Page 37 of Recon Rendezvous

Glancing up from my seat, where Xander wrapped me in the softest blanket, I try to process this chain of events. Apparently, after he sent me to the shower, he called the girls back to Ty and Sasha’s and ordered every kind of takeout food to binge and eat our feelings.

Smiling softly, he bends, kissing me softly on my temple. “Have fun, pretty girl,” he whispers in my hair, sending a little tremor through me.

“Ladies, take good care of this one for me. She’s precious. And get her nice and drunk,” he throws over his shoulder as he strides toward the foyer.

Out of habit, I roll my eyes. But as he disappears from sight, a hint of disappointment flares through me.

Sasha waves him off as she sits beside me and pulls me into her arms. She soothes me for a few beats, rocking me back and forth, before leaning back to peer at my face.

“You’re hating this, aren’t you?”

“Kind of. My arms are trapped so I decided just to go with it,” I murmur.

Before she can respond, Gem and Mia join in. We’re a tangle of arms and hair as lightness finally flows through me and my laughter erupts, and they join in.

“Okay, okay. I’m fine. I don’t know about getting drunk, but let’s open that wine,” I say as I disentangle from the blanket.

Gem reaches over, taking my hand, her thumb stroking softly. “If you say so. We’ll let this go for now, but we’re here whenever you’re ready to talk.” Mia and Sasha nod in my periphery.

“Absolutely. For now, let’s enjoy all the food Xander had delivered.”

We busy ourselves at the long dining table, opening savory cartons of Italian, Thai, Greek, and even classic burgers and fries. Helping myself to the Gaeng Daeng and a handful of fries, I drop down into a seat, hoping these mounds of food will fill the emptiness deep in my soul.

“Oh, yay,” Sasha calls out as she grabs a carton from the Italian restaurant. “Xander remembered to get me the veggie lasagna.” Turning to me, she crosses her eyes as she says, “It’s made with zucchini instead of regular pasta, and I’mobsessed.”

The other girls hum as they fill their plates, and Gem says, “He remembered my favorite burger place. Look at this!” She holds up a hefty burger. “This thing is as big as my head.”

Laughing as she takes a big messy bite, I watch as Mia starts in on her Greek salad, and she just nods. “Yep, this is a fav of mine.”

Everyone stops chewing as I ponder this. When the hell did I tell Xander that Thai was my favorite? We’ve barely said a civil word to each other before today. It couldn’t have come up in conversation. It’s quiet as I take another bite, eyes trained on the food in front of me.

“What do you think about Xander?” Mia asks. “Because the way he seeks you out, watches you when you’re in the room, if I wore panties, they’d melt right off.” Beside me, Gem snorts and huffs out a little laugh.

“I guess that question is for me?” I ask, meeting her eyes, and she nods. “I don’t think about him. What do you think about him?”

Mia grins and now she has me curious, but it’s Gem who responds first. “He’s such a green flag.”

I tilt my head a little, but Sasha speaks up next, “Xander’s great. He’s obviously hot, right, but he’s so much more than that. He’s funny and sweet. Attentive to the small things and the things that matter. I could count on him and any of those guys for just about anything.”

“Sweet?” I scoff, twisting my lips to the side. That’s the last word I’d have used to describe him, at least before today.

She nods earnestly. “Seriously. He is. He likes to hide behind his money or the jokes and being the loudest guy in the room, but there’s so much more to him. I can’t wait until he findsthe one. He has so much love to give. She’ll be a lucky girl.”

I’m not sure if I agree, but now I can’t stop myself from asking. “What makes him a green flag? I have to say I’m intrigued by this.”

Gem swallows down another huge bite of burger before murmuring, “Okay, I don’t know how to describe it. He’s just Xander. Always fun to be around, up for a good time, but I can’t tell you how many times he’s just been there for each one of us. We tried to push Mia on him for a while, because he wasso caring toward her. Always thoughtful and considerate to her needs, but I think he just liked taking care of her. Whether it was so she wouldn’t feel left out when I was with Elijah and Sash with Ty, or if he just has a need to take care of someone he cares about. I don’t know. It’s just such a great trait, and he never expects anything in return or complains now that we’re always around. He just seems to have matured a lot, and I think he may not know it, but he’s looking for something or he’s ready forher. You know?”

Sasha nods enthusiastically. “And the scholarship fund he set up for girls pursuing careers in STEM, or how he helped out by sponsoring the kids at the community center, oh, and the Easter baskets he just donated to the children’s hospital.”

Or how he helped on picture day.

I shrug. “Well, good for him. Maybe he has some redeeming qualities, but overall, he seems like an ass to me. But maybe he’ll find someone who likes putting up with his antics. That mouth ruins it for me every time.” Those words mar the taste of my food, though I can’t figure out why.

The girls are uncharacteristically quiet as we continue to eat with a little less gusto. Xander and ‘sweet’ just seem like oxymorons. But as I recall each girl pointing out how he remembered and ordered their favorite food. Or how he knew I needed some girl time and called in reinforcements, and especially how he took charge and dropped everything to plan an entire day just to cheer me up. He offered me something special today.

“Fuuucckkk,” I groan as my fork clatters to the table. Raising my eyes, three sets are already fixed on me.

Mia nods. “Welcome to the party. Xander is amazing. It kind of hits you out of nowhere, but what are you going to do about it?”

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