Chapter 15: Sudden Affection
The moment Mallory steps in front of the hotel, her blood boils again. She was pondering that confusing realization about the deal being just friends with Axel. When she felt a warm hand curl around her elbow, she gasped and spun around to identify the hand's owner. Being the clumsiest person, she landed hard against Axel.
"Whoa, chill." Axel steadied her on her feet. "I know I'm hard to resist but we're in public, woman." He whispers yelled.
She glared up at him, thrown off by his sudden appearance. "How about announcing yourself? You can't just go around grabbing women's arm!"
Axel raises his eyebrow. "I'm pretty damn easy to see coming if you weren't spacing out." He said as a matter of fact.
Mallory turned and tipped her head back to look at the face of the man who towered over her. "What are you doing here?"
"I live here, remember?" He shakes his head. The doormen held open the glass double doors as he walked her backward into the lobby and straight into an elevator.
She rolls her eyes at the stubborn man beside her. "You should be in a hospital." Her eyes linger in the man's cast arm, wondering if it still hurts.
He smiled tightly and led her out of the elevator. "I was bored. I didn't know you were going to be late. Good thing I checked myself out or I will spend the night alone."
Mallory rolls her eyes again. "You are such a baby."
Once he opens the door of his house, he goes straight to the kitchen. "So, how is your appointment?" He asks while pouring himself an orange juice.
Seeing him struggling made Mallory slaps his hand and snatches the orange juice carton box. "I can do it myself." He retorts.
"Yeah, right. You can't even clean up yourself because of that cast." And for the next 5 minutes, they continue to fight like a cat and dog over simple things.
Axel couldn't take it anymore. They used to be so close these past few days and then all of a sudden she is giving him cold shoulders. "Okay, what is wrong with you?"
"Nothing!" She whispers yelled.
"Mal-" Before he could even say another word, the woman walks out of the kitchen and bangs the door loudly.
She sighs heavily. Why does her blood boil just by seeing Axel? Shaking her head, she dives into her pillows and stares at the ceiling until she succumbed to the call of sleep.
In the middle of the night, Mallory jolts from her sleep when she felt her stomach growl. She gets up from bed, remembering that she didn't eat anything ever since she got home.
Somehow the lights are surprisingly turned off in the hallway which makes Mallory glad since no one will see her wearing her cartoon character pajamas.
"Stop!" Mallory instantly raises her hands in surrender when she heard Axel's voice. "Where are you going?" He asks.
"Sorry. Did I wake you up? I-I'm heading to the kitchen." She said, embarrassed that someone saw her trying to tiptoes through the kitchen.
"Do you really think I'll believe you?"
"Ah..." She raises her brows completely confuse. "...yes?"
"Stop lying to me!" He yells.
Mallory twitches her eyebrows. She said defensively, "I'm not lying. I'm really hungry!"
"Don't go anywhere. Stay right here, beside me."
Mallory clears her throat. "Okay. What are you even doing, Axel? Stop being weird. If you want me to make something for you too then just say it." She yells out of frustration.
"What?" Axel opens his door widely, looking confused at Mallory. "I'm sorry I was practicing my lines. Am I too loud?"
"Oh, no. I was just heading to the kitchen." She clears her throat. "Sorry to bother you. Uh, good luck."
After making some sandwiches, she passes to Axel's room once again. "I should offer him some." She said, knocking on the door. "Hey, do you want some sandwich?"
"No, thanks."
"Are you okay?" Seeing how messy his hair is, made Mallory think about how it feels to run her hands to his soft hair.
'Okay, I am definitely being weird.' She thought.
Mallory eyed him. Her voice is full of concern, "Should you be resting now?" Although his body seems alright, it would still be good if he takes some rest.
"I can't sleep." Axel rubs the back of his neck. Since his mind is off to things, he might as well just practice. "I'm actually having a hard time practicing my lines. Can you help me?"
"Sure! If that makes you rest after then I will gladly help you out." She said, cheerfully. "So what's the story about?"
"It's about a thief who stole Cupid's arrow because she believes that love only brings pain to everyone. Cupid, as the God of love, is determined to show her the beauty of love."
