Page 36 of Watching Ames

“No, no. Don’t you dare cancel on my account.”

“Okay, in that case I’m thinking we should probably go buy some patio furniture, if only to get them off my ass after last night. And if you want, we could grab some stuff for the garden at the same time. But only if you’re sure you’re up for seeing them again.”

“A shopping trip sounds great. And yes, I’m sure. You’re doing me a favor, letting me stay here, I’m not going to let you change your plans for me.”

Alex’s jaw tightened at my words, eyes serious as he told me, “I’m not doing you a favor, Ames. Maybe I haven’t been clear enough, but this is your house, to stay at and decorate and enjoy in whatever way would make you happiest. You want to kick me out, do it. You want to refuse to have my friends come over? That’s your choice. You hold all the power here.”

His eyes bored into me as I tried to process the intensity of his words, the spoken and unspoken promises within them. It felt so different, the power Alex gave me versus what Peter had continued to try and take from me, and I felt in control of my choices and my life for the first time in as long as I could remember. I opened my mouth to respond, not sure what would come out, but was interrupted by my phone ringtone, shrill in the space between us. I swiped the screen with a thumb, eyes still focused on Alex, whose gaze flickered down to my mouth as I answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Ames, babe, what time should I pick you up for the event today?” Peter’s voice caught me by surprise, my phone already clattering to the counter as it slipped from my clammy hands. All the control Alex had given me with his words was suddenly gone, and I was bereft at the loss. I was embarrassed by how quickly I lost my own power, only a few words making me unravel in shock.

Alex was instantly at my side, jaw tightening in rage as he realized who was on the phone, bringing it up to his ear as he growled, “It was a mistake for you to call. Because I had almost forgotten about you, and now you’re back on my mind. And trust me, you don’t want to be on my mind.”

Peter’s indignant voice was loud enough that I could hear his response over the foot of space between Alex and me. “Who the fuck is this? Put my girlfriend on the phone.”

And that casual reference, the way he still thought I was his after everything he had put me through, was enough to send a surge of that strength back through me, enough to have me yanking the phone out of Alex’s hand and pressing it up to my ear, words snarling out of my mouth in barely-contained anger.

“You lost the right to call me your girlfriend the moment you pressed me against that wall. Don’t call, don’t text, don’t send your interns to my apartment. I’d say we’re done, except we've been done for a while. Since you stopped seeing me as a person and started seeing me as an accessory.” I didn’t bother saying goodbye, just ended the call and immediately blocked Peter’s number, though I knew that wouldn’t keep him from calling me.

“I’ll get you a new phone,” Alex murmured, as if reading my mind, rubbing small circles on my back. I just nodded, taking a few deep breaths as I tried to get myself under control, but finding that I didn’t need to. The shock and fear I felt hearing Peter’s words had worn away, and I refused to let him affect my life, to give him that power over me.

“I’m okay,” I smiled up at Alex, reassuring him as I repeated, “Really, I’m okay. Breakfast ready?”

With a lingering look on my face, Alex moved back to the opposite side of the island, catching the food just as it finished and plating it before he slid it over.

* * *

We leftthe slightly suffocating air that had suffused the house after Peter’s phone call just after breakfast. Alex drove us away from the house and toward a large residential shopping area a few miles outside of the city, closer to the suburbs with plenty of big box stores and department stores. We stopped first to pick out patio furniture, the warehouse displaying dozens of options as we weaved through the arranged sets.

“What’re you thinking?” I finally glanced up at Alex, who hadn’t given a single indication of his preferences as we walked around the store for the past half hour.

“I’m thinking I want you to choose whatever you like.” He had said as much last night, but the words still hit me right in the chest, wearing down the walls my mind kept building to keep him out.

“But I want you to like -”

“I’ll like whatever you choose. Now pick, or I’ll buy everything in the store just to be sure you get what you want.” The command in his tone sent an involuntary shiver down my spine. I had to close my eyes with the intensity of his gaze, unable to call him out when I knew he wasn’t bluffing.

“I like this set,” I finally told him, walking back over to an arrangement of black metal furniture with silver cushions, the color similar to the envelopes Alex sent with his gifts. I knew the fact didn’t escape his notice, his eyes boring into the cushions before flicking up to me, but I interrupted before he could make note of it. “How much seating do you think we need?”

“There’s four of us right now.”

“Right, but what about if or when Wren or Dev get girlfriends? Or maybe if Be-”

I cut myself off, crimson flooding my cheeks when I realized that I imagined Bex sitting with our little group. My brain quickly caught up with my mouth, and I remembered that Bex and I still weren’t on speaking terms, my brows pulling down at the realization.

“How about six? Enough for us four, with two to spare if Bex or any sudden partners decide to join us in the near future. We can always buy more if we pick up any strays along the way.” Alex’s eyes were still fixed on my frown, and he brought his hand up to my face as he spoke, rubbing his thumb at the corner of my mouth until it tipped back up in a smile at his easy inclusion of Bex into our little circle of friends.

We ended up buying two loveseats and a couple of chairs, enough to seat six while still fitting around the fire pit. At Alex’s insistence, I chose enough furniture to fill the rest of the patio, including a pair of matching chaises and an umbrella, and after falling in love with a trellised porch swing for the back of the yard, we bought that too. After we decided, Alex spoke to an associate for a few short minutes, pointing out the items we chose while I took a few minutes to myself.

Hearing my name in an already-familiar voice, I stood up from the low loveseat I’d been sitting on, turning to find Dev walking toward me with long strides, his infectious grin already causing my own smile to widen. Once he reached me, he picked me up in a bear hug, gripping me like we were already old friends, and the familiarity brought a slight hitch to my chest. He didn’t put me down after the hug, instead shifting me to one arm so I hung limply at his side as he continued across the short expanse of space between us and Alex, my surprised laughter and weight not slowing him down in the slightest.

Alex finished up with the sales associate as Dev and I walked up, and he set me back on my feet in an impressively quick movement that had me stumbling. Or I would have, if Alex’s hands hadn’t wrapped around my waist and steadied me just as my feet hit the ground.

After making sure I was balanced, Alex greeted Dev with the same handshake-half-hug every set of male friends seemed to be proficient in.

“Now you and Wren can stop your bitching about me not having patio furniture.”

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