Page 185 of The Perfect Spiral
“I liked it. Although it’s not my favorite one of you, I wanted to post it.”
“Favorite? You have a favorite? Knox, I looked horrible that day,” I laugh, waving my hands around as I recall the day he took the picture.
“Yeah, I have a few. I can show you sometime if you want? Once I’ve finished editing them. Baby doll, you never look horrible.”
“I’m sure you’ll be editing for a while with my photos. Just put a model’s face on mine to save you time,” I joke, causing him to glare at me seriously.
“Stop, you need to see yourself the way other people see you, baby doll.”
“And how do they see me? Nerdy? Tomboyish? Repulsive? Ugly? Annoying? Boring—”
“Beautiful,” he murmurs, his intense gaze sending a pulse of electricity through my body. His voice, deep and resonant, drowns out my own thoughts. My heart races, my breaths come in short, erratic bursts. I can’t focus on anything but him.
“What?” I manage to whisper.
The doorbell interrupts us. Neither of us moves to answer it. It rings again, and he reluctantly pulls away to answer it. I stare at the empty space he once occupied, the faint murmur of a male voice drifting in from the doorway.
I turn on my heel, noticing my suitcase on the bed. I unzip it and pull out my jersey. In the bathroom, I change into it, slipping on my glasses. My eyes are tired today, dry and blurry.
When I emerge, I find Knox and a guy holding two pizza boxes and a brown bag, presumably filled with more food. His eyes snap to mine, wide and surprised, as I approach him and Knox. Knox smacks him on the back of the head, pulling his attention away from me. But it doesn’t last long—his gaze finds me again. I offer him a small smile and he extends his hand.
“Drake, nice to meet you. I’m Knox’s manager’s assistant.”
I shake his hand, my smile still in place. “Alex, nice to meet you too.” How many people are on this team of his? It seems like I meet someone new every hour.
“Here,” Knox pushes a pizza box towards me, a frown directed at Drake. “That’ll be all, Drake,” he orders, his gaze fixed on Drake, who is still staring at me.
This is getting uncomfortable. “Can I not stay—”
“No,” Knox cuts him off, anticipating his question. I push my glasses up my nose as they slip down. I open the pizza box to reveal a steaming hot ham and pepperoni pizza.
I smirk at Knox, who returns a you’re-welcome smile. I carry the box over to the dining table, but Knox redirects me to the sofa.
“What if I drop something onto the sofa?” I ask, eyeing the pristine black leather.
“Don’t worry, I’ve done it plenty of times. I have a cleaner come in every other day. She’ll take care of it,” he assures me, grabbing plates and the bag of Chinese food.
“Bye, Drake,” he calls over his shoulder. Drake huffs and heads for the door.
“Bye, Alex. It was nice meeting you! Bye, Knox.” I wave at him, my mouth full of delicious pizza.
Knox rummages through the bag, setting out the food on the coffee table in front of the TV.
“What about the calls you have to make?”
“I’ll do them later. I’m a hungry guy right now,” he jokes, reaching for the remote. He opens up the containers of starters—something my family always does when we order pizza. We get Chinese starters to pick at while eating. Ribs, noodles, chili chicken bites, and more. He slides a container across to me. I smile, thinking I know what it is.
“Is that what I think it is?”
He winks at me, confirming my suspicion and taking my breath away. Damn, get it together, Alex. I open the container to find my favorite—steaming white rice. I’ve been addicted to rice my whole life.
I could eat bowls and bowls of plain white rice and be perfectly content. I moan at the smell, spooning some into my mouth.
“Mmmm, it’s been a while, my friend. I’ve missed you,” I murmur, letting the taste melt on my tongue. My eyes roll back in my head as I savor the starchy goodness.
“You have a serious addiction to rice, baby doll. I swear you were probably Chinese in your past life,” he teases. I hear the familiar theme of Law and Order playing on the TV and open my eyes to see Olivia Benson on the screen.
I nod in agreement, chuckling. “I was probably a sumo wrestler with the amount I can eat of this stuff. It’s like my crack. Some kids grew up addicted to certain types of candy, but I grew up addicted to rice... and Twinkies.”
