Skye's POV
This week has been a rollercoaster, and I'm waiting for it to flatline. On the revenge front I've made rapid progress, I found two more places Arthur was keeping and let's just say they aren't in one piece. I'm still yet to find the devil himself, he can run all he likes but he's too vain to hide, he wants his victory, whatever that is.
"Why am I only hearing about this now?" Brooke bites with her head in her locker
"Because it's personal"
She takes the letter from my hands "Well I don't count"
I roll my eyes at her best friends share everything rule. "It's a pretty deep letter"
"Gee, thanks Brooke. I hadn't noticed"
Her glare towards me made it known my sarcasm wasn't appreciated "So what's the deal with it? he's basically given you a clear conscience not to mention a free pass to do whatever you want again"
I steal the paper she is so casually wafting around "I know but there's just something in here that's bugging me"
The little cogs in her brain are turning so loud it's almost hard to walk "Hidden messages, like a code"
I sigh "For god sake Brooke" her eyes go wide "I've already said that, I swear you don't even listen half the time"
"Whatever" she mutters
I've re read Grayson's letter a least 100 times and I've tried to cypher his words but I can't find anything. I'm not giving up, there's something I can use, there's no way he's left. Not for good.
"Wait! He mentioned the ball" She exclaims stopping in her tracks
"Your point?"
"What if it's something to do with the hotel"
I shake my head "No, I've already been down that road. Same as the roof, nothing weird. Besides, nothing will happen in Axel's hotels he's upped his security so high I'm surprised there's enough room for them"
She groans a frustrated groan that I have come to use on a regular basis. I wish she was right and made a break-through but the sad truth is unless Arthur does something horrendous we aren't going to get him easily.
"I can't believe you're single again" she squeals
I pull her closer vigorously "Do you want to say that any louder?"
"Oops" she says trying to act innocent
"Does Baxter know?"
I turn to her weirdly excited face "No, I haven't showed him the letter if that's what you're hinting at" she wiggles her eyebrows "Brooke" I groan "Nothing's happening. We live together"
We arrive at our next class "Exactly, you live together. I'm just saying"
So much for team Grayson. I think she's just trying to get my mind off of him, she did the same with Tyler, she tried convincing me to ask out every living being, including Tyler's best friend. Looking back, that was pretty funny.
~~~
Friday has arrived and I have a whole new sudden motivation. I give the bar a miss and went food shopping instead. Baxter hasn't had a decent cooked meal in a life time, it's all precooked or pasta, which I basically live off of anyway.
I tidied the whole place and walked Blue. He's such a happy dog, everyone in the park loves him. The halls smell fresh thanks to my lavender mist I used. The kitchen is spotless, I have everything out ready. The biggest disadvantage of Baxter working at a club is that he doesn't come home till the early hours. Meaning, we don't eat together often, normally just breakfast. But, not tonight. Tonight we eat like Kings and Queens. A camembert cheese starter and a full steak meal, I even got the nicest bottle of wine I could find.
The front door opens stirring me from the Netflix show Blue and I have been bingeing. I hear Baxter's usual movements, he tries not to wake me but I'm usually up anyway.
"Hey" I smile as he enters the room
He's taken back "You're still up"
I nod. His eyes smile along with his mouth "What?" I question
"Nothing, it's just nice having you here. You know? I come home and crash out normally"
I clap my hands together and jump up excitedly "Not today. I have a surprise"
His eyes narrow with suspicion, I roll my eyes at his non trusting aroma and drag him into the kitchen "Voila" I say proudly
"You waited all this time to eat?" he asks shocked
"Come on Bax. You've done so much for me, the least I can do is cook you something" he smiles and gives me a hug. I always feel so small in his embrace.
"I need to change because I can smell every spirit I served tonight and I feel wavy from it" I laugh pulling back so he can escape his alcohol scent.
I put the cheese in the oven to cook and set the timer, it's probably a bad idea to get cheese at 1am but it makes for an interesting dream.
"I'm back" he calls jumping into the room, he's clearly excited. It doesn't end there.
"Perfect timing" I smile getting the camembert wheel out the oven.
We soon dig in on. The moans coming from both of us suggest we were doing something completely different, we may cause the old lady next door a heart attack.
"Why did you say you could cook before?" he gleams devouring another pitta slice dunked in cheese.
I chuckle looking at the man in front of me in food heaven "It's my secret weapon. Besides, if I cooked all the time it wouldn't taste as good"
He groans "I beg to differ"
With almost full bellies we take a break. We wonder into the living room. I plant myself on the comfy rug on the floor and put the wine bottle and glasses I carried in on the table. Baxter falls next to me, he's grumbling from eating so much already.
"Have you even got room left for steak?" I laugh pouring the red wine into our Bordeaux wine glasses
"I admit I ate a lot" he dramatically lifts his head that was resting on the sofa pillow "But I can always eat more"
We finally have time to watch a movie, we haven't sat down and watched a movie in ages. We decided on Nerve. I've watched it repeatedly and immediately put it on when I discovered Baxter has never watched it.
"So, she's shy and then goes completely off the rails?" he asks as the movie starts to pick up.
I side glare at him "You'll find out" he rolls his eyes and continues to watch.
The movie progresses but I keep feeling Baxter's eyes on me, I tried to hide my smile.
"Do you intend to stare at me this entire movie?" I smirk not moving my view
He coughs and awkwardly shuffles knowing he's been caught "I can't help it" he confesses
"There's just something about you looking excited yet content, it's hard to look away" his voice is so soothing but it makes me nervous, so nervous I'm biting inside my cheek again.
He notices because his thumb strokes my cheek. My eyes follow to where his hand is, the small contact make my whole face tingle. "Bax" I whisper, I can feel his breath as we're so close
He shuts his eyes and moves back "I know, I'm sorry"
"No" I say abruptly putting his hand back.
His deep brown eyes have a certain sparkle to them, I could get lost if I look too long. I cup his cheek with my hand and lean closer.
I softly connect my lips with his. He kisses me back when he feels me. He tastes so sweet, my body feels on fire, my stomach flutters with the amount of butterflies he's created. We move so perfectly I feel like we're the only people in the world. His hand grips me harder and he deepens the kiss, he takes me by surprises at his dominance.
"Skye" he quietly says pulling away suddenly.
Before he can continue and solve my confusion the whole apartment becomes pitch black. My head shoots towards the tv, still in Baxter's hold, everything has gone off
"Power cut" he groans
He moves back and stands up, so much for our sweet moment. The second he goes I feel a flood of different emotions, confusion being the biggest one.
"You coming?"
I break out of my inner thoughts and see his silhouette. "I have candles somewhere, but I could use some help"
I intend to use his voice as a guide but he holds his hand out for me.