🥊 Hate or Fate 💕 {Enemies to Lovers}

.41.

Texting Elijah was a lot harder than I'd anticipated. Turns out, composing a neutral message to establish a time and date to pick up your life's things while avoiding your ex's new girlfriend, was exactly as awkward as it sounds.

No matter what I wrote, or how nonchalant I tried to come off, my words could be misconstrued as those of a scorned lover.

My first (deleted) text read, 'Hey, I want to come pick up my things this Tuesday after work @ 5. I would appreciate it if you and your new GF were not there.'

At first glance it appeared innocuous, almost boring. But after staring at it for twenty minutes, the forced inanity seemed a tad passive-aggressive.

My second draft was a little better, 'This Tuesday @ 5 I will stop by, pick up my things, and leave my copy of your key. Please, no drama.'

I deleted that one to because accusing Elijah of drama was just going to stir up more drama.

In the end, I opted for something simple 'I will drop off my key Tuesday @ 5 and pick up my stuff. Pls don't be there.'

Elijah's reply was instantaneous and sterile.

'Sure.'

His simple agreement to my terms was a mixture of sweet relief and the familiar disenchantment I'd gotten used to over the past month and a half.

The caring man I thought Elijah was, had ceased to exist. So much so, that it made me question whether he'd ever been real at all.

We hadn't spoken since he punched Gray in the face and I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to get closure (or even the truth) from Elijah. Maybe because, deep down, I knew if we sat down and talked honestly, there would be no resolution or relief for either of us.

I figured that fetching my things and returning my key was a sign of respect toward his new girlfriend. She probably didn't want to see the constant reminders of me any more than I wanted to know about their new relationship.

At least, that's what I told myself to rationalize my decision to go back there.

After texting my ex and securing a temporary storage space online, I relaxed back into Rebecca's couch to imagine the beginnings of a plan. A new plan. A plan that included fitting Gray into my life, somehow.

I had the whole evening, and the entire apartment, to myself because Rebecca and Bart had gone on their third date in a week.

The sharp buzz of my phone against my inner thigh, where I'd let it drop, woke me up out of my daze. I picked it up to see Gray on the caller ID.

"Hey," I chirped, not even bothering to hide the goofy giddiness in my tone.

"What are you up to?" He asked over the wail of a distant siren.

From the window, I could hear a faint siren growing louder as it looped through the dark streets.

"Wait, are you outside?" I laughed, pushing off the couch to check.

"I was taking a late walk," he chuckled, "And I saw your light on, so I took a chance. Are you alone on a Friday night?"

"Aren't you alone?" I challenged, leaning my head into the chilly breeze to spot Gray on the small stoop outside our building. "Besides, I didn't want to third wheel on Rebecca's date with Bart."

Rebecca's apartment was on the second floor, so it was easy to see the grin that brought to his obscenely handsome face.

His eyes were ablaze with hunger, and they were fixed on me like I was the only thing he cared about. My heart sputtered and sped up the moment I met his furtive gaze.

He was wearing his woolen coat, the one that went down to his calves but still managed to hint at the well-muscled body underneath.

"Not for long, I hope," his lips coiled into a sexy smile that sent a zing all the way to the middle of my lady parts.

I glanced down at my terrible loungewear and flushed with embarrassment.

My lowcut (and threadbare) t-shirt featured the faded image of a cat at a pizza-covered turntable, and my bottoms were a pair of ratty sweats that Rebecca's washing machine had chewed up. Not to mention the fact that I'd skipped shaving my legs above the knee in the shower (twice).

"Do you, want to come up?" I pulled back from sight to smack my forehead in punishment. "Ow!"

I moaned at my own stupidity. Having Gray step foot inside Rebecca's apartment was the worst possible scenario, and I was the one to suggest it!

"Sure," I could hear him trying to smother a laugh. "But I was hoping you'd agree to a movie at my place. I have every Batman film ever made."

"Even the George Clooney, one?" I whispered, playing along and scooting over to the call box next to our door.

"Even the nineteen sixty-six feature film starring, Adam West," he replied with a self-deprecating chuckle while I pushed the button to let him in. "It's a classic."

The distant buzz of the building's front door kicked my butt into gear.

I yanked my mass of unruly waves into a messy bun with a scrunchie, frantically counting down the seconds in my head. After a quick swish of mouthwash and a splash of cold water to my burning cheeks, I beelined for my laundry pile. Even a dirty shirt was better than my shabby pizza-cat sleep shirt.

Gray's knock beat me by a mile and I jumped back as if my washing bit me. I stood there for too long, watching the door like I couldn't decide what to do next.

"Isla?" Gray's deep voice was like a soothing balm. My panic receded enough for my socked feet to shuffle over the floorboards. "Please say that's you because I think I freaked out your neighbor."

Giggling and adjusting the sagging neckline of my t-shirt to conceal any excess boobage, I undid the locks.

Gray worried gaze darkened and he sucked in a shaky breath. He tried to conceal the lust in his eyes by pushing a hand through his styled hair.

I was still holding my phone at my side as I drank in his long, manly frame.

Like an archangel, Gray was almost too beautiful to be human or behold. His smokey green eyes and devastating features could have been carved from unforgiving stone. His athletic body, decorated in a tapestry of complex designs and phrases, was right in front of me, so close I could reach out and touch him.

The air between us grew thick and heady.

Gray's enigmatic presence drew me in, but his shameless intensity was scary as shit. He could undo my resolve with one penetrating look.

His angular jaw tensed from unspoken thoughts, creasing his eyes infinitesimally. The flicker of a stolen emotion pinched my lungs as it pierced my heart.

Almost intrinsically, I recognized the damage in his profound gaze. The kind inflicted by a loss you could not replace or repair.

I grabbed the lapel of his tailored jacket.

Our bodies crashed together and Gray palmed my ass to lift me up as I kicked the door closed behind him.

I crushed my lips to his giving myself fully to the hunger of his touch. I surrendered to a need so acute, and so crushing, the agonizing throb of my heart, stole my breath.