I am shocked to find the house in complete darkness when I enter. Odd. I wonder if Hannah turned them off. I reach for the light switch beside the door and flip it. Instantly, the room is flooded with bright light, and I see Xavier sitting in the chair facing me.

"Come and sit, Candy.", he says, his voice calm and emotionless. "We have a lot of things to talk about.

I move to take a seat in an arm chair opposite him, wondering why he is home so early. Work usually closes at about 5 or 6, so it's a shock to find him here. I also notice that, for the first time since I've know him, he is not wearing a suit - instead, he's in a pair of black pants and a white t-shirt which shows off his beautifully sculpted muscles. He waits until I am comfortably seated before he speaks.

"What were you doing with my brother?", he asks. Instantly, my face heats up with guilt. Is it possible that he knows about the kiss? I search his face for clues, but he is devoid of any emotion.

"He picked me up from school and took me for lunch. I tried calling you but your line was busy." I gave him a pointed look.

"I thought that I had warned you before that you were not to have contact with him", Xavier says, and I notice the hint of irritation in his tone. Despite myself however, I get angry.

"You don't have the right to dictate to me who I can have contact with", I state defiantly.

"Yes, I do", Xavier said, his tone still calm. "You're mine, and frankly, I don't like to share."

My ears perk up at his words. You're mine.

"I don't understand. How am I yours if we aren't dating?", I ask, confused.

Xavier rubs his temples exasperatedly. "Must we go over this again? Just don't go near Asher again. That's my last word on the issue."

"You don't own me, Xavier, and if I want to hang out with Asher, then I will."

"Why are you so difficult?", Xavier yells, walking towards me, and I shrink back, my hand covering my face.

Xavier stepped back, shock etched in his features. "You though I was going to hit you?", he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

I don't say anything. Xavier picks me up and hugs me, placing a peck on my lips. "I am so sorry baby. Believe me, I would never hit you", he murmurs softly.

When I kiss him back, he looks relieved. He drops me back on my feet, and runs his hand through his dark lovely hair.

"You change me you know", he says, almost as if talking to himself. "You make me feel things that I've never felt before. I'm a different person when I'm with you. You make me wish that I wasn't so messed up. I want to be a better person for you."

His confession moves me. I stand on my tiptoes and peck him on the lips. "You are a very nice person when you're with me. I love... being with you". I almost said I love you

"I love being with you too, baby,", he says, hugging me against his chest.

I want to tell him that I kissed Asher, but I just got him to calm down and I'm afraid that if he finds out, he'll go ballistic. Yes, I'm a coward.

Xavier takes my hand and looks into my eyes. "I know I hurt you today, when I said that we were just friends with benefits, and I want to apologize. You mean way more to me than just a friend with benefits."

I smile at him, a smile that means that all is forgiven.

"So, would you like to eat something?", Xavier asks.

"What do you have in mind?", I say curiously.

"I'm thinking of preparing my special pasta dish for you", he winks at me.

He can cook?

"Yes babe, in addition to my numerous talents, I can cook", he says, while flexing his muscles. I roll my eyes at him, glad that he is in such a playful mood.

"Don't you dare roll your eyes at me Candy Greene", he orders, making me roll my eyes again.

"You asked for it", he strides towards me, throwing me over his shoulders as I scream with laughter, yelling for him to put me down. He ignores my protests, carrying me like a ragdoll to the kitchen where he lowers me carefully onto one of the kitchen counters.

"Now you'll stay there and watch the master at work", he says with a smile, as he begins riffling through the cupboard for onions and spices to make the sauce. Within a few seconds, a simply heavenly smell has filled the kitchen, and I can't help but sniff expectantly. Xavier laughs as he looks at me, before taking a spoon to scoop up some sauce, bringing it to my mouth so that I can taste it. I take a little lick and it's so good that I moan in pleasure.

"Do you like it?", Xavier asks, smiling, and I nod.

"It's the best thing that I've ever tasted", I reply. "Where did you learn to cook?"

Xavier's face darkens for a moment. "My parents were never around to prepare my meals for me. It was either I learned to cook on my own, or I starved. Simple as that."

I stare at him, my mind picturing the image of a young boy cooking for himself because his parents weren't around to do so for him. What else has Xavier gone through in his childhood?

