Chapter Thirty-seven

Paris and Gwen drove back to their street in comfortable silence with both their fingers intertwined only sharing small smiles and looks of assurance that everything would turn out to be just fine.

They hopped out of the car, and he walked her to Armani's door without saying a word.

"I guess this is it." Gwen's lips twitched into a slow smile, which he returned with a genuine one, pulling her hand against his lips and leaving a sensual kiss on her knuckles and taking his lips higher to plant a wet one.

"When are we going to spend some time together again?" He asked over her hand before releasing it.

She held the hand to her chest, still feeling his lips on hers, refraining from rubbing her fingers over her throbbing lips.

"Soon," she said softly, and he nodded before waving her goodbye. When she twisted the handle of the door and it didn't open, Paris hummed, getting her attention.

"No hugs?" He widened his arms and Wendy didn't reciprocate his gaze. She bowed her head, hiding her tinted cheeks as she fidgeted with her handbag and shuffled into his chest, pressing her cheeks on his heart.

Paris placed a kiss on her wet hair, and it stirred the little hairs on her nape, sending fiery tingles into every cell she possessed, and he whispered, "thank you."

Gwen's heart raced and they pulled away from the hug. "Thank you too."

With that, she fished out the key from her bag and unlocked the door. The moment she pushed it open, she saw the retreating figure of Armani as she ran away from the door on her tiptoes like a mouse.

"Armani?" Gwen knitted her brows into a frown and shook her head at her nosy friend. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"No. Why didn't you take my calls?" Armani was quick to shift the topic just as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other with a glass of wine in her hand.

"You didn't call, did you?" Gwen threw her bag on the couch, plopped on the softness, and leaned into it, kicking off her shoes and wiggling her toes. "I didn't see your missed calls."

"You were out for hours and didn't bother to text that you're fine! I was scared you went home and got eaten by those demonic creatures." Armani blabbered, joining Wendy on the couch and cocking up both brows in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I wasn't that long." Gwen shrugged, restricting her eyes from falling on Marni's face.

"Can you do me a favor?" Armani pouted and Gwen nodded. "Walk to the window and look outside then tell me what you see."

"Why?"

"Just do it." Armani pressed and Gwen accepted, hoisting herself out of the couch and straightening invisible rumples on her dress before treading to the window and shoving the thick, royal-blue curtains to take a glance at the street.

"I see darkness," she said, looking into the street then a streetlight flickered on. "Oh! One of the lights just came on."

"Exactly!" Armani clapped her hands dramatically with a look of suspicion on her face. "You didn't spend a long time but it's dark and it's nine pm!"

"Armani." Gwen chuckled, rolling her eyes as she found her way back to the couch and dropped on it. "What is wrong with you?"

"I called you numerous times, you made me worried sick!" Armani gulped down the sparkly wine with enlarged eyes. "I was already planning your funeral."

"What?" Gwen sat up with a slackened jaw, watching as Armani dropped a jotter on her thighs that had the word, "Funeral speech" on it, and she scowled at Armani before bursting into laughter. "You're sick, I didn't see your calls."

"Check your phone." Armani chipped in and Gwen objected, defending herself that she never got a call from her friend. "Check, damn it!" Armani insisted and Gwen pulled out her phone only to titter when she saw twenty-one missed calls on her notification bar.

"Okay, sorry. I was busy with Paris-"

"No wonder you reek of sex!" Marni held her nose and Gwen smacked her arm.

"We didn't have sex." Gwen rolled her eyes and pressed her lips into a thin line.

"But you kissed." Armani wiggled her brows at her and Gwen felt the heat crawl up her ears as she looked at anywhere but Armani's face. "Talk to me..."

"Shut up!" Gwen covered her face with her palms and her stomach flipped. "Who is Mr. Brandon." Gwen brought down her hands and emphasized the 'R' as an Italian person would.

"Oh, that's my ex's dad," Armani answered nonchalantly, taking a sip from her glass cup and wetting her lips after swallowing it down her throat.

"What?" Gwen leaned forward to hear better.

"My ex's dad. The expression on his face would be priceless when he hears I'll be his stepmother." Marni cackled and Wendy joined, gripping her stomach.

