Against All Odds Choices (2ndt in a series of contemporary romance books for Kindle) (5 page)

“Yeah, I'll be
there in a sec!” I called back out. I ran a hand through my blonde locks,
stressed about the thought that I had to put up a happy face.

“Are you going
to tell him about your psycho ex?” Ariana asked me.

I shook my
head. “No.”

“Why not,
Bri?”

“It's not his
problem,” I shrugged, getting up from her bed.

I flashed her
a weak smile before heading to the living room. I met Sarah on the hallway. As
she passed me, she whispered something under her breath.

“Think about
it.”

I rolled my
eyes, knowing what she was talking about. Honestly, I didn't really see what
the big deal was. Leo didn't have to know anything about Ryan. We were only
friends – with benefits, yes. But that didn't mean we had to be involved so
much in each other's lives.

I mean, that's
why we arranged this whole thing in the first place.

When I got to
the living room, I saw that Leo was by the kitchen counter carrying a paper
bag. After everything that happened earlier this evening, just looking at his
handsome face made me feel all better.

“Hi,” he said
quietly, smiling at me.

“Hi,” I greeted
back.

When I was
close enough, he leaned over and kissed me softly on the lips. I had a whiff of
his perfume. He always smelled so good.

“I bought
Chinese food,” he told me, gesturing to the paper bag in his hands.

“Thanks.”

I took the bag
from him and placed it on the high counter. I refused to meet his eyes because
somehow I felt that if I looked at them long enough, he'd see past through the
poker face I was trying to keep in place.

It was
strange; the more I got to know him, the harder it was not to trust him or keep
something from him.

“Is everything
all right?” he asked out of the blue, concern filled his voice. He sat on a
stool across from me, watching me with those piercing blue eyes of his.

“What, why?” I
snorted, feinting surprise.

Busying myself,
I focused on taking out the food from the bag.

“You look
distracted,” he commented.

“Oh, it's
nothing,” I said, glancing at him and waving a hand dismissively.

He didn't say
anything after that. For a moment, I thought that maybe he dropped the subject.
When I looked up from what I was doing, I saw that he was watching me all
along.

He placed his
elbows on the counter.

“And I'm
supposed to believe that?”

I took a deep
breath before looking down and opening the plastic containers on the food. I
really couldn't lie to him with a straight face. I inwardly cursed my feelings
for him.

“Yep,” I
answered uneasily.

His hand
reached across and gently held my chin up, forcing me to stop what I was doing
and look him in the eye.

“Something's
up,” he concluded firmly. “What is it?”

Should I tell
him? Would things turn out better if I informed him that my ex-boyfriend who
used to hurt me was back in town? Would it help matters at all? Did he even
care? I didn't think he was the jealous guy, if truth be told.

No, I wouldn't
tell him. It wasn't his problem.

So I flashed
him my best smile, showing him that everything was perfect.

“Really, it's
nothing important,” I assured him, bringing my right hand up to his that was on
my chin. I pulled it down and squeezed it, easing his mind. Then, I glanced at
the food. “I'm starving. Sarah and Ari already ate. How about you?”

We held each
other's gaze for a moment, then he nodded and smiled.

“I was hoping
we can eat dinner together,” he shrugged, mocking innocence.

I laughed
through my nose. “Fine by me.” I walked around the counter and settled myself
on the stool beside him.

At the same
time, we split our chopsticks and began eating.

“By the way,”
I started, “Michael asked Jack about me yesterday in the restaurant.”

Leo chuckled. “Yeah,
he told me. I guess you're on his friends list now.”

Wow. Friends
with
Michael Vanderbilt
. Even though I didn't care about their status in
society, I had to admit that I felt a little honored.

“That's
flattering,” I murmured.

“Is it?”

“Well, yeah,” I
nodded. “You wouldn't understand because you're used to it. Plus, you're one of
them. I'm like a commoner – and don't say other wise. I know where I stand.”

He sighed.
“Stop stereotyping.”

“It's true,” I
said defensively, my voice muffled because of the food in my mouth.

“So you say.”
He smirked, after taking a drink off the can of soda. “You do know that it's
rude to talk when your mouth is full, don't you?”

I glowered at
him, not able to speak a retort because I just took another bite of food.
Therefore, my mouth was full.

I couldn't
believe he just told me off for having bad manners. That was embarrassing as
heck – especially when it came from him.

Suddenly,
there was a noise from the apartment buzzer.

Leo frowned
slightly, while I glanced at the clock.

“Past eleven,”
I mumbled.

“Isn't it a
little late?” said Leo.

“It is,” I
agreed, jumping off the stool and walking to the buzzer. Pressing the button, I
inquired, “Who is it?”

“It's Ryan.”

I instantly
withdrew my finger from the machine.

Crap. Crap.
Crap.

“I have
something for you.”

I glanced at
Leo, causing him to raise his eyebrows. I had to keep my cool.

“Now is not a
good time,” I told Ryan, pressing the button again. “Go home, Ryan.”

“How is it not
a good time?”

I sighed. “In
case you're not aware, it's almost midnight. People sleep at this time.”

“I saw your
lights still on from the window even before I buzzed. Now, come on. Let me up
so we can talk. Or at least just let me hand my gift to you.”

Why wouldn't
he just go away?!

I heard a
phone ring and my eyes wandered to Leo.

