Page 27 of Infinity Chronicles 1
There’s a toilet against the far wall with a tiled shower directly across from it. A few bottles of soap sit on the ground, with a single bar of yellowish soap placed on a small ledge built into the wall.I inhale, pulling the clean musky scent of the soap in.
Surprisingly the bathroom is really clean. A few small white smears surround the sink and a couple spots dot the mirror, but that’s the only defect I can find.
I make my way over to the long black counter and note the three toothbrushes, all resting upright in a tumbler.
Do they all live here? There’s only one bed. That I saw anyway, well and the couch. Maybe they just stay over often enough to have them here.What even is this place, his apartment? Who lives in the house?
When I exit, the guys are close together whispering fervently.I clear my throat and they stop immediately.
It’s Oliver, not surprisingly, who breaks the awkward silence that follows.“Come eat, it’s already pretty cold.”
Milo is on the floor in front of the table, his legs spread wide as he leans on one hand while eating a burger with the other.Dante grabs a box of fries from the table and sits on the arm of the couch. He digs in, fully engrossed with his food.My cheeseburger is out next to Oliver’s food.
I sit as near the middle between the two boys as I can, putting me on two cushions, then grab my sandwich.
The uncomfortable silence is back, and the same feeling I had when we first sat together at the diner invades my body. I’m super self aware, and hyper alert of them as well. My wrapper seems loud as I pull back the paper, making me slow my movements.
Milo stretches out more on the floor, leaning on his side to look over at us. His head his propped on his hand, while his other arm is draped over his side, leaving his hand low on his stomach. He reaches up to brush something off his shirt and the fabric lifts up, exposing the waistband of his dark gray jogger pants. He doesn’t seem to notice so I focus on my food keep from staring.
Oliver is next to me, and he scoots closer, grabbing his soda from the table. Instead of moving away, he stays with his hip pressed to mine. I’m tempted to move over, but I don’t.
After two bites of my burger I can barely swallow. I’m overwhelmed with their presence. I’ve never been the center of anyone’s attention. Not even my mom’s. She’s always too wrapped up in her own issues to worry about me.
I fold the paper over my burger and set it on the table, sliding forward so only my butt remains on the couch cushion.
Just when I’m about to ask for an explanation about why I’m here and what they think they know about me, a phone rings.
I look at Dante who stands up to pull a phone from the front pocket of his dark wash jeans. He looks at the screen then over to me. He stabs his finger on the surface and tucks his phone back away, only to have it ring again almost immediately. He shakes his head pulling it free again.
“Yeah,” he answers, walking over to one of the few windows.
There are no drapes or blinds, so he’s bathed in afternoon sunlight. He looks out toward the large house before turning and facing the room again. He listens for a few seconds and his eyes fall closed slowly. His head falls back on his shoulders and his chest expands in a deep inhale.
Oliver bumps me with his shoulder to get my attention. When I look over he smiles at me and offers me a cold fry. I wrinkle my nose at the thought and shake my head in denial.
His grin gets even wider before he plops it into his own mouth.
“Yeah, I got it,” comes Dante’srough reply. His voice is hard. Not for the first time I wonder who it is.
I lean close to Oliver. His eyebrows shoot up, but he doesn’t object. I turn my head just a little, so my mouth is near his ear.“Should we go? Are we going to get him in trouble?” I’m not sure what’s brought me to that conclusion, but I feel like me being here might cause a problem.
Oliver leans closer; I swear I feel him shiver once before he rolls his shoulders. I pull back to look at him and his eyes are half closed. The clear green is clouded with something akin to sleepiness.
He pulls his bottom lip past his teeth, and then inclines his head back, telling me to lean close again.His lips graze my ear as he breathes, “He’s not in trouble. Wouldn’t matter if he was.”
I swear I feel the tip of his tongue against the bottom of my earlobe right before Dante barks, “I said I got it!”
I jump away from Oliver’s warm breath, my heart beating fast, and not because Dante just yelled at someone.
I put some much needed space between us, scooting into the corner of the sofa Dante just vacated.I run my hands over my thighs several times, afraid to look at Milo. I can’t let him see how affected I am right now. I think his boyfriend just nibbled my ear, and I liked it.
I’m way out of my element here. I’ve never had so much as a friend, let alone three gorgeous boys giving me attention. I don’t know how to handle it.
Dante walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him with the phone still at his ear.
I feel the cushion next to me dip and look to see Milo taking up the position between Oliver and myself.
My neck feels hot, I’m completely embarrassed. How could Oliver do that with Milo sitting right here, and how does he behave when he’s not around, does he flirt with everyone? I wouldn’t be able to handle that. It reminds me how dismissive Dante is with Delaney. Maybe they’re both terrible boyfriends, or maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. Maybe that’s how all teenagers are. Not all relationships are serious, maybe that’s just the way they act.
