Collateral Damage

chapter 17

I was over with whatever Alexis unknowingly said to me and what I had realized I was starting to feel for him. I had pushed it to the deepest part of my being. From where it could never escape.

Only a month more then I was out of his hair and I sighed, ready to find a new job and a new apartment. I looked around the kitchen. I had grown to love the place.

The oven beeped, telling me the cake was ready. I put on oven mitts and took it out. After I decorated it with icing and wrote a name on it with shaky handwriting. I could make a flower just fine, but when it came to writing something with cream... yeah, a child had better luck than I.

By the time Alexis came home, I was fully dressed in my black dress that just ended above my knees and I wore tights. I didn't want to freeze again although we weren't going anywhere.

I stood beside the table as he entered with a bright smile on my face. He looked at me then at the table and raised his eyebrow.

'What's this about?' he asked.

'It's your birthday!' I said as if it was news. As if he didn't know it.

His half-amused smile turned into a straight line and mine became strained. I didn't know if I did something wrong.

I went with it anyway. It wasn't like I could back out now. There was a cake on the table, for crying out loud.

'Happy birt-' he didn't even let me wish him and stormed off. He slammed the door to his bedroom and I was left there with my mouth open, not knowing what I did wrong.

I waited for two hours before keeping the food away. It was obvious that he didn't celebrate his birthday but jeez, was it really necessary to be a drama-queen about it?

I was holding the cake to keep it on the refrigerator when suddenly my eyes filled with tears. I put the cake on the counter and held the edges with both hands, my knuckles turning white. I did all this for what? Why was I always trying to impress him? And I was trying to impress him, make him happy. I wasn't going to fool myself now.

The point was, he didn't care. No matter what I did. He just didn't care about my feelings. I looked one last time at his closed door, hoping he would just come out. If not to have dinner, then just to explain why he acted like that before. But why would he? He didn't owe me anything.

I took a deep breath. I wasn't going to let him hurt me like this. I was stronger than this. If he didn't want this cake then it's his loss because I make damn good cakes. I wouldn't let this cake go to waste. I would eat it and I would enjoy it.

I sat down on the floor with the cake. I didn't bring a knife or anything and I was too lazy to stand up and get it, so I relented to just licking the frosting.

I heard a door open and froze, my finger halfway to my mouth, my eyes wide.

Footsteps came after. Closer until they stopped in front of me. I dreaded looking up. It was so pathetic. Me, sitting on the floor, still in my dress, my heels thrown a little way off. My eyes filled with unshed tears. All because he didn't want to celebrate his fucking birthday.

I didn't have to look up because he crouched in front of me. He was in his sweats and I felt ridiculous in my dress.

There was no emotion in his face, nothing to warn me what he was thinking. His eyes were dark and his hair mussed up. Stubble covered his tanned face and I was reminded again of his pierced nipple which made me flush. I didn't avert my gaze, though.

I wouldn't shy away because there was no reason to.

He clasped my hand that hovered between us, the frosting on the verge of falling off. His hold was light and warm and not breaking eye contact, he moved the finger to his mouth. My heart thudded in my chest. Still staring into my eyes, he opened his mouth and closed it around my frosting covered finger. Shivers ran through my spine as he licked it clean, not breaking away his gaze once. My breathing turned shallow. It was incredibly hot suddenly.