Play the Player

Chapter Nine - She'll Fall for Me

“Maddy suits you better, Red,” Xavier said, his eyes never leaving hers.

A taxi was pulling up to the driveway now and Maddy turned to flag it down, but Xavier reached out and caught her hand gently.

“I’ll drive you home.”

She scoffed and turned to look at him. “Your audacity frightens me.”

A look of confusion crossed Xavier’s face. “How do you mean?”

“You thinking I will let you anywhere near my house is borderline delusion.” She glared at him. “You’ve already stalked and gotten enough. Let me go.”

Xavier's expression changed. “Red, There’s no way on earth I’m letting you go home like this. You are obviously almost drunk.”

“Not drunk. Tipsy. And my name is Maddy, not Red!” Maddy practically screamed. She hated being called drunk. She was not a drunk.

“Alright, tipsy Red,” Xavier corrected with a smirk. “Either way, I’m not letting you and your girls go home in this situation.”

“You say this like you have a choice.” She rolled her eyes. “Quit with the heroic facade.”

“I don’t desire to be a hero.” Xavier countered.

“Then let me go.”

“Alright, If you're not comfortable riding with me, I’ll have my driver take you.”

“Or…” Maddy pointed toward the taxi. “You could simply let me go.”

Xavier stared at her for a moment. Every sensible part of him knew she was right. He had no right to decide where she went or how she got there. He slowly loosened his hold and stepped back.

“Fine." He said. Maddy blinked.

She had clearly expected an argument. Instead, Xavier simply stood there. She took the hint, turned and hurried toward the waiting taxi where her friends were already climbing in.

Xavier watched as she opened the front door and got in. For a second, he considered following, then he stopped himself.

He had spent weeks looking for her and he wasn't going to ruin the moment he'd finally found her by giving her another reason to run.

The taxi pulled away and Xavier's eyes followed it until the car disappeared into the night. Then he turned slightly.

“Follow them, and make sure they get home safely.” he told one of his men standing nearby.

The man nodded.

Xavier looked back at the empty road. For some reason, knowing she was safe suddenly mattered to him.

“Maddy,” he murmured to himself. At last, he had a name now.

Adrian walked up beside him. “So… what now?”

Xavier turned to him, looking slightly confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, what's next? Now that you finally know your mystery woman's name?”

Barack joined them, a smirk already forming on his face.

“And she doesn't seem to give a damn about you.” He added.

Damon laughed. “Can you believe it? A woman turning down the almighty Xavier Adams.”

“Worse,” Adrian added. “Xavier Adams is now the one chasing the woman.” The three men laughed in unison and Xavier shook his head.

“I’m not chasing.” Adrian raised an eyebrow.

“No? It didn’t look like that to us.” Adrian pressed.

“Yeah, I was just curious.”

Barack laughed again.

“Curious?”

“You mean combed the entire city for her because you were curious?” Barack asked wide-eyed.

Xavier looked at him. “Yes.” He said it defiantly this time.

Damon folded his arms. “And what exactly are you curious about?”

Xavier paused because he didn't know how to answer that.

Maybe everything... Who she was. Where she came from. Why she walked away that night. Why she pretended not to know him at the restaurant when every other woman would have practically jumped into his arms.

And why, despite looking at him like she couldn't stand him, she somehow made him feel like he was the only man in the room whenever their eyes met.

Instead, he shrugged.

“She’s different from the other women I’ve met. I just wanted to satisfy my curiosity.”

Adrian gave him a skeptical look.

“So what happens when you eventually figure her out?”

Xavier smiled.

“She'll fall for me eventually. They all do.”

The three men laughed again.

He wasn’t being delusional. Women always fell for him. A few dinners, expensive gifts and a little attention. Sometimes, all it took was a smile.

He had never needed to chase.

He had certainly never needed to spend weeks searching for a woman who had disappeared without giving him her name.

Yet here he was. And somehow, that did not bother him as much as it should have.

His eyes drifted back toward the road where Maddy had disappeared.

“What is it about her?” he muttered.

“What?” Damon asked.

“Nothing.” He responded immediately.

Damon studied him for a moment.

“Just don't turn her into some kind of game, Xavier.”

Xavier frowned.

“A game? Why would you even think that?”

“You know what I mean man.”

Xavier scoffed. “I'm not playing any games.”

Damon laughed.

“Please. You just spent three weeks going to the same restaurant hoping one particular woman would serve you. It's definitely looking like a game. Xavier Adams does not have that much spare time.”

Xavier looked back at him, slipped his hands into his pockets and turned toward the entrance of the club.

“Come on, boys. The night is still young.” Instantly changing the topic.

Adrian nodded.

“Now that's more like it.” The four men started walking back toward the club.

Xavier kept his expression relaxed, but his mind had already wandered back to the woman who had just left.

Maddy. He liked the way the name sounded - simple and soft

And now that he finally had a name, he couldn't help wondering what else he would find out about her.

He smiled.

This was going to be interesting.