Live with a system) Chapter 26
Riley hastily lowered her head. She was too flustered to notice Alex had already moved closer. He gently pulled her into his embrace. The familiar scent of his woodsy cologne filled her senses, and she allowed herself to enjoy this moment. She couldn’t resist the pull of his warmth. Things had gotten… weird between Riley and Alex lately. His texts blew up her phone every afternoon.“Need your help, babe.” Their last encounter had been super awkward, and Riley had been avoiding him.“Too busy to get away,” she texted back.
This time, though, Alex didn’t text back. Riley let out a breath. She thought he’d finally gotten the hint.
Ten minutes later, she got two notifications. It was a picture of Alex’s ridiculously huge table, absolutely overflowing with takeout containers. Pizza, chicken, chips- all of them were junk food.
Seeing all that greasy food made Riley wince. She totally knew what Alex meant and smirked. She typed back: Dude, don’t you care about your stomach?
Alex was such a pain. He wouldn’t push her, but he knew she was a softie. Therefore, he could always find new ways to guilt–trip her. Even though his stomach was better, she worried he’d mess it up, or that his agent, Brenda, would come down on her.
His next voice message had a playful tone: If you come over, I won’t have to eat this crap. When Riley worked for him, his stomach was a disaster. Too much, too little, too early, too late- it all made him sick, and he was in agony. The worse part was that he was really picky. Bland food was a total no–go, and anything with spice was “too much.” He never wanted the same thing twice. It was brutal.
But he was the boss and she had to put up with it. Plus, she had a soft heart. Remembering those tough times, Riley gritted her teeth and drove to Alex’s place. He was all dressed up, ready to head out. Riley’s eyes widened. She peeked inside- the table was completely clean.
Alex grinned, putting a hand on her shoulder.“I ordered it for a party the other night. No way I’d eat all that myself.”
Riley was annoyed. “You lied to me?”
Alex, totally innocent.“I just wanted you to visit me.”
Riley was speechless. Since when did he become so direct? She was speechless. Her ears burned.“Sounds good,” she mumbled.
Alex smiled and pinched her ear.
Alex took Riley to a restaurant his old college buddy owned.
It was late spring, and the patio was buzzing with people enjoying the warm weather. After a great dinner, Alex pulled Riley towards a nearby park, its trees and flowerbeds blooming beautifully. She noticed a broken branch on the ground and bent to pick it up. Alex took it from her and grumbled, “You feel bad for a twig, but you don’t care about me?” A little buzzed from the wine, Riley glared at him.“I was your personal assistant and therapist for two years. Isn’t that enough caring?”
Alex narrowed his eyes, gently cupping her face.“Riley, you’re getting awfully bold.”
15:18
< (Live with a system? Chapter 26
Was she? Maybe she was getting spoiled. After a moment, Riley said, “Heh, you’re not as cute as the flowers.”
She felt his gaze, a little too intense, linger on her lips. The air crackled. He finally let her go, a playful smile on his face.
“I’m better–looking than the flowers,” he said.
Riley nodded. That was true.
But the next words out of her mouth were, “So what?”
And then, Alex pinched her face again. His eyes locked her lips.
