I woke up in the most comfortable bed of my life. I stretched and sat up, realizing this wasn’t my room. Silently panicking, I tried looking for my phone, rolling around, throwing pillows around, until I fell on the floor with a loud thud. Standing, I winced in pain, watching my injured knee bleed as someone burst into the room from one of the side doors.
“Is everything okay?” I heard the voice of a man.
I looked up, finding the one and only Alejandro Phantom with a towel around his waist and hair dripping onto his chest.
“Oh my stars,” I sighed as I turned away from him, completely forgetting that my knee was bleeding.
I heard him chuckle before hearing his footsteps walk around the bed and towards me.
“Hey, you’re about to get blood on my carpet,” he sighed, swiftly picking me up bridal style and guiding me over to his bathroom.
“How did I get here, Mr. Phantom?” I questioned as he set me on the counter.
“Well, I saw you had fallen asleep in our section, so I had Mateo stay with Nia. But after leaving, I realized I didn’t know where you lived, so I just took you here,” he shrugged, grabbing rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, and bandaids.
“Oh, okay. Did you happen to see my phone? I can’t seem to find it anywhere,” I said, finding myself unable to look up from fidgeting with my hands.
“No, but I can help you look,” he stated, putting the alcohol-filled cotton ball on my scraped knee.
I didn’t even flinch as he patted it in. Once the bleeding had slowed, he quickly put a bandaid on it and looked up at me.
“The last time I saw your phone, it was on the side table,” he walked away from me and came back, phone in hand.
“Are you gonna put some clothes on now?” I questioned, hopping off of the counter.
“Yeah, why? Does it make you nervous?” he teased, following behind me out of the bathroom.
“No, just turns me on,” I winked as I stepped out of his room, lingering by the door.
I could hear his chuckle before he walked away. I was so utterly confused about where I was. I didn’t even realize I was no longer wearing my two-piece. I now sat in a plain white T-shirt with socks on. The shirt smells just like him. His sharp but warm cologne and earthy shampoo contaminated my nose as I finally took a breath that I couldn’t in his presence. I had no idea he lived in such a beautifully decorated apartment. Everything was perfectly kept together and matching the vibe he gave. His walls were a very dark shade of blue, almost black. The only way you could tell it was blue was when the sun hit it. His plants lit the place up with their vibrant color, and his condo smelled like pinewood. Unknowing of where I was or how to get home, I entered his kitchen and rummaged through his fridge for breakfast. I decided to make pancakes with eggs since it was one of the only things I could find.
“I thought you were leaving,” he snuck up behind me as I struggled to grab his pans.
“Well, I don’t really know where I am or how to get home, so I thought I’d thank you for taking care of me by making breakfast!” I exclaimed, still attempting to reach for his pans.
“That’s unnecessary, but thank you!” he smiled, finally helping me get his pans.
I think he just likes to see me struggle.
“Did you want help?” he asked.
“No, thank you, but you can watch if you’d like,” I offered, trying not to be rude.
He simply smiled and sat on a chair. I actually have no idea where it came from. I mixed the ingredients to make the pancakes, and I heard the door open. Heels clicked on the floor, and a lady emerged wearing a cheetah-printed fur coat with a black dress to match.
“Mother, what are you doing here?” he stood in shock, walking over to her.
“Can a mother not come see her loving son?” she questioned, pushing him aside so she could see me.
“And which skank is this?” she questioned, walking toward me.
“Actually, Ms. Phantom, my name is Jayden Spades, your son’s assistant,” I tried to say respectfully while being disrespected.
“Is that so?” she smirked, laughter erupting from her mouth with a huge smile. “I like this one, Alejandro.”
She turned toward her son and clicked her heels purposefully.
“Thank you, ma’am,” I said as she took her son into the next room to talk about family business.
Putting some music on my phone, I continued to make breakfast. By the time he and his mother came back, breakfast was done and ready to serve on the table.
“Would you be joining us for breakfast, Ms. Phantom?” I questioned, serving Ace some breakfast.
“No, sweetheart, but thank you for the offer. I’ll see you both tonight,” she said, clicking her heels right back out the door she came from.
“What is she talking about?” I interrogated menacingly, looking at him.
“Well,” he stayed silent, trying to figure out the words to say. “There’s this thing going on tonight that I kind of need you to attend with me.”
“Right, what is it?” I further questioned, now barely eating.
“It’s not something I can really explain. Please just come. You get a new fancy dress,” he tried to bribe, and I laughed.
“I’ll go just ’cause I love watching you beg,” I said, my face immediately flustered and now looking down at my food.
“What, can’t you keep eye contact?” he flirtatiously asked, reaching for my face.
His fingers lightly grazed my face as he lifted my chin to stare into my eyes. A flicker of emotion in a man who’s supposed to be dead inside? What a weird thing to see, yet grateful it’s something I can cause easily.
“I have to go home,” I blurted out, trying to change the subject. I know I look as red as a tomato right now.
“And why’s that?” he asked, removing his hand from my chin and picking up his fork.
“I have to get dressed for work. If I go home now, I can make it on time!” I said with a big, geeky smile on my face.
“Okay, I’ll have Richard take you home. Thank you so much for breakfast,” he said as Richard entered the room.
“Oh, did you want your shirt back?” I asked, standing.
“No, that’s okay,” he smiled as I walked off with Richard, who offered me house shoes to take home since I was barefoot.
I wonder what this “thing” is all about. All of this smells like danger, and it makes me so excited.