I woke up with a feeling of déjà vu with me pressed against Axel's shirtless chest. I tried to turn around on my other side, but Axel convulsively hugged me tighter with a snore. I groaned when I started to feel like someone had taken a sledgehammer to my head.
"Axel?" I whispered, not wanting to make a loud enough noise to worsen my headache. Axel continued to softly snore. "Axel, can you maybe let me go?"
Nothing. I sighed, trying to free myself of his arms, but it was no use. What does this boy bench press? An elephant?! After a few more feeble attempts, I felt something against my legs. I craned my neck to see it was Apollo.
"Get him, boy!" I grabbed the dog's attention, and he started to walk over. I pointed at Axel. I then felt Apollo's warm tongue on my cheek. I groaned wiping away his saliva. "Not me! Him!" But Apollo, with one last lick to my face, hopped off of the bed.
Great. What am I supposed to do now? It's not like I can go back to sleep with this wicked headache threatening to kill me.
"Axel?" I tried waking him again. "Axel, get up." I poked his cheek.
"Five more minutes." He groaned, nuzzling his face in my neck.
I froze when I felt my cheeks heat up, and my pulse started speeding up. I felt him chuckle against me. His hot breath fanning my neck.
"Get off of me!" I said annoyed, and I tried shoving him away.
I gasped when he flipped me on my back, and he hovered overtop of me. His eyes glinted with amusement.
"That's not what your body language is telling me." He smirked at the rapid rise and fall of my chest.
"Well my mouth is saying move. I have a killer headache."
"I could help with that." He said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Ew," I scrunched my nose up in disgust.
I was about to make another retort, but the loud rumble of my stomach cut me off. It continued to rumble, reminding me I hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast yesterday morning. I smiled sheepishly at Axel, and he chuckled.
"I knew you were hungry for me, Angel Eyes, but damn."
"Oh my God!" I slapped his chest. "Cocky much?"
"Frigid much?"
"Annoying."
"Stubborn."
"Jerk."
"Beautiful." He smirked as I laid there speechless. He leaned his face in closer, and my breath hitched. "I'll make you some breakfast."
I laid there stunned as he got up and started walking towards his door, snickering under his breath. He exited the room, leaving the door wide open. I took my solitude as an opportunity to check out Axel's room.
It was not at all what I expected. I imagined a messy wasteland, video games everywhere, and walls lined with posters of scantily clad women. Instead I found empty black walls, a big bookshelf with no more space for books, and baseball equipment in one corner. His room was even cleaner than mine was.
I guess I don't know the bad boy as well as I thought I did, I mused to myself.
I got up out of the bed; the cold air hit my legs. I shivered slightly, wishing I had pants, but there was no way a pair of Axel's sweatpants would fit me and my only other option was my dress. But the dress came as far down as his T-shirt, so I just walked down the stairs to get breakfast. I was surprised to find the house clean- there wasn't a single sign that a party had taken place here.
I turned right into the kitchen, trying my best to guide myself through the big house. When I entered I smelt the alluring aroma of food. I sighed happily, and Axel turned his head to smile at. He was currently standing at the stove cooking something in the frying pan.
"The place looks so... clean."
"The maids must have came early this morning." He stated, still focused on the task at hand.
I grabbed my head when another sharp pain shot through it. "Where's the aspirin?"
"In the cabinet above the dishwasher." He nodded his head in the direction of it.
I opened the cabinet and almost cried out in joy when I found the bottle of pain relievers. Axel already had a glass of water in his hand, reaching it out towards me.
"Thanks." I grabbed the water and took two of the little white pills.
I took a seat at the dinning table and watched Axel cook. He seemed relaxed and focused. Sunlight streaming through the window above the sink glinted off of the muscles in his arms and the ones along his back. I found myself fantasizing about running my fingers through his soft, messy hair.
I was brought out of my daze when Axel set a plate of food down in front of me. There was scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. My stomach grumbled happily at the sight.
"Bon appetit." Axel smiled. "This'll help with the hangover."
I grabbed my fork and hastily shoveled some eggs into my mouth. I hummed pleasantly at the taste. "You're a good cook."
"Thanks. Eggs are Riley's favorite, so I've had a lot of practice making them." He chuckled.
"Speaking of Riley, where is she?" I asked, before taking a bite out of my toast.
"She stayed the night with a friend from school. I have to go pick her up later."
"And where's your mom?"
