Unleashing Chaos

Chapter Five

After my "practice date" with Cannon, I met a few guys from the dating app, and while none of them held my attention for long, I didn't scare any of them away or send any of them running to the vet to tend to their dying pet reptile. They were all handsome and perfectly nice, but not one intrigued me enough to message for a second date. That didn't really bother me, though, because the one good date I had was the practice—with Cannon.

I finish my after-dinner treat—a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream mixed with the brownies Meredith brought over this afternoon—and when I pull the dishwasher open to put my bowl in as I promised Jace I would, I groan internally when I see it's full of clean dishes.

If I were at home, all it would take is a snap of my fingers and all of the dishes would be put away in seconds flat. But when I glance over my shoulder, I see that Jace is still sitting on the couch watching the 10:00 news. I can't risk him catching me in the act of using my divine power, so I heave a sigh and begin unloading the dishes the old-fashioned—and normal—way.

When I get to the cups, I open the cupboard and wrinkle my nose. All of them are sitting with the inside exposed to the elements. I peek around the door to make sure he isn't looking and tap my finger to the shelf. In the blink of an eye, they've all flipped upside down. With a satisfied grin, I place the cups from the dishwasher inside the same way.

"Umm, what are you doing?"

I rise onto my tiptoes and slide the last cup into the cupboard before closing it and turning to face the voice. "Unloading the dishwasher so I can put my dirty bowl in. What are you doing?"

"Watching you put the cups in the cabinet the wrong way. You are putting the part that touches my mouth on the bottom," Jace says.

I roll my eyes and place my hands on my hips. "If you leave them right side up, all the dust that floats around in every cabinet is landing inside the cup where you put your drink and then you're drinking it!"

He gives me a pointed glare and his voice is a low rumble as he says, "Desi, put the cups the right way."

You need a place to live, Desi, I tell myself before I lose my temper. "Yes sir," I mutter, turning away from him and opening the cabinet to please the man of the house.

"Thank you," he says, stepping beside me to rinse out his bowl.

I flip the last cup and say in a clipped tone, "Not a problem." I shut the cabinet with a little too much force and flee to my room.

This past week with Jace has been frustrating to say the least. There are times when I feel like I can do nothing right around this man. Granted, tonight, I pissed him off on purpose. But earlier in the week, he's gotten irritated at the tiniest things, like when I didn't fold the blanket over the arm of the couch and left it on the back instead, or when I left a dryer sheet in the dryer. Like, aren't there bigger things for you to worry about?

Not to mention, I feel incredibly creepy about watching him get undressed the other night, half-drunk on tequila or not. That's putting me on edge too. It's just an awkward situation, and I'm disappointed in myself; I promised there would be no drama.

I need to get out of the house and get some air. Cannon is at work, so I'm on my own.

What better place than a nightclub? I just want to get a drink and dance, which Cannon wouldn't want to do anyway.

Slipping a purple, low-cut halter top over my head, I pull my hair over my shoulders and paint myself into my skin-tight jeans. I do a quick smokey eye and highlight my cheekbones, the knee-high boots and leather jacket I'm wearing adding a certain edge to my outfit that I haven't shown on any of my other outings. Maybe it'll keep the boring guys far away and bring on the more exciting options.