Frenemies With Benefits (Geek To Chic Book 2) (8 page)

Izzy and Roni had
hugged and cried all over each other, while Derek and Alex rolled their eyes,
before taking off to their separate places.
 
She wiped her tears as she pulled into her new assigned spot in the
Spire building garage.
 

The moving truck would
be along in a few minutes, she had just enough time to get upstairs to open the
door for them.
 
Walking around her car to
the trunk, she pulled a few boxes out.
 
“Guess I made it here just in time to help.”
 
Alex’s sensual baritone voice called from
behind her.
 

I
will not succumb to his sexy voice.
 
I
will not succumb to his sexy voice.
 
This had become Izzy’s mantra over the last
few months.
 

“I got it.”
 
She picked up two boxes and stumbled
backward.
 
Of course, Alex’s large arms
were there to catch her.
 

His laugh rumbled
through his chest.
 
“I don’t think you do.
 
Come on, let me help.
 
You don’t even have to be nice to me.”
 

Turning in his arms,
she shoved the boxes at him.
 
“As long as
I don’t have to play nice, you can help all you want.”

“Not today you
don’t.
 
But someday you will.”
 
Alex bent over and whispered in her ear
before brushing past her.
 

She shook off the heat building
within her with every word he spoke.
 
She
would not give in to temptation.
 
The
only defense she had against his charm was being a complete and total
bitch.
 
Luckily for her, he also brought
out that part of her personality with his arrogant playboy attitude.
 

Putting her bitch armor
firmly in place she moved ahead of him, mainly so she was no longer tempted to
stare at his perfectly sculpted ass.
 
Walking
to the main entrance of the building off the parking garage, she held the door
open for Alex.
 

“Look at you being nice
to me.” Alex said with a wink as he walked past her.
 

It took everything in
Izzy not to put her foot out to trip Alex.
 
Her mind immediately went from fantasying about getting Alex into bed,
to new and untraceable ways of murdering him. Had he not been carrying boxes of
her items, that would break if he fell on them she would have tripped him.
 

 
They walked to the marble laden lobby.
 
“Hold on, let me grab the key.”
 
Izzy went into the office to grab the key to
her new apartment and sign a few random rent agreements.
 
Within five minutes she was back with Alex.
 
“The elevators are straight ahead.”
 
She led the way, passing the kindly older man
who manned the security desk, whom she had met when she came to see the
apartment.
 
“Hello, Mr. Guzman.”

The man smiled brightly
at her.
 
“Welcome to the Spire, Ms.
Newport.
 
I would offer to help you with
your boxes, but I see you have Mr. Porter’s help already.”
 

“Mr. Porter?
 
You know him?”
 
She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder towards
Alex.
 
Before the older man could answer
she was in Alex’s face.
 
“You must be
here often if Mr. Guzman knows you.
 
So
tell me how many of your
girlfriends
do I need to avoid in the building’s gym on a daily basis?”
 

A slow sexy smile
spread across his face.
 
“I have no idea
what you are talking about Izzy.”
 
He
leaned into her personal space.
 
“I can
promise you I have no
girlfriends
in
this building.
 
Although, I am working on
making one.”
 
With a wink he walks passed
her.
 
“Good to see you Mr. Guzman, how is
that beautiful bride of yours?”
 

Mr. Guzman
laughed.
 
“Do me a favor Mr. Porter, next
time Amanda is visiting me at work, just keep walking.
 
Last time you smiled at her the woman
swooned, I swear.”
 

“No, you have that
wrong.
 
I was the one swooning over that
beautiful woman.
 
I am heartbroken she
already has a ring on her finger.”
 
Alex
spoke in that charming voice Izzy hated.
 
She hated that voice because it made her insides go mushy.
 

Mr.
 
Guzman laughed a deep, joyful laugh.
 
He truly found Alex’s charm amusing.
 
He shook his finger at Izzy, the way a father
would, warning her jokingly.
 
“Ms.
Newport, you watch out for this man.
 
He
is a flirt someone needs to tame.
 
Have a
good day you two.”
 

Izzy stood in place,
jaw open.
 
Alex had even charmed the
security guard.
 
Great.
 
She noticed Alex had strolled off to the
elevators without her.
 
“Good bye, Mr.
Guzman.”
 
She hurried to catch Alex.
  
They stepped into the elevator, Izzy pressed
the button for her floor.
 
“You even
flirt with older married women now?
 
Is
your charm no longer effective on women in your own age bracket?”
 
She asked, staring at the elevator door
instead of at him.

They went to the ninth
floor, without him answering her.
 
She
walked out, refusing to look back to see if he was following her.
 
She walked down the beige hallway with the
soft carpet, to her new apartment.
 
Still,
he did not speak.
 
She would have thought
Alex not speaking would be the best gift he could give her, instead it was
making her anger grow.
  

She opened the door,
holding it for Alex.
 
He walked in,
pausing next to her.
 
“Let’s see how the day
goes and I will answer your question.”
 
Without warning he leaned over and kissed her.
 
