Chapter 6

Dark, smoky eyes blink at me with full bow-shaped lips set in a thin line. I swallow a nervous lump as I force a tiny smile to appear. "Kali, you look gorgeous," I say, meaning every word of it.

Kali is a beautiful Indian witch with the softest long, dark straight hair I've ever touched. The thought of it makes me feel nostalgic.

Nonetheless, the look she's giving me is anything but kindness. "I don't have time to lose. What do you want?" she says, her voice sounding as bitchy as always.

I roll my eyes. "Hello to you too, Kali. How are you? You're still as radiant as I remember."

The sorceress bites her lower lip, hiding a smile I know very well is there. "I missed that," I say, eyeing her lips before glancing at Xavier, finding him giving me a weird look that stirs something in my heart I can't point out yet.

That's weird.

"That frown. Who's with you?" Kali asks, squinting her eyes.

"No one," I say with a tight-lipped smile. "What do you know about the Crimson Pack?"

She sighs, her eyes looking elsewhere as she walks somewhere. "The Alpha is a douche who does human trafficking, but from what I heard, the humans are the ones offering themselves to him."

My eyebrows knit closer. "How's that possible?"

"Wish I knew, and you'd be surprised by how many people are paying him to have the humans, especially vampires, which from one side, I understand why they'd do that, but from another side, I wonder why they don't just kidnap them for free? I mean, I heard that shit is being romanticized as long as the kidnapper is sexy, so might as well make it come true," she says, cracking a laugh.

"A lot of things are being romanticized."

My eyes snap toward the soothing, baritone sound. Xavier stands up and squeezes himself in the leather chair, forcing me to sit on his lap.

Kali raises an eyebrow smirking. "Xavier Lyon, I can see your eye wrinkles from here," she says.

Xavier rolls his eyes, snatching the phone from my hand and putting it at a lower angle. "Check out my nonexistent double chin since I can see yours from here," he says, making Kali gasp and cover her neck with her long, dark manicured hand.

I can't help but slap his shoulder. "Where are your manners?!" I say as his laugh booms in the room while Kali curses him out.

"She started it," he breathes out in-between chuckles.

Xavier and I have known Kali for a while now. I don't remember when we first met her, but I just know that I've spent amazing months being with her until the long-distance got in the way, and we decided to break up.

"Anyways, have you seen that Fifty Shades of Grey rip-off?" Kali asks, making Xavier and I dramatically groan.

"Girl, that movie had no plot, and I still got a boner from it," Xavier says, making her laugh.

I shudder at the memory. "And to think I saw it first-hand," I say, remembering how casual Xavier was during the sex montage of the movie.

Kali's dark eyes widen. "Wait, you got a boner and didn't try doing it with Alexa? Are you gay as well?" she asks with her mouth slightly hanging.

Xavier lifts an eyebrow. "No, boo, I still like what you like, but now that you said it, I wonder why I didn't make a move on her."

"You know I'm right here, right?" I say, feeling as if I've been put aside by them.

"I mean, have you seen her breasts?" Kali continues, completely dismissing me. "They're average, but they're firm as fu—"

"Don't go further before I get another boner, but do you remember that hot chocolate she made us when you tried poisoning me? I wish she would do it more often," Xavier says, releasing a sigh.

Oh, I remember that. For some strange reason, Kali thought the lion's blood was unique, so she used Xavier as her lab rat. It ended with him staying in bed for a couple of weeks, whining like a little kid.

Kali laughs at the memory while I roll my eyes. "Guys, I'm right—"

"Headmistress! The huntress escaped!" A girly voice yells in the background, cutting me off.

The witch closes her eyes, looking frustrated. "That bitch," she says under her breath.

Meanwhile, I'm confused as hell. "A huntress?" I ask.

She nods, standing up. "Yeah, a human girl brainwashed by whoever is supporting her crazy ass. I need to go catch her before she causes more damage," she says before hanging up.

The phone screen turns black, showing Xavier and I's reflection. His eyes look at me through the phone. "Do you want to see a movie after lunch?" he asks.

"Which one?"

"After."

I frown, turning my face toward him. "But you hate it."

He merely shrugs his shoulders. "A sprinkle of toxic relationship won't make my eyes bleed. Plus, I know you like it."

I've been begging him to watch it with me for months, and now, it's finally happening!

A grin breaks into my face as I pull him into a tight embrace. "Finally!"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Xavier's hand lightly scratches my head, making me happily purr. The sound of it makes my chest and neck vibrate. I put myself comfortable, lying on the pillows with my head on Xavier's cross-legged lap.

Darkness surrounds the living room, leaving the light of the TV illuminating our features. No words have been spoken since the beginning of the movie. Only Xavier's loud sighs have been heard whenever something dumb from his point of view happens.

