Page 49 of Fixed Up Ever After
Secondly, Javi was gone. The space he had occupied last night lay cold. The familiar brown, tattooed arms that once squeezed her to his chest were gone, leaving her empty in a dark room. Lola lifted her head off her pillow, trying to locate him. Images of their first night rushed back to her and the memory of waking up to an empty room after a night of passion.
This time was different, and she didn’t think Javi would leave her high and dry. He wasn’t that kind of man, but she hated the sliver of fear coursing through her body at the thought of the possibility of him leaving. A small part of her brain whispered that he was only with her for the money, but that was her anxiety talking.
But where the fuck was Javi?
She pushed herself into a sitting position on the bed, her muscles screaming in protest. Lola made a mental note to do yoga later today to ease the soreness. She had seen a spacious gym on the first floor and could utilize the space for stretching.
A hushed voice sounded from outside, grabbing her attention. Through the thick curtains keeping the sun at bay, she saw tousled black hair sticking up at odd ends. A smile crossed her face at the thought of her hands gripping those strands.
Javi’s posture was rigid at first, as if bracing himself for an argument. She watched in silence as his body went from a defensive stance into a more relaxed posture. She couldn’t see his face, but she imagined him smiling at his phone. Only one person made him melt like that.
Camilia.
Fuck, she had been so consumed with her selfish desires that she hadn’t stopped and considered his daughter. How could she be okay with keeping him away from his sweet little girl, especially knowing what happened to her mother? She had only met Camilia briefly, but it was easy to tell how much Javi loved her. Being away from her had to be difficult, and she hadn’t considered the sacrifices he was making.
Lost in an internal battle, she barely registered the sliding glass door opening. Javi stood in rumpled sweats and a wrinkled shirt that hung loose around his torso. He shouldn’t look as good as he did, but Lola had the impression he would look good in a trash bag.
“Hey, I hope I didn't wake you,” he said as a way of greeting.
Javi had woken something up in her, but not in the way he thought. These last twenty-four hours had been the best of her life. If she were being honest with herself, the past few weeks she had been able to spend with Javi were easily becoming core memories for her.
If she wasn’t so chicken shit, perhaps she could call this feeling for what it was. Love was a funny thing. It demanded so much from a person and consumed their lives, but it could also be broken in an instant and feel like it was never there at all. Only the lingering pains served as a reminder.
Not that she loved Javi. Probably. Maybe. It was just that this feeling growing inside of her felt a lot like it and that scared the absolute shit out of her. He had a whole-ass family to think about and money troubles, since he had agreed to take her up on this wild offer. Not that money was a big deal to her, but it was possible she had actually bought his affection and their relationship was built upon a pillar of lies.
“No, I didn’t even hear you leave,” she said, which wasn’t a lie. She had woken up on her own and then eavesdropped on the entire conversation which sent her into a panic about taking a father away from his daughter.
Javi, oblivious to her internal struggle, nodded before rejoining her in bed. He took up the spot behind her once again and pulled her into his arms, nuzzling her neck. “Please tell me we can stay in bed all day again.”
She wanted to. Like, really and truly wanted nothing more than to have this man ravage her body again. But today would be busy with last-minute preparations for the wedding. If she looked at her phone now, she was certain she’d find a list of things she needed to do today. She was but a servant to be bossed around by her mother.
“Judging from your lack of response, I’m certain you're about to tell me you are going to drop everything so I can feast upon you until we are both satisfied and wallowing in our combined pleasure,” Javi said.
It was the furthest thing from her mind, which made her bark out a laugh. She tried to hide it with her hand as if covering her mouth would somehow make the sound disappear but to no avail. “Haven’t you feasted enough?”
His eyes darkened with wicked intent and she knew what he was going to say before he even spoke. “Absolutely not. I could never be satisfied after a single night with you.”
“Greedy boy.” She smiled despite herself. Just a few minutes ago she was worried about taking up his time and set on creating distance between them, but now she was considering his invitation to spread her legs and feast.
No, she couldn’t allow that. Not now. The distraction of the wedding would be good enough to keep their horniness at bay.
“We need to feast, but not on each other.” She swore Javi muttered something about that being “dumb,” but she pretended like she didn’t hear him. “There’s a cafe on the first floor where we can go for breakfast. And then I’ll probably need to run some errands for my sister. You are free to relax since I doubt you’ll want to join Archie and his prissy-ass friends in whatever they have planned today.”
The look of his pure disgust was all she needed to see to know he had zero interest in hanging with Archie. Not that she could blame him. Archie was a pompous asshole and he and his so-called “friends” would probably find a pretentious bar and talk about how great they were. It didn’t seem like Javi’s scene.
“Do you want me to help with the errands?” Javi asked instead.
“No, I’m sure it won’t be anything exciting and I’ll have to deal with my mom and sister a lot. It would be easier—”
“If I wasn’t there.” She hated the dejection in his voice, but she also didn’t know what to say. It would be harder if he were and it wasn’t as if she needed him for support since her mother and sister’s focus wouldn’t be on her. Plus, a little time apart so she could sort through the tangle of emotions wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“We can spend this evening together. Maybe we can have dinner tonight?” she asked, hoping her tone was light. The disappointment was evident in his features and it nearly made her cave, but then Javi’s mood changed in a blink of an eye and he smiled.
“Sure. We can do it tonight. Let me get dressed and we can head down for breakfast before you go.”
He didn’t wait for her reply. He kissed her cheek once more and untangled himself from her. He disappeared into the bathroom, leaving her with unwanted uncertainty and the need to distract her ever-changing thoughts.
Once the door was closed, Lola jumped out of bed to find her clothes. She decided on jeans with a fitted, but breathable seafoam-green blouse and sensible booties so her feet wouldn’t be hurting by the end of the day.
