Cursive - By Phoebe Lane Page 0,89

a while. I really don't know if I can commit to that, though. I mean, it's my life—it's just so personal and revealing."

"You can always change the names of the characters, and use a pen name," he suggested, but failed to get a response back. "Aislynn…Aislynn? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just walked by your dining room table and got lost in thought. Between the birthday celebration and what we did there Sunday morning, I think I've fallen in love with that thing," she said and heard Jace bust out in laughter. "I kind of lost control of myself there that night, didn't I? I remember being very, umm, vocal."

"Yes, you were. And for the record, I like the no-control-and-vocal Aislynn," he said, his voice smooth and tantalizing.

"All right! Don't you get me started, Mr. I-want-to-hear-you-scream," she quipped back.

"I always want to hear you scream with pleasure. That's one of my favorite parts."

Aislynn could hear the smile in his voice and felt her inner muscles involuntarily contract and her heart rate accelerate. The doorbell rang before she could come up with a proper answer.

"The furniture people are here. Let's continue this later?" she asked.

"I have to go to a meeting here in a few minutes, and I'll probably be busy until late tonight. If I don't catch you later, I'll call you tomorrow morning."

"Okay. I love you," she whispered, sadness falling over her. She seriously missed him terribly when he was gone.

"I love you, babydoc. See you in a few days."

Aislynn let the delivery guys in and showed them to the guest room. Ellie had sent her detailed emails with instructions on where the different pieces of furniture needed to go. They came complete with angles and measurements.

And here I thought OCD wasn't contagious.

Aislynn stayed in Jace's house for a few hours, some of the things she had been writing about refusing to leave her head. She hated that most of the memories she had brought back up to consciousness were mostly colored with sorrow and heartbreak. She realized exhaustion was probably contributing to her rapidly declining mood, so she decided to go home and sleep through the rest of the evening, needing to clear her head and shake off the darkness that had suddenly taken over her.

As Aislynn walked toward her apartment door, she suddenly felt the pressure in the air drop, and her ears started ringing. She felt a tingle in the pit of her stomach that bordered on nausea.

Oh, no, no, no. Hell, no.

"No, no, no," she said out loud, searching for her keys in the bottom of her purse and trying to ignore the person sitting on her porch.

"I need to talk to you," he said softly, getting up from the floor and wiping the back of his pants with his hands.

"No, no, no."

"I really need to talk to you," he insisted.

"Go away, Christopher."

"Please, Aislynn," he said with a little more attitude than what he should've been using, considering he was trying to beg for her time.

"You know what, Christopher? I've been cleaning house lately and telling people that don't bring anything good into my life to go to hell. So, please, don't tempt me, 'cause I won't hesitate to add you to the list," Aislynn snapped as she opened her door. She tried to slam it closed behind her, but Christopher snuck into the apartment before she had a chance to do so.

"Are you kidding? Get out," Aislynn warned him.

"You've really got to turn down the anger switch. It's not good for you," Christopher said, and Aislynn's insides flamed once again into a roaring fire.

"You know what's not good for me? Having you follow me around everywhere. How do you know where I live? Why are you back here? What the hell do you want from me now? Haven't you screwed with me up enough? Do you really need to come back to push the dagger in even deeper? Newsflash—it can't go in any deeper, so stop trying."

By this point, Aislynn was screaming and holding back the urge to throw something at him. She had never felt so out of control in her life, and she didn't like it one bit.

"What the hell is the matter with you? This isn't you. Have you completely lost it? You don't scream at people, you don't tell people off, you don't abandon your mother and send her packing back home without an explanation, and you don't screw guys out in balconies for the whole world to see!"