Chereads / The Writer and the Artist / Chapter 28 - And then there were three

Chapter 28 - And then there were three

Arms crossed, glares shared, it's like we're having a stink eye contest over a nice cup of tea. Someone clears their throat and we all turn it attention to them, the boys glaring harder. Devin seems to sink further into the chair, his eyes looking at everyone with a little fear.

May walks back to the table and smiles at everyone like there wasn't a menacing glare on any face at all. She picks up her muffin and starts eating, her brows furrowing slightly before she realizes that no one is talking. "Why do you guys look like you're going to murder Devin?" She asks in her soft voice. "Maybe it's because I will." Ethan says and cracks his fingers.

"Hold up there big guy. Don't be mad at him, I'm the one who didn't tell you guys about my relationship, be mad at me." She says with a pout and we all turn our glares to her. She looks shocked for a moment then huffs. "Now you're all being childish." She says and crosses her arms. Dami rolls her eyes and looks to Storm, rubbing his arms. He looks to her and smiles, touching her hands.

"I guess we could forgive you, but watch your back Rodriguez, I'm watching you." Ethan says and makes a motion with his index and middle finger. May rolls her eyes and starts a chat with Temi, Storm and Dami making faces while Ethan is talking with Mia.

My phone pings and I pull it out, reading the message from Austin.

Runaway Lover: Baby, where are you?

Me: I'm at Jumbo's place, just a little after the taco store down the road.

Runaway Lover: See you in a second.

Is Austin really trying to kill himself?

The door opens and I look up from my phone, staring at bluer than the sky blue eyes, a mop of black hair and a very annoyingly familiar smirk. He knew what I was thinking about!

His eyes scan the table and once they land on someone, his brows furrow. I roll my eyes when I realize that it's Devin he's stealing at. He looks at me and I make a motion towards May and he looks at her, his eyes studying.

"Oh hey Luke!" Mia calls and Temi's head jerks up, staring at him with wide eyes before looking back at me. I shrug and she makes a face that tells me she doesn't believe whatever I'm trying to tell her. He smiles and walks up to the table, Ethan glares at him and when I kick him under the table, he rolls his eyes and holds his hand out for a handshake. Austin, shocked, warily takes his hand and they do a firm business handshake that has me rolling my eyes.

Yes, a lot of rolling of eyes is going on today.

"What's up, guys?" He asks and Devin puts on that bored look, you know, the one when he pretends to not care but he's actually assessing if he can be natural around you, yeah.

"Oh, we just got back yesterday, there was a huge reveal of May's boyfriend who she didn't tell us about." Temi said with more emphasis on the last part causing May to smile sheepishly.

"You're May's boyfriend?"

"No, I'm Marshal Mallow, you know from Dorothy?"

Oh the sarcasm!

Austin narrows his eyes at him and May smacks Devin's arm. He sighs and nods at Austin. "Yeah, and you're the guy that freaked out when you saw me helping up April." Oh, sass.

"Yeah." Austin says and the whole place becomes awkwardly silent.

Do you think a cat would sleep in this kind of awkward situation? Like Malcom, would he sleep or stare at Austin and be ashamed?

Now I want Malcom to be here.

"Okay, this is getting awkward." Dami says and we all look at her.

"Really? 'Cause I thought everything was just fine, wasn't it Ap?" Temi asks me and I look away.

"Please do not engage me in whatever would happen later, don't want to be caught in the middle of a Yoruba fight." I say and Dami makes a shocked face.

"Okay, I'm out, Brooke wants me home and I guess I should wait in the living room with my cat sock." He says with an evil grin. He knows Chase hates that thing.

"Yeah, I better get going too. Marco needs me home." Mia sighs and gets up. Mia and Ethan walk out of the café, and out of my line of sight.

"So, I think we're also going to bail." Dami says and pulls Storm away from us.

"And there were three." I sigh and Temi laughs, grabbing her phone and headphones. "Actually, there just you two." She says and sashays out, giving us a peace sign.

"So, wanna go get some Halloween decorations?" He asks and I shrug, standing up. We walk out of the café after I sneak the rest of May's remaining muffins.

What? It'd be a waste since we'd already paid for it!

