He was trying to take her hand, but she was pushing away from him and the kid, now with fake blood all over her, which made her continue to slip and slide on the floor. “Get me out of here!” she finally screamed.
The lights came on and an announcement came over the speakers. “Everyone please calmly proceed to the exit. There are signs illuminated now. We’ll get the show back on as soon as we deal with the hysterical woman in the doctor’s lab.”
“Ah, crap,” Axel muttered as his eyes connected with Ella’s. He had a feeling this was a little bit worse than her last haunted house experience.
“Look, lady, you’re ruining everything,” the kid behind them said as he stepped around them and stomped toward the exit.
The kid she’d knocked out was coming to as his friends rushed forward. “You hit Tommy?” a freckle-face kid said, glaring at Axel.
“No, I did. I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have come in here,” Ella said. “Did I hurt him?”
Tommy was coming to, sitting up and shaking his head. “What happened?”
“I’m so sorry. I hit you,” Ella said, her voice shaking.
“I got knocked out by a girl?” he asked, seeming far more horrified by that than the fact that he’d been knocked out.
“I’m so, so sorry,” Ella repeated as she reached out a hand.
“Dang! You have a mean right hook,” the kid said, not looking nearly as scary with the lights on and the music off.
“I don’t know what happened. I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“It’s okay. I usually get hit at least once or twice, but that’s the first time I’ve been knocked out,” he said with a crooked grin.
“You’re taking this well,” she said with a watery smile.
“You’re hot. Can I get your number? You can make it up to me,” he said. The kid couldn’t have been more than nineteen, if that.
“No, she’s not giving you her number. We’ll just get out of here now,” Axel said, finally able to grab her arms and help her stand.
They didn’t say anything more as they made their way to the exit. He hoped no one would notice them and they could sneak off before she was embarrassed any further.
Of course, that only happened in a perfect world. The minute they stepped outside, they saw the couple who was behind them and the girl told the crowd that Ella was the woman who’d caused the whole mess. Then the crowd booed them.
Axel wanted to pummel them all, but instead he rushed her to his car and got them the hell out of there. “I’m sorry, Ella. I shouldn’t have taken you. I really thought you’d be a little scared but still have fun,” Axel said once they were far enough away that they couldn’t see the house anymore.
“I’m just really embarrassed. Can you take me home?” she asked meekly, making him feel even worse.
“Of course.” They drove in silence to her house, and she was still trembling when they pulled into the drive. He wasn’t sure if it was fear or embarrassment or what, but he knew he wasn’t going to just leave her there.
“I’m fine. You go on home,” she said when he walked her to the door.
“Nope. I’m coming inside, making you a nice cup of hot tea, and then I’ll rub your feet,” he told her, inviting himself in.
When she didn’t fight him, he knew she was having a difficult time keeping it together. She always put up such a strong front that this was the first time he’d seen her vulnerable side. He sort of liked being needed.
After settling her on the couch and popping in a chick flick, he had no clue which one, he went into the kitchen and made her a cup of herbal tea, adding a little sugar and honey, just the way she liked it.
Bringing the tea to her, he then sat on the other end of the sofa and suffered through the movie while rubbing her feet. When her eyes grew sleepy, he pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back until she fell asleep.
His night of sex was certainly off the table, but as he carried her to her bed, he realized that this was better. A week or two ago he would’ve told someone they were crazy if they suggested he’d be satisfied by doing nothing other than carrying a woman to bed and holding her.
But in this moment, as he laid her down on the comforter and pulled her up against him, and his own eyes closed, he realized he was exactly where he wanted and needed to be.
She was running away. Even knowing this, it didn’t make her change her mind. The lovemaking was too intense, too perfect, the soft moments too overwhelming. The conversations were deep and meaningful, and she hated to spend a single day without him.
What did all this mean? It meant that she was scared. It meant that she wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening. Because ultimately it meant that she had feelings for Axel, feelings she didn’t know how to deal with.
“We’re worried about you, Ella,” Reese said as she stood in Ella’s office doorway next to Maycie.
Jumping, Ella looked up from her desk and smiled. “Why in the world would you be worried about me? I’m better than I’ve ever been,” she lied with a megawatt smile to accompany it.
“Can we say denial?”
“Can you say meddler?” Ella fired back.
“Yes, absolutely I can say that because I’m your best friend who just so happens to know you too well to allow you to lie,” Reese said as she and Maycie came and sat on opposite ends of her desk. Ella had given up hope long ago that they would use chairs like normal human beings.
“I’m great. My ex-boss will soon be in prison, my new job is going well. I may even get to try a case someday. My boy—” She stumbled over that word. “The man I’m seeing makes me happy, and I feel great all the way around.”