🥊 Hate or Fate 💕 {Enemies to Lovers}

.59.

No one spoke for a few excruciating seconds. Probably because we were too shocked by Braxton's baseless accusation and inappropriately hostile attitude to think of anything. Fury pulsed behind my eyes and sizzled in my blood to flush my skin a deep red from head to toe. 

Gray took a step toward Braxton's shrunken form with a look of pure disgust.

"Excuse me?" He snarled while I stood there, too flabbergasted to fully react.

"Oh, my goodness," the teacher muttered. 

"Maleficent isn't going to like this," Braxton shook his head and pursed his lips. "You know she frowns on ladies sleeping their way to the top."

"What the hell are you even talking about, Braxton?" Rebecca snapped and popped her hip. "You helped Isla sell this idea to the client, remember? So, don't be acting like this is some kind of shock. I was there and you talked about authenticity like you knew what that word meant. And we had that meeting with our clothes on, or do you not remember that happening?"

"You are way off base, Braxton," Gray growled like a feral wolf, which would have been hot if it wasn't a little bit terrifying. If Gray and Braxton ended up in a fistfight in front of the client I was pretty sure we would lose their business, forever. "And I am warning you-"

Rage clouded Gray's expression and spiked my heart rate. Raw fury radiated off his shoulders as he took another step to physically force Braxton to shrink back and hold up his hands in mock surrender.

"So-ory," he laughed. "I didn't figure you for the sensitive type, Gray."

All three of us silently fumed while Braxton pretended that he didn't understand how we could possibly take offense to his sexist bullshit. 

The teacher was slowly backing away from the group to focus on her students (or possibly report us to the principal). 

"I'm sorry, Isla," Braxton switched tactics and smoothed his tone into a predatorial purr. "I was only asking to see whether or not you found someone to help you get over the hump."

I stymied an eye roll at Braxton's disgusting non-apology and took a deep breath. 

He had asked me that offensive question before, and it was just as gross the first time around. It was harassment, not to mention, super-duper gross when he inflected on words like 'hump.'

"I am going to take a brief walk," I informed everyone, even the teacher who was at least three feet away (and counting). "I will be back in five minutes."

I took a few rigid steps toward the door to push through the worst of my humiliation until my legs remembered how to walk. To avoid Gray and Rebecca's piteous looks, I focused on the multicolored flecks in the pea-soup floor tiles and escaped into the hallway.

Dodging students who were dashing for their respective classrooms, I headed for the lobby where a beautiful sapphire sky beckoned from beyond the school's security glass. 

For a split second, I considered bolting.

I imagined racing past the bright velvet student banners and bursting through the double doors. I pictured breaking free. I could run until I hit California (or even further!) and leave all of my problems behind. No more Braxton. No more Elijah. And no more Gray.

Instead of running away from my problems, I strolled through the cavernous front lobby of the school to give myself some time to think and to get some fresh air.

As soon as the door cracked open, a sharp breeze nipped at my exposed skin, bringing me back to life. The chill was exactly what I needed to clear my head as my nipples hardened to scrape the lining of my bra.