Chapter 19: Confessions in the Closet

AVA

A loud jingle broke the spell between us. We both blinked slowly and each took a step back, which landed me on my injured leg again.

A sharp pain cut through it, making my knees buckle, and I would have fallen to the ground had it not been for Cyrus catching me once again. He set me down on the bed in one swift movement.

We looked around to determine the source of the noise. It was my laptop. I opened it up to find it was an incoming call from Maisy.

I declined and used my laptop to lock my phone remotely and report it as lost. I sent Maisy a quick message.

Ava

Don’t worry, I’m home. A lot happened tonight, can’t talk right now, but will update you soon.

Maisy

Oooh GOOD THINGS?! Are you with Tobias??

Ava

Not with Tobias. Not good things either. Talk soon.

Maisy

??

I shut my laptop. Cyrus had been looking over my shoulder.

“You told her about Tobias?” he said darkly.

“None of your business.”

I was not surprised—or even bothered—by his overstepping tendencies anymore. What was this guy doing to me?

“Can I get you anything to drink?” I offered again.

Cyrus scoffed. “How about you sit here, and I’ll get you something. Seeing as, you know, you’re not so mobile right now.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Is that an excuse to go snooping again?”

“Water?” Cyrus asked, already out the door.

I opened my laptop again and quickly called my mom’s phone.

“Are you okay?” she asked immediately upon answering. “Why are you calling so late?”

I sighed. “I got in a little accident tonight. I had to go to the hospital to get stitches, but I’m home and doing well now.”

“WHAT KIND OF ACCIDENT?!” she boomed through the speakers.

I considered quickly hanging up but decided I couldn’t leave her hanging like that. I looked over my shoulder, but there was no sign of Cyrus yet, so I gave her a quick play-by-play.

“Got mugged walking to my car in a parking garage. They took my phone and purse and kind of stabbed me in my leg. But I’m good now, have some painkillers, and I’m all stitched up, so no need to worry.”

My mom sounded like she was about to spontaneously combust. “NO NEED TO WORRY?!”

I was sure Cyrus could hear her all the way in the living room. ~What was taking him so long anyway?~ Suddenly the phone call screen turned into a video call request.

“Answer the call, Ava! Your dad wants to talk to you!” my mom demanded.

I sighed and pressed Accept. My father’s face filled the screen immediately. He was frantically signing a string of concerned words.

“I’m okay,” I signed back. “Just a few scratches.”

“Show me!” my dad signed angrily.

“There’s nothing to see!” I pointed to my bandaged arm. “It’s all bandaged up!”

Dad scoffed and signed that he was getting on a plane first thing tomorrow.

“There’s no need!” I both signed and said out loud to make sure my mom heard as well. “I’m all good. I’ve got to go now. My…boss is here.”

I hung up before they could protest. Immediately, my laptop started ringing again, so I muted the sound and put it on my nightstand.

I looked up to see Cyrus leaning against the doorframe, holding two glasses of water.

“You know sign language?”

I nodded. “Grew up with a deaf father. It’s my first language.”

He looked impressed. He handed me the glass of water, and I downed the whole thing in a big gulp.

“More?”

I shook my head. “You can sit down if you want to, you know.” I gestured to the chair in the corner of my room, which I used mainly for reading.

Cyrus looked at it and then came and sat down on the bed next to me. It made my cheeks heat up, and I looked away.

“Yeah, or right here on the bed’s fine too,” I mumbled.

He looked at me. “Am I making you uncomfortable?”

I couldn’t determine if he was being genuine or mocking me. I searched his face, but it was completely blank.

I straightened my back. “No,” I said, sounding braver than I was feeling.

He leaned in, his face mere inches from mine. “Am I making you ~nervous~?” he asked hoarsely, his bright eyes locking with mine.

Waves of heat washed over me, and my vision clouded. I felt drunk.

“Yes.”

He chuckled softly. “Good girl,” he said so quietly that I wondered if I had heard it correctly.

I held his gaze. A million thoughts ran through my head. It all came crashing down on me at once, all the confusing feelings I had felt over the last few weeks.

I could hear Maisy’s voice, clear as day, in my head, capturing it all in a single sentence: I totally had the hots for my boss.

The realization hit me like a ton of bricks. I struggled to even look in Cyrus’s direction anymore.

The position we were in suddenly felt very surreal as well, sitting on my bed, in very close proximity to my ~boss~, who I had a newfound crush on. It all felt very “high school” to me.