"The beauty of love, huh?" She teases. "I don't see why you're having a hard time practicing this considering that your charming and everyone falls for you."
"Except you." Axel corrected. "Besides I'm more good at portraying my character in action and mystery movies than romantic ones." He added.
"Okay. So which lines are we going to practice?"
Axel browses the script. "How about this one?" He said pointing at a certain page.
After a couple of hours practicing, they sit on the sofa. Axel suddenly tucks Mallory's hair behind her ear. "By the way, you look lovely today."
She blushes remembering that she's wearing pajamas. "T-thank you?" This is the second time Axel saw her wearing pajamas. Good thing, the cartoon character pajamas is a cute Pikachu which she finds cute.
"You didn't answer my question a while ago."
Mallory tried to remember what he said but her mind is a little fuzzy. All she could think about is going back to bed. "How is your day?" He repeated.
"It was great!" She smiles and starts telling him about the events that he missed while they drink some root beer. But of course, she didn't include the part where she teleports together with the Reaper and how she called him 'husband'.
"Do me a favor. Remind me not to invite you to my wedding." And with that, they laugh loudly that Mallory swears the receptionist downstairs could hear them.
Her gaze landed on his. "Eh, look your smiling too. You know, you look handsome when you smile."
"I'm already handsome even if I don't smile." Mallory playfully rolls her eyes.
"Listen, I'm sorry about a while ago. I didn't mean to snap out of you."
He nods his head and stays quiet, hoping that Mallory will give him an explanation of why she seems frustrated about something. But to his dismay, she didn't do anything other than yawns. "We should call it a night."
"Are you kidding me? We should practice more! I want to know what happened next in the story."
His face suddenly becomes serious as he snatches the script from her hands. "Mallory." He pauses. "You need to rest. I'm sure you're exhausted."
She raises her eyebrow. "Not I'm not!" She stands up and dances weirdly in front of him. "See, I'm not yet tired."
"Yes, you are."
"No." Axel sighs. Without a doubt, they are both stubborn. Now, it was Mallory who refuses to sleep despite how heavy her eyes are.
"Mallory go to sleep." He pinches his nose. "Don't make me tie you in bed."
She stops dead in her tracks. She tries to brush off the butterflies in her stomach but she can't. The longer she stares in his blue orbs, the more she gets addicted to it. "Oh, kinky. I like it." She teases.
"I swear this girl is driving me crazy." He whispers standing up. When he sees her stumbling to the ground, he carries her in bridal style.
He gulps when he felt her hands wrap around his neck. Her face is so close they can practically felt each other's breath. Once he tucks her to bed, she grabs his wrist. "Axel." She calls.
"Tell me a story."
Axel chuckles. "What are you five?" She hits him on the side making him laugh again.
"Once upon a time, there was a princess named Mallory who was accidentally run by a horse. The knight didn't mean to harm the princess. But the princess was badly hurt so she orders the knight to take her back to his place." He pauses. "The princess was as stubborn as hell. She always picks a fight with the knight."
Mallory interrupts, "Because the knight is coward. Even though he was a knight, he doesn't know how to defend himself." When her eyes begin to close again, he continues.
"Yeah." Axel chuckles. "Soon, he realizes his mistake. He doesn't know how much asshole he was until he met the princess. He then realizes the value of loving himself." He moves his hand to the air, checking if the woman is already asleep. When she didn't respond, he gulps. His hands begin to trace her jawline. Mallory moves her face closer to his hand, feeling the warm touch in her face.
"I think I'm starting to fall for you." His voice low and husky.
Her eyes suddenly open. She blinks several times. They stop and look deeply at each other's eyes. "What did you just say?" She whispers and begins to sit up. "I-I..."
Axel moves his head closer to her. Mallory was taken a bit, not believing what she just heard. The man leans in, so his forehead rests against her. He closes his eyes as both their breaths shake. "Thank you." He says in barely more than a whisper.
"For what?" Her voice wavers, exhilarated from the tension between them.
"For coming to my life."
He gently leans in and kisses Mallory's warm lips. The kiss was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled.
Her heart keeps beating faster every second. She doesn't know what to do. And the only thing that keeps going on her mind is the thought of kissing him back.
'Should I kiss him back?'
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