C7 Chapter 7

She heard Haven sigh on the phone. ‘’Don’t overthink it. You won’t have to do much.’’

‘’Right,’’ she said. Of course she won’t have to do much. All she had to do was act her part. She did a bit of drama in high school, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

‘’I’ll come pick you up soon,’’ he said. ‘’I give you two hours.’’

She stared at the wall clock. That meant she had an hour to shower and get ready.

She heard a click. She scoffed. What a dickhead. He hung up on her.

‘’So, where are you lovelies going?’’ Sam was back.

‘’A date,’’ Alexis deadpanned.

‘’How exciting!’’ Sam gleaned.

Alexis didn’t share in her glee. Exciting? Annoying and nerve wracking was more like it.

"At the very least, you will get free food," Sam said.

‘’That I won’t be able to stomach?’’ Alexis sighed. But Sam was right. At least she would get free food.

Alexis waved goodbye to Sam as she left the cafe shop and hopped into her beat up corolla. Her apartment was only a few minutes away, ten minutes or least, depending on how fast she drove. When she got home, she got out of her car and made her way up her apartment stairs.

The building she lived in wasn’t a very decent place but it was cheap. She didn’t have many neighbors unless she counted the homeless men who came to drink everynight in one of the abandoned flats as one. How they managed to break in, she could never tell.

And she didn’t bother telling the landlord either, just in case the men decided to retaliate. She unlocked her door and walked in. The inside of her home was way better than the outside. With little furniture, a small kitchen, a bedroom with a bathroom she had scrubbed the life out of when she first moved in.

Kicking her shoes off by the door, she went into the bathroom to shower. After showering, she went into her bedroom to dry her hair and plan an outfit to wear. her life, she had always been a trouser person, never once owning a skirt or a gown. She knew she had to dress as fancy as she could. She dug into her closet, hoping to at least find something.All

She didn’t.

‘’Well, this is bad,’’ She groaned.

She didn’t have a single one! She searched again. There had to be something! Her cellphone rang, catching her attention.

‘’Are you ready?’’

‘’It’s not time yet.’’

‘’I’m right outside your home,’’ she heard him sigh. ‘’I’m beginning to think it’s the wrong place though.’’

Walking over to her window, she looked outside. Sure enough, there was a black BMW that put her car to shame outside. It was definitely him.

‘’Give me a few minutes,’’ she told him and hung up quickly. She pulled on a pair of jeans and threw on the first shirt she came across. When she checked the mirror in her room, she groaned again.

She really should have gotten those dresses when Sam asked her too.

After minutes of contemplating on what outfit to choose, Alexis decided to screw it and wear whatever she could. Throwing on a black jean and a blue tank top, she grabbed her jacket and walked out of her home. The stairs groaned as she descended them in her feet, her sneakers held in her hand. No wonder Haven thought this was the wrong place. He was probably confused by the crappy state of the building.

‘’Alexis dear, where are you running off to?’’ one of her neighbors asked, coming out of her house.

‘’I’ll tell you later!’’ she waved as she climbed down the last stairs. Once she was outside, she quickly put on her sneakers and moved to the black car, tapping on the tinted window. It rolled down and Haven appreared, looking confused.

‘’You live here?’’ Was the first thing he asked.

She rolled her eyes. ‘’Of course I live here. Got a problem with that?’’

His expression told her he had a lot of problems with that. Not that she cared anyway. It was her home. It was cheap and she loved it.

‘’Whatever, get in.’’

Her hand reached for the passenger door, when she halted. This was the first time they would be alone. She puffed out air before sliding in, shutting the door behind her. The inside of the car smelled like Haven’s cologne. It was a scent she found out she liked.

Maybe she could ask him for the name.

She turned to look at him and immediately, she felt out of place. He was wearing a navy coat over a white button up shirt. Her eyes trailed down until she met the shiny belt that held up his expensive looking jeans.

At least he was wearing jeans.

‘’I think we might have to stop at a boutique,’’ He suddenly said.

"No," she snapped.

‘’You look like some gangster sidekick.’’

She scoffed. Did he need to hint at everything? He stared at her for such a long time, she felt embarrassed under his scrutinizing gaze. Unconsciously, she pulled her jacket over her.

‘’I already made an appointment, so there’s no need refusing.’’

Before she could ask what appointment he was talking about, he pulled the gear into drive and pulled into the road. The drive to wherever he was taking her to was quiet. He didn’t say anything and neither did she. After a while, bothered by the deafening silence, she spoke up.

‘’You have a nice car.’’

‘’Thank you.’’

Another silence. It was obvious he wasn’t in the talking mood. She sank into her seat, staring outside the car’s window. The street wasn’t so clean with all the bumps everywhere, she was surprised how smooth his driving was.

‘’Do you really live there?’’ He asked.

She turned to him. ‘’I already told you.’’

‘’Why?’’

‘’What do you mean ‘why?’ ’’ She tinned her lips, looking outside. ‘’It’s what I could afford. I’ve been living there since I dropped out of college.’’

‘’You dropped out of college?’’

It was a simple yes or no question, but Alexis found it annoying coming from him. It made her embarrassed. Why had she slipped that little detail out? She had dropped out after her mother’s death. With no money to pay off her tuition, she decided it was best to find work and save up enough.

Maybe, later on she could eventually go back to college.

‘’Is your family not doing well?’’

‘’Can we not talk about this?’’ She snapped. ‘’I don’t remember having conversations like this in the contract.’’ She sighed. She didn’t want any pity from anyone. Especially from someone she was in a deal with.

He stayed quiet for a moment. ‘’Okay.’’

They didn’t speak again, and the mood in the car turned awkward. The last thing Alexis wanted was to have any conversation about her dad being in jail and why she dropped out of college. It didn’t sit well with her.

They had passed by a couple of buildings for some minutes now, she was wondering where he was taking her to. What if he was planning to kidnap her or something? Oh God. She shouldn't have trusted him so much.

No, she shook her head. He was too big of a deal to do something like that. But what if he was just pretending.

She shook her head again. Her intrusive thoughts were beginning to get the best of her.

''I apologize.'' The word sounded so much like a whisper, she wasn’t sure she had heard him right.

‘’What?’’

His fingers dug into the car’s steering wheel. ‘’I’m sorry for asking such questions. It was way out of line.’’

She could tell he was trying so hard not to bite his tongue from his apology. She smiled. He wasn’t a complete dick after all.

‘’It’s alright.’’

‘’You sure?’’ He pressed on. He tried to talk again when she cut him off.

"Play some music," she told him.

Much to her surprise, he obliged, hitting on the car’s stereo. Music boomed in the car.

With her earlier thoughts about him wanting to kidnap her gone, she sank into her seat again and zoned off unconsciously.

The ride went by smoothly. Haven remained silent as the music played. Eventually, they got to the place he was taking them to. Alexis watched as he came down from the car. Walking over to her side, he tapped lightly on the window.

‘’We are getting down here.’’ He opened the door and took her hand in his. She stared at them, wondering if she should pull away. It wasn’t like she couldn’t get down herself, but she understood he was trying to behave like a gentleman. So, she let him. Besides, she would have to get used to physical contact from him too.