Page 40 of Tell Me Everything
“Me neither,” Alex admitted with a smile. “I discover a lot of new sides of myself when you're around.”
Chapter 17
Elena
A too-sweet show was on TV, but neither Alex nor I had the courage to change it. Alex sighed.
“These cliché movies are ridiculous. And let's not even talk about the stupid nicknames they give each other.”
“Some of them are cute.”
It was true that some couples’ nicknames were really ridiculous. Those like “my love” or “darling”, I found rather endearing. Alex gave me a sidelong glance. He wassojudging me.
“I can call you my little Snuggle Bug if you like.”
I laughed. Sometimes I wondered where he got his weird ideas from, no matter how entertaining they were. “Are you serious?”
“Perhaps you preferMoon of my life?”
I watched him in silence. It was indeed a nickname I'd prefer to “honey bunny” or some other vomit-inducing nonsense.
Alex frowned at my lack of response. “You don't have the reference...”
For a brief moment, I wondered. Did I really want to come across as such a nerd? This was Alex. As much as I wanted to impress him, he already knew me too well. So I decided to play along. Even though I was going to look like the biggest geek of all time. To hell with my dignity. “Shekh ma shieraki anni.”
Alex let out a cry of victory. I burst out laughing, seeing him so proud. It was only aGame of Thronesline, but his eyes sparkled with pleasure.
“I knew it. You are the woman of my life!”
My mouth fell agape. Someone had to tell him not to playwith my heartstrings like that. Alex rolled his eyes at the look on my face, a childish smile on his lips.
“Don't take it so seriously. I was only joking.”
If only you really meant it...Instead of continuing to watch the show that was on, Alex put on the first season ofGame of Thrones. After a few episodes, my eyelids grew heavy. I rested my head against his chest and inhaled his perfume. His scent had become so familiar that it enveloped me in a cocoon. Alex put his arms around my shoulders to pull me closer. At times like this, I felt like I was right where I belonged. The show long forgotten, I closed my eyes and drifted off.
Suddenly, Alex's heartbeat spiked, and he tensed up like a bow. I moved back to see what was happening, but Alex was already standing up. His gaze resembled that of a wild animal, making my own heart rate climb.
What was happening to him? “Are you okay?”
Staring into space, he didn’t hear me. The moment I touched his arm, he snapped out of his trance and took a step back, putting as much distance between us as possible.
“Alex, what’s wrong?”
“I just remembered I have something urgent to do. I’ll call you later.”
Without giving me time to answer, Alex grabbed his coat and in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
***
In full panic mode, I spent my time pacing back and forth in my room. Why was it that every time things were going well between us, Alex slipped through my fingers? Did I expect too much from him? Maybe our kiss had scared him off? Maybe he thought I was too clingy? Too dependent? The more I thought about it, the more I was overwhelmed by scenarios, each morenegative than the last. And Alex hadn't returned my calls since he'd left that afternoon, which only added to my poor mental state. I couldn't stand being in the dark any longer, so I called his sister.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it's Lena. Can you do me a favour?”
“Sure?”
“Tell your brother to answer my calls, or I'll gut him.”
