The Playboy Prince and His Princess

Nine

Alexa pulled on the hoodie over her tank top. She was currently dressed for the gym. She hadn't worked out since she got to Caldea and she was beginning to feel out of shape.

She had only been to the palace gym once during her tour with Dominic and she had seen that it was pretty state of the art.

She had made a mental note then to visit it soon but somehow she just hadn't found the time.

Speaking of Dominic, Alexa had been avoiding him again ever since their time at the bar. When she woke up the next morning, she felt embarrassed and mortified that she had basically cried in front of him and spilled her guts.

This was why she didn't drink often. Most of the time, she did things she would never do when she was sober.

She knew he had been trying to talk to her but she was good at avoiding people. When they had breakfast, lunch and dinner together with the rest of his family, she made sure to avoid eye contact.

She always made sure to not respond or get into conversations that he was involved in. If he asked her a question, she always gave one worded replies.

Once they were done, she would speed out of there before he got a chance to talk to her. A couple of times, he came to her room but she always pretended to be asleep.

She didn't exactly know why she couldn't face him though. She remembered that night being fun and special and she remembered seeing a side to Dominic that she hadn't imagined he had.

Yet, she couldn't imagine facing him. She felt like she made a complete fool of herself by acting like a hot mess.

She had divulged a lot of information about herself to him and she had unknowingly started seeing him as more than just the playboy prince. He was kind and funny and patient and really sweet if she was being honest. She wasn't surprised as to how he got all the girls.

She wanted to be careful though because she refused to fall in the group of girls he caught in his web. Guys like him didn't fall in love and besides, she was already in love with someone else, someone who surprisingly reached out to her a couple of days after her night with Dominic.

Edward had called her and apologized for being a jerk. He said he was hurt because he thought he was losing her. She was finally able to explain everything to him and he understood.

Alexa was happy. That was another reason she continued to avoid Dominic. She didn't want to be caught in a compromising situation with him when she was with someone else.

Putting thoughts of Dominic aside, Alexa pulled her wavy hair into a ponytail instead of her usual braid and made her way to the gym.

She greeted the guards and staff that she saw on the way. When she got there, she stopped right in her tracks at the sight in front of her.

She quickly ducked to a corner of the gym that she knew she wouldn't be spotted.

Inside the gym were Dominic and James. They were working out. Well, Dominic was working out, James looked like he was just goofing around.

She immediately decided that she was going to leave. She didn't want to have to strike a conversation with Dominic. James, she didn't mind but she was doing all she could to avoid the prince for as long as she possible.

He was lifting weights when she got there and she had to admit, she was impressed at what he was lifting. She watched in delight as his muscles flexed.

She convinced herself to stay a little and watch. For research, she told herself. It wasn't like she was being a creep or anything. She ignored the tiny voice in her head that told her otherwise.

She wasn't close enough to hear what the boys were talking about and as much as she tried, she couldn't read their lips either so she settled for just watching them.

She prayed they wouldn't have to use the equipment around where she was because she knew she'd be caught then and she'd never be able to live that up.

The gym was empty except for the three of them. She had stayed for like thirty minutes before she realized that she had been creepy for long enough.

She couldn't keep justifying it to herself that she was watching him for research and she decided that it was time to go. She was going to postpone her workout till another day and she was about to sneak out when something stopped her.

She stood and watched, as though in a trance, as Dominic took off his shirt. She gulped as she took in the wonder that was his bare chest.

Suddenly her throat felt very dry and it seemed the room started to get increasingly hotter... or maybe it was just her. She unzipped her hoodie and took it off but that didn't make a difference.

She would never admit this out loud to anyone but Dominic was a work of art.

He had big strong arms that she just knew would be perfect for giving hugs and a chiseled chest that went down into the most gorgeous six pack abs she had ever seen, even with Edward.

The abs went down into a V-line that went into his shorts that hung low on his hips.

This was something she would never ever say, but Dominic was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

She took of her glasses then wiped it clean so she could get a better view of him. She was being super shameless, she knew it and she knew she'd regret this later but in the moment she didn't care.

Suddenly, she had a lot more reasons to stay and watch. She hated how Dominic was the complete play boy package; funny, cute, rich not to mention, incredibly hot. She wished she could take a picture to show Courtney but even she had limits.

She stayed for another thirty minutes before she dragged herself up. She had to leave. She had embarrassed herself enough and she knew if the situations were reversed and she found him watching her, she'd be pissed.

And so, with as much energy as she could muster, she reluctantly removed her eyes from the beautiful sight in front of her and stood up from the floor where she had been seated.

She tried to sneak out when she tripped on something and she sent a whole pile of boxes flying to the ground.

She froze and prayed to God that the boys didn't hear that even though she knew they did. The gym was basically empty and she might have as well played a f*****g trumpet while hanging a bright neon sign above her head, announcing her presence.

