Hot Lap Pause Spin Off Completed
Chapter 12
The present
Emma's POV:
"What's the name of your car?" Xavier asks me randomly as we drive to the destination that Landon requested we meet him and Sarah at.
Lan still has no clue that Xavier is my date. If he knows me at all, he should be half-expecting it. Xavier's always my go-to guy for everything.
"I don't have a name for my car!" I snap at him defiantly. He keeps rubbing it in that we're taking his car and that he gets to drive us there. It's so unfair. I love driving.
"Aww, c'mon now, Love, everyone has a name that they call their car," Xavier presses on as if genuinely curious, his thick British accent coming through strong with every word that he utters. I've noticed that the more excited he gets about something, the more British he sounds.
"My car's a GT," I answer him flatly.
"I bet you named your car after me." Xavier smirks to himself at the thought. "That's why you won't tell me," he suddenly says, jumping to his own conclusions. "My girl's name is Sheila," he says the name in an Australian accent.
"You named your car an Australian name?" I question, taken aback. I was expecting something else altogether.
"It's a hot name," he answers simply.
I scoff at that and change the subject. "So, listen Xave, you have to behave tonight," I start the lecture that I've been preparing in my head. I might as well begin the rundown early. "You cannot be crude or inappropriate, okay?"
This girl, Sarah, clearly means a lot to my brother. I don't want Xavier messing up his chances in any way.
"Fine, fine, whatevs. Rest your little head, Ems," he says in an attempt to reassure me. "I'll make sure to be on my best behavior."
I can't be sure what he means by that. I scowl at him but he doesn't see it because he's too focused on the road. "I'm serious, Xave."
Landon doesn't take interest in girls very easily. I would hate for anything to go wrong tonight because of me. He already almost lost her once.
"What a coincidence?" he says sarcastically. "Me too," he reassures me again but his mischievous smile is not doing anything to ease my doubts.
I roll my eyes at him. "I know it's incredibly difficult for you but just be nice."
He takes his eyes off the road to glance my way. "For you," he waggles his eyebrows and sends me a playful grin, "I'll deeply consider it."
*~*~**~*~*
The second we walk in, Xave makes a point of drawing me to his side. I know exactly why he does it, to fire up Lan's temper.
Great start.
Landon's face drops at the sight of Xavier but he plasters on a fake grin, careful not to alert Sarah of his obvious hatred for Xavier. He's choosing to play it safe because he doesn't want to lose Sarah, and I kind of get that.
"Landon, my pal, good ol' buddy of mine," Xave greets my brother mockingly.
I shoot Xave a look as we both take our seats across from Sarah and my brother.
Landon ignores Xavier and turns to me with a fake smile as if trying to send me a message. "Oh, I see you brought Xavier with...how fun." He keeps that sickly sweet smile on his lips but his eyes are saying a whole different story.
Yeah...he's going to kill me after this.
"It was short notice," I answer before turning in my seat to say 'hi' to Sarah.
Sarah breaks the tension. She stretches out her hand to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm Sarah," she greets Xavier politely.
My brother has a bad habit of not doing introductions. It seems Sarah has already discovered this.
Xavier smirks before taking her hand into his. He lowers his head to plant a flirtatious kiss on her hand. "How lovely. What a pleasure it is to meet you, Sarah," Xavier openly sweet talks Lan's girlfriend.
Lan grits his teeth in aggravation but says nothing. He's too busy focusing on restraining himself from killing Xavier.
I kick Xavier from underneath the table when I see the skeptical look of confusion in Sarah's eyes. She only meant to shake his hand, not to receive an endearing kiss on the back of her hand.
Xavier flashes me a wicked grin. "Don't be jealous, Emma," he whispers into my ear so that only I hear him.
I subtly pinch his arm and he backs off for a bit.
"So, are you two together?" Sarah tries to alleviate her confusion by asking questions.
"No," I answer just as Xavier answers 'yes'. I turn to shoot him daggers with my eyes. He merely shrugs in response. I turn back to Sarah to give her a valid explanation, "He's just my--"
"Bed buddy," Xavier finishes for me.
Sarah's eyes visibly widen at his choice of words.
Landon curls his hands into tight fists. He's just about ready to put an end to Xavier's existence. Honestly, I'm shocked he's lasted this long. It's a new personal best for him. Usually, he would've flown off his rocker by now.
I swat Xavier on the chest before shaking my head at Sarah. "Don't listen to him. He's a jokester," I tell her, making it clear to her that we are not together in any sort of way.
If my brother doesn't end Xavier, I just might.
Xavier eyes Sarah up and down shamelessly, laying down the charm thick with his next sentence. "So, tell me, how did someone like Landon snag up someone like you?" he questions Sarah in a flirtatious manner. "You're way out of his league."
I know that he's only doing it to get under Lan's skin. He's not really interested. His main goal is to drive my brother up the pole.
Sarah cracks a half-smile at his words, obviously feeling flattered.
Landon is glaring at Xavier with a dark, dangerous look to his green eyes. He isn't reacting or saying anything because he doesn't want Sarah to see his aggressive side. Xavier knows this much and is exploiting it to his advantage.
Xavier continues on badmouthing Lan for the hell of it. "I mean, do you know about his anger problems...his temper issues?" Xavier asks Sarah, acting cautious but I know him well enough to know that he doesn't care. If he wants to hurt my brother, then this is the way to do it.
Landon tenses, motioning with his eyes to Xavier to stop talking. It's clear that Lan has yet to tell Sarah about his anger management classes in fear of her leaving him because of it: she wouldn't be the first.
"We all have our faults," Sarah replies, narrowing her eyes at Xavier in distaste. She seems to be unfazed by the revelation. "And he has told me, just by the way," she adds, annoyed.
