Page 34 of Maybe, Probably (Love Me, Maybe #1)

Chapter Twenty

Harper

X avier and I have quickly developed our own routine.

He goes for his morning workout while I’m working.

He checks in around lunch time, when he brings me something to eat, and we sit and chat.

He sometimes spends the afternoon in the office with me, just doing some check-in calls or sending emails for the clinic, while I continue on my work day.

If I have any video meetings, he leaves me alone. To be honest? It’s been nice.

The evenings are always different. We don’t always gather for dinner, but when everyone does, it’s slightly tense.

I can usually ignore both the daggers that Chloe sends my way, and the way Dalton looks at me, almost as if he wants to say something.

He’s tried to talk to me alone a few times.

After the second attempt, Xavier hasn’t left my side very often in hopes of discouraging him from approaching me.

I have nothing to say to Dalton, so I don’t understand why he’s trying to get me alone to talk.

When there isn’t a family dinner, I find myself having a girl dinner. Xavier has taken note of that, and sometimes has a plate made up with all my favorite healthy snack foods. I usually take those with me and sit in the hot tub with an audiobook in my ears to relax.

It’s Friday night, and Xavier and I have made plans to watch a movie followed by playing card games. It’s not the most thrilling night to most people, I'm sure. But I would choose these nights over one out at the bar any day.

Speaking of going out and partying, it seems to be like all that Chloe and Dalton do.

They have gone out almost every night. I’m not complaining because the less run-ins with Chloe, the better.

There are still two weeks of our vacation, so anything can happen.

The optimistic side of me hopes that everything will work out, and we will be able to coexist. But the cynical part of me just laughs in my face.

I’m in the kitchen looking for some popcorn or some type of snacks for the movie. I was able to find some popcorn kernels, so there has to be a popcorn maker here somewhere. There is a pantry door I haven’t tried yet, so I head in there.

Bingo.

This room has all the extra appliances, ready to be grabbed and used.

I do a quick scan, spotting the popcorn maker on a shelf at the back of the room.

As I make my way over there, I feel a presence behind me.

The back of my neck prickles, and instantly I become a bit uneasy.

I grab the appliance and turn around. There, standing in the frame of the door, is Dalton.

Fucking great.

I sigh heavily. “What do you want, Dalton?”

His mouth thins for a minute, as if he’s pondering what he wants to say. “I just–I wanted to talk to you. I’ve wanted to talk to you for a while.”

“Have you ever thought that I don’t want to talk to you, Dalton?” I bite back, not policing my tone. Walking toward the door, I am forced to stop a few feet in front of him. “Can you move, please?”

You’d think I’d kicked his puppy based on the look he gives me before stepping back.

I move past him quickly before getting to the counter where I have everything set out.

I plug the machine in and turn it on. The machine roars to life, and I begin to dump the kernels, watching them disappear from sight.

Familiar popping fills the kitchen, and as I place a bowl in front of the popcorn machine, Dalton lingers.

“Harps.”

“Don’t call me Harps. You lost that privilege when you broke me.”

Devastation rolls over him, followed closely by defeat, as my words clearly resonate. “I’m sorry. Harper, if you can just give me a couple minutes to talk to you. ”

Turning around, I grab the bowl of finished popcorn and move over to the microwave to melt the butter before throwing it on. “I don’t want to talk. I’ve already told you. Just drop it.” I focus on the numbers counting down on the microwave, hoping he’ll get the hint and leave me alone.

“How can you not give me just a couple of minutes, after all this time? You won’t listen to anything I have to say?

” His voice becomes more irritated as he continues, and I really don’t want to be having this conversation, let alone be in the same room as Dalton.

He’s not getting the hint. What do I have to do?

A dark, deep tone rumbles from behind me.

“She already told you. She’s not interested.” A chill runs down my spine as Xavier’s presence fills the room.

“This really isn’t your concern, Xavier.” Dalton snaps at him.

The room turns cold, and I turn around to witness what’s happening. Xavier stalks forward until he’s toe to toe with Dalton.

“I think when it involves my girlfriend,” he growls, his tone lethal. “It sure as fuck does concern me. Especially when I’ve heard her explicitly telling you to drop it.” Xavier looking down at Dalton, despite being nearly the same height.

The tension is thick. I don’t think Dalton is going to back down.

Maybe one day, I’ll want to let him have his minute, but he isn’t going to get it right now.

Just as I’m about to diffuse the situation, Dalton’s jaw flexes.

I watch his eyes dart over to me quickly before putting his arms up in surrender, and he steps back from Xavier.

Once he’s gone, Xavier turns toward me and walks over.

Placing one hand on the side of my face, he tilts my head up to meet his gaze.

His thumb grazes my cheek as he looks back and forth in my eyes, checking if I’m alright.

Concern swirls in his eyes, reminding me of the way the ocean dances with the shore; I immediately begin to relax.

A smile slowly spreads across my face, and I lean into his palm.

“You okay?” he asks quietly.

I nod my head in response. “I’m good. Thank you.” My tongue slips between my lips, moistening them as I try to redirect the mood. “Let’s get set up, and then pick a movie. I can’t wait to just lay on the couch,” I suggest, pulling Xavier toward the other room.

