Be My Man

Hazel paused, her fingers millimeters from the pen beneath the bed, her heart leaping in her chest.  

She was startled by the abrupt sound and felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. She let out a cry and staggered backward, her eyes wide with shock as she fell onto the bed in a whirl of fabric and limbs. The unexpectedness of the situation sent her head reeling and her pulse racing. 

"You scared the living hell out of me, f*ck!" Breathing out gently, she looked up at the man who was standing inches in front of her. 

Her eyes widened in shock seeing the man before her. 

“Y–you’re Cade f*cking Westham?” She asked, pointing at Cade who had just gotten out of the restroom with just a towel around his waist. 

Cade was equally awestruck. Seeing her once was enough to mess with his head, but twice a day– and in this scenario? There was no way he was going to get her off his mind for a long time.  

All they shared the night they met was kisses, bodies, and a bed. Nothing more– not even their names, especially since Hazel ran away before Cade could wake up the next day. 

Hazel was shocked by the revelation but not too shocked to ignore how brawny her one-night stand had become over the years as droplets of water cascaded down his muscular frame. 

Her eyes followed the droplets that lingered on his broad shoulders before tracing a path down his chest. The water followed the contours of his toned abdomen, carving a glistening trail as it descended towards his hips, where the towel barely clung to his waist.

‘Get over it, girl!’ She sprang to her feet and reprimanded herself for her fantasies. 

Cade who was startled from his own fantasies towards her exposed thighs by her sudden reaction slipped on the tiny rivulets of water meandering across the tiled floor around him and he found herself falling. 

He instinctively extended his hands to shield himself from the fall, but in the process, he slammed into Hazel, bringing them both crashing onto the bed. 

Hazel tried to adjust to the weight on her at first, which made things chaotic. However, she jerked out of it when she realized where Cade's strong hands were grasping.

‘That feels so much like my boobs!’ Her eyes grew wider upon further realization. 

Flustered, Cade scrambled off her. He fell back, this time sitting on the floor, his back propped to the bathroom door, his eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights and his heart racing as if it were trying to escape his chest.

Flushed by embarrassment Hazel took her time sitting up on the bed as she slowly bit her lower lip, her eyes cast down.

As the chaos slowly subsided, Cade gently rose to his feet, grabbing his towel firmly to make sure it didn't fall off in this situation. 

“You had all this planned out, right?” He finally spoke up, his brows and voice slightly raised as he tried to show his ‘tough man’ persona. 

“What?” Hazel scoffed in disbelief as she stood up, not sure she heard him right. 

Cade rewrapped his towel tightly before taking his hand off it and pointed to Hazel's face. 

“Just like that night, you had it all planned out with your friends, right? And that kid– did you put her up to it? Are you trying to say you took in after just one time? A night that I could barely remember?” 

Hazel was enraged but she couldn't understand why she was smiling instead of reaping his face off. 

“You know what?” She chuckled sarcastically, confusing Cade. “You're right. I had it all planned out. We were all just wondering how huge you are down there and I decided to play the sacrificial lamb.” 

While Cade was still stunned and confused by her reaction, Hazel walked towards her cart and took out a few clean towels which she laid on the bed. 

She grabbed the handle of her cart and started to push forward. Just before she passed behind Cade, she stretched down her hand and pulled the towel from his waist.  

“This needs to be cleaned too!” She said while shoving it in her cart. 

Cade widened in shock at her audacity. “What if I wasn't wearing a brief?” He asked angrily. 

Hazel continued walking to the living room as she replied, “That would have been nice. I am really curious as to what that thing looks like now.” 

“By the way, I already saw your dirty brief while you sat on the floor.” She added. 

Just like five years ago, her audacity marveled him again but as he watched her disappear into the living room, he couldn't help but thinking about Ivy. 

‘She never gave a clear response to that. What if she's really mine?’ He wondered. 

He quickly ran to the living and just when Hazel was about to push the door open, he held her back, pressing her to the door. 

Hazel was startled by his sudden reaction, her heart racing to close proximity to Cade. 

“What are you doing?” She asked, her voice hushed. 

“Ivy, right? Who is her father?” Cade asked curiously, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, showing his nervousness. 

Hazel let down her guard, sighing heavily before pushing him off her. She looked at him sharply, her lips pulled firmly together, her eyebrows slightly wrinkled and her gaze locked on his. 

Cade noticed the seriousness in her eyes as they locked eyes but he was too curious. That slight possibility was disturbing him so he went on to ask, “Tell me the truth. She doesn't know her Daddy, right? That's why she's looking for anyone to become her Dad. If there is the slightest possibility she could be mine…” 

“She isn't yours! She can never be yours because she is my child. Don't even think about her from now on.” She threatened.

“Then tell me who her father is. Once I know that, I will be less curious if she actually has a father who is not me.” Cade complained. 

“You have no business with my baby daddy. Since you were a special guest at this hotel, I disregarded your initial accusations against me and my child, but I swear if you try it again, I will…" 

The door abruptly pushed open, pushing Hazel, who was backing the door and compelling her to embrace Cade before she could finish her threat. 

Cade couldn’t help but notice how close Hazel was to him, with her plump chest pressing into his. His eyes traced the contours of her face, drinking in the intensity of her gaze. He noticed the way her hazel eyes held a mixture of frustration and something more, something vulnerable that he hadn’t glimpsed before now. 

His eyes strayed to her lips, where there seemed to be a different kind of unspoken intimacy as the tension between them began to ease. He could feel the rhythm of her breathing and the warmth of her body against his. ‘F@ck, why am I feeling this way?’

Hazel swallowed hard, slowly biting her lower lip as her eyes wandered to his wide lips. She found her eyes slowly closing as they leaned closer to each other. 

Just as their lips brushed against each other, Gabriel interrupted, “Oops…sorry for the interruption.” 

The duo quickly scrambled off each other, their faces ridden with embarrassment. Hazel hid her face, quickly grabbing her laundry cart, and dashed out of the room. 

To break the awkward silence, Cade coughed dryly, his gaze darting around the corners of the house. 

“What are  you doing here?” With a hint of anger in his voice, he asked. 

Gabriel's gaze moved down his body, serving as a reminder that he was only wearing his briefs. "I am sorry to have intruded, but..." 

Cade dashed into the room and grabbed one of the towels Hazel had left. As he wrapped it around his waist, he was quickly reminded of his encounter with Hazel several moments ago.

‘Why did I do that?’ He wondered. “F@ck!” He screamed, unintentionally getting Gabriel’s attention. 

“Sir?” Gabriel asked, not sure what he heard. 

“Why are you still here? F@ck!” This time, Cade screamed viciously.

Gabriel gulped and adjusted his single-vision eyeglasses as he spoke, "Sir, you asked me to follow up with you on the opening speech."

“It could have been anytime, but now...” Cade yelled before he realized how overboard he was going with this.

Gabriel bowed gently, apologizing, “I am sorry for ruining the moment for you.”

Cade was taken aback by Gabriel's interpretation of his response. “Don’t get me wrong. You didn’t ruin anything—there was no moment at all.”  He made a hurried attempt to clarify things, but Gabriel had that sly look on his face that bothered Cade. 

“I swear nothing was going on! I really wasn’t going to kiss her–” Cade shot himself in the leg yet again before he realized it.

“I understand you, sir. But I doubt you understand yourself. I will come back later.” Gabriel said, smirking as he walked out. 

Just as he was about to close the door behind him, Cade suddenly turned serious. 

His gaze was stern, and his arms crossed over his bare chest as he asked out of the blue,  “How do I make you my man?”