Until Alex - J. Nathan Page 0,75

What was he involved in?

Before I could ask if he had any other pain, my eyes widened.

The dim candlelight made me question my eyesight. Question what I’d seen on the back of his left shoulder. But when I focused all of my attention on that one spot, there was no denying it. A new tattoo covered his skin.

It took everything I had not to trace my finger over the beautiful angel. Her wavy dark hair. Her flowing dress.

“It’s you,” his raspy voice admitted, startling the hell out of me.

I somehow managed to keep the ice pack to the back of his head and, in what felt like slow motion, shift beside him. I glanced into his bloodshot eyes. “What?”

He searched my face. “It’s you.”

Before I could stop it, my breath whooshed through my lips. “Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

I shook my head, my heart pounding around in my chest like a pinball.

Hayden lifted his icy hands to my cheeks. “It’s how I see you. This shining light in my otherwise dismal existence.”

I dropped the ice pack and grabbed hold of his hands on my cheeks. Closing my eyes, I savored the moment. Savored his touch. Savored his words. Savored his vulnerability.

“Tonight was a wakeup call for me. A big fucking wakeup call. It reminded me how fast things can change. How fast everything can be taken away from me. Alex, I need you.”

My eyes snapped open. Hayden’s honesty stared back at me. It was there for the world to see. For me to see.

“No more pushing you away,” he promised. “No more secrets.”

A humorless laugh shot from my lips. I wasn’t sure if I should’ve been ecstatic about his sentiments, or petrified by what brought them on.

HAYDEN

Was she laughing at me? Or the whole ridiculousness of the situation? Once again I’d shown up at her place late at night. This time, after almost being killed.

Classic.

But I’d been serious. I was done pushing her away. She needed to know. She needed to hear it. Really hear it. The fear I felt when the trigger popped behind my head was more than a wakeup call. It was a bellowing siren.

Alex dropped her hands from mine, avoiding my gaze. “You need to get out of these pants.”

On a normal night her telling me to drop my drawers would’ve been the start of something promising. But not now. Not when everything was so screwed up. Not when she’d ignored the fact that I’d spilled my guts and got a tattoo of her likeness.

What the hell had I been thinking? I pushed myself to my feet. “I’m gonna head home.”

Alex jumped up. “No.”

“No?”

She shook her head. “Stay.”

I raised a brow. “You sure about that?”

She nodded. “I need to make sure you’re okay. You might have a concussion.”

For a split second I thought she wanted me with her for the sake of having me there. Not so she could babysit my sorry ass. I didn’t need her pity. I didn’t need anyone’s.

With anger grasping hold of every synapsis in my brain, I turned toward the door. I needed out.

Before I could move, Alex’s small hand slipped into mine. “Come on.” She gave me a little tug, leading me down the dark hallway and into her bedroom. It was amazing how quickly my anger dissipated when it came to Alex. “Hope you don’t mind my small bed.”

The candle on her dresser gave off just enough light for me to see her queen-sized bed. Compared to my king-sized, it was smaller. But that just meant we’d be closer.

I watched as she pulled back her comforter. It was that awkward moment again, when I wasn’t sure what to do.

As if reading my mind, she glanced over. “Why don’t you get out of those jeans while I use the bathroom.” She walked to her closet and tossed me a towel and a pair of guy’s basketball shorts. Jealousy clutched at my gut. Whose were they? Before I could get too worked up, Alex flashed me a crooked smile and slipped out of the room.

In the aftermath of everything that had gone down, she made me happy. She made me forget the baggage that came with being me. She made me see a future. That was something I’d never done before. And seeing as though less than an hour ago I almost didn’t have a future, I was pretty damn happy to be there.

I struggled out of my wet jeans and boxers and folded them into the towel. I should’ve run home to