A house is only as fun as your house mate

Chapter 8 and 1/2: Keith

We did practically nothing for the rest of the day, we figured that the house needed cleaning after weeks of dust gathering in every corner of every room. Lance was less inclined to the idea and refused to partake in the activity, only agreeing  with the persuasion that he can listen to his dreadful music and dance while cleaning. He had done this once before and I couldn’t stop cringing the entire time, so we agreed that he wasn’t to do it again. I guess today I kindly made an exception. He grabbed the mop as I grabbed the hoover and spun around the kitchen with it first allowing him to mop soon afterwards. He filled the sink with the hot, lemon scented, soapy water and pulled out his phone. “are you ready for the performance of a lifetime?” he asked me, shooting me a wink specifically designed for making people fall into his arms.
“am I even allowed to say no at this point?” I sighed. He grinned and shook his head.
“nope.”
“Well then continue my dear friend, looks like I can’t stop you.” He chuckled at my comment and scrolled through his playlist, finally landing on one as his face lit up. He subtly glanced over at me with a devious grin upon his face. He clicked it. The unforgettable sounds of the backing to ‘hips don’t lie’ by Shakira blaring across the kitchen. I would be surprised if the neighbours couldn’t hear it. I couldn’t help the cringe attacks already. They flooded over me as Lance began to shake his hips softly. He gestured for me to come over to him but I refused. I stood stoic in the back of the room, trying not to watch him in awe of what he could do with his body. “oh come on Keith, you’re no fun!” he whined, still dancing. I continued to shake my head.
“not my thing.” I decided on. The truth is, I just couldn’t dance, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to, I was just appalling when it came down to it. Shiro had tried to teach me but he was never a good dancer either so I only ever got the worst techniques from him. The poor guy looked like a stag beetle attempting to wash a car. I was just glad that Curtis was not a bad dancer and so he made their wedding dance something slightly more enjoyable to watch.
Lance picked up the mop then and began to sing along to the song in Spanish, though it was sung in English. His accent floated through to me as he pronounced every syllable with emotion. He looked at me head on and propped the mop to the side. He walked over and stood in front of me, still singing softly. He grabbed my hands and dragged me to the middle of the still half damp floor. I did not resist and let him pull me, I was too absorbed into what he was doing with his hips to care. And I don’t mean that to sound creepy but I was mesmerised by what he could actually achieve. He had never been like this on the ship, so it was weird to see him behave in such a way. He began to sway me along in time and spun me when the moment was right. Every step and sequence was crafted perfectly to fit with every beat within the song. I accidentally let a giggle escape, a little giggle of excitement I suppose. I covered my mouth instantly, regretting everything I was doing at that moment in time. It was weird for me to be enjoying something so unfamiliar to me. Lance spun me once more so that he bent my back over his arm and pulled me up again. By the time he had finished the move, the song had finished and flicked to another.
“was that or was it not the performance of a lifetime?” he teased, raising a brow and looking at me expectantly. “I think I can make an exception this once.” I sighed. He smiled at me brilliantly before continuing to sing along to the currently playing song. I found myself a pack of wipes and began to clean surfaces. I hadn’t realised until Lance pointed it out that my hips were swaying along to the beat, much like what his were doing. “there you go, you’re feeling it now!” He exclaimed proudly.
I stopped instantly. A pout crossed his face as he stared at me with shame. “Why'd you stop?”
“i wanted to.” I huffed, not really feeling the mood anymore. It was different me doing that without me knowing but having someone else notice too made it ten times more embarrassing.
“no come on, that’s not a-“
“I said I just wanted to!” I yelled, leaving a guilty Lance stood shocked by the fact I not only cut him off but the fact I yelled at him too.
“Sometimes, you really aren't fair Keith.” He sighed, sounding overly downcast. I didn't look up. “i don't try to be.” I told him. He inhaled a sharp intake of breath before letting it out slightly dramatically. “Keith, I want to ask you something.” He stated, walking closer to me, and placing a tentative hand on my hip, gripping it as if I would escape him were he not to do that. I met his pleading ocean eyes with my stony violet ones and rest my own hand against his. God could I fall for those eyes a million times over. I hummed in response. “would you, you know, possibly consider being, would you...” he trailed off and ran his free hand through the back of his hair. “would I possibly consider being what?” I encouraged. His eyes shifted as you could see him shake something off mentally. “would you be able to clean that surface again, you missed a spot.” He dropped his hand from my hip roughly, accidentally smacking my hand away and into the cupboard next to me. My hand hit the door handle, and instantly seized in pain. “damn.” I breathed. Lance was unfazed by what he had just done. Either that or he hadn’t noticed.
Perhaps it didn’t take a genius to notice but I was not entirely convinced that, that was what he was going to say. He seemed too genuine to just ask me to clean a side again. I wonder if he would ever tell me what he was going to say. It was almost laughable seeing how vulnerable Lance could be. He was so easily broken down that it was strange to think he had once been the guy to flirt with every alien, female, creature that he could.
As it were, he was right, I had missed a spot but the hand on my hip, told me everything I needed to know. He left to go upstairs, his phone in his hand, dialling some number and then raising it to his ear. He looked stressed. I left him be and decided to get some fresh air, and perhaps nip into work and see how Bellamy was holding up with all of his customers. I would offer my services if he really needed it. I mean, it was not that long ago that the young kid with an angry face and blonde hair, Laury I think his name was, quit the position he was in, leaving Bellamy even more in jeopardy. I grabbed my jacket and thick black boots that Lance insisted I started wearing again, and made my way down to the cafe that I now called my work place.