Page 37 of Dangerous Curves

I open one and find it pitch black. Jaxx must have black out curtains or something. After searching for my phone I turn on the flashlight and scan the area. Clothes are thrown everywhere. Slowly, I make my way towards the bed however when my flashlight sweeps over it my blood turns cold. Jaxx is lying on his stomach, naked next to Poppy who also seems to have no clothes. Every emotion possible runs through my body in a flash. I don’t even have time to process one of them before my eyes begin to burn. How could he do this?

Without a word, I turn around and rush out of the house and back to my car. The tears are running freely by the time I hit the staircase. When I reach the car, everything is one big blur. I drive half blind to the only place I know to go with my broken heart.

Thirty-Three

Jaxx

I have no clue what time it is or how long I’ve been asleep by the time I start to wake up. I’m in that state of not being fully awake, but just awake enough to move around a little. It’s amazing how much you can miss your own bed. My back is aching from being in the same position for so long so I decide to roll over and I’m welcomed by an unexpected warmth. Kenndrix. I reach out and wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me. Damn it, I hate that I missed her when she got here but like we always say I sleep like a dead person. I bury my nose in her hair, but when I breathe her in something is wrong.

My eyes fly open because the scent is familiar but it’s nothing like Kenndrix. I quickly scurry out of bed as she groans and mumbles something in Portuguese. Everything stops in my body at the sound of her voice. No air enters my lungs, my heart stops beating and my head swims with confusion. How in the hell is Poppy in my bed right now? She doesn’t have a key or the security code and I sure as hell didn’t let her in. Then it dawns on me…Rome.

I grab my phone and run out of my bedroom, dialing Rome as I do. He finally picks up on the third call. “What the hell, man? I’m working here.”

“Did you let Poppy into the house last night?”

There is a beat of silence on his end of the line. My blood is pumping so hard I can barely hear beyond it. “Well, yeah. She showed up as I was getting ready to leave. Actually, I was in the middle of loading up and I recognized her. I told her you were upstairs, asleep. She made herself at home. Is everything okay?”

I pinch the bridge of my nose and try to calm my body and emotions. “Yeah, it’s just she shouldn’t be here. She was supposed to still be in Brazil. I was going to reach out and end our arrangement today.”

“Why? I thought it worked for you,” Rome’s tone is clearly confused, and even a little guilty.

“It did, but over the weekend when I was in New York City Kenndrix and I finally got our second chance.” At the mention of her name, another wave of worry hits me. She’s not here and she was supposed to be. “Rome, I have to go.” I hang up without another word to him and dial Kenndrix’s phone. “The number you are dialing is not available,” it tells me. I try three more times and get the same message. I hurl my phone at the wall in the hallway. If she showed up and saw Poppy then I can only imagine what she’s thinking right now.

I rush back into the bedroom and open all the blinds. Poppy stirs, groans and curses at me under her breath. “What is your problem?” she asks.

As I move around the room, I collect her clothes and toss them at her as she sits up. "You need to get dressed and get the hell out of my house. You have no right to be here uninvited.”

“Excuse me? I’m your girlfriend,” she says, her accent coming through clearer the angrier she gets.

I stop and turn to her as I pull on a shirt. “No you’re not and I’m not your boyfriend. We were friends with benefits at the best, but it’s done. It has to be.”

Poppy stands up. Anger clear on her face as she glares at me. Her hands rest on her hips, her clothes still lying on the bed in a discarded heap. If she thinks she is going to change my mind by her brazen display, she’s wrong. “Are you actually trying to break up with me?”

“It’s not really a break up Poppy. It’s ending an agreement,” I tell her, as I pull on my shoes. “So, please get dressed and just leave.”

Poppy huffs, but finally gets dressed. When she’s done she saunters over to me. “You don’t know what you’re missing. It’s your loss.” She grabs her phone, probably ordering an Uber and heads downstairs.

After a few minutes, I hear the front door open and close. I’m at the top of my stairs, just moments after Poppy left when my doorbell rings out through the house. I rush down the stairs, my heart in my throat, praying with every step that it’s Kenndrix. However, when I open the door I’m met with the angry glare of Ace. I’ve seen my best friend be angry before but it’s never been directed at me until now. “Please tell me that I didn’t just see what I saw.” His jaw ticks.

“What did you just see?”

Ace’s eyes slant even more, as if that’s possible. “Poppy, doing the walk of shame after you apparently spent the past few days with Kenndrix.”

“Okay, you saw something that looked like that but it wasn’t that. Rome let her in and I was already asleep. I just woke up and kicked her out. I need to go, though,” I explain.

Ace studies me for a moment. Whatever he sees, he must believe because his glare lets up and my best friend returns. “Where do you need to go?”

“I have to go find Kenndrix. I’m praying she just fell asleep like me and didn’t witness Poppy here and what it looked like. I need to explain.” I step around Ace and jog to my garage. I need my bike. It’s the quickest option.

“Jaxx,” Ace calls out. Damn it, he needs to stop interrupting me. I turn around and he’s already crossing my circle driveway towards me. Once he’s close enough, he holds up a key. “It’s too late. She left our house just before I came here. She asked me to give you this.”

My heart sinks and I shake my head. This isn’t happening. Ace pulls me in for a hug which says a lot since he doesn’t do emotional gestures. This is bad, so bad. “Where did she go?”

Ace shrugs. “I honestly don’t know. She just told us she was leaving for a bit but she’d be back in time for Kynlee to have the baby.”

“How do I fix this?” I ask him. My voice sounds like begging and I hate that.

“I don’t have an answer for that one either. I guess give her time until she gets back.”

---