“Hello?” he
answered, his eyes stayed on me. “Can't you handle it? . . . All right, fine.
Where are you? . . . I'm not that far. Wait for me.” When he hung up, he looked
away and took a deep breath as though he was trying to calm himself. I thought
I heard him murmur, “Fucking idiot.”

“Are you
leaving already?” I asked, dreading what the answer might be. I didn't want him
to leave yet – not with Ryan right outside the apartment building.

Okay, now I
get what Sarah was saying about telling Leo.

“Yeah,” he
breathed out. “I have to take care of something.” He looked at me seriously and
nodded to the buzzer. “What's the deal with this guy?”

“It's
nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “He's just some guy I used to date.”

“Getting old
here, Bri.”

I winced. I
hated it when he called me that.

Leo, noticing
my uneasiness, frowned sternly.

“Please do
not
tell me it's that asshole's voice I'm hearing,” snapped Sarah, walking out from
her bedroom. She looked really irate.

“Sarah,” I
warned her, giving her a look.

Leo switched
his eyes from Sarah to me.

“I'm not
comfortable leaving you with that person outside and waiting,” he told me in a
final tone. His brows were knit together, giving this aura not to mess with
him.

“Same here,”
muttered Sarah seriously, crossing her arms over her chest.

Leo's eyes
switched between Sarah and I again.

“I feel like
I'm missing something here,” he said.

I looked at
Sarah. We were staring at each other, not breaking eye contact. This was one of
the advantages of having a best friend. We could have a silent conversation
with the use of our eyes. I wasn't sure how it worked, but that was one of the
many mysteries in life.

She gave me
the look that said, 'Are you really not planning on telling everything?'

In answer to
her quiet question, I frowned and tilted my head.

“I'll handle
it,” I declared. After uttering the last word, I turned around and pressed the
button on the machine. “I'm coming down.”

“Finally.”

I gritted my
teeth. He was the last face I wanted to see, but I felt like I had to prove to
everyone that I was in control. And I was – even if I really didn't feel like
it.

“Not alone,
you're not,” added Leo, following me when I opened the door.

I stopped and
looked at him. As soon as we made eye contact, I knew that there was no
argument. He was going to come with me.

“Fine,” I
breathed out.

We continued
down the stairs in silence. But then, he spoke.

“What's really
the deal here, B?”

I stared
straight ahead.

“I could
literally feel the tension between you and Sarah about this guy,” he said
quietly. “What, is he bothering you?”

As though my
silence was the answer, he suddenly stopped walking.

“Hold on, is
he the reason why you're so distracted tonight?”

I halted on my
tracks and turned to him.

“Leo, he's . .
.”

“He's getting
back together with you,” he concluded indifferently, right to the dot.

The way he put
the pieces of the puzzle together impressed and astonished me at the same time.
It slightly scared me too, because it was gave me the feeling that I couldn't
put anything past him.

I couldn't
read his face. Gazing up at him in the middle of the dim corridor, knowing that
he was confronting me about my ex-boyfriend when the lines of our own
relationship was pretty much blurred, I couldn't help but think of how much I wanted
to be with him.

Just be with
him.

The scary part
was that I was already aware of the fact that I was in love with him. And the
scariest part . . . I had no idea how Leo felt.

Without
thinking about it, I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around his
waist. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, filling myself with his
warmth.

God, why did
things had to be complicated? Why couldn't he just be officially mine, without
the fear of other people ruining this for us?

For a moment,
he was frozen – clearly not expecting me to do that. But slowly, I felt him put
his arms around me. I felt his lips kiss the top of my head softly.

I sighed out
loud in satisfaction.

I wanted us to
stay like this forever – just in each other's arms like this.

We stayed like
that for what felt like a long time, but it still wasn't enough. I didn't want
to go back to reality yet, but the fact that Ryan was just a wall away from us
couldn't seem to leave my mind.

“He wants me
back,” I murmured, confirming what he suspected.

I felt him
tense. Despite that, his voice remained calm and soft.

“Do you want
him back?” he asked in a whisper.

“No.” I want
you.

“Then, what's
the problem?”

“He won't go
away 'til he gets what he wants.”

Well, there. I
told him the truth. It wasn't exactly what Sarah wanted me to tell him. But
honestly, what was the point if I told Leo that Ryan used to hurt me? It was in
the past. The facts of today was more important.

Leo didn't
speak for a few seconds, then he loosened his grip on me and pulled away. I
raised my head to look at him, and saw that his eyes were far away.

He looked . .
. well, pissed off.

“Too bad for
him, then,” he muttered in a low voice.

He started for
the main entrance and I quickly followed after him. When we got outside, he
stopped at the bottom of the front steps. I went beside him to see why he
halted. He was frowning at something. Following his eyes, I immediately knew
who he was glaring at even before I saw the the arrogant posture.

I had always
thought that Leo was arrogant. He was, of course. But I only now realized that
it was more of confidence than arrogance, really. Seeing Ryan now, the asshole
was just a stuck up jerk that didn't know when to stop.

“Who the fuck
is this?” Ryan nodded to Leo harshly.

I winced,
remembering the times he used the same tone with me. Those were bad memories. I
reminded myself that he had no power over me now. I wasn't in love with him
anymore. I was stronger than I used to be.

“None of your
business,” I told him flatly.