Filed To Story: The Perfect Spiral Book PDF Free by Ashley Constantine
“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.
Ding dong
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.
My favorite.
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.”
He chokes on his food, making me turn to him in concern. Oh shit, I know why he’s choking. My cheeks flush with embarrassment as I remember the night and the magic of his mouth. I clench my legs together subconsciously, grabbing a water bottle from the table and handing it to him.
His hand brushes against mine, sending a tingle up my arm. He taps his chest while drinking the water, and I lightly pat his back, giving him a worried look.
“Are you alright? I don’t want to be questioned for murder if you die right now. I mean, I do know CPR… but you know,” I ramble, trying to lighten the mood.
“CPR? Like mouth-to-mouth and stuff?… I think I could use some mouth-to-mouth resuscitation right now,” he leans in, and I put my hand on his face, pushing him back.
“You’re fine, Carter. You’d have to be lying down and not breathing for me to do that.” To my surprise, he lays down on the couch, closing his eyes.
“I’m lying down and not breathing. Save me,” he says, holding his breath. I stifle a laugh, looking down at him.
He is such a chancer. He opens one eye to see what’s taking me so long. I lean my head on my hand, looking down at him.
“You know, if you don’t do it now, you’ll have to soon. I’m holding my breath, and you don’t want me to die, do you?” Knox’s eyes fluttered closed as he waited for my response.
His face was slowly turning a shade of red that was starting to concern me.
“Knox, cut it out,” I pleaded, but he remained motionless, not even a twitch.
“Knox! Stop it, this isn’t funny anymore,” I hissed, lightly thumping his chest and giving him a gentle shake. But he didn’t respond.
“Knox! Jesus, you’re r-” My words were cut off as I pressed my lips to his, pinching his nose and then quickly releasing it. This guy was insane. I felt his hand slide to the back of my head, twisting it to deepen the kiss.
He nipped at my lower lip, causing me to gasp, and his tongue darted in, challenging my own. Our tongues danced together in a rhythmic ballet, my hand resting on his cheek, gently rubbing his stubble.
Butterflies erupted in my stomach, and my heart pounded against my chest. God, he was a good kisser.
I pulled back slightly, but his breath still warmed my lips.
His eyes twinkled as he looked up at me, a smile playing on his lips. “You saved my life, baby doll,” he murmured in a low tone. I snorted, pushing myself away from him. I slapped his chest lightly and leaned forward to grab another slice of pizza.
“You’re full of crap, Carter, and so cheesy,” I retorted, biting into my slice and turning my attention back to Olivia Benson on the TV screen. I ate until I was completely full.
Later, I collapsed into the new bed he’d shown me earlier, hoping to stave off the worry about tomorrow’s conference. The exhaustion from traveling was catching up to me, and my body was showing signs of fatigue.
I’m cradling a bottle of tequila that Knox had stashed in his condo, which he’d thoughtfully brought along to the talk. We’re currently tucked away behind a black curtain, a thin veil separating us from the audience that’s gathered to hear me speak.
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