"Evil bastard!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Guess what?" Marni sat the wine on the table and rose to her feet. She placed both her palms on her knees and arched her back. "I'll be clapping for Mr. Brandon but not with my hands, with my ass!" Armani twerked, making her buttocks clap, entrapping the shorts in her butt crack and releasing it. The clapping was so hard that a slapping sound could be heard.

"You're lucky I'm not a lesbian." Gwen gripped her lip in-between her teeth and ran a series of what she could do with Armani's buttocks in her head. "Shake what your mama gave you!"

Gwen sprang up and joined her friend.

******

Gwen honored Paris' invitation and went straight to his apartment after she closed from work. Her heart flipped and pumped happy feelings into her veins. She sat on the couch, awaiting his return.

"I made something for you." He slid out of the kitchen with a check apron wrapped around his body and a tray of white plates. "Here is your spaghetti and meatballs!"

Paris sat the tray on the table in front of Gwen and she grinned like the Cheshire cat, rubbing her palms together as the aroma of spaghetti cooked in spicy tomatoes wafted into her nose.

"Smells delicious." Gwen salivated, picking up a fork and digging into the spaghetti, stabbing a meatball too. Paris sat beside her, jaw on his palm as he anticipated to see her eat his food.

Gwen stuffed it in her mouth and immediately, her eyes widened. She dropped the fork and pulled her mouth open, desperately fanning the burning feeling and repeatedly saying, "Water, I need water."

Paris held a glass to her lips, and she gulped almost everything before speaking, "Too spicy. You put a lot of pepper."

"I'm sorry." He muttered, sounding a little disappointed as his lips curled downwards.

When Gwen noticed he wasn't pleased by her comment, she cleared her throat and picked up the fork. "But it's really tasty."

She requested a glass of milk and drank it as she ate the food, reducing the hotness.

Gwen stopped when it was half the plate and forced a smile with teary eyes. Her eyes twitched as she pretended to be alright. She stood with her plate and went to the kitchen. The moment she saw the sink, she rushed towards it and put her mouth under the tap. She ran it on her tongue and gulped a lot as the chili burnt its way down her throat and chest.

"Gwenny," Paris called, sounding like he was close to the kitchen, and she composed herself, sipping from her glass of milk as she turned to face him with glossy eyes. She smiled at him but screamed in her head.

It was tasty but it felt like had used two bottles of chili pepper to make it.

Thirty minutes were gone, and Gwen cozied up with Paris on the couch with a warm blanket shielding their bodies from the cold as they focused their gaze on the tv, watching a slapstick show.

"Do you think I'm a bad person?" Paris asked and wrinkles appeared on Gwen's forehead as she felt his voice vibrate underneath her cheek. Her head was against his beating heart, while her hand rested on his stomach.

"Why would I think that?" She asked, tilting her head to view his face for a second.

"I killed my unborn child." He croaked. "I'm a bad person."

"No, you aren't." Gwen rubbed his chest and sat up so they could lock gazes. "You didn't kill the child; you were protecting the woman you love, and I'll do anything to have a man that'll protect me as you did. The baby would have still gone because her father would have punched it out. You're a good man and you hit her by mistake."

She cooed, gripping his beard and gently scratching them.

"But-"

"Shh," she held an index finger to his lips and silenced him. "Don't ever call yourself a bad person again. If you were bad, I wouldn't be here with you. Can I ask something?"

Paris nodded and she continued, "where is she now?"

"Dead." A muscle in his jaw ticked and the color drained out of his face as he stilled on the couch and his eyes bored into the ceiling.

Gwen felt the weight of a fat lump in her throat as her heart skipped a bit and she gulped, gripping his hand and convincing herself that he didn't kill her.

"How did she die?" Gwen asked with the softest tone she could muster.

"She married the so-called royalty after promising me we'd never be apart, after saying we'd run away if we had to but guess what?" He asked through gritted teeth, clenching his fists and clutching Gwen's hand a little too tight. "She died on the wedding night."

Gwen's eyes shimmered with tears as his grip felt like a death trap that would break her fingers if she didn't speak out.

"Pa-Paris." Gwen stuttered, trying to snatch back her hand.

"He stole her from me, and she died because of his predicament!" He growled, snapping his mouth shut and pressing his lips into a hardline as the audible sound of him gnashing his teeth filled her ears.

