Page 74

Chapter Fifty-Three

Jordan

“Fuck,” I breathe out when he walks out the doors, hands shoved in his jeans pocket. He looks hotter than ever. Freshly showered, hair perfectly styled, wearing a coat that is much more Alex than my flannel he wore yesterday.

I didn’t think he had any of my clothes.

I mean, I knew he had some of my clothes since they were left in his drawers at his house in Ashbourne and I haven’t been back there, but I thought that’s where they were.

I didn’t think he took them with him, but it makes me happy that he did.

It means he’s never stopped thinking about me, either.

“You good?” he asks cockily.

I can’t help but grin. “Better now.”

His smile grows, too.

“So, you promised me donuts and ice cream?”

I bark out a laugh as we start down the street.

“I said nothing about ice cream.”

“Hm… I think you did.”

I shake my head. “I did not, but if you want to buy me ice cream later, I won’t say no.”

He bumps me with his shoulder as we move through the crowds of people on the sidewalk.

In just the week I’ve been here, I’ve found walking in New York is much faster than taking a taxi or even driving myself.

It’s also a shit ton cheaper because holy hell, why are rides and parking so expensive out here?

“Tell me about your week,” Alex says.

He’s fully aware of what I’ve done all week. I’ve made sure to send the group chat photos of everything I’ve done. But since I love talking to him, and I miss hearing his voice, I’ll humor him.

I start listing things off on my fingers. “Statue of Liberty, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, Ground Zero, Grand Central, Times Square, and a shit ton of museums.”

“You fucking tourist,” Alex teases.

“What can I say? This city is fucking amazing. Oh! But I didn’t even tell you about the coolest thing I did.”

Alex raises his brow. “What’s that?”

“I went to a Rioters’ game. Had the best seat in the house.”

He huffs out a laugh, ducking his head.

I’d hoped for some banter from him, but I’ll take his quiet as a good thing.

Sometimes Alex being quiet is bad, but right now, it’s not bad.

It’s just him processing. Figuring things out.

Maybe even getting a little shy on me because I am laying it on pretty thick.

Which I will keep doing until he tells me to fuck off.

And even then, I’ll keep doing it. In fact, it may take him punching me in the face or getting a restraining order.

I’m not giving up this time. I’m not backing down.

I am not letting my fears get in the way of what me and Alex can have.

We walk right by the donut place because there isn’t a huge sign, which I’ve noticed is common here. If you don’t know exactly where things are, you’re never going to find them. It’s the smell that tells us we’re in the right vicinity, and so we back track and spot the small sign on the building.

“It smells like heaven in here,” Alex says as I pull open the door and he steps in.

He’s right. It smells amazing, like fresh dough and sugar.

Alex gasps when he reaches the glass case that holds the freshly made donut shells. They all have labels for the type and flavor.

“They have pink donuts,” he says excitedly, pointing at it.

I huff out a laugh.

“You’re so ridiculous,” I mutter, leaving out the and I’ve missed it.

We order half a dozen donuts, because they’re bigger than average. And though I could put away half a dozen store brand donuts because they’re small, I’ll be puking if I try to eat six of these giants.

Alex has no problem deciding on his three donuts. A pink cake donut, pink frosting, pink sprinkles. A strawberry filled with pink frosting. And a chocolate cake donut with pink frosting and chocolate chips. It really is ridiculous.

I get a vanilla cream filled, to which he smirks, a chocolate frosted, and when I’m struggling to decide on my third, he butts in.

“Let me pick for you? ”

I narrow my eyes, but allow him. Before I can do anything about it, he slaps his hands over my ears and tells the girl something that is probably going to be absurd.

He tries to pay, but I hip-check him and swipe my card before he can.

We move down the counter to wait for our box of donuts. Once we have it, we find a table by the windows and sit. Alex opens the box, literal hearts in his eyes as he takes them all in.

“Which one do you want first?” he asks.

I hold my hand out. “Whichever one you want to give me.”

Smirking, he digs into the box and pulls out two matching donuts. He got me a pink one just like his. He hands it over, his smile wicked.

“This way, you know why I love it so much.”

“I can’t even imagine what all this dye is going to do to my insides.”

He gives me a look like he’s thinking about what he could do to my insides, and I have to pull my gaze away because I do not need to be hard in a fucking donut shop.

I bite into it, expecting it to be sweeter than I’d like, but honestly? It’s not all that bad. I don’t like sprinkles, to me they taste like chalk, but once I get past that… it’s good.

“You like it,” Alex says proudly.

“I don’t hate it,” I admit.

When we’re finished eating our donuts, I feel like I’m going to puke.

“That was way too much sugar,” I groan.

“I’m kind of regretting it myself.”

“Come on, let’s go,” I say, grabbing the box to toss in the trash. “We need to walk this off.”

“What? No,” he whines.

“Alex,” I say in a warning tone.

“You’re not the boss of me anymore,” he says with a smirk.

I lean close to him, since he’s still sitting in his chair, grab his chin, and stare into his eyes.

“Want to bet on that?”

His gasp is quiet, but it’s enough.

I fucking win.

I drop my hand and straighten. “Now, let’s go.”

He’s already out of his chair and behind me when I take the box to the bin to toss away.

Seeing Alex in a suit is devastating. He’s so hot I can hardly contain myself.

And the way we’re just… back to the way things were—sort of—it’s making it difficult to keep my hands off him.

Not only have I missed him, but I’ve gotten so used to touching him when he’s beside me.

It al most feels like this last year didn’t happen at all.

