Connect Us ✔

Chapter 27

I wake up to a sudden clang and immediately sit up straight, thinking someone's broken into my apartment. But the room is far too bright to be mine, and slowly, my memories crawl back. I blink as my eyes sting with fatigue, and the blanket slips down, revealing I'm still naked.

I stop and listen. I hear a chair scraping in the kitchen and water running. Someone's there. I stand up quickly, holding the blanket around my hips, but I can't find my clothes. The floor is clean, like it has swallowed everything that has ever fallen on it. Too clean for things to get lost. They are simply not here, you can see that with one glance. I bite my lip and try to move quietly toward the door. Maybe they're in the bathroom?

"Hey."

I turn around and freeze. The boy in the doorway blinks back at me, and something tightens in my chest. Not fear, not exactly. Just that strange pull when two strangers lock eyes for the first time. I blink, as if I could convince myself he's the man I just had sex with. Ha ha. Nice try. This boy is surely at least a head shorter than him.

"Hi..."

I stare at him. He's probably not even taller than me. Even though he gets lost under the oversized clothes, you can see he's small and thin in a way that makes my stomach tighten for no reason I can name. His hair is messy—dark blonde, with some clamps holding his curls of his forehead. 

"I was..." I keep blinking. I don't even know what to say. "Sorry, I was... going to leave, but I can't find my clothes." Oh God, please tell me that whoever this is already knows that I have sex with the person living here. 

"They are on the shelf next to the TV." I have never felt more naked than I do now. His eyes get stuck on my stomach—not sure if it's because of my tattoo or for other... reasons—a flicker that makes my skin burn. When our gazes meet again, it's as if the air thickens. Yes, I'm still topless. Actually, only the blanket keeps me from being completely exposed. My hair is probably a huge mess, too. I swallow hard, trying to stay cool, but Jesus, why is it suddenly so hot in here?

"Great." I turn, but then stop. "Sorry, who the hell are you?"

He chuckles, and the way he looks down while doing so is terribly adorable. "I'm Felix."

My mouth opens as I realize, nodding. Okay. Okay, that makes sense. He's a friend of his... or... is he? "You're... not his boyfriend, are you?"

For some reason I can't stop staring at him. Any normal person would just bite off an apple. Instead, he cuts off slices of it with a small knife and throws them into his mouth, then turns it a little to get the next slice—and God, why the hell am I staring at his mouth?

He smiles at me. "Wanna know?"

I stare at his stupid apple. "Kind of." And his stupid smacking mouth. "You look pretty young for a thirty years old boyfriend." I turn to get my clothes from the TV shelf.

"I'm nineteen."

I grab my things and pull my boxers on under the covers. "Still pretty young." I let the blanket fall and put on my pants. And I know—I know this is crossing a line but I can't help it. I'm too curious. "That's a difference of eleven years. When he sleeps with me despite you're his boyfriend, an open relationship?"

Felix stops chewing. "What?"

I only remember now how this man immediately texted me when he found out Felix talked to me. Fuck. You Idiot. "Fuck, man, I'm so sorry. I... We... I mean, I never knew he had a boyfriend and we made this stupid contract..."

He suddenly laughs. And my shoulders drop. "Relax, I was playing with you. Of course I know you're sleeping with him, you just woke up in his bed naked. If I didn't know, I'd know by now." 

I shake my head and throw him a serious look. 

"Sorry, I just had to take this possibility. You should have seen your face."

"Fair enough. So that means..." I sit at the table in the kitchen, hoping he cleaned it at least after he fucked me here. But he didn't have time for that, I guess. Maybe Felix cleaned it. "You also have different sex partners besides him?"

"Nope." He puts the dish of what he just baked in the oven on the table on which he has to lean over for. His T-shirt lowers and reveals his chest, literally right in front of my eyes. Pale, bare skin revealing his chest. My pulse stumbles. I look up too late; he's already caught me staring. 

"But that's kinda private."

"What, so we can talk about his sex life but yours is private?"

"Yep," he says. "Do you want some? It's vegan."

He sits down at the table and puts some of the cheesy noodles on his plate. The yellow-brownish cheese stretches, my stomach growls, and I'm not sure what I want more: to eat with this cute boy, or... well...

"Nah, I'll pass." I stand, forcing a small smile, but my chest feels weirdly tight. The scent of baked noodles and something faintly citrus clings to him, and I hate that I already know I'll think about it later. "I'm leaving," I say, though part of me doesn't want to. I take my helmet and jacket. "Enjoy your meal."