Limerence | I

19. U, Me, and Hennessy Don't Mix

"You must be Charli." Xavier's mom opened her arms for me after greeting her son. She pulled me into her warm embrace without hesitation. She was so kind and loving. All I could think of was how she ended up with someone as heartless as B.Dee and how she kept his secret from Xavier for 19 years. My heart was beating so hard that I could have sworn they heard it. "You're just as beautiful as Xavier described." She smiled and I smiled back.

"Thank you." I spoke quietly. It still hadn't wrapped it around my mind. How could I not have know that B.Dee was Xavier's father? It seemed so dumb of me not to notice. Then again, they're so different. Xavier had the kindest heart while B.Dee didn't even have one.

"I'm so glad he's not with that whore, Astroid anymore." She said to me. I looked down at the hardwood floors, trying to hold in my laughter.

"It's Astrid, Ma'. And she's not a whore." Xavier aggressively raised his voice a little. It reminded me just how much he cared about her. So much that it pissed him off if anyone spoke badly of her. Mrs. Grant rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. All that matters is that you have someone better on your arm now." She motioned toward me. I felt a little awkward being in the middle of the conversation pertaining to Astrid. There was already so much tension between Xavier and I whenever she came up in our conversations. So adding the tension between he and his mother only made it worse. "Anyway, I'll let the two of you be. It was great meeting you, Charli." She smiled at me one last time before walking away. Xavier put his hands in his pocket and loosened his posture. His muscles were a lot more tense when she was around.

"Sorry about her. She's a character." He apologized. I shook my head, dismissing it. In my mind, I wondered whether or not I should tell him about his father. When we were on the Ferris wheel, he told me that he didn't know what his father did and that he would go M.I.A for months at a time. How would he react if I told him that his father was a drug dealer and possibly a murderer? "Come with me." He took my hand and dragged me down a long hallway, leading to the rest of the penthouse. At the end of the hallway was a door. He opened it and it was a huge bedroom. The floors were bamboo and the farthest wall was made of glass that overlooked the entire city. The walls were completely white but the midnight blue accents around the room fit well.

"Was this your room?" I asked in awe. He nodded his head as he closed the door behind us.

"Yeah. Fancy isn't it." He chuckled. I raised my eyebrows and took another scan. Fancy was an understatement. I walked over to his bed at the center of the room and sat down. His bed alone was huge. I was pretty sure is was a California King bed just like the one at his apartment. "Hold on. I'll be right back." He quickly slid out of the room. I pulled my black heels off of my feet and dropped them on the floor rug. I walked over to the floor to ceiling windows and admired the view. The city looked peaceful from up here. You couldn't see pedestrians walking the streets or the yellow cabs terrorizing everyone else on the road. All you saw were the city's lights reflecting off of the Hudson and it was beautiful. I loved New York City and I promised myself that I would never leave.

Xavier startled me when his arm snaked around my waist. He held a bottle of Hennessy in his hand. I smiled and shook my head. "I'm starting to notice some alcoholic tendencies here, Xavier." I joked. He raised his eyebrows and opened the bottle. He took the first large gulp.

"Trust me, if alcohol didn't exist, you wouldn't like me so much." He said trying to hold a straight face.

"I don't like you anyway, Grant." I teased, turning my back to him. Seconds later, I felt his body heat. He stood behind me, so close that I could smell his cologne. I smirked to myself. He gently pushed my hair away from my neck. He kissed my neck softly as his hand caressed my bare thigh. I could feel my knees getting weaker and weaker by the second.