Payton
His large body fills up too much space on the couch. All my furniture is
small. Small because my apartment is small. Small because it’s only ever
me here.
I sit frozen, wondering if I should say something, but he keeps his focus
on the TV
Payton
𝘐𝘴 𝘩𝘦...𝘐𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦?*nervous*
I start to shift, wondering if I can just get up and slip away
Nero
I’d rather you didn’t get up.
He doesn’t turn his head when he says it,
his tone casual. But there’s no hiding the fact that it’s not a request.
My breathing picks up, as I remain facing forward. Prickles running up
and down my arms.
I cut off my plea, not
wanting to put my specific fears into words.
I can hear the rustle of fabric as he starts to turn toward me, and I
squeeze my eyes shut.
A large hand settles on my thigh, and I stiffen even more.
The weight of his palm is alarming, the heat of his touch searing me
through the blanket.
His hand presses down with a little more force.
Payton
𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴..𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮?
He’s leaning toward me, invading my space further, and the stance
should feel dominating. But there’s something in his body language, or
maybe it’s something in his eyes, that makes my body obey. Makes me
relax, just a little.
His gaze travels over my face, and this close, I can see a tinge of green
in his eyes. They’re stunning.
His eyes move back to mine.
Nero
I'm not going to hurt you
I mostly mouth the word, my voice too quiet to hear, but he
nods anyway, a pleased look crossing his features.
Payton
𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮?
His hand slides off my thigh, taking the heat with him
Before I have time to start spiraling, he lifts the bowl of popcorn from
the spot between us.
Without waiting for an answer, he settles back, props his feet up on the
coffee table and sets the bowl on his lap.
Then, casual as ever, he drapes one arm across the back of the couch, fingers nearly touching my shoulder, like
he’s here for a date and not a home invasion.
I watch as he starts to eat the popcorn, whole handfuls at a time, never
dropping a single piece on himself.
Payton
𝘐 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘥𝘰
Payton
𝘐 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘪 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘖𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸?
With my eyes still on his profile, waiting for whatever’s going to
happen next, I hear the character on the screen talk about courage. And I wish more than anything I had some
I jump when he speaks, then bite my lip
Payton
Um… I don’t think I should
tell you that.
I see his eyes flick over in my direction
Those two syllables bounce across my skin.
My fingers tighten around the blanket, pulling it even higher
Payton
𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦
My stomach clenches and my stupid brain takes this moment to remind
me that I probably look like a disheveled mess.
Not that it matters. I don’t need this intruder to think I’m sexy. In fact it’s probably better that he doesn’t. It’s probably better that I have popcorn breath and a ponytail that needs adjusting. And bangs that are going every which way since they got damp when I washed the makeup off my face before sitting down to watch my favorite movie for the four-hundredth time.
The fingers near my shoulder tap against the backrest, keeping in time with the characters on TV as they skip down the road.
This has got to be the weirdest thing that’s ever happened to me
Payton
𝘈 𝘩𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘺. 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘨𝘶𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘰𝘱𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘯.
Payton
𝘢𝘯𝘥.....𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨?
Payton
𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘺. 𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨
With careful, small movements, I push myself further into the corner.Trying to add any amount of distance I can between us.
I want to ask his name. Ask him what he’s running from. But I feel like the less knowledge I have, the better.
Payton
𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦
My inner voice unhelpfully reminds me
Not knowing what else to do, I stare at his profile. Watching the way the light dances off his eyes. The way his mouth opens and closes around handfuls of popcorn. The way his shoulders seem relaxed
He seems so at ease. So… comfortable.
My lids lower in a slow blink and I force them wide.I can’t make out the clock on the microwave from here, but I know it’s past my bedtime. I didn’t intend on staying up for the entire film because
waking up at five a.m. every weekday means I go to bed early. And I haven’t been sleeping well this week. Hell, I haven’t been sleeping well the past twenty-seven years.
He chews another mouthful, and I watch the movement of his Adam’s apple as he swallows
Maybe this really is all a dream
Maybe I’m already in bed, sound asleep
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