Page 13 of Sinful Nights
Oak walks over to me, lifting his hand in my direction, “Wanna dance?”
“Here?” I ask, bewildered. “To them singing?”
Oakley tosses his head back, laughing, and grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet. “Yeah, to their singing.”
We dance around the living room while Lennox and Declan sing their hearts out. Once their song is done, Preston takes a turn singing a Taylor Swift song, which causes everyone to sing along loudly. We spend the next few hours hanging out and having fun before we call it a night.
“That was fun,” Oak says, walking into our apartment. He kicks his shoes off, and I’m about to roll my eyes when he leans down and places them against the wall. Wow, I’m shocked. I’mabout to say something about his shoes when he adds, “We should do a game night here. Would you be okay with that?”
“Yes,” I respond excitedly. “I can ask the guys if they wouldn’t mind doing the next one here. Oh my god, that would be so much fun. I already have a ton of ideas.” Reaching forward, I place a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for coming. It means everything to me.”
Tonight was perfect, hanging out with everyone and Oak.
“You live here by yourself?” I ask Bash the next day when he opens the door to his apartment, letting me inside. “I can’t believe I haven’t been to your place before.”
His apartment is stunning. Beautiful decorations adorn everything, from the couches with matching pillows and blankets to his all-teal kitchen. Hell, he even decorated the entryway from his front door to the living room. He has a reddish-brown shoe rack up front that has an enormous glass bowl with candy in it and some pictures placed on top. The candy caught my attention right away because I figured his apartment would have candy all over it. Seeing it as soon as I walked in made me laugh so hard before I quickly stuck my hand in to grab a few pieces and shove them into my pocket.
“To be honest, I don’t invite many people over. It’s more of a space for me, so I usually go over to other people’s places. That way, when I get overwhelmed, or my social battery dies, then I can make an excuse to hurry and leave.”
My fingers drag along the back of the couch as I walk around it. “I love that. Knowing that you have a space that’s just yours and you want to honor it.”
“Is it hard having a roommate?” Bash asks, taking a seat on his leather couch.
I plop down on the space beside him, shaking my head. “No. I swear it’s like Oak and I are two halves of one whole. I never get tired of him. Actually, no, that’s a lie,” I laugh, thinking of our argument over his shoes. “There are a few things he does that irritate the shit out of me, but never enough to make me not want to live with him. I’m pretty sure I have a few annoying habits to him too, but never something so bad that either of us would want to move out.”
Bash turns to face me, tapping my knee in quick succession. “Can I ask you a personal question? And you can one hundred percent tell me to shove it, and I’ll drop it.”
“Shit,” I chuckle nervously, “you’re worrying me.”
“Oh, it’s nothing bad. I was just wondering something.”
He smiles softly, and I can guarantee that I already know what he’s going to bring up. It’s the same thing that everyone always has to say at least once.
Oakley.
Or rather: me and Oak.
“Go ahead,” I tell him, getting comfortable on his couch.
“Now, I know you’ve said time and time again that you and Oak aren’t dating or anything, and I know I’ve already asked if anything was going on between you, but have you ever thought about it? Every time I see you two together, I can’t help but think how good you would be together.”
“Thought about it?” I repeat like an idiot. To be honest,haveI ever thought about it? I don’t think I have. “Um. No. At least I don’t think so.”
“I mean, you have to agree that you both seem to do things that most couples do.” He chuckles as though I should be easily following what he’s talking about.
“Like what?”
He stares at me with wide eyes, his hands moving around as he talks. “Uh, holding hands? The forehead kisses? That’s like peak relationship territory.”
My heart races as I try to think about what Bash is saying. “We’ve always been this way. For as long as I can remember. Hell, I’m pretty sure we held hands the first day we met. We’ve always been close. I’ve never seen it as anything else but friendship. I thought most best friends were like that.”
Bash snickers, wrapping his arms around his knees. “Not any best friends I’ve had. Okay, let me ask you this. What would you do if I kissed you on the forehead?”
Wrinkling my nose, I’m already shaking my head before the words even leave my lips. “Nah, that’s not the same thing.”
Bash laughs loudly, and I chuckle alongside him. “Okay, why not?”
“I don’t know. We haven’t known each other as long as Oak and I have, so that just sounds weird as hell. I mean, you’re not like going to try it or anything, right?”
