Selfless: Book Two (bxb) ✔️

Chapter Twelve: It Might Be Goodbye

Ace Villan

Every time I have tried to speak with Cade, the efforts have gone out the window. Yesterday, he told me that I was off the hook. What the hell was that even supposed to mean? Something spooked him; that much was clear, and maybe he didn't have feelings for me, and that would be completely fine. We still needed to talk about what happened between us before I went certifiably insane and kept the promises I made with my knives. 

Not on him, but on anyone within a five-mile radius.

This morning, he was in the kitchen, helping my Mom with Christmas cookies. Last night, by the time we'd gotten home, he fell asleep before I was even out of the bathroom. I call it a sign of good faith that he still slept beside me last night. Though I lay there and allowed my brain to make sense of the confusion, that wouldn't stop until he talked to me.

I was a little growly this morning. 

Alastair smiled into his coffee as I stomped into the kitchen. Cade stopped what he was doing, rolling dough, I think, and arched a brow at my clear off-balance mood. Mom was out in the garage retrieving something, I didn't know. I didn't pay enough attention to her exit to really care. No, I was determined to tell Cade that we would be talking tonight because what we had wasn't a real conversation. 

Even though Alastair was seated at the table, I'd take him as audience instead of anyone else. He knew what was going on, and he knew my frustrations. I made them clear.

So, I walked over to the counter, and Cade's eyes widened. "Why do you look like a wild animal?"

I grabbed a couple of M&M's from the bowl, and popped one into my mouth. "You turned me into one, Prancer."

"Me?!" He was clearly offended by my words. "What did I do?"

"Nothing. Yet." I managed a half-assed smile. "But we need to talk about this. You know we need to talk about this. We're going to talk about this."

Cade quickly turned back to the dough he was rolling, and I sighed roughly. "Ace, there isn't anything to discuss. Everything is fine. We're fine. What more could there possibly be to talk about?"

Mmm. Yeah, nervous Cade was my favorite. I walked over and trapped him against the counter, putting my chin on his shoulder. "We need to talk, please. So, if you could spare some time for me tonight, I would be grateful. I have something I need to discuss. You're adorable and all with your avoidance of the subject, but it needs to be talked about. At the very least, I need to talk about it."

He was frozen. Shit. Did I go too far? But that theory was thrown out the window when he relaxed his shoulders. "You're right, I'm sorry. We can talk about it tonight. I wasn't in the mind space to talk about it yesterday."

"That's fine." I smiled with accomplishment. "Please communicate that with me next time, okay? That's all I ask. I understand completely."

"Please don't stab anyone. You have that look in your eye that tells me you could stab anyone in your path right now, and I would like these people to stay alive. They're very nice to me." He continued to roll the dough and didn't tell me to move. I was calling that a win. "Cameron said he wanted to rest for a couple of days, but I thought we could bring him cookies later. Will you guys come with me?"

I glanced at Alastair and when I found him staring at us, I lifted then shook my head slightly to signal him to stop. He nodded once and went back to whatever he was doing on his phone. I leaned closer to Cade. "Are you worried about him?"

Cade frowned. "Really worried, and I can't explain it. Maybe I'll have you and the boys go see him, so it's not too much. But I just want to make sure he's okay. Plus, Christmas cookies can make even the Grinch-est person happy."