She considered running for it but she knew it was too late for that when Dominic called her name.

“Lex?"

She prayed for the ground to open up and swallow her.

Dominic had gotten to her by now and the ground didn't look like it was opening up anytime soon. So with great reluctance, she turned to meet his curious eyes.

“What are you doing here?" he asked.

“I... I came to work out", she squeaked out.

James raised an eyebrow at her, looking pretty confused.

“You looked like you were on your way out", he said.

“I meant that I came to work out but when I saw that the gym was occupied I decided to leave", she said.

That sounded like a believable excuse. She wished her face would stop flaming though. They were bound to think something was suspicious since she looked so guilty.

Dominic narrowed his eyes at her. He looked like he didn't believe her. He moved to the space she had been hiding.

“But you couldn't have tripped on these boxes unless you were somewhere around here", he mumbled more to himself.

Once again, Alexa shut her eyes and prayed he wouldn't figure out what happened.

When she opened them, she saw him still looking a bit puzzled and then, she saw his eyes light up.

When he turned to her with a smirk on his face, she knew she had been found out.

“Hey James, can you please give us a moment?" he said to his best friend.

James nodded, gave her a small bow and left.

Dominic moved closer to her and she gulped. She was suddenly more aware of him. She constantly found her eyes straying over his body.

He chuckled. “My eyes are up here princess", he teased.

If it was possible, her cheeks flamed even more. She was grateful for her tanned skin because she knew she would have looked like a tomato without it.

She didn't say anything and instead took a subtle step back.

“Correct me if I'm wrong Lex but it seems, you weren't just entering the gym. It seems that you entered and decided to stay and watch", Dominic continued with the most arrogant smirk on his face.

“You're wrong", she said, crossing her arms across her chest. Dominic took another step forward and once again, she was in close proximity to his abs. She had to hold her hand in a fist in a bid to restrain her fingers from reaching out to brush them.

“It's just us here, you don't have to lie to me. That's why I sent James away".

Still, Alexa didn't say anything. She concentrated on putting enough space between herself and him but it seemed like Dominic's brain was refusing to acknowledge that because he moved closer to her again and when she tried to move back, she realized that she had reached the wall.

“You've got nowhere else to run princess", he said smugly.

They were so close that she was sure anyone coming from outside would think something was going on. Yet she couldn't find it in herself to push him back, mostly because she didn't want to have to touch his bare chest and also because she felt comfortable with the body heat radiating off him.

Her eyes followed the beads of sweat as the ran down his chest, into his shorts. She sucked in a breath and broke out of her trance to find him looking down at her in with an amusing smile on his face.

“Why have you been avoiding Lex?" he whispered.

Alexa couldn't take it anymore. The way his emerald eyes were blazing down on her, together with his close proximity, she might have just begged him to take her there and then.

“Please move away", she begged.

“Am I bothering you with how close I am to you?" he taunted.

“Yes", she answered, “you're invading my personal space".

And with that, Dominic laughed and took a couple of steps back and Alexa finally felt like she could breathe again.

“You know you can be so stubborn", he said with a smile on his face.

She just huffed and rolled her eyes.

“I've missed you, you know. Why have you been avoiding me? I thought we were friends now", he said.

“I have not been avoiding you", Alexa denied, “and please put on a shirt".

He laughed at that but did as she said. Although, a part of her was sad that his abs were gone, the more rational part of her was happy because now she could think straight.

“I've gotta go now", she said and spun on her heels.

“Wait", Dominic said catching on to her hand, “you don't have to leave. You can stay and work out here with me. I'm almost done anyway".

“I'd rather not", she said shaking her head.

“Oh come on. If you're not avoiding me then you should have no problem working out with me".

He jutted his lower lip out in a pout that was ridiculously cute and she saw her resolve fading away. Apparently, so did he because he smiled and dragged her back inside.

She went to work on the treadmill and he took the one beside her.

She felt his eyes on her even though she wasn't looking at him. It started to get uncomfortable so she turned to him.

“What?" she asked.

“Nothing", he replied, “you just look really pretty when you're flustered".

She almost fell off the treadmill at that statement but Dominic just carried on like he had made a statement about the weather.

“Hey so, since you're definitely not avoiding me, how about you come with me for some ice cream later".

It was on the tip of her tongue to say no but he must have read her mind because he continued speaking before she could say anything.

“Before you say no, you should know that you sorta owe it to me".

“How?!" she yelled.

“Well, I could have let James stay here while I questioned you on why you were staring at me. I didn't mind that you were, but I know you would have been more embarrassed if he was here".

Her cheeks flamed and she glared at him but he just shrugged. She weighed her pros and cons and decided it wouldn't be that bad if she went with him for ice cream.

“Fine", she said reluctantly.

Dominic beamed. “Great. How does 3pm sound?"

“Whatever", she answered already regretting her decision.

Meanwhile, Dominic couldn't wait.