"She's gone to take care of her mom for the weekend. My grandmother has dementia; mom tries to visit her as much as possible, but the nursing home she's been staying at has strict rules." He shrugged, taking a bite of his food.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's not your fault. I've never really been close with my grandmother, anyway- she's had dementia since I was six."
"It must be really hard on your mother, not being able to see her that much and all."
"Yeah, but my mom's the strongest woman I know. She can handle anything life throws at her." I could feel the high amount of affection in his voice as he talked about his mother. I smiled at him, and he looked at me a little taken aback. "What?"
"Oh, nothing. I just find it sweet how much mom's baby bo-" But I stopped at the warning glare Axel sent my way, reminding me what happened last time I called him her baby boy. I smirked around my forkful of eggs.
"Smart choice."
I rolled my eyes at him, and we continued to eat our breakfast in silence. Axel was right that this would help with the hangover; I started to feel better with each passing minute. I was lost in thought; one particular question kept nagging on my brain. I covertly glanced at Axel through my lashes- he was sipping on some orange juice.
"Axel?" He met my eyes with a questioning eyebrow raised. "Why do you go by your mom's maiden name?"
"What?" He sputtered.
"Your mom corrected me when I called her Mrs. West when we met- she said it was her maiden name."
"Oh," His eyes darkened slightly.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I said hastily at his change in mood.
"No, no. It's fine. It's just that I don't talk about my family history that much." He took a deep breath as if he was getting himself ready to tell me what he was about to say.
"My mom said when she first laid eyes on my dad that he was the one. They were your typical high school sweethearts when they started going out; he was captain of the football team and she was the head cheerleader. Everyone loved them and aspired to have a relationship like them." He had a small smile on his face as spoke, but his eyes began to darken again.
"Then my mom got pregnant with me right after school. When she told my dad, he left her." A muscle in his cheek jumped as he clenched and unclenched his jaw. "She hasn't seen or talked to him since."
"Oh, Axel. I'm so sorry." He wouldn't meet my eyes as I spoke.
"Don't be, he's an asshole." He said, suddenly getting up, taking both of our plates and dumping them in the sink. He was gripping the edge of the sink, but when he turned his head to me he was smiling. "You want a tour of the place?"
"Sure." I gave him a small smile, knowing he was done talking about his father.
He showed me the top two floors of the house first. His house is only slightly bigger than mine, but it almost had the same layout. There were long corridors and many empty rooms. I laughed at how girly Riley's room was, complete with pink walls, thousands of dolls, and a big sign hung above her bed that read Princess in sparkly letters. It all practically screamed Riley!
Currently we were on the bottom floor, me trailing slightly behind Axel. He took me down another hall. I looked at some of the family photos hanging along one wall; one where Axel looked like he's about ten, tiny Riley eating an ice cream cone, and a man with his arms wrapped around Axel's smiling mother.
"Who's that?" I pointed at the man, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"My stepdad, Robert." He glared at the photograph. "He's an asshole, too- seems mom has a type. But he makes her happy, so I put up with him."
I was going to ask him more questions, but I thought better of it as I hurried to catch up with his retreating figure. After another right turn, I found myself staring at the most gorgeous indoor pool I'd ever seen. It was a long rectangle set in the ground with multicolored lights changing the water into bright colors.
"Wow." I said a little dazed. "It's beautiful."
"Would you like to get a closer look?" His eyes flashed mischievously, a devilish smirk formed on his face.
"Axel, don't you dare-" But my warning was cut off as I felt Axel push me.
I lost my balance, crying out before I became submerged in the cold water. When my head bobbed back up from under the water, I gasped for air. My teeth were chattering. I was fuming, but Axel was doubled over with laughter.
"Y- your face was priceless!" He wheezed out.
"Once I- I g- get warm, I-I'm going to ki- kill you!" I shivered in the water.
"Aw, you know you couldn't live without me, Angel Eyes."
I rolled my eyes, but they widened when I saw him pulling down his sweatpants, leaving him only in his boxers. He winked at me before running full speed at the pool.
I flinched, ducking my head to the side as a wave of water crashed into my face. When I opened my eyes, I watched Axel's head loom up out of the water directly in front of me. He smirked up at me, and he then proceeded to shake his hair out. An annoyed noise escaped my throat; I shoved at his chest lightly.
"You're such a pain." I huffed.
"That hurts, Angel Eyes- right here." He mockingly pouted, pointing at his chest.
"Whatever."