I feel like I’m floating on a cloud, and the warmth surrounding me feels safe as I try to stay asleep. It doesn’t work, and I find myself slowly becoming aware of my surroundings. I don’t know what’s happening, but I am moving through the house, and my head is resting on a firm spot.

Recollections of this evening flood my mind.

After the encounter with Dalton, we made our way to the living room, where we set up our movie night.

After arguing about what to watch for over a half hour, I convinced him to watch Vampire Diaries with me.

He doesn’t get the hype, and I think he only agreed with me so that we would just watch something .

As we got into episode three though, I could see he was beginning to enjoy the show too.

Xavier’s mom popped in at one point to invite me down to the village and visit the holiday market.

I agreed, because it dawned on me that I still needed to find something for Xavier for Christmas.

Fake dating or not, I can’t be sitting there on Christmas morning, empty handed.

I should probably get something for his parents too.

Once she left, we got back into the show. The last thing I remember is shifting from sitting on my own couch cushion to having my feet tucked into Xavier’s lap.

“What are you doing?” I mumble, feeling the dryness in my mouth, and it makes me smack my lips together a couple times.

“You fell asleep on the couch, and while you did look adorable, I figured you’d appreciate sleeping in our bed.

” I pull my head from his chest, peering up at him.

His focus is on making sure I make it to the bed, so I take a moment to take him in fully.

His brow is slightly furrowed with concentration as we move up the staircase.

I’m more awake now, but he doesn’t put me down.

I don’t protest, and I don’t entirely mind it.

When I’m with him, I don’t find myself worried about my body—or my weight.

Xavier makes me feel secure, and I don’t feel like I’m too much.

The emotions surrounding these feelings are new… and terrifying.

My attention returns to the man cradling me in his arms. I see his strong jawline, scattered with a five o’clock shadow.

I imagine how it would feel under my fingers if I were to reach up, gliding my hand over his jaw.

Being this close, I’m able to see the faint freckles dusted over his nose and his cheeks.

He has slight crows feet at the corner of his eyes, showing me that under his usual serious state, he still laughs and enjoys himself.

As we make it to our bedroom door, I pat on his chest, “You can let me down. I’m perfectly capable of taking it from here.” He grunts in dismissal as he leans down with me still in his arms, and opens the door before kicking it closed. Xavier crosses the room and gently sets me on the bed.

He stands, stepping back and puts his hands in his pocket. “I’m going to go take a shower. Did you want to use the washroom before I go in?”

I shake my head and smile. “Uh sure, let me just go brush my teeth real quick, then it’s all yours.” Darting into the bath, I take care of business quickly. When I come back out, Xavier is grabbing his clothes from the dresser.

“All yours.”

He quickly passes by me, grazing his hand across my hip.

I hear him mumble a thanks before the shower turns on a moment later.

Heading over to the dresser, I grab my own pajamas, changing into them quickly.

I’m just pulling up my pants when I hear a noise come from the bathroom.

I whip my head, seeing the door to the bathroom had never closed all the way.

The light streams from the door, with a little billow of steam curling through the opening, and the water is noticeably louder now.

I settle into bed, dipping beneath the sheets but another noise makes me pause. A deep moan filters out of the bathroom, sending a chill down my body, and reminding me of the noises that came from him as I straddled him in the hot tub.

I should go close the door .

Yep, that’s exactly what I should do. I quietly make my way to the door, but when I reach forward to close it, I indulge myself, taking in the view that is reflected in the vanity mirrors.

Xavier is standing in the shower, his weight held up by a hand pressed to the glass door.

His eyes are closed, wet hair slicked back, and his brows are furrowed in concentration.

There’s tension in his neck, and as my eyes make it down his body, I notice the shift of his other arm.

My eyes quickly move past his chiselled chest, down his toned stomach, as I zero in on where his bulging forearm is working.

The grip on his shaft is firm, gliding smoothly along his cock before twisting at the crown.

The motion is in languid succession, like he’s trying to stave off finishing too soon.

A soft grunt leaves his lips as he continues to fuck his fist, his hips chasing his hand.

My heart is drumming in my ears, and I feel like it’s a million degrees. I have one hand over my mouth as I watch in fascination…and lust. The longer I watch, the wetter I get, and I’m unsure what to do.

I move my hand over to my forehead. “Jesus Harper. What are you doing?” I talk quietly to myself, trying to convince myself I shouldn’t be here.

A long and low groan comes from the shower and my eyes shoot back to the mirror.

The look of euphoria on Xavier’s face as he comes has my insides clenching for more, wanting release where I stand.

His strokes slow as he squeezes out every last drop from the tip, and his forehead now rests against the glass door.

He stands there for a moment shutting off the water.

A garbled squeak escapes my mouth as I spin around quickly, rushing to the bed.

Tossing the blankets back and diving in, I roll over, closing my eyes to pretend I’m asleep.

The silence is unbearable as I wait for him to exit the bathroom.

I’m throbbing between my legs, but I can’t ease the ache without telling on myself.

I squeeze my thighs together, begging for this need to subside. Tonight is going to be torturous.

A hint of the bathroom light crosses my eyelids before the room goes pitch black.

Apart from my own breath, the only thing I hear is Xavier coming to bed.

The blankets shift, and then I feel the slight dip of him crawling into his side.

He rustles around trying to get comfortable, but he struggles.

Waiting, I hold my breath in anticipation of Xavier mentioning what just happened, but it never comes.