The bathroom became foggy from the water she ran in the tub. It felt like a hundred degrees with the steam and their body temperature rising—a total opposite of the freezing cold weather outside.

Tension crackled in the air. Angela felt like her blood was bubbling—it was probably just because of the cocktails and champagne she had earlier at the party. The urge to lean into his touch was palpable. So she did, and her skin sizzled under his touch.

Gael unzipped her dress until it reached the base of her spine just above her ass. His fingers went back up to her nape, slowly dragging them down her spine, tracing her skin and leaving shocks of electricity in its wake—she nearly orgasmed right then. Her hands gripped the counter, her knuckles turning white from clenching so hard. 

He pressed himself harder to her back, trailed his sharp nose along the side of her neck in one sweep, his lips pressing the skin just behind her ear. A sensual moan escaped her lips and her knees buckled but he caught her with his strong hands holding her waist. 

He nuzzled her hair, taking a long inhale as if he wanted to consume all the air that was her. His warm breath tickled her ear when he exhaled, saying, "I've been dreaming about this...about you every night. I'm wondering if this is still a dream."

"It's not…" was all she could release under her breath as her eyes became heavy-lidded.

He closed his eyes and kissed her hair before whispering in almost a slur, "My dreams...are better than reality." 

Before she realized what was going on, the warmth on her back was already gone. The door to the bedroom shut. That hurt—like a knife sliced through her. 

Just when she thought he'd take it further, he left. 

The asshole left. 

Another day added to her dry spell.

Angela couldn't believe what he just said to her. His dreams were better than reality? What was that supposed to mean? That she was a disappointment now that he saw her outside of his 'dreams'? She scoffed, anger dominating her flushed expression.

How could he lead her up like that and just vanish? Well, figures. That's what he was so good at anyway—leaving.

"Stupid washboard abs and pretty steely eyes. I don't need you and your hard body. I am woman!" She huffed as she stepped out of her dress and faced the tub.

Angela wasn't even feeling like taking a bath anymore. The bathroom was too steamy now. Turning off the water for the tub, she turned on the shower and let the water get to her desired temperature while removing the makeup from her face. Next, she stepped into the shower, the water from the ceiling falling down her body. Her chest was still heaving. She was pissed. How dare he?

Her glare burned the bathroom door where he disappeared before dragging it towards the sink where it happened a few minutes ago. Taking a few cleansing breaths in an attempt to clear her head, her gaze landed on her hair tool that's neatly kept on the side of the counter. It reminded her of yesterday's banter with Gael where he thought that the wand was her vibrator. 

What's going on in his head? 'Is he only thinking about sex all the time?' She flinched. 'You're not innocent either, Anj. You wanted him to touch you. You've fantasized about him more times than you can count your fingers in both hands—including your toes.' She shivered, hearing the voice in her head. So what? Her thoughts were safe. No one else could hear or see what's she's thinking. So it didn't matter that she was still thinking about Gael even when he left her high and dry.

Angela faced front and stared at the detachable showerhead mounted on the wall. The thought of turning off the shower from the ceiling and using the detachable one on herself, specifically on her happy parts, crossed her mind. She shook her head as if it would shake away the contemplation that's dancing in her lewd thoughts. "You're hopeless," she muttered.

Finishing her shower, she grabbed a fresh towel and wrapped it around her. All she wanted now was to crawl in bed and forget about tonight. But before that's possible, she needed to dry her hair first. An idea came to mind as she reached for the hair dryer and she saw her hair tool. Her brows furrowed while she thought about it for a few seconds. She was frustrated and tipsy, two things that spelled trouble.

Angela didn't care about trouble right now. 

She took long strides out of the bathroom and shuffled through her stuff in the luggage until she found what she was looking for—sticky notes and a pen. A sly smile crossed her face as she walked back to the bathroom and scribbled on the note. 

The note was ripped off and smacked where she wanted it. But she didn't stop there. She did it two more times and stuck them in specific places. Her feet padded on the floor across his bedroom as she continued writing and sticking the notes in places she knew he would find. Some were hidden and it might take him a while until he sees all of them, but whatever. 

Her shoulders slumped when she was done, frustration leaving out of her body. Welp, there goes the stuff she wanted to tell him tonight. Looking around the room, she admired her work and patted herself on the head, lifting her chin up and widening her smile. "Good luck cleaning up, Grey Eyes."

…

Sunday — December 16

The endless buzzing of Angela's phone woke her up at seven in the morning. A wince came out of her as she clutched her head. "Oh, my god. Make it stop." It was like a hammer was pounding her head. The bright light from the sun penetrated through the windows, hitting her face and making everything worse. This must be how vampires feel every morning. This was why they can't be under the sun.

Groaning, she begrudgingly swiped her phone off the nightstand and answered groggily, "Hello?"

"Where the hell are you?" a cold and deep voice came through the receiver.

"Oli?"

"I'm at your apartment. There are men working in here and some burly dude not letting me in. What the hell is going on?" 

Angela shot up from bed at lightning speed. Wrong move. Her head was about to crack. She whimpered, blinking at her surroundings until her senses came to her. Right, she's in Gael's bedroom.

"Anj? Where. Are. You?" Her brother's voice pulled her back to earth.

"Uh… I'm. I'll be there. I'll meet you in…" She darted her anxious eyes from side to side. "Just...stay there. I'll be there."

Ending the phone call before her brother could respond, Angela raced around the bedroom to change her clothes. "Crap crap crap." She caught herself in the tall mirror and she paused, looking at her messy hair.

Taking a few cleansing breaths calmed her down. The luggage by the door was a relief. At least she managed to pack her suitcase last night before she went to bed. All she needed to do now was change out of her clothes and head back to her apartment building before her brother does something she wouldn't like.

After ten minutes, Angela came out of the bedroom wearing jeans, boots, and a sweater, her hair fixed into a messy bun.

"Angel. Where are you going?" Gael appeared at the stairs, taking in the luggage she towed into the hallway and her outfit. His brows drew together.

"I need to go. Oliver's at my apartment and he saw the men working there. I think one of your guys is also stopping him from entering my place." She bit her bottom lip.

"Your brother doesn't know what happened?"

She shook her head. "I meant to call him yesterday, but I was…" A sigh rolled past her lips. "I haven't had a chance."

Gael looked between her eyes, staring at her for a full minute before nodding and taking the suitcase from her. His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but then he cleared his throat. "Let's go. I'll drive you."

They didn't speak another word since they left his house and until they reached the city proper. Her heart drummed in her chest when memories from last night resurfaced. She clenched her seatbelt. 

'Oh, my god! THE NOTES!' she screamed in her head. A shrill ran down her spine as if someone had poured a bucket of wet ice. 

Gael must have seen her squirm in her seat when he asked, "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah." She refused to look at him, so she turned towards the window.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Yes."

"Listen. About last night—"

"Can we not tell my brother that I stayed at your place?" Angela interrupted, not wanting to recall what happened the night before. It was humiliating. Plus the notes. For sure, he'd see them when he gets back home. She swallowed. "I'll tell him I stayed at Nina's. You and my brother know each other, but I don't know if—"

"Sure." Gael nodded and kept his focus back on the road as he parked the car in front of her building. "You can tell him whatever you want."