Chapter Six
I didn’t have enough time in the subsequent weeks to really think about all the implications of that day. After we had finished our breakfast, we had joined our families in the hotel lobby to say our final goodbyes. Then, it was back to reality and to work for me. Chris and I finished up the advertising for his book just in time for the release. Of course, his book was a huge hit and we ended up having to schedule appearances and book signings. As his editor, I made sure to plan and attend every event because I wanted to assure that everything went smoothly. Not because I wanted to make sure he saw me support him. Not at all…
It was after one of the book signings that I found myself talking to a bookstore manager about my rising star. “I think that you need to think bigger when it comes to him,” he told me boldly.
“I can assure you, good sir, that we are thinking quite big when it comes to Mr. Rollins. He’s been very busy promoting his book which has been selling out in all locations. I don’t understand how much bigger you want me to think about him.” I tried really hard not to roll my eyes at this man’s audacity.
“Look, it’s very rare for a dominant alpha to be such a successful writer,” the man told me in explanation. “I think you should be monopolizing on that part of his image. He’s the soft alpha, the nurturing alpha. You can do so much with it.”
I balked at this. “His image is perfect as it is, I can assure you. I think that focusing on his genetics would take away from the book we are promoting. I understand promoting him alongside of the book, but we are more in the business of selling his book than of selling him.”
The bookstore manager looked at me like I had grown a second head. “What if this book becomes a movie?”
I shrugged. “Then, it becomes a movie. I don’t see what that has to do with Mr. Rollin’s status as a dominant alpha.”
The man before me sighed so heavily you would have thought I had just told him that someone had killed his dog. “I get that you don’t understand because you’re not a dominant alpha, but you should at least have some pride as an alpha. You need to be capitalizing on this.”
I felt the anger swell inside me. I clenched my jaw to stop myself from saying something I would surely regret. That’s when I felt someone come up beside me. “What has the two of you so tense?” I heard my best friend ask. “I thought today’s event was a success.”
I looked over at him and found myself instantly calming down. “Oh, you’re right, Mr. Rollins. Today was a huge success. We were just having a difference of opinions about the direction of your book.”
Chris smiled at me. Something told me he actually had heard what I had been discussing with the bookstore manager. He looked over at the other man and raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t voice your opinions about this book to my editor.” He told the man in a conspiring tone. “He gets really heated when you talk about the plot. He even fought with me about the ending.”
I raised my hands incredulously. “You can’t just leave all of us on a cliffhanger and expect me to be happy about it!”
I heard a laugh and looked over at the manager who was giving us a weird look. “Oh my, I am so sorry for the discussion we just had. I didn’t know that you were so… close… to your author. I would not have brought it up had I known.” He then walked away to speak to someone else on the bookstore staff.
I turned to Chris with my own eyebrows raised. “What do you suppose that’s supposed to mean?”
Chris shrugged. “I think your guess is as good as mine. But, it seems like everyone is commenting on how close we are lately.”
I nodded. “It’s almost like they think it’s weird that two alphas are friends.”
Chris gave me a mysterious smile. Before I could ask him what was on his mind he asked, “So, are you ready to clean everything up and go home? I’m starving and want to go to your place to eat.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “So subtle… What do you want me to cook for you?”
He took my hand and led me back to where we had held the book signing. “Hmm… I think I would love some pasta today.”
We got to work gathering all of our stuff and the promotional items that we no longer needed. I got into my head thinking about the argument I had just had with the store manager. It bothered me that he wanted to make a big deal about Chris being a dominant, and I didn’t know why it bothered me so much. I wasn’t paying attention and I bumped into something solid. I felt myself falling backwards, but before I could react, arms were around my waist holding me up. I looked up and my face was mere inches away from Chris’s.
I blushed. “Oh, sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.”
Chris laughed. I could feel it from his chest to mine. I placed my hands on his chest and tried to pull away. He held me tighter. “Maybe this is how close everyone thinks we are.” Then, before I could ask what he meant, I felt his lips brush against mine and my heart stopped completely.
My mind went completely blank and I tried to push away from him again. He pushed deeper into the kiss and licked my lips. I tried to say something (and I don’t even know what I was going to say), but he took that opportunity to slip his tongue into my mouth and I could not muster the brain cells to complain. I leaned into his kiss and finally began to kiss him back. When he finally released me, I couldn’t look in his eyes. I gathered the rest of my stuff and said, “I think that’s everything. Let’s go.”
Chris held my hand the whole way home. I didn’t know what it meant to him, what any of it meant, and I was scared to ask for clarification. I realized that we would be home alone and my heart skipped a beat. I feared that my heart would develop issues from how many times it was skipping a beat that day.
I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t hear the driver tell us that we had just arrived. I looked out the window in surprise, the ride had gone by way too fast and I wasn’t ready to go home. Chris got out of the car first and held the door open for me. I got out and avoided looking at him. The blush on my cheeks made it obvious what I was thinking about.
When we got into my apartment, I took off my suit jacket and hung it up in my coat closet. I could hear Chris doing the same thing. I hurried over to my kitchen to begin cooking our meal. I was chopping up an onion when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist. I looked up to see Chris leaning down and suddenly I felt his lips on mine again. He pressed my lips with his for just three seconds, but it felt like ten minutes. He then stepped to the side to stand next to me and started to chop the tomatoes. My mind began running a mile a minute. What does this mean? I asked myself. I was still too scared to ask Chris what all of this meant.
Once the onion was chopped, I got out my favorite skillet and poured the chopped onion in. I then began cooking that up. Chris came over and poured the chopped tomatoes in. He stood next to me with his arm around my waist as I stirred the vegetables and began putting the seasonings in. When it was time to add some spinach, I turned and ended up turning right into his arms. By mistake, totally by mistake.
I heard a small laugh escape Chris at the look of surprise on my face. Before I could try to get out of his arms, he leaned in to kiss me again. My heart could not handle how often my best friend was making it race. I felt the fluttering in my chest and in my stomach. Chris deepened the kiss this time and I felt his tongue make its way into my mouth for the second time that day. I leaned into his kiss, loving the feel of his arms around me, the taste of his tongue, the smell of his… hm, did he change his cologne?
After I was thoroughly kissed, Chris released me so I could get the spinach from the fridge. I was in a daze for the rest of the cooking process. He helped me the whole time while stealing kisses and touching me randomly. My heart was in a constant frenzy with each touch and kiss, and every time I smelled his cologne I felt a warmth pool within my stomach.
While we were eating at my table, Chris kept his hand on my thigh. Every now and then, I would feel him either squeeze it gently or run his fingers from my knee to my hip. He kept my blood rushing and my heart racing. I don’t know how I was able to finish my meal with how crazy he was making me, but I did end up finishing it (and chugging my glass of wine).
After I cleaned up the table, I wondered what was going to happen next. Obviously, I know what would normally happen in books or movies, but I didn’t think I was ready for that yet. I took a deep breath, ready to confront Chris about moving too fast when I was swept up into a deep kiss for the third time that night. I almost forgot that I had wanted to slow things down because it felt too good to be kissing him. When I pushed away to gasp for breath, he kissed my forehead, bade me good night, and left my apartment.
I stood in the middle of my kitchen staring at my door in surprise. “What the hell is going on here?” I asked the empty room.
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