Taming Alec(10)

“I didn’t realize I’d left it unlocked,” I grumbled. “That still doesn’t give you the right to come into my apartment. Leave. Now.”

Instead of leaving, he stepped closer. I almost screamed in aggravation. I could only imagine how bad I looked in my pajamas with wet hair and a puffy face from crying. I was shocked that he hadn’t run the second he’d seen me like that.

He cursed under his breath as he sat down on the end of my bed. “You’re crying.”

I wiped my eyes with my free hand. “No, I’m not.”

He sighed. “Yes, you are, and it’s my fault. I’m sorry that I made you cry. I wasn’t trying to hurt you tonight. I was trying to protect you.”

I snorted. “I don’t need protection, especially not from someone like you.”

“But you do. You’re a good girl, Rebecca. You don’t need to get mixed up with someone like me.”

“I’m so tired of everyone telling me I’m such a good girl!” I shouted. “And I had no intention of getting mixed up with you. We were dancing. That was it. You were the one that decided to kiss me. Don’t you dare blame me for something you did.”

“But you are a good girl. You’re so innocent that it comes off of you in waves. And you’re right—that kiss was my fault. I couldn’t stop myself.”

“Obviously, you came to your senses.” I sighed. “Look, I’m over it. Can we just let it go?”

He shook his head. “No, I can’t.”

“Why not?” I demanded. I couldn’t stand to talk about this any longer. I just wanted him to go away.

“Because it’s killing me to know that I hurt you. What I did was stupid. I knew what I was doing, but no matter how hard I fought it, I couldn’t stop myself. I never meant to hurt you, Rebecca. I’m so sorry for that, but it was for the best. Girls like you can’t survive guys like me.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

He frowned. “I’ve always been that guy—the one who f*cks women with no strings attached and moves on. You’re not the kind of girl who could settle for that, and I led you on tonight.”

“I have no interest in having sex with you,” I lied. “I just wanted to dance. Look, I accept your apology. Can we please drop this whole subject? I’m over it.”

He stared at me for a minute. “Yeah, let’s just pretend that tonight didn’t happen. Friends?”

I almost laughed, but I caught myself at the last second. “Yeah, friends sounds good.”

Even as the words left my mouth, I knew being friends with him would be damn near impossible. I was attracted to him, and after tonight, it was ten times worse. It didn’t even matter that he’d been an ass to me.

“Good.” He paused. “I guess I’ll let you go back to bed.”

“Night,” I whispered.

He stood and walked to my door. “Good night, Rebecca. I’ll make sure to lock the door when I leave.”

Once he left, I turned my light back off and started crying all over again. I was starting to wonder if I would end up falling for Alec or hating him. At this point, it could go either way.



It’d been a week since that night, and I hadn’t heard a word from Alec. I hadn’t even seen him in passing. Part of me was relieved that I didn’t have to deal with him, but part of me missed him. It was stupid to miss someone I barely knew. I kept reminding myself that it was a good thing. Every time I thought of him, the night at his bar would pop into my head. It was better that I hadn’t seen him. It had saved me a lot of embarrassment. Still, I would find myself taking my time as I walked out to my car every morning, hoping that I’d see him. It was pathetic. I didn’t even know which car was his to see if he was home or not.

Trying to push him from my mind, I focused on work. It helped a lot of the time. I was slowly getting used to teaching on my own. My students seemed to like me. I had a few who would give me a hard time, but I was slowly wearing them down. Every time they smarted off, I would make sure to call on them several times during the rest of class. Since most of them didn’t want to be the center of attention, they would stop acting like brats.

Arie had called me almost every day since Friday night, trying to get me to go out for dinner or even a movie, but I’d refused every time. After my last disastrous attempt at having a life, I decided that I would be safer staying in at night. I knew she felt bad for what had happened, but I assured her that it wasn’t her fault and that I wasn’t upset with her. I didn’t think she believed me though.

A knock on my door pulled me back to the present. I put the papers I had been trying to grade on my coffee table. I’d ordered pizza, so I grabbed my purse and pulled out a few bills before opening the door. I froze when I saw Alec standing there with a pizza box in his hands.

I raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess. You own a pizza place, too.”

He grinned. “Nah, I saw the dude walking to your door. I thought I’d pay for it, so I had an excuse to talk to you.”

“You didn’t have to buy my dinner to talk to me. All you had to do was walk across the hall and knock on my door.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d answer. I knew if I had food, you’d have to.” He smirked at me.