We walk out of the café and I see his car. He hands me the keys and I raise a brow at him. "I feel dizzy, so it's better you drive." He says and rubs his eyes. I turn to him and hold his face, looking at his eyes.

"Did you get any sleep last night?" I ask him and he smiles sheepishly at me. I roll my eyes and open the door, a different destination in mind.

"Get in, I have a job to do."

•°•|•°•

We arrive at his condo and I look at his figure, half asleep but still conscious to know we're at his place. I turn off the car and open the door, he follows suit, stepping out and swaying slightly but he holds the car to steady himself. I rush to him and he just smiles and shuts the door, locking it and taking my hand in his.

We walk through the doors and I turn back to lock it. I following him up the stairs, watching as he silently and slowly takes off his shirt, revealing his toned chest and muscles to die for.

He catches me looking and that smug smirk plasters itself like a medal on his face. "Take a picture luv, it'll last longer." He whispers in my ear before planting himself on the bed.

I pull out my phone, "Don't mind if I do." I take a picture of him and admire it for a second before taking another one and placing it on the table. I move to lie with him but he grabs my hips, making me straddle him, he grabs my two hands in one of his own large ones. He uses the other one to tug my shirt over my head, all the while holding my hands, with my eyes wide.

He sighs and tosses the shirt somewhere in the room and grabs my face, pulling me in for a kiss. His hands travel to my waist, clutching at the skin as if it's the line he's hanging onto for consciousness. My hands okay with his hair, my thumbs dancing across his jawline, skimming over his stubble.

I smile into the kiss. With my chest pressed against his, I feel safe. We are all we need when we're holding each other. I relax into him as his hands run against my back, teasing the hook of my bra.

I tense and he slows down until we finally stop the kiss. He stares at me as we battle to get our breath back. "You don't have to do whatever you're not ready for." He says and I roll my eyes.

"And you need to sleep. No advanced for you today." I say and kiss his forehead, rolling over to the other side of the bed. He whines and grabs my waist, pulling my body into his.

"Go to sleep baby."

°•°•°|°•°•°

I wake up to someone twisting my hair, causing me to smack at the hands. I hear deep chuckles and I peek one eye open, staring at the black haired hottie in front of me. "How are you feeling baby?" He asks and I smile.

"A little sleepy, I think I might just go back to bed." I say and turn back, hugging the pillow closer to my body and snuggling deeper into the bed. Austin chuckles and tugs at my cheeks, vibrating his hands on my face causing me to glare at him.

"Austin, I'd you dont get your fucking hand off my face right now, you'll have no hands anymore." I try to say but it comes out in a weird way.

He just laughs and pulls my hand, dragging me up. I fall into his arms and wrap my own around his neck, rubbing my cheek against his warm chest. He starts singing obnoxiously loud and I groan.

"Fine I'm up! Just stop singing, your voice is horrible." I complain and he just smirks at me because he knows he got me to wake up.

He turns me around and holds my shoulder, pushing me out of the room towards the stairs. I lick my lip and take a step down the stairs, Austin holds me and walks to my side, looking at me before walking with me down the steps, his hand entwined in mine. We reach the kitchen and he releases my hand after I take a seat on a stool. He goes to grab some Mac and cheese and dumps them in the microwave.

"Darlin'? Are you mad at me?" He asks and hugs me from behind, keeping his jaw in the crook of my neck as he places soft kisses on my jaw. I relax into him and he suddenly let's go of me, causing me to fall on the floor flat on my butt.

"Ow!" I cry and hold my hips. How did he get me off the stool, last I remember, I was balanced quite perfectly on it. His thick laughter reaches my ears and I spun around, glaring at him. I huff and cross my arms, walking out of the kitchen.

I land on the sofa and I grab the pillows on it, hugging it and shutting my eyes. My butt feels so sore.

He doesn't make an attempt to come over to me but after some minutes, I smell the sweet Mac and cheese. I open one eye and then the second before walking into the kitchen.

I see him putting the food on two plates and I smile, hugging him from behind. Just then, my stomach decides to embarrass me and let out a loud call demanding for food.

Austin's loud laughter causes me to squeeze my eyes shut.

Thank you universe.