Page 33 of The Biker and the Gamer
Though it’s not something I would’ve worried about anyway. I feel safest when I’m here.
“Good thing we’re walled and gated all around. You’ve got enough land space to build an amusement park,” I say, shrugging it off.
“It’s less about safety and more about cold and night dew,” she says. “Anyway, I brought breakfast for two.”
As I start to speak, she holds up her hand. “Yes, I know I didn’t have to, and yes I’m going to keep bringing you breakfast in the mornings. Deal with it.” She walks out the doors and wiggles her fingers. “Enjoy!”
Shaking my head, I watch her go. The sting from a slap on my ass makes me jump and I whip around to glare at Alec, but he’s already moving around me, beelining for Leyana’s hotel-style food trolley which is parked next to the table.
“I don’t know about you,” he says as he begins transferring the trays of food to the table, “but I’m starving.”
To humiliate me, clearly on Team Alec, my stomach growls. At the obnoxious rumble, Alec glances up at me, humor dancing in his eyes. I stab a warning finger at him. “Not a word.”
In response, he stuffs a piece of croissant into his mouth.
I pad over to the table and plop down.
As Alec pours milk into his coffee, he asks, “Does she always go all out like this, or is it because I’m here?”
I survey the table. Egg muffins, avocado slices, bagels, sliced ham and sausages, baked beans, mushrooms, cream cheese, croissants, cucumber salad, a big bowl of fruit salad, a jug of orange juice, coffee and various teabag selections. “Nope. It’s always like this.”
He doesn’t seem to believe me. “So she just up and cooks like this every morning? Is she into catering or something?”
“Dunno.” I shrug. “Maybe she enjoys it. Maybe this is her yoga, her ‘calm’. Better than spending hours in front of the TV playing stupid video games.”
He gives me a look that reads,low blow. “Fair enough.” He forks a slice of avocado. “Is her friendship for sale? Wouldn’t mind having a friend who brings me five-star style meals every morning.”
“Back off,” I warn, pointing my butter knife at him. “She’s mine.”
As I’m buttering cream cheese onto a bagel, he mumbles around a mouthful of food, “You surprised me with this place. It doesn’t match your personality.”
“It doesn’t.” I bite into my bagel. “I’ve only been here a few months. And it was sort of an emergency rental. Moved here for security, really. With the state of mind I was in, aesthetics wasn’t even a factor.”
He pauses to look at me. “Did something happen?”
I jerk one shoulder up to my ear and bite into my bagel again, doing my best not to be affected by the memory. “I shot a guy.”
His eyebrows shot up. “What?”
“He broke into my apartment. To rob me and God knows what else. Saw a knife in his hand. That was all it took to turn on my self-defence mode.”
“And…youshothim?”
“Yeah.”
“Did he d—”
“No. He survived. Barely.” I curl my toes tightly to keep myself grounded, fighting back.No more panic attacks. No more panic attacks.I should be able to talk about this without sweating and trembling, goddammit.
Alec abruptly sets his fork down. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I just—” I drop my bagel and curl my fingers into fists on the table as cold shivers rush through my body and I suddenly feel as if I’m falling backward, into an abyss.
Alec is out of his chair and beside me in a blink. He pulls me up and yanks me to him, squeezing me tight. Tighter. And tighter. As if he’s trying to squeeze it out of me. As if he’s trying to make my body one with his. As if he’s trying to absorb all the awful feelings from me…
And guess what? The tremors begin to dissipate. My heart rate begins to slow. My body begins to warm... And slowly, slowly, for as long as he holds me, I begin to feelhereagain. Grounded.
He doesn’t speak. He just holds me. Tight, firm, and unwavering.
