''Ian Romero, the person I hate the most in the whole wide world. He turned the entire school against me, and then just left me alone in the hell he created.''
There's no one Cody Walker hates more than Ian Romero, who is the reason he has been bull...
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*Ian Romero's POV
He was sleeping in my arms so peacefully, his body nestled against mine under the warm covers. I knew I was totally whipped by him when my arm was turning numb and my bladder was about to burst, but I still didn't move an inch just to make sure he could sleep comfortably.
I realised how much Cody was starting to mean to me the exact moment he shifted in my embrace and wrapped his hands around me. Then he yawned and opened his blue-grey eyes tardily.
So damn adorable.
That was when I decided I needed to take him somewhere. Actually I had it all planned before Cody had time to open his mouth.
When I finally let Cody off my embrace, I wanted to pull him back in no time. Unfortunately Cody had already fled to the bathroom and I had no other option than to get up and start getting ready.
It was a chilly day so I picked up a thick brown sweater from my bag and took off the t-shirt I had slept in.
"Are you — uh, I, um.." The expression on Cody's face, when he opened the door and saw me sitting on the bed half-naked, was priceless.
He had seen me shirtless many times when we were younger, but this time the sight made him flustered and reddened his cheeks. I was, at the very least, amused by this, but I still put on the sweater promptly to save Cody from further distress.
"I was just going to ask, if you're ready." Cody cleared his throat and walked into the room like nothing had happened.
After that it didn't take long before we had had breakfast with Cody's family and were already on our way out of the front door. Once Cody had promised to call his parents and come to see Cole and Chloe, he was finally all mine and ready for our date.
"So, where are we going?" Cody asked. He was staring at the car incredulously and it almost seemed like he was scared to touch it, let alone get in. As I said, it was a little too sumptuous.
"You might not like the first stop, but I really want to take you there — and there's food." I answered cautiously while starting the car.
"Is it good food?" Cody asked.
"The best food I've ever had." I told him. I didn't exaggerate, because the food was definitely good. It was just the rest of the place that worried me.
While we were walking across the garden, towards a white gabled house with big windows, I was feeling more and more nervous. I wasn't sure what I was doing there exactly, but I knew the only way I could bring myself to ring the doorbell was to do so with Cody.
"Oh well, they're not home, let's go." I said after we had waited behind the door for a couple of seconds. I was actually going to flee from the premises, but Cody placed his hand firmly on the small of my back and held me still.
Then the door opened and it was too late to turn back and abort the mission.
"Ian! What are you doing here?" The man had brown slightly greyed hair and a stubble, brown eyes and a tall and trim physique. He was wearing a white button up shirt and beige trousers, looking as elegant as ever.
"I was nearby.." Was all I could muster before the man pulled me in a tight embrace.
"Larry, you've got to see who came to see us!" The man, Diego Romero, shouted excitedly after he let go of me and only then seemed to notice I wasn't alone.
"Oh, but isn't it Cody Walker?" He exclaimed and hugged Cody next. Dad was clearly jazzed up to see me and his enthusiasm seemed to catch Cody by surprise. He just nodded and smiled politely at Diego.
Before we were asked in, another man came by the door and greeted us with a bright smile. So, this was the famous Larry Smith, who was married to my dad: he had short dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, black framed glasses and he was wearing a green turtleneck shirt with dark blue jeans.
"Hi, Ian, it is really nice to finally meet you. Diego talks about you a lot. Please come in." Larry Smith had a singsong voice and he gestured exaggeratedly with his hands while he spoke.
And so we followed them in the house. It was a classical yet elegant house; a home of an artist. There were unpolished wooden surfaces, paintings, book shelves that covered entire walls, a lot of natural light from the big windows, plants, oriental carpets and antique furniture.
I could see how Cody looked around in awe, his eyes wide and astonished. I followed after him, Diego and Larry to the big living room. There was a fire in the fireplace and it crackled faintly as we sat down on one of the white sofas.
"Are you boys hungry? Diego was just about to start making lunch and there will be plenty of food, too much for us two." Larry seemed to be in a full host mode already. Cody looked at me and I nodded for the both of us.
"Want some wine?" Diego asked then.
"I can't, I'm driving." I declined, but Cody seemed relieved to have some liquid courage. I'm not sure which one of us was more nervous, but despite his disquietude Cody did his best to appease me. He was drawing small circles on my back with his fingers and that made me feel a hundred times better.
An hour later I had found out Larry was a writer and he was having "a creative hiatus" with us. The book he was writing was about an old man living in a light beacon, and I had to admit he made it sound really intriguing. Dad was cooking and the aroma coming from the kitchen was incredible.
All that time Cody's hand rested on my back and every now and then his fingertips drew patterns on my skin through the fabric of my sweater. Maybe that was the reason I eventually started having a good time: listening to Larry's singsong voice in front of the fireplace and sitting so close to Cody our shoulders nearly touched while his hand fondled my back.
The food was no doubt the best food I have ever tasted. Diego had never lived in Italy, but his parents had made sure he treasured his origins, thus he spoke fluent Italian and cooked Italian dishes. This time he had made chicken all'Arrabbiata, which tasted luscious.
"I didn't think you were going to come see us, so what changed your mind?" Dad asked at some point, taking a sip from his second glass of red wine.
"I said I was nearby." I repeated the lie. In reality we had had to drive for almost an hour just to get here. Cody glanced at me, but he didn't say anything.
"How is Sienna?" Diego continued.
"That's none of your business." All of a sudden my anger flared and I balled my fists. Cody flinched next to me, startled by my raised voice. Then he placed his hand on top of my clenched fist under the table.
"Ian, relax. I still care about her, you know it." Diego continued in a composed manner and set down the wine glass.
"Then why did you have to cheat on her?" I snapped.
♡♡♡
Question of the day: Long or short hair?
(Me: Long hair + I'm all about man buns. Then there's also something super intriguing about girls with buzz cuts. Oh, and men wearing rings and women with swords.. is this bi culture or not? 😅)
