Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Alexis stared up at the ceiling wondering what she was doing. This was crazy, she had gone insane. What had she been thinking when she'd kissed Ray back last night? This was Raymond Lachlan. He was the quintessential annoying, bad boy, trust fund babies who did nothing but go from club to club partying and picking up women every night. All he needed were tattoos to complete his look. But he'd also said he was in love with you. No, he hadn't said that. His words were 'You can't be friends with someone you're in love with'. He never said that someone was her. So why had she kissed him?

"Oh Alexis, what did you do?" she groaned burying her face in her pillow. As if it wasn't enough that she'd dry humped him in the bar, she'd kissed him again when he had dropped her off. Marjorie had taken a cab with Henry claiming he needed someone to take care of him since he was so drunk which was bullshit seeing as she was the one who'd gotten him drunk. Alexis only hoped her friend knew what she was doing. So after calling a cab, Marj and Henry had sped away leaving her and Ray alone. He'd opened the passenger door for her then joked all the way home about how if she had any problems all she had to do was call him since he had a knack for solving them.

She had to admit that the idea Ray had given her was brilliant. Sticking it to Jerkface would feel good. She couldn't wait to see his face when he realized who she was and what she was going to do. Ray had even given her ideas on what to look for during her research, the client list being number one. Apparently, he wasn't as dumb as she thought he was. The ride home had been fun. When they arrived in front of her house, he'd told her goodnight without getting out of the car and her disappointment that he wasn't going to kiss her goodnight had been written all over her face. Their easy newfound camaraderie had come to an end. This was where they would go back to being enemies or whatever it was they were.

Reluctantly she'd told him goodnight and got out, dragging her feet towards the front door. She didn't know why she'd felt so bad considering how much she disliked him. Why would he change all of a sudden? She'd asked herself as she reached out to open the door but she'd was spun around and her back slammed on the wall beside it. Ray had gazed into her eyes with such blatant and raw emotion that her breath had caught in her throat.

"You're disappointed" he'd growled then cupped her face and kissed her senseless. It was hard to say who had moved first but suddenly her legs were around his waist and his hands under her shirt caressing her stomach. The action had driven her crazy because his mouth was so demanding, almost frantic, while his touch so gentle that she wouldn't have believed it was possible if she wasn't there. He took too long to reach her breasts so she'd thought he needed a little push. "Alexis" he'd warned when her hands had tried to reach under his shirt. The fact that he hadn't wanted her to touch him only made the need to do so multiply. Why should he do it then forbid her from returning the favor? She wanted to feel him too. Her hands had gotten as far as his neck before he'd pulled back, eyes blazing with lust. "I'm going to leave before I forget who you are and take you right here, against the wall."

"And who am I?" she'd asked out of curiosity. Not because she expected him to say something in the lines of 'the woman I love'. No. But his answer hadn't disappointed her either.

He'd said "My Princess", kissed her forehead while unwrapping her legs from his waist then left so fast that she hadn't had time to say anything else. And now she couldn't get the words 'My Princess' out of her head. Every time she thought about them, her stomach did this flip thingy that left her heart beating a wild frantic rhythm. For a brief second, she let herself wonder how it would be like to be with Ray. Would he always kiss her like that every time? Like he wanted to devour her whole? How would it be like to spend the night with him? One night?

Oh my God.

Alexis threw the covers off and jumped out of bed. If she spent one more minute in it thinking about Ray, she would definitely go nuts. What she needed to do was find someone to talk to. Since Marjorie wasn't around, her mother was the only one she could go to. After taking a shower, she headed to the kitchen. Her stuff was already packed and ready to go so she really didn't have to do anything else. She wondered how her apartment would look like. She hadn't had time to see it yet because she'd been so caught up with work and she only hoped her mother hadn't gone overboard. So much for decorating it yourself. She scoffed while entering the kitchen.

"Seriously you guys. Get a room" her parents were making out in the kitchen. Again. There was never a time they were in a room together and not trying to make out. It was annoying and disgusting and they'd all gotten used to it.

"Oh hey, honey. What do you want for breakfast?"

"I'll just have a cup of coffee. The alcohol I consumed last night is making my stomach queasy." it was a lie. Alcohol had nothing to do with how her stomach kept acting up. She hadn't even touched a drop of it.

"Is it that bad? Can I get you something for it?"

"No. It's okay, I'll survive" she said looking at her father. He hadn't said a word which was really weird. Normally he'd start his lecture about the dangers of taking too much alcohol when she complained or had a hangover. "Morning dad"

"Morning"

"What is up with him?"

"Nothing. JR?"

"I'm fine"

Alexis raised her eyebrows but said nothing. If something was bothering him, he'd fess up sooner or later. "Can we talk?" she asked her mother who was nodding before she finished the sentence.

"Yeah. What about?"

"Alone?"

"I'm not leaving. I wanna know what this is about too" great. Knowing him, she didn't beat around the bush. She blurted out

"I kissed a boy last night. Well, it was more like we made out.... "

"Fine. I'll leave" JR grumbled walking out just like she knew he would. There is no way he was going to stand there and listen to her talk about kissing a guy. He dragged her mother with him, using her as a shield and that's when it hit her. She remembered how hard Ray had been under her then chocked on the coffee she'd sipped thinking her dad was having the same problem.