"It's fine, let it all out... He wasn't right to do that but look now," she held his chin and a soft smile played on her lips. "You're doing fine without her, looking amazing as a snack but you're really hurting my fingers."

"Oh!" He released her hand immediately and drew it for a kiss and slyly looking up at her with his lips quirked up and said, "Do you want to snack on me? I taste better with vanilla whip cream." Gwen chuckled, sinking her face into his stomach as her stomach tied itself into knots.

"Stop it." She turned scarlet sitting back up and they chortled.

Suddenly, Gwen's phone rang, and both their heads snapped to the phone on the table.

She stretched over Paris, her breasts, brushing his chest lightly as she grabbed the phone from the table. She returned to her initial position and glanced at the screeching phone. The light illuminated her face, and she took in the caller ID to be Armani. Quickly, she tapped the answer button and gripped the phone to her ear.

"What's up?" Gwen asked, tugging on the thread she saw hanging out of Paris' jeans.

"You left without telling me!" Armani screamed from the other side, causing Gwen to detach the phone from her ear, squinting then putting it back. "Gwen?"

"Yeah, I'm here.

"Where are you, did you go home?" Armani asked and just as she was about to reply, Paris tenderly took her hand on his and interlocked it, making her dumbstruck for a minute.

"Uhm-Uhm, Paris." She stammered then swallowed a ball of saliva, trying not to get lost in his touch.

"I'm coming over."

"Yeah, we'll-" Gwen started but Marni hung up before she could complete the sentence. "-be waiting for you..."

The moment those words left her lips, Paris unlatched their hands and focused on the tv screen with his lips squeezed into a pale line. Gwen placed her head on his chest, thinking he was feeling bad because of his past and he just needed some quietude.

Forty-five minutes were gone, and the sudden sound of the door being knocked on violently made Paris tighten his dental bone.

"Does she have to knock that way?" His voice came from the pit of his stomach and Gwen felt the distaste that was laced in it.

"I'll get it." Gwen raced to the door, fearing it'll break down because of how it shook. "Are you high on cheap drugs?"

Gwen pulled the door open, and Armani dashed in, closing the door herself and leaning on it to catch her breath.

"Chased, ex." Were the only words she could breathe out as she trailed behind Gwen.

On reaching the living room, she sat close to Paris and ruffled his hair, taking a sip from the glass of water on the table.

"That's sink water." Gwen pointed out and Marni spat out, scrubbing her tongue with a tissue she yanked out of her bag.

Armani explained that her ex had shown himself at the office to caution her, threatening to get her fired if she didn't leave his dad.

"Fool, how can he fire me when he's not the boss?" Marni laughed and Gwen shook her head in amazement. "I brought wine by the way." She grabbed a bottle of wine out of her bag and popped it open.

Paris distanced himself on the far end of the couch, watching a movie on his phone with furrowed eyebrows.

After the whole talk, Gwen decided to join Paris.

"Hey," she muttered, and he ignored her like she wasn't there. "What's so interesting?"

"A movie," dry-toned Paris, never taking his eyes off the screen.

Gwen tried to get him to talk but didn't succeed. She finally yanked the phone out of his grip, and he didn't look all the bit pleased.

"Give it back." His tone was serious, and it matched the dead eyes that camped on his face.

"No." Gwen crossed m her arms over her chest. "You can't invite me over to your house and give me some attitude."

"Give it." Paris held out his palm, gesturing for her to place it back.

"Do you want me to leave?" Gwen asked, feeling irked with goosebumps making their way up her slender arms.

"I just want to watch a movie." His lips curved into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Give my phone back."

With a clenching heart, she returned his phone and strode over to pocket hers. She tapped Armani who was engrossed in sipping wine and watching the movie, saying, "I'll be in your place.

She walked over to Paris and said the same, but he didn't bother to lift his head. Gwen stiffened, feeling bile rising in her throat as she exited his house in confusion and disappointment.

"What is wrong with men?" She hissed and suddenly, his door opened, and he called out to her.

"Want me to walk you?" He sounded reluctant like he was forced to ask.

She bit back a curse word then halted in her tracks before clenching her jaw and replying, "No."

The harsh sound of his door banging shut made her heart flip, sending a rage of anger to course through her veins. She screwed her eyes shut and popped them open. She stomped to Armani's apartment and slept in anger. The next day after work, she went home, not wanting to see his face.