Cyrus finished his water and leaned over to set the glass on my nightstand.

My heart fluttered as he hung over me, his neck so close to my face that I could have kissed it, and I had to physically restrain myself from doing so.

His scent engulfed me once more, and I breathed it in shakily. Cyrus noticed and turned his head to me, still leaning over me.

His face was mere centimeters from mine. My insides stirred, and I imagined what it would be like to kiss him.

Cyrus’s eyes flickered, and his gaze dropped down to my lips, making me wonder if he was thinking the same thing.

~Of course he isn’t. Stop kidding yourself.~

“Well,” he said, snapping me out of my daze. “I’d better get you undressed then.”

My heart dropped, and I gasped audibly. “What?!”

“Change you into your pajamas,” he clarified, clearly enjoying my reaction.

“Yeah, no, that’s okay. I’ve got it.”

He walked to my closet and opened its door. “Do you now?” he said as he walked in.

“I do!” I reassured him, hopping off the bed and limping after him.

He walked farther into the closet, his eyes scanning my clothes.

“You’re not supposed to be in here,” I squeaked. “This is overstepping the boss-employee boundary.”

Cyrus turned around abruptly. He closed the distance between us, cornering me. “I thought you said I wasn’t your boss after hours.”

His wide, strong chest was so close to my face that I could practically hear his heartbeat. It sent shivers down my spine and made my knees weak.

He bent his head down toward me, holding it so close to mine that our noses almost touched.

“Tell me I’m overstepping again. Tell me and I’ll leave.”

Blood rushed to my head, making my already low blood pressure drop even more. I almost sank to the ground, suddenly extra thankful for being sandwiched between Cyrus and my closet wall.

My body answered for me before my mind had a chance to collect itself. I shook my head. He copied my movement, shaking his head “no” with me, and somehow it was the sexiest thing I had ever seen.

Then he leaned his head forward and rested his forehead against mine. He closed his eyes slowly, and I followed his lead.

We just stood there, forehead-to-forehead, for what felt like hours. I listened to his slow, labored breathing, and it calmed me to my core.

I had never felt more overpowered but powerful at the same time.

Slowly, I opened my eyes again. I looked at his breathtakingly beautiful face, his harsh, manly features, and I wanted nothing more than for him to kiss me.

All my resolutions of finding a good, wholesome, golden retriever of a boy went out the window. I wanted my angry, handsome, boundary-pushing, hotheaded prick of a boss, and I wanted him badly.

“Cyrus,” I whispered before I could stop myself.

His eyes flicked open, and they bore into mine, making me have to steady myself against him.

“Again,” he growled so lowly it was barely audible.

I swallowed thickly. “Cyrus.”

His eyes closed again, and his breathing turned ragged.

I cleared my throat. “I think—”

“Shhh,” he cut me off, his forehead still pressed against mine. “Just one more minute.”

I closed my mouth, basking in his proximity. Every time I blinked, my eyelashes brushed the bridge of his nose slightly.

I just stood there, staring at the peace that clung to his normally ever-weary face, leaving him fully in charge. He was the boss, after all.

When Cyrus’s eyes opened again, something had changed. The electricity that had buzzed between us suddenly fell away. His eyes turned dark and cloudy again. He stepped back slowly.

His hands, which had been caging my ribs right below my breasts, slowly slid down my sides and then released me, shifting my weight back to my uninjured leg.

Disappointment rushed over me as quickly as the excitement had before.

Reality came crashing in, as if the magic sparks between us, which had clouded my judgment just moments ago, had gone up in smoke.

I found myself standing there, in my bedroom closet, with my moody boss who tended to make me the target of his wrath.

When Cyrus spoke again, my presumptions solidified. It was as if nothing had happened.

“You said you’d manage getting yourself ready?” he said with just a touch of raggedness left in his voice, but otherwise sounding much more “professional.”

I dropped my head and averted my eyes. “Sure,” I said.

Cyrus looked at me for a long moment and then walked back out of the closet. “Take as much time off as you need,” he called over his shoulder. “I’ll see you back at the office when you’re ready.”

I heard my front door close behind him moments later, and I slowly slid down my closet wall until I was sitting on the closet floor, my injured leg stretched out in front of me.

I folded my arms over my knees and laid my head down on them, and finally the tears started coming.

I told myself it was just the built-up tension of the day coming out, but I knew in my heart that there was another reason I was crying.