The kiss was not a ‘hey nice place’ friendly
kiss, it was an ‘I want to see you naked in the very near future’ kiss.
 
Izzy’s body refused to listen to her brain,
which was insisting that she break the kiss and kick him in the balls.
 
Instead, her body fell into the kiss, her
tongue meeting his, her hands pulling him closer, well, as close as she could
with the boxes in his hands.
 

Finally needing air,
she pulled back.
 
Luckily the movers
arrived a second later.
 
Saving her from
making a mistake.
 
A mistake, like
tackling Alex to the ground demanding he screw her brains out right there on
the floor.
 

Lust made her stupid,
plain and simple.
 

~*~*~*~

Alex never expected Izzy
to kiss him back. He only made the move to annoy her.
 
It was part of the game they were playing.
Now that he knew her walls were crumbling, the game was going to change.
 
He was no longer going to be happy stealing a
touch here and there while they played pool or were in a crowded bar.
 
No, now he was going after exactly what he
wanted from Izzy.
 
Everything.
 

Not that Alex had any
idea how to go about that.
 
Most women he
met were easy targets for his charm and wit.
 
Unfortunately, he already used those qualities, quite successfully, on
Izzy all those years ago.
 
He had never
gone back for seconds after breaking up with a girl, let alone trying to get
back together with someone whom he had devastated, in the way he had done to
Izzy.
 

She wouldn’t listen to
his apology, wouldn’t even talk about the past with him.
 
Alex would have to come up with a new
approach, one that provided them with enough alone time for him to show her
that he wasn’t that stupid kid who left her naked and vulnerable in the hotel
room all those years ago.
 

The movers brought in
her entertainment center and TV.
 
He
could see the cable box and her beloved Xbox box sitting in the corner of the
living room, waiting to be installed.
 
Women think it’s romantic when guys did
things for them without being asked to, right?
 
Alex thought, he wondered if connecting all
the wires to the TV and boxes counted.
 
No time like the present to find out.
 

Izzy was busy in the
bedroom, directing the movers on where all the furniture went.
 
After digging around in the boxes around him,
he finally found the one marked “wires.”
 
He pulled the box open and started to sort the wires.
 
One of the guys helped him to scoot the
entertainment center away from the wall so that he could reach the
outlets.
  

A wire here, a wire
there, within a half an hour he had the TV and game system working.
 
Deciding he earned a break, he dug in another
box marked “games”.
 
Shit, she has more games than I do!
 
He chuckled. Izzy was even more competitive than he was.
 
The first time he beat her at pool, he was
sure she was going to go slash his tires.
 

Grabbing a beer from
the fridge, he quickly placed a pizza order and kicked back on the couch to
play a little Borderlands 2.
 
The movers
looked as though they were about done, which would give Alex time alone with
Izzy.
 
After all he had to stay for the
pizza he ordered.
 

“Why are you still
here?”
 

Pausing his game, Alex
turned to see Izzy standing behind the couch, hands on her hips and a cute
little scowl on her face.
 

“I am testing the Xbox,
making sure I hooked everything up right.” Alex took a pull of his beer and
went back to his game.
 

“And where did you get
a beer? I haven't gone shopping yet.”

Here was the opening he
had been waiting for all day, the moment he got to tell her how close they
lived now.
 
With all the chaos of moving,
Mr. Guzman greeting him today had slipped her mind.
 
Time to bring it up again.
 
Without missing a beat in his game, Alex held
in his smirk and in a monotone voice explained, “I went to my place real fast
and grabbed the beer and some bottled water.”
 

“Your house is on the
other side of town, why would you go all the way over there instead of to the
store down the block? Or how about you go home to have your beer?” Izzy had
moved around to sit on the coffee table, the farthest spot away from Alex.
 
“And I could have set up my own TV, I'm not
helpless you ass.”

“I figured you were
busy unpacking, friends do things for each other, chill.
 
As for the beer,” Alex took another pull on
his beer, “my place was closer than the store.”

“What are you
talking….” Alex knew Izzy was a smart woman and would piece together what he
was saying.
 
“Alex, why did Mr. Guzman
know you?”

Putting down his beer and
controller, Alex leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees.
 
“He knows me because he is excellent at his
job.
 
He knows every resident of the
Spire.” As he spoke the last word, he leaned further into her space.
 
“Hello, neighbor.”
 

Jumping up, away from
Alex, Izzy paced.
 
Pointed her finger at
Alex, she growled a little and paced some more.
 
Alex figured it would take her awhile before she was able to rein in her
anger.
 
He would wait, he would pass the
time blowing things up on the Xbox.
 
He
leaned back in the couch, put his feet up on the coffee table and went back to
playing his game.
 
Which was hard to do
with her pacing in front of the TV, but he managed.
 

After a few minutes,
and Alex’s game character dying a horrible death, Izzy stopped pacing.
 
Her hands continued to wag a finger at
him.
 
“You never thought to tell me, or
any of our other friends that you moved?”

He shrugged, restarting
his level.
 
“The guys knew.”