Landon relaxes again when he sees that his girl has his back. I have a feeling that Sarah will be the one that stays until the very end. I mean, I can't be sure but she stands out in comparison to the others he's dated.
"He even knows how to hot-wire cars," Xavier tells her -- just another attempt to make Lan look like a lousy person in front of his girlfriend.
Landon is quick to defend himself, "That's only 'cause I work with cars. I'm a car mechanic. I modify cars so that they're efficient for racing. Obviously, I know how to jump-start a car. It isn't that hard."
"Whatever you say, man," Xavier smirks in response, a speck of deviltry floating through his dark, alluring eyes. He enjoys stirring the pot. He thrives on the discomfort of others. It's a side of him that I really can't stand. I don't understand why he does this, why he hurts people.
Fortunately, Sarah isn't buying into any of Xavier's crap. It seems that she couldn't care less about him or what he thinks. She only has eyes for my brother.
Xavier doesn't quit there. He takes down another route in order to get under my brother's skin, that route being me. He decides to put all the moves on me instead, knowing that it will silently kill Landon from the inside-out. If it's not placing soft kisses on my cheek, moving my chair closer to him, or playing with my hair, then it's all just inappropriate suggestions or crude remarks.
Despite knowing what he's doing, I'm still moved by it all. He has me in a hot mess and I don't even think he realizes his effect on me. Still, I hate what he's doing to my brother and I'm smart enough to put my feelings aside.
Landon does his best to ignore Xavier's digs but fails.
I'm predicting an outburst from my brother but before he can react, Sarah surprises us all by speaking up on Lan's behalf. "Why are you pressing his buttons, Xavier?" she asks him, point-blank.
She's got guts, I'll give her that.
Xavier, stunned by her bluntness, falls silent in shame. She has a unique way of making people feel guilty because she's so sweet and soft.
Sarah keeps her unimpressed gaze steady on Xavier. "I honestly wouldn't blame Lan if he punched you in the face right now," she tells him, her tone sharp.
As if on cue, Landon, lets out a breath of relief before standing up and getting ready to do exactly that.
Sarah stops him with her next words, "Not that I'm authorizing it, condoning it, encouraging it or giving permission to it in any way, sense or form." She then narrows narrows her gaze at my brother in warning.
Landon sighs before sitting back down in his seat. He huffs and angrily kicks at Xavier's chair, displeased that he can't just kick Xavier's ass already. He's been holding out for years as is.
I stifle a smile. Sarah clearly has my brother under her spell. My smile fades when my gaze drifts over to the man seated beside me. He didn't keep his promise to me. He's been awful company tonight and I'm kind of embarrassed that I brought him with, to begin with.
Xavier is known for his callous attitude. He doesn't have friends because of it. Majority are not fond of him. He deliberately irritates people. Most people can't put up with him. He doesn't want to see eye-to-eye with anyone. It's as if he wants people to dislike him. He wants to push people away. It's a part of him I don't quite understand.
Like expected, Xave refuses to apologize for his behavior. Disappointed, I follow him out when he decides to cut the double date short.
After storming out, he finally stops so that I can catch up with him. He lets out a deep breath before sending me a devilish smirk. "You said not to be inappropriate or crude, you said nothing about pissing off your brother, or as I prefer, Ruthless."
But he was still inappropriate and crude!
I sigh and shake my head at him. "You were the ruthless one in there, tearing my brother apart like that in front of Sarah. Why do you have a problem with seeing other people happy?" I question, wanting to get to the bottom of this. If I keep holding back it's because of this, this ugly side I keep seeing.
"I don't!" he snaps at me from out of nowhere. "I just..." he falters, unable to finish his sentence.
He gets ready to walk away again but I'm quick to pull him to a halt. "Xave," I whisper softly, "tell me," I plead with him, not ready to let this go. He's always been around when I've needed someone, it's my time to return the favor.
He glances my way with apprehension lingering in his dark eyes. He glances up at the sky and then at me, seemingly nervous about something.
"What is it?" I ask him again.
"Truth is, Emma," he breathes out quietly, "I have feelings for you, real feelings," he confesses. I fall quiet at his confession, speechless. He sees my lack of response and takes it the wrong way. A frown overcomes his features. "I don't want to have them but I do," he adds, his eyes glinting darker under the evening sky. "I know, it's a tough pill for you to swallow. Facts are, I've liked you since first meeting you."
He takes my silence as an indication to leave and starts on his way again.
"Xave, wait!" I call to him in desperation. I know what I want to say but the words get caught in my throat in fear of the unknown. The only relationships I've ever known are the ones that have crumbled -- my parents are proof enough of that.
It's not a tough pill to swallow. He has such a terrible view on himself and I don't understand why he acts the way he does. He has a good heart beneath all his many layers of arrogance.
"I..." I trail off and shrug helplessly at him.
Xavier's never been a 'one girl' type of guy. That scares me but I don't want to admit that to him, to myself. I'm not supposed to be scared of anything.
He takes the liberty to speak for me, "When you asked me out on this double date, I knew it wasn't anything serious on your part and, so, maybe that's why I came into it with a bitter taste in my mouth," he informs me, finally being honest with me. "Truth is, I'd like to go on more dates with you, Emma, minus Sarah, and Ruthless."
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're suggesting an exclusive relationship between us?" I prod, astonished -- I've never seen him open up like this to me, or to anyone, for that matter. It's not his style.
"Maybe not," he shrugs before shaking his head as if dismissing the thought altogether, "or maybe I am."
It seems he can't make up his mind on 'us' either.
"I am," he finally confirms with certainty.
I avert my eyes from his, unsure how to respond. I haven't had enough time to process this concept of 'us'. I did not see it coming.
When I don't say anything, he sends me a weak smile before walking to his car, beckoning me to follow.
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