Breaking the Rules

Chapter 4

You closed the bedroom door behind you, your eyes roaming the room for your bag. Once you saw it, you made a beeline for the small walk-in wardrobe near the window and squatted down. You fished down at the bottom of your bag and pulled out Bucky's book. Skimming through the pages, you found the page where he mentioned Dot.

I met Dot in high school. We broke up six years ago.

"Okay, not helpful," you mumbled to yourself.

Huffing out a frustrated breath, you put the book back in your bag when voices caught your attention. The window was slightly open and you could hear Bucky and Henry talking in the garden. When you heard your name, you tried to peek through the window.

As you did, you noticed a telescope mounted on a tripod in the corner of the room. You briefly wondered if he ever used it to spy on his neighbours. You dragged it to the window and aimed the telescope at Bucky.

It took you a moment to adjust the focus to your eyesight, but it was worth the wait. You had a great view of Bucky's muscular back. Sweat glistened on his sun-kissed skin and you audibly gasped. You knew what you were doing was wrong, but you were unable to look away.

You nearly screamed when your phone vibrated in your back pocket. You dug it out of your pocket and looked at the caller ID before you put it to your ear.

"You scared the crap outta me," you told her in a hushed whisper.

"Why?"

"Never mind. How are you?"

"I'm okay. How are things between you and Bucky?"

"Um, okay, I guess. We've argued, but we haven't yelled at each other," you replied while shamelessly gawking at Bucky's clenching abs.

You paid no attention to Natasha as she went on with her stories. At first, you made some humming noises over the phone, pretending to listen, but after a while you stopped. Bucky, with his broad shoulders and strong thighs, was a sight to behold.

Natasha's worried voice pulled you out of your thoughts.

"What?" you asked, frustration lacing your voice.

"Why are you breathing so hard?"

"I wasn't," you quickly moved away from the telescope as if someone had caught you staring at Bucky.

"Yes, you were. What are you doing?"

"Nothing!"

You tried to keep your cool, but Natasha was a human lie detector. You sat at Bucky's desk and tried to change the subject because Natasha wasn't going to let the subject drop, as least not until she'd got an answer.

"Do you want to hear something weird? Bucky's a nerd," you said, without waiting for her response. "There's a star chart hung above his bed. A star chart, Nat!"

You smiled as you spun around in the swivel chair. Bucky's history books were lined up on a shelf above the desk and his board games were collecting dust on top of the dresser.

"You call him by his first name? That's new."

"It's easier. I'm not going to call him Barnes in front of everyone."

"Huh-uh," she replied, not convinced. You didn't want to keep talking about Bucky, you didn't even want to think about him.

"Anyway, I gotta go, bye!" You hurriedly ended the call.

You didn't like her tone. Yes, you called Bucky by his first name, but that didn't mean you suddenly liked him. That didn't mean anything. Yes, you had observed him from his bedroom window, but you were not checking him out.