Xavier seems to notice my train of thoughts. "Don't pity me, Candy.", he says, his tone slipping back to the cold distant one that I am so used to. "There are a lot of children whose stories are far more pitiful than mine."

I slip off the counter and hug him tight. "That doesn't make it right, Xavier", I murmur, stroking his beautiful dark hair.

"At least my story has a happy ending. I got adopted by a wonderful couple and ended up with a burden step brother." His tone is dry and sardonic, and I pull away to examine his face.

"Why don't you like Asher?", I blurt out suddenly. And I instantly wish that I could take it back.

Xavier's eyes become dark and stormy. "That's my private business, Candy."

"But I don't understand why – "

"Drop it Candy", his voice is stern.

"Sorry", I say quietly.

Xavier pinches the bridge of his nose. "Look, I didn't want to sound so stern – it's just that, I don't feel comfortable talking about it right now. I may tell you later okay?"

I nod – that seems satisfactory.

Xavier turns back to the sauce and just starts stirring it when the doorbell rings.

"Are you expecting anyone?", I question, and Xavier shakes his head, still stirring the sauce.

He's obviously busy, so I volunteer to go and open the door.

"Who is it?", I ask through the locked door.

"Hey Candy, it's me. You forgot your phone.", I gasp as I hear Asher's voice.

Quickly I open the door, and I see Asher standing at the other end, my phone in his outstretched hand. I collect it from him, mentally willing him to leave as soon as possible.

"Was he awfully angry with you?", Asher asks in an imitation of Xavier's British accent, causing me to laugh.

"Actually he – ". I break off.

"Candy who's there?", Xavier asks, walking to the door, then stopping short.

"Speak of the devil", Asher smirks.

"Funny, I was just about to say the same thing about you.", Xavier retorts.

Asher gave Xavier a malicious grin. "I was just speaking to Beatrice – apparently, you spent the whole of today with her, and you didn't even come in for work today."

Xavier doesn't look at me. "Get out of my house"

Asher holds up his hands in surrender, and goes out. Xavier slams the door behind him, locking it, before making his way back to the kitchen. I follow, deep in thought. The meal has already been dished out into two dishes, but I can't start eating until I have settled something.

"Were you with her?", I can't even say her name.

Xavier looks at me oddly. "Yes, I was. I needed advice on how to apologize to you."

I don't know what to say – on one hand, I am happy that I meant so much to him that he actually missed a day of work. On the other hand, I am also very uncomfortable that Xavier is spending so much time with a girl who is so obviously in love with him.

"Are you ok?", Xavier asks tentatively, and I stare at him moodily.

"I'm just a bit pissed to be honest. Can't you seriously see that Beatrice is in love with you."

Xavier makes an impatient click with his tongue. "Did Asher tell you that? Beatrice is just a friend. I've known her practically my whole life, and she is like a sister to me."

I decide to drop the issue. Xavier and I don't need any more arguments today.

I grab a plate of the beautiful pasta and sauce and I take a huge forkful. It is literally the most delicious thing that I have ever eaten in my life.

Xavier smiles at me as I finish my meal in less than ten minutes. It is so good; I have to stop myself from licking up the plate. After we're both done, I wash up the dishes, and we move back to the living room.

"Let's watch some Netflix", I say, turning on the television, and grabbing the remote.

Xavier looks awkward. "Uhm – I don't have a Netflix account. I don't watch Netflix."

I stare at him in amazement. Does he live in a rock? Who doesn't watch Netflix?

"So what do you do for fun?"

Xavier gives me a look, and I roll my eyes at him. "We'll use my Netflix account, and we're going to have to start with the basics here. I'm going to introduce you to the pleasures of Netflix."

Xavier gives me a mocking frown, but sits down on the couch while I log into my account and scroll through the movies. After a while, I decide to put on Manifest. I make sure the movie has started, then I join him on the couch, cuddling against his warm body.

"This is going to be some cheesy series isn't it", he whispers against my hair, and I punch him on the chest.

"Shh – the movie is about to start."

It's a good moment, me and Xavier cuddled up watching Netflix. I fight to keep my eyes open during the first episode, but I feel full and comfortable, and I keep dosing off. Eventually, I give in to the tiredness, resting my head against Xavier's chest as I fall asleep.