"Damn, they didn't put the scene where he takes the bloody sheets," I comment, receiving a snort from above.

"The fucker did a bet, didn't he?" Xavier asks, and I simply nod. Wait, a damn minute.

"How do you know that he made a bet?"

Xavier stays silent for a moment, making a grin gradually spread onto my face. "Sixth sense," he mumbles while I say, 'you read it, didn't you?'.

I turn my head enough to see his face from beneath. His eyes are unmoving from the TV. "I may have peaked through the book after you fell asleep while reading it," he says, swallowing a lump that I noticed thanks to his Adam's apple.

I smile, turning my focus back to the movie. "I knew you'd enjoy it."

"Shut up."

I chuckle as we quietly resume the film until the credits roll in.

"That was a shit ending. Hope you know it," Xavier says.

I shrug. "The book is better anyway. Now," I push myself off Xavier's lap, going into a sitting position, "is it just me, or are Gabriella and Richard fighting a lot more lately?"

He laughs. "Don't stick your nose in other people's businesses."

"Oh, c'mon, I know you know something." I grab his hands between mines. "I won't tell a soul," I whisper, letting my eyes glow a light green color filled with unshed tears. I even pout, and all I get from Xavier is a poker face with penetrating eyes fixed on me.

I blink a few times and, the next thing I know, his lips are pressed against mine. I pull away with wide eyes. "What was that for?" my voice comes out in a whisper.

The feline in front of me is stuck in a daze. "For being so damn manipulative," Xavier says before pulling me by the hands. I fall into his arms, and he smoothly kisses me.

One last time, my arse.

Nonetheless, my hands come up to his dreads as he holds me as if I were a newborn. He licks my lips, asking for entrance, and I comply, softly exhaling from my nose when our tongues meet.

I should pull away, but I can't do it when Xavier's rough hand is taking its sweet time to feel one of my love handles before firmly grasping it.

All frivolous thoughts about the situation evaporate from my mind, and I completely lose myself in him.

No.

I am allowing myself to be lost in him. It's different.

It is.

Xavier is the first to pull away. I open my eyes, staring into his hooded ones filled with desire. "Don't you think we should try the friends with benefits thing?"

I don't know why, but an ugly sound of snort mixed with laughter comes out of my mouth before I break into a fit of chuckles.

What kind of proposal is that?! We watched all types of movies and TV shows, didn't he learn anything from them?! The friends with benefits movie with Mila Kunis and the blondie singer being one of them.

Regardless, Xavier doesn't join me, and my laugh soon dies down as my eyes widen at the person in front of me. "You're serious?"

"A hundred percent," he says with a firm nod.

I can't help but snort again. "Have you learned nothing? Remember that one movie about friends with benefits? Do you want to create drama in our lives? Because I'm not ready for that," I say, but it seems like he's not even listening to what I'm saying.

Xavier shakes his head. "You live for drama, and we won't have any problems! We've been friends for the past five years, and nothing ever happened, except that kiss when we were drunk and that other time when you were in heat, but don't put them in the equation. C'mon, Red, I've known you since high school with the baggy clothes and shy demeanor, and nothing ever happened."

What more can I do other than blink?

"Are you deaf?" I ask, pulling myself together. My body detaches itself from him and sits cross-legged, my eyes fixed on the feline sighing out of frustration.

"You're the one who's deaf here," he says, pulling the elastic band off from his dreads and letting them brush his inked shoulders.

I roll my eyes. "And you're stupid. Nothing happened between us because we rarely crossed the line. Plus, I'm happy having you as my best friend."

"I love having you as my best friend as well, but I can't deny the attraction I have for you either. You know that I don't want to settle down before thirty-five, and I know you don't want a relationship after losing your college years with a person who's not even part of your life now," he says, picking a strand of my red hair and kissing it as he looks at me through his eyelashes.

My body is warming up for him, and I don't know how to feel about it. Doesn't it cross his mind that if we do this, one of us will definitely fall for the other? And I don't want to be that person.

"I don't know, Xavier. We could ruin our friendship here, and I don't want that," I say, looking down.

"Then what about doing it one time? You don't know the type of effect you're doing to me, Red. Even though we're talking, I want to hold you so much it's starting to hurt," he confesses, letting his fingers leave a trail down my arm. Goosebumps crawl all over my body, and I'm left with a dry throat as another part gets damp.

Shit.

He made me horny.

Xavier notices my chest rising and falling at a faster pace and tries to make a move.

At this exact moment, I should have pushed him away, but instead, I'm finding myself crawling on his lap as our tongues are embracing each other in a dangerous, wet kiss.

It's just a one-time thing.

Just one.

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