Filed To Story: The Perfect Spiral Book PDF Free by Ashley Constantine
“No, uh, we… had a cupcake fight. I’ll clean it up,” I say, bending down to pick up the cupcake. Knox helps me, and we toss it in the trash.
He holds the door open for me as we leave the kitchen. Delilah calls after us, “Where y’all going?”
“I need to shower. I smell like cupcakes,” I say, laughing nervously. “And it’s in my hair.”
“Yeah, I need one too. And we’re going out later, to look at the Christmas stuff…” Knox adds, sounding just as awkward as I feel.
We head upstairs together, stopping outside my room. He looks down at me, a smile playing on his lips. Why is he smiling?
“Why are you smiling?” I ask.
He seems to snap out of his thoughts. “I’m not smiling, you are!” We both end up smiling even more.
He rubs the back of his neck, then asks, “Are we going to pretend this never happened or…?” I’m taken aback by his question, and a little hurt.
“Um, well-“
“Alex! Look what I got you!” Adam interrupts, running up the stairs. He’s waving a little surfboard with his name on it.
I crouch down to his level, smiling at him. Knox does the same.
“Awww, Adam, I love it! Thank you so much!” I say, leaning over to kiss his cheek. He wraps his little arms around my neck.
He pokes my face, then licks his finger. I laugh. “Do I taste good?” I ask, immediately regretting my choice of words.
Knox laughs, covering his face with his hand. Did I really just ask a three-year-old that?
Adam nods innocently. I pick him up, hugging him tightly to diffuse the awkwardness that only Knox and I can feel.
“Where’s my hug, little man?” Knox teases, prodding him gently in the ribs. The boy squirms out of my arms and dashes over to envelop Knox in a hug of his own.
This kid is just too cute. Watching them embrace is heartwarming, and I can’t help but smile. Clutching the gift Adam had given me carlier, I beam down at it.
“An early Christmas present from one of my favorite guys!” Adam turns his head back to me while still wrapped in Knox’s arms. I tickle him playfully and he starts to pat Knox’s face.
“Why do you have food on your face?” he asks innocently. If only he knew. Knox chuckles and shifts his gaze to meet mine.
“Well, buddy, we had a little food fight in the kitchen earlier today, before you all came home. But we need to shower now because we have to head out.”
“A food fight?! Can I have one?” His head swivels back and forth between us. We both shake our heads no and he starts to pout.
“I tell you what, buddy! How about me, you, and all the boys have a big water fight down in Savannah this summer? How does that sound? Hmm?”
Adam’s little head bobs up and down in agreement with the plan Knox just concocted. With that, he’s set down and he scampers downstairs after hearing my mom announce that dinner is ready.
Leaving us alone once more. I can’t tear my eyes away from the stairs Adam just descended. “Baby doll,” Knox’s voice pulls me back to the present, and I turn to face him, suddenly aware of how close he is.
He’s moved closer than before, and I didn’t even hear him approach. We’re both locked in a silent stare, his ocean-blue eyes a striking contrast against his warm, tanned skin. This unfamiliar feeling is overwhelming.
He cups my face gently in his hands. His eyes are telling a story of a silent debate. I know him well enough to recognize his internal struggle, but what he’s debating, I’m not sure.
Perhaps it’s about what we’re both feeling right now.
“We should shower. I’ll meet you downstairs in thirty minutes?” he suggests in a low, steady tone. I nod and turn to walk into my room, giving him one last look with a small smile playing on my lips.
He returns the smile before shuffling his feet and heading down the hall.
What the hell just happened?
You just kissed each other, dipshit.
The shower will help clear my head, right? I nod to myself, answering my own question. I need to stop doing that.
As I head for the shower, I turn on the water and undress, ready to wash away the remnants of the day. I catch my reflection in the mirror, my face smeared with dark brown icing, my lips the only clear spot.
I can’t help but grin at my reflection, my fingers tracing over my lips, still tingling from the heat of the moment. I step into the warm water, letting it cascade down my legs, washing away the food mask on my face and in my hair.
After what feels like ten minutes, I step out of the shower and choose an outfit-a blue and white, off-the-shoulder, pin-striped top with long sleeves, paired with dark denim jeans and white Vans. I lay my coat on the duvet, leave my hair to dry naturally, and apply a bit of makeup.
If I’m going shopping with Knox, there will be people around, cameras even, so I need to look presentable. I won’t look like the girls he’s usually photographed with, but I’m not dating him, so it doesn’t matter.
Once I’m ready, I grab my coat and sunglasses-my shield against future pictures and saunter out of my room, heading towards the foyer. As I shuffle down the stairs, I see Knox on the phone.
Reaching the last step, I step down into the foyer. He spins around casually and smiles at me, his eyes roaming over my outfit, as if checking for his approval.
“Alright cool!… yea… yea… alright I gotta go anyway!… yea, I’ll talk to you later… bye,” he says into the phone, not taking his eyes off me. Once he’s done, he slips the phone into his pocket.
He mumbles something under his breath, but I’m too far away to catch it.
“You ready to go? We’ll take my car,” he says.
I nod in reply and reach for the door handle, opening it for both of us. We walk to his car in silence, the crunch of stones under our feet the only sound.
As I reach out to open the car door, a hand beats me to it. I turn to see Knox, those ocean blue eyes staring back at me, a faint smile playing on his lips. Those lips that were on mine not too long ago.
God, he’s a good kisser. I shouldn’t have liked it, but it was exactly how I remembered it.
“Thanks,” I say softly, sliding into his slick black Audi. It’s a beautiful car, even more so on the inside. He closes the door and moves around to his side.
I run my hands over the soft black leather seats.
“Buckle up!” he says casually. As our seat belts click into place, he starts the car and backs out of the driveway.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.