Page 10 of Drawn Together

“Sometimes, Marfil, you don’t realize how annoying you can be. You’re just a girl—it’s understandable—but keep quiet in my presence,” he’d said to me more than once.

Eventually, I’d learned to stay silent, but only for short periods of time.

“Are you left-handed?” I asked Sebastian as we walked side by side.

He looked at me with furrowed brows.

“You’re carrying all the weight in your right hand. Not because you’re right-handed, but because you want to have your left hand free to grab your gun if you need to, right?”

He tilted his head slightly, and I noticed a hitch in his lips that almost looked like a smile,almost. “I’m ambidextrous, but yes, I’m a bit more comfortable with my left hand.”

Ambidextrous… I looked at his hands, the left hanging loose at his side, the other carrying the bags as if they were filled with feathers instead of full bottles.

Without warning, I imagined those hands gripping me tightly, moving down my back, up my legs…

I put my sunglasses back on and ignored him for the rest of the walk home.

Fortunately for my mental well-being, Sebastian went straight to his part of the apartment and left me to put away the groceries. He offered to give me a hand, but I wanted to be alone. I assured him that it wasn’t necessary, and he didn’t insist on helping.

The doorbell rang just as I was finishing putting everything away in the fridge. I knew it was Liam, so I rushed to the door, excited to see my best friend. But as I crossed the hallway, I crashed straight into a human wall, much harder than I thought possible. Large hands wrapped around my forearms, halting my rush to open the door.

“Are you expecting someone?”

His touch caused me to feel chills all throughout my body. Sebastian, however, quickly pulled his hands away, as if my skin burned him.

“It’s a friend of mine,” I said, stepping forward.

He placed a hand on the door above my head, stopping me from opening it.

I turned toward him, frowning.

“Who is it? They didn’t even use the buzzer.”

“He has keys.”

Sebastian shook his head and pressed his lips together. “You give out keys to just anyone?”

“I give keys to my best friend.”

“Hey, Mar! Open up, fuck, I’m gonna go crazy if I don’t see you.”

I put my hands on my hips.

“What’s his name?”

I rolled my eyes, exasperated. “Liam.”

“Your father made it clear to me that there would be no men in the apartment.”

I laughed. “Yeah, sure! And I’m Bluey.”

Sebastian seemed lost.

“FromBlueythe TV show…” I said, but still no response.

He probably didn’t have any younger siblings.

I shook my head and pulled the door open, ignoring the presence of the gorilla behind me.