"Are you okay?" her mother was behind her patting her back until she stopped coughing.

"You guys seriously need to keep your bedroom affairs in the bedroom"

"Oh. So you saw through that. Huh?"

"It's disgusting mom. I hate to think what I would've walked in on had I taken ten more minutes to get ready"

"In our defense, we thought we were alone. Your grandmother took your brothers out and you were asleep. But next time we'll lock the door" Alexis heard what she hadn't said. 'We won't stop doing what we want wherever we want to buy we'll lock the doors so no one would walk in on them'

"Thank God I'm moving out"

"So? Who was the boy? Do I know him?"

Don't tell her. She'll overreact. "It was Ray"

"Ray? Which Ray?" her mother asked pretending she didn't know who they were talking about but Alexis could see through that too.

"Don't act like you don't know I'm talking about Raymond Lachlan"

"Our Ray?"

She snapped "He's not ours" He's mine. Shit. Since when?

"Okay. But I thought you two didn't like each other?"

"I thought so too."

"Why kiss him then? And stop being snappy at me when I am the one who's left my needy husband to talk. Tell me what happened. What changed?"

She sighed lowering the cup down to the table. "I honestly don't know. I was at the bar with Marjorie and all of a sudden he was there asking what was wrong. I hadn't even realized he was there. And his eyes mom, they were pleading with me as if seeing me sad made him sad too. I guess that's why I trusted him. So I told him everything, he gave me a solution, I hugged him because I was happy then all of a sudden I was in his arms."

"Is he a good kisser?"

"Fantastic kisser. We just.... It felt right being in his arms. Too right" how that was even possible was beyond her. She'd spent so much not liking him that it was weird anything between them would feel right.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Considering we've hated each other for so long?"

Hayley studied her. "Have you heard of the saying 'there's a thin line between love and hate?"

"Are you saying I'm in love with Ray?"

She shook her head "No. I'm saying that it's easy to cross that line. Lovers make the worst enemies and enemies make the best lovers."

"So what you're saying is that if I happened to fall in love with Ray, we'd be... What? Good together?"

"Exactly. If you're having trouble with how you feel, take a pen and paper and write down what you hate about him. Then see if it's something you can learn to like."

"That doesn't even make sense"

"It does. If you love someone you take them as they are. Good and bad because that's what makes them, them."

"Seriously?"

"Yap. Gotta go. Your boyfriend's here"

"He's not my boyfriend," she said then realized her mother had said he was there. Alexis spun around so fast that her hair knocked over the cup of coffee she had been drinking but she didn't care about that. Ray was leaning against the door with a small smile on his face. Her mother rushed out warning her not to break all of her dishes then they were alone. Pushing himself off the wall, he walked towards her slowly. Seeing him in the daylight after what had happened yesterday forced her to think about what her mother had said.

At that moment she asked herself what she disliked about him. Aside from his habit of always trying to annoy her, she couldn't come up with anything else. So she switched to what she did like about him. His lips were on top of that list. Then there was his body and eyes, hair, hands. Funny how she hadn't noticed that his eyes were brown with a speck of gold in them. Or how much he looked like his father. Did he inherit anything from his mother? His nose maybe? No. That was Vince's. It had to be his smile. The one that was currently aimed at her.

"Hi" he whispered after stopping in front of her. How could so much change after only one night?

"Hi?" awesome. Now she sounded like a frog.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Mmm," that was better than sounding like a frog.

"I brought you something" and suddenly there were flowers in her face. The space between them wasn't that much and he had to take a step back so they would fit. They were Roses. Lots of them.

"They're beautiful"

"Not nearly as beautiful as you are," he said placing them on the counter top then moved in between her legs. The thought of kissing him again made her heart beat with anticipation. She watched as his eyes swept over her face as if memorizing every inch of it then he leaned in, slowly. Her breathing was short and heavy as he came closer and closer. Her eyes slid shut on their own waiting for him to seal their lips together but at the last minute, she felt him move aside. Her eyes flew open just as she realized he was righting the cup she'd knocked over.

"Your mother said I should help you move because she's busy today"

Yeah. Busy getting laid....

Alexis slapped her hand over her mouth. Jesus, she hoped she hadn't said that out loud. "What? What's wrong? Are you getting sick?"

"Huh?" she asked puzzled.

"The hand over your mouth. Are you going to throw up?"

"Ah no. I'm fine. Let's go, my stuff is already packed. All we have to do is load them up"

"Are you taking everything?"

"Not really."

"Oh thank God" he sighed making her stop to look back at him. "Don't get me wrong, I have no problem helping you. It's just that I've seen Jasmine pack for two days away."

Deciding to let it go, she continued her way up the stairs. No need to tell him that they probably needed a truck or maybe two so her things would fit. And those were the things she needed alone. She would have to come back for the rest another day.

Throwing the door open, she headed straight to her closet. The sooner they could start, the sooner they could finish. She'd taken two steps when hands had grabbed her waist and in the next second, she was flying in the air before she landed on her bed bouncing off the mattress with a shriek. "Ray..." that is all she'd managed to get out before he covered her body with his.

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My question is whether we should continue with this make out sesh or just skip it altogether.