The Bad Boy's Heart: When The Dust Settles...

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My mouth dropped open, moving aimlessly. A few seconds later, I whirled to face Nabila. "What the fuck!"

She jerked back. "What?"

"Why would you let him in?"

"I-I wanted to surprise you!"

"Surprise me? What happened to helping me 'bury the body'?"

Angelo chuckled. "'Bury the body?'"

I glared at him. He cleared his throat, looking away.

For a few seconds, silence reigned. Then, Nabila said, "So...I'll leave you both alone."

Without waiting for a response, she fled the room.

Looking back at me, Angelo cleared his throat. "So-"

"You got tanner."

He blinked. "What?"

"You got tanner."

Which was true: his tawny-brown skin tone had darkened. That wasn't the only thing that was different about him, as his build had gotten more muscular as well. He also had grown a light beard and mustache. His bushy, coily hair was the only feature that hadn't noticeably changed.

He chuckled, sitting down. "You have summertime heat to thank for that."

I folded my arms, glaring at him. "Which one? The one here, or in Japan?"

"Since you just noticed the change, I'll say Jap-"

I exploded. "How could you just leave like that, without so much of a notice?"

He frowned. "I left you a messa-"

"After you had already left, and then you didn't even bother to reply to my messages!"

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a phone. It was different from what I was used to seeing him with. "My phone stopped working. I didn't have access to anyone's messages."

I scoffed. "Sure. Alright then, how do you explain you not replying to my DMs on IG, even though you were active on there?"

He looked away from me briefly. "My DMs were acting up as well."

"Oh, how convenient! If you were so cut off digitally, how were you able to contact Nabila to plan this visit?"

"I said my DMs 'were' acting up, they're fine now." He groaned. "Look, can we just drop this? Isn't the important thing that I'm here now?"

"No, we will not be 'dropping this'!"

He looked away from me. Silence fell between us.

How can he just suggest that we 'drop this', after ignoring me for weeks on end? The nerve of him!

"Well?" I growled. "What do you have to say?"

Looking back at me, he said, "I missed you."

I scoffed. "Sure."

Involuntarily, my eyes followed his hand as he tugged at his shirt's collar, exposing a hint of the muscle that lay beneath.

When I met his eyes again, he was smirking.

Fuck, why did he have to notice?

"Despite your tone," His other hand moved to his collar as he began pulling off his shirt, "I'm guessing you missed me as well."

My face warmed. "Keep- keep your shirt on, we're having a conversation."

He paused, still smirking. "If you really don't want me to take it off, then come stop me."