I swished my arms back in forth in the water to keep me afloat. After a few minutes the water finally went from being freezing cold to room temperature. Slowly my arms started becoming tired, and I felt as if the wet shirt sticking to my body was threatening to drag me under the water. I considered taking it off; I flushed at the thought.
Axel did that weird thing again where he could read my thoughts. He rolled his eyes at me. "Oh c'mon, it's nothing I haven't already seen before."
My cheeks were practically burning at this point, but I pulled the shirt over my head anyway. I balled it in my hands and threw it over to the ground. I tried ducking my chest as much as I could under the water, so he couldn't check out my purple and black polka-dotted bra. He rolled his eyes again, ducking into the water.
I suddenly felt hands gripping my waist and pulling me through the water. I squealed trying to squirm away. Axel's face reappeared within seconds, smirking at me.
"Axel West! Let me go this instant!" I banged my fists against his shoulders.
He did as told, but he shook his head with a chuckle. "You're a lot more fun when you're drunk. You really need to loosen up a bit."
"How's this for loosening up?" I splashed some of the pool's water in his face. I giggled as he scrunched up his face.
"Better," He said, wiping the moisture from his face. "But you're not quite there yet."
"Oh, really?"
"Really." He smacked his hands down on the surface of the water, causing me to get drenched.
Soon water was going everywhere as we went around in circles splashing each other. Our laughter filling the air, bounced off the walls inside of the room. I started to fall into him, I was laughing so hard. He held me by my hips, and I splayed my hands against his chest as I continued to chuckle. I felt his amusement vibrate through his chest. I looked up into his blue eyes.
He stared back, and the laughter died on both of our lips. Suddenly I was very aware of our close proximity, and the tiny circles Axel was drawing on my hip bones with his thumbs, and how his chest was hot against my fingers. He leaned in and closed the space between us, capturing my lips against his. On their own accord, my arms slid up his chest to wrap around his neck.
The kiss started out slow as if he wanted to make the moment last, but his lips started to move against mine more urgently. He was kissing me as if I was the air he desperately needed, and I kissed him back like I could give him that oxygen.
His hands gripped the back of my thighs urging me to jump. I obliged, wrapping my legs around his waist. He walked backwards- not once breaking the kiss- until I was wedged in between him and the edge of the pool. When I pulled back I gasped in some much needed air.
"Th- this doesn't mean anything." My voice sounded thin to my own ears.
"Uhm, whatever you say, Angel Eyes." He said distractedly, nodding his head.
I was about to tell him I was being serious when he started to work his lips against the nape of my neck. All of the nerves in my body felt like they were being shot through with a bolt of electricity. He nibbled lightly at my sensitive skin; I moaned, my fingers curling around his hair like I wanted them to this morning. I tugged on his wet locks slightly.
"Angel Eyes." He groaned into my neck. When he brought his face back to mine, I saw his pupils dilated with lust. "You're too damn sexy for your own good."
I felt myself flush for what seemed like the thousandth time today. He kissed me again, making me melt in his arms. This time the kiss wasn't as urgent as before, but it was still filled with passion, leaving us both breathless when we pulled apart.
He leaned his forehead against mine while we took in some much needed breaths. I couldn't look away from his luminous eyes.
"Now that's what I call loosening up." Axel smirked and chuckled when I halfheartedly swatted his chest.
******
I walked through my front door; I leant my back against it after I closed it, smiling. I was wearing my dress from last night with Axel's leather jacket thrown over my shoulders. My semi-damp hair hung down in tangles. I bit my lip and laughed ruefully to myself. I was brought out of my daze, however, when I heard a hissing voice in front of me.
"Where have you been?!" Tyler had his arms crossed over his chest. "I've been calling you all day!"
"I was at Axel's, and my phone's broken. Geez, don't strain yourself." I grumbled, noticing the vein bulging from his neck.
"There's something you ne- wait. You were at Axel's all night? God, Rebecca!" He raked a hand through his already disheveled hair.
I felt his unspoken accusation like a slap.
"You really think I would actually sleep with him?" He looked at me with distraught eyes. "You think I would do that?"
"Honestly, I have no idea what you would or wouldn't do at this point!" He snapped.
I felt my eyes burn, but I clenched my jaw stubbornly. "Well, guess what I'm getting ready to do right now. Hint, it's called walking away from this conversation."
I turned on my heel, but Tyler stopped me. "Rebecca, wait-"
"What?!"
"Mom and Dad are home." His eyes bored into mine gravely. "They want to speak with you."