You are the Answer {boyxboy} ✓ (Dogs, Bats & Monkeys series, Book I | Riley)

Chapter 10

A/N: ♥ ♡ ♥ Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! ♥ ♡ ♥

PS: I'll tag a few people in the comments, because some have complained they don't get notified about updates. If you are one such person and would like me to tag you, say so in the comments :)

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"So do you want to come up to my apartment or what?"

His blush turned several shades darker and he sucked in a breath through clenched teeth. For a moment, I thought I might have offended or angered him, but he still had my hands in his and even began to run his thumbs over my skin.

"What happened to taking it slowly?" His voice was a cocktail of excitement and nerves.

"We'll just drink something and talk for a while. Maybe kiss," I added, lowering my head so I could look up to him through my eyelashes. Not that Rhys was particularly interested in my eyes; his gaze was aimed a few inches lower from the moment I bit my lip.

"Is this coy behavior supposed to make me consent?" His voice was a deep murmur that I'd never heard him use before. I liked it. If he kept speaking this way, we'd do far more than simply kiss.

"Yes," I admitted without shame and he laughed.

"Alright," he said through a smile, his tone back to normal. "But we really won't do anything more than that tonight. Don't pout," he added, giving me a quick peck and that was all it took; his lips had touched mine for a couple of brief moments and I was already grinning. If I had a tail to wag, it would be dashing left and right so fast, you won't be able to see it; you'd only hear the whoosh as it sliced through the air.

Rhys let go of one of my hands and leaned down to pick the jacket which had slid off my back earlier. He managed to get some of the water off of it as he shook the leather clothing a few times before swinging it over his shoulder. In the mean time, I'd already used my free hand to open the door.

Our fingers were entwined as we climbed the stairs in silence and that had me worried: would we find a topic to chat about? Another just as unpleasant thought crossed my mind while I placed the key in the lock to my apartment: I only had juice; what if Rhys didn't like juice? I'd asked him to come up for a drink and I had only one type to offer, apart from water. Some host I was turning out to be!

I pushed the door open and led him inside my humble domain. The room we walked in was both a kitchen and a living room and had two more doors aside from the one we'd just used: one which led to a single bed bedroom and the other – to a small bathroom. The furniture came with the apartment and even though it wasn't outdated, it had tears and scratches and the occasional stain which persisted to defy me, no matter how many times I'd tried to clean it.

Rhys hadn't noticed any of that though; his eyes were busy scrutinizing the door that led to the hallway. He looked at the frame, tested the hinges and then bent in two to examine the lock. Once done, he found a new item to review: the window.

"Erm, Rhys," I followed him there. "What are you doing?"

"I want to see how easy it is to access your apartment," he replied, distracted by work.

I took a step back. He was acting weird to say the least and I was beginning to get antsy. I looked around; the door to the hallway was still opened. If anything happened I could make a run for it. But this was Rhys; he wouldn't do anything to hurt me, right?

Then again, I wouldn't imagine he'd go around inspecting my apartment either and that was exactly what he was up to now. He opened the window and peeked outside.