasonable to her ears. It was exactly the kind of situation they were currently in. They liked being around each other, but didn’t want anything serious to happen. “I know you’ll probably want to strangle me for proposing this, but I’d suggest we become friends with benefits. I’d like to be around you for a little while longer. We can both decide to end this whenever we want,” Sedric proposed, his voice soft and cautious.