Like we’ve been together this whole time.

“You look good, Mackenzie,” he says quietly as he stops at my side. I’ve only just walked in, and of course he’s the first person I see. Good thing I didn’t come in with a plan to ignore him.

“You too, Brewer.”

I’d like to take you in the back and fuck you.

Austen probably wouldn’t care. Cameron might, though. He’s a bit uptight. Austen swears he isn’t, but I think he’s lying.

The rest of the guys all file in at once, and Paul’s loud ass mouth shouts out Austen’s name like we’re on the field and not in an office.

Austen’s cheeks turn red, and I shake my head as we make our way over to congratulate him.

I hug him a little longer than normal because I’ve missed him. I even shake Cameron’s hand.

I don’t hate the guy, but I’ve never really liked him. Though, that was a long time ago, and he makes Austen happy, so I guess he can’t be so bad.

Champagne gets passed out. Hors d'oeuvres are carried around on platters by caterers. This is fancy as fuck, and I’m proud of Austen for following his dreams.

The opening is a success, though kind of boring.

We just hang around, talk, drink, and eat the food that isn’t filling.

The guys and I spot some questionable food, and so of course, we start daring each other to try it.

Andre nearly throws up when he puts an unidentifiable meat in his mouth.

Still not sure what it is. Don’t think I want to know either.

As we’re doing this, I catch wind of some drama with Austen, Alex, and their parents. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but Alex seems pissed. Since I’ve been drinking, I follow after him when I see him storming off down a hallway.

He turns into a room and I catch the door before it closes. Looks like an office. Probably Austen’s.

“What’s going on?” I ask.

Alex turns to me, his hair a mess, hands on his hips. He shakes his head.

“My parents are here,” he says with a smile, but it isn’t a happy one.

I frown, walking to him.

“Don’t let them get to you,” I say gently.

“Easier said than done,” he scoffs, staring at the ground.

I shouldn’t do this here and now, but I can’t help myself.

I’ll blame the alcohol for this later.

I tip his chin up, making him look at me, not all too differently from the way I did it earlier.

“Want a distraction?” I ask, hoping to be funny, but my voice comes out gruffer than I intended.

Alex’s lips part and all he does is stare at me .

I step closer.

“Jordan,” he breathes out, and instead of responding, I lean down to kiss him.

He whimpers, hands digging into my shirt. I kiss him deeper.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you,” I breathe out against his lips, my hands sliding to his jaw to hold him in place so I can kiss him even harder. I can’t get enough.

“I missed you too,” he says between kisses.

I grab Alex’s hips and spin him around, then walk him backwards until his back hits the door. At least now, if someone tries coming in here, they won’t be able to get in.

“Jordan, what—”

I break the kiss and get down to my knees, frantically working at the zipper of his pants.

“Fuck,” he hisses. “Is this really happening?”

“Yes, it fucking is,” I growl, getting his hard dick free and taking it into my mouth.

I haven’t been with a single person since Alex. I’ve hardly even jerked off. My sex drive isn’t there if Alex isn’t around, and I’m okay with that. Guess this part of me is saved for only him.

He groans loudly as I take him deeper into my throat. I gag, but keep going, needing him to feel how much I’ve missed him. Maybe I should use my words, this isn’t the healthiest way to fix what we broke, but I want to suck his dick, so I’m sucking his dick.

“I’ve missed you,” I tell him when I take a break to catch my breath.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you too,” he says, sounding on the verge of tears.

I focus my attention around the head of his dick, feeling him pulse in my mouth, the salty taste of his precum on my tongue.

“I’m close,” he warns.

“Come for me,” I tell him, then drag my tongue along the underside of his dick.

I grip him hard at the base, holding him in place so I can suck him better. His hand is in my hair, messing it all up, his hips thrusting deeper.

“Fuck, Jordan, I’m coming,” he pants as his dick erupts.

I’ve fucking missed the sounds he makes when he comes. I drink down every drop of him, put his dick away, then get to my feet.

“That was… unexpected,” he says, still breathing heavily.

“You’re telling me,” I say with a chuckle.

Alex smirks, grabs the lapels of my jacket and spins me so suddenly that it throws me off guard. My back is slammed against the door, and we’ve switched places. He’s on his knees, unbuttoning and unzipping me. The relief is instant as the cool air kisses my exposed skin.

“My turn,” he says just before swallowing my cock.

“Jesus,” I hiss. “Fuck, Alex. Oh my God.”

My head hits the door and I shift my feet because I feel like I’m going to fall. Alex jerks me off while giving me the messiest blow job of my life and I’m coming minutes later. He smiles up at me as he puts my dick away, and I pull him to his feet to kiss him.

“I don’t know what we’re doing,” I admit, though I can’t stop kissing him.

“Neither do I,” he answers.

We should talk about it. For once, we should finally just talk about it. Lay everything out on the table. Show our cards. But I hear shouting out in the hallway, and we break apart. Both of us stare at each other, and for a second, he looks sad, but I’m not sure why.

“We should get back,” he says.

I nod before pressing my ear to the door. When the shouting stops, I pull the door open, but stop short when I see Hudson leaning against the wall. He looks up, eyes going wide when he sees me.

“Oh—” I say. “Sorry.”

Alex comes out right after me, and Hudson looks from me to him, then back at me, narrowing his eyes .

“Maybe I should be the one apologizing?” he questions before pushing off the wall and walking away. My cheeks burn.

“You go first,” Alex says quickly.

I give him one last kiss before walking down the hall, grabbing a glass of champagne, and finding my friends.