In His Kiss - Ava Alise Page 0,25

a sad smile holding a brown paper bag toward me.

Because I nearly walked smack into her, I stumble backward into the room out of instinct. “Morning,” she sings, stepping forward.

“Whoa, Felicia. What are you doing here?” I immediately hear movement on the bed and remember that Xia never fully put her pants back on.

“I brought a peace offering.” She smiles but her eyes slowly move from my face to the bed behind me. “I just thought… wait. What the fuck is this?”

I turn to see Xia rising from the bed attempting to slide into her pants on unsteady legs.

"I knew it," Felicia screams. "Best friends my ass. I knew you wanted her. I can't believe you'd cheat on me."

"Cheat on you? We broke up."

"Yeah, twenty-four hours ago, you asshole." She throws the bag of whatever she bought hard in my face, its contents spilling to the floor as it falls.

"How long has this been going on, huh? You been fucking her this whole time?"

"It's not like that," I say, cutting my eyes to a now fully-dressed Xia who's walking in our direction.

"I should go," she says, looking at me with regret in her eyes.

"Yes, you should, you snaky little bitch." Felicia spits. "You were probably waiting… waiting all this time to…"

"Back off, Felicia, or I'll show you a bitch," Xia says.

"You, downstairs now," I yell, pointing at Felicia. She hesitates as she glares at both of us before turning and walking out of the room. I exhale, running my hand over my head and squeezing the back of my neck. "I'm sorry about this, Zee. Don't leave. Let me straighten her out then we can go grab some breakfast." Pain dances in her eyes but she doesn't speak. She only offers a nod before turning back toward the bed.

"I'll be right back," I tell her before dashing out of the room and down the stairs.

I round the corner to find Felicia sitting on the couch, but the moment she sees me she jumps to her feet.

"Look, Felicia…"

"Twenty-four hours, Jordan. Twenty-four hours after we break up I catch you fucking someone. And her of all people."

I look at the staircase, noticing how loud she's being, then I grab her arm and pull her into the kitchen.

"You didn't catch me fucking anybody," I say once we make it to the other room. She snatches her arm away and glares at me.

"She was in her panties… in your bed. Are you telling me you didn't fuck her?"

"I…" I squeeze the counter exhaling a deep breath. "I did, but Felicia, we broke up. What happened with Xia and me had nothing to do with you. I will admit it was a bit fast, and I'm sorry for that. But it’s not like I disrespected some great love between us that just ended."

"I was your girlfriend twenty-four hours ago. You really are a dick."

Damn. When she puts it that way, I really do sound like a dick. But no, no… the shit with us wasn’t real, it was convenient, then after a while it just became a bad habit. "You use that title like it really means something to you. You don't give a fuck about me, only how I make you look."

"That's not true."

"Oh. Really? When's my birthday? Huh?"

She pulls her lips into her mouth and frowns. "Or how about my mother? What was my mother’s name?"

"It was Linda."

"No. Her name was Lisa. You were at the funeral and you sure as fuck didn't miss the photo op they did in the college paper about it. There you were, showing all your support like such a loving girlfriend. I'm done wasting my time. This is over."

“No. We fight all the time, Jordan. What makes this one so different?” Her face is flushed as she paces the floor. “I call you names, you call me annoying, and then we get over it.”

“Don’t you think that's a problem? Couples fight, yeah, but we haven’t been happy together since high school. Why walk into adult life hanging on to something that’s clearly not working?” Her eyes scroll my face. This isn’t what she wants, I know, but she’s not heartbroken either. She’s pissed.

"You aren't doing this to me right before I start my senior year of college." Her widening eyes drift to the floor as she shakes her head in disbelief. "What will everyone think? What about commencement next year? What will my mother say?"

"Your mother?" I turn on my heel, unable to keep my anger in