Chapter 25
Drew
I sat in a pair of boxers with a beer in hand watching the game when someone knocked on the door. I ignored it. After what went down with Cici I wasn't in the mood for company at all. I just wanted to get drunk and ignore life for a while. So when the knocking continued, I turned the TV up. Maybe if I just drowned it out, I wouldn't feel bothered by whoever it was and want to pummel them until their brains leaked out their nostrils.
"Drew, I know you're in there. I can hear the TV. Answer the door."
The voice stopped me in my tracks, even as I held the remote up to continue pushing the volume louder. It was her--here to see me at my own house. But why? She'd made it painfully clear she was done, and while there was still a fire in me to never say die and chase her down, I was at a low point.
Still, when she called my name again, I scrambled. I shut the TV off and grabbed my pair of shorts, strewn over the end of my couch. The place was savage, looking like a tornado had ripped through and left empty pizza boxes and beer bottles in its wake. I'd sent the maid away three times, just to be alone, and the apartment was evidence of my depression. I didn't care. She was here and I was being given a gift from the heavens. I raced to the door and jerked it open.
"Drew..." Cici stood with her lower lip worried between her teeth and her dark green jacked draped over her arm. Her eyes looked me up and down and she said, "Can I come in?"
"Uh, yeah, yes... Uh, come in," I told her, stepping to the side. She walked past me smoothly, her eyes scanning my messy bachelor pad. "Fuck, I'm sorry." My cheeks burned as I raced around, picking up the more grotesque things I'd left lying, like a plate with a half-eaten, moldy crust and a near-empty dipping sauce container on it.
She sighed, probably totally turned off by my filth, and I winced at her frown. If I'd have known she was coming this place would've been spotless, draped in roses and diamonds and ready for her. But I had no clue. I thought she had sent me packing for good.
"Can you stop?" she asked, but my brain was frazzled. I swept around the room snatching up my dirty laundry and panicking. It was the only distraction I had from the way I felt. Overwhelmed. I'd never felt this way about anyone in my life. For a while I thought I was incapable of it, like a fucking sociopath or something, but here I was helplessly in love with her, and I didn't know why she was here.
"Drew!"
I froze, arms loaded with my belongings and staring at her with eyes wide open. "I'm sorry."
"Can I talk?" she asked, and then she set her purse and jacket down on the leather recliner near the door. I swallowed hard and put the armload of things I had in hand onto my dining table and gestured at the couch.
Cici grimaced as she sat down, perching on the edge as if afraid something would crawl out of my sofa and bite her. I wouldn't be surprised if I had a rodent or two now that I'd really let things go. I sank into the cushion beside her and sighed, then ran a hand through my hair.
"I know what you're going to say. Why you're here..."
"You do?" she asked and chuckled. "I don't think so."
I met her gaze as her lips curled into a smile. "Drew, thank you for the flowers. When you left I had a good think..."
God she was so fucking beautiful. She really took my breath way when she smiled, and I had been so foolish to never appreciate that. I slid off the couch and dropped to my knees, crawling the few inches between myself and her and taking her hands.
"Cici, I will literally grovel until I suffocate, walk across hot coals, whatever it takes. You have to believe me when I say I'm sorry and I love you."
She bristled as I said the word love, but she didn't pull away. She pressed her eyes shut, then rolled her lips together and licked them, then opened her eyes and looked at me.
"I think you're the most irritating and infuriating man I've ever met. You've mocked me, bossed me around, made fun of me, pranked me, and broke my heart." I saw tears welling up in her eyes and felt like the biggest asshole on the planet.
"But..." I said, hoping there was really a but in there. That she wasn't just here to rub my face in it.
"But, I love you, Drew. I have for a very long time. I can't stay mad at you. I can't get you out of my head, and my god, that sex in the cabin was incredible and--"
I never let her finish her words. I had to dive in and kiss her before she changed her mind. My hands gripped each side of her head as I pulled her in and covered her mouth with mine. Our tongues twirled together in a feverish dance, and I fought back tears. She was here, and she told me she loved me, and nothing could ever keep me away from her again. I pulled back slightly, "I'll never hurt you again, I swear. I've learned my lesson. No more pranks, no more mocking, just Drew 2.0. If you'll have me, of course."
She smiled and looked at me with the same fire I'd seen in that cabin when she tried to keep me out of that bedroom. "Drew 2.0? Really? That sounds like an app update," she said with an eye roll and a chuckle.
"Yeah, the kind that comes with all new features and bug fixes," I joked, relieved the tension between us had dissipated. I pressed my lips to hers again, and this time she really kissed me back. Her hands rested on my shoulders, then slipped up into my hair, and I moved closer, nestling between her knees. The damn skirt kept her from really opening to me though, and I growled in frustration. I wanted her, to be inside of her, to make this thing permanent.
"We have a lot to talk about, but I'm sick of letting my brother get in my head and make me doubt myself." She sighed and rested her forehead on mine. "Drew, my heart is really fragile. I don't want to be hurt again. I'm not just a plaything you can toss away if you get bored. I really care about you, and I don't want to do this if you're not serious."