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ChapterSeven
DAY ONE
Aloud knock jolted Sevyn awake so violently she nearly rolled off of the couch. Untangling herself from her blanket, she rubbed her eyes, wondering what time it was. Forcing her eyes to focus, she glanced at the cable box and realized it was seven-thirty in the morning.
The last thing she remembered was curling up on the couch with a glass of wine, snacks, her remote, and pressing play on a Christmas movie. Everything else was a blur.
“Damn,” she murmured, stretching widely. “That movie must have been terrible.”
Yawning, she stretched out again, groaning when there was another knock on the door. Flailing her legs like a child, Sevyn took her time getting up to see who was interrupting her rest. There was another knock as she shuffled to the foyer, wrapped a hand around the cold knob, and wrenched the door open.
Her annoyance shifted into surprise when she was met with the face standing on the other side. “Dallas?” she frowned. “Is everything okay?”
“It will be when you move and let me inside, shit,” he blew, rubbing his gloved hands together.
Taking note of his red nose, and cheeks, Sevyn slid out of the way to allow him in. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re going to breakfast,” he announced, causing one of her eyebrows to rise.
“And who is we?”
With one hand pressed up against the wall, Dallas worked on ridding himself of his boots. “We as in you and me. You have an hour to pull it together so I suggest you bust a move.”
Closing the door, Sevyn chewed on her lower lip. “Is this a joke?”
“Would I be standing in your foyer at seven in the morning as a damn joke?”
She nodded shortly. “We’re going to address that invasion of privacy later but Dal, why are you doing this? We agreed th—”
“We didn’t agree on anything,” he interrupted, unbuttoning his jacket. Sevyn fought hard not to let the fitted crew neck clinging to his upper body distract her from getting him out of her house. “You’ve been being an asshole towards me and hurting my feelings.”
She couldn’t escape the laughter that bubbled up her throat. “Negro, please. Ain’t nobody hurting your damn feelings.”
Folding his arms, Dallas studied her. “I hurt yours, though. And whether you want to believe it or not, knowing that hurts me. You might not want to accept any explanations from me, Sev, but the one thing I can’t stand by and allow you to convince yourself of, is that I don’t have feelings for you. Not when we both know I do. So, I have a proposition for you.”
As badly as Sevyn wanted to tell him to get out, her curiosity won. “What’s that?”
“Give me until Christmas to change your mind.”
“W-what?” The idea was so preposterous it made her laugh. “Are you serious?”
It was a rhetorical question. The serene look on his face was evidence to prove he was.
“I’m dead serious.”
“You do know Christmas is right around the corner, right?” Her hands found her hips as she looked up at him.
“I do. Sevyn days.”
She rolled her eyes. “Very cute.”
Dallas shrugged. “Coincidence.”
“I’m sure.”
“Look,” his arms dropped to his sides. “I didn’t come over here to argue. I came with an offer. Give me seven days to show you how I feel. If by the end of that you still aren’t convinced, I’ll leave you alone.”
Internally, Sevyn smirked. As evil as it sounded, she loved that Dallas was allowing her an opportunity to hurt him the way he’d hurt her. She’d grant him his request and go along with whatever he suggested. At the end of it, when it came time for her to decide how to move forward, she’d leave him high and dry.
