The Road To Her New Life

"Friends?"

The boys, with the exception of Devontae and Hakeem, had gone to the game room, Kobe trailing behind them. I had taken a long shower and put on clothes that were comfy but also appropriate for house guests, meaning; a cropped hoodie and shorts. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast.

Making my way back down to the kitchen, I opened a package of popcorn warming it in the microwave. Looking in the fridge, I grabbed a vanilla pudding cup and a spoon from the silverware drawer. I turned around, jumping when Nikolai was behind me silently munching on my cookies. "Jesus you need a bell," I sighed and opened my pudding cup. I put a spoonful of pudding in my mouth as I ogled his body and he did the same, grey sweats hung low on his hips, typical. A plain black tee shirt deliciously clung to his abs and arms with white crocs on his feet.

Taking the spoon from my mouth, I lick the corner of my mouth to get the remnants, watching his eyes follow the action. The microwave going off in the background snapped us both out of our reverie. I turned around, taking the bag out of the microwave. Shaking it, I walk towards him. "All of those cookies in there and you just had to get mine." He smirked, he definitely knew they were mine, no one else in this house even ate them.

"You don't talk much do you?" I asked taking some cookies from the box. He shook his head, "sometimes it's better to just observe," he said with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Oh? And what do you observe?" I opened my bag of popcorn, smacking his hand when he immediately reached for it. the fucking audacity.

"You." He took a step forward while I took one back. Oh.

"And what have you observed about me?" He took another step but this time I stayed rooted in my spot.

"Well for one, you're a giant foodie. You're-" He tilts his head a little, thinking of the right word, "reserved around your brothers. But around Alex, at dinner the other night, you were a totally different person. You don't open up quickly, you hide behind a persona, making everyone think you're a certain type but I see through you." He steps even closer till he's right in front of me. Close enough to touch me.

"I see a deep sadness in your pretty little eyes," His hand comes up to grip my chin when I avert my gaze from his.

"What else?" I couldn't even manage to bring my voice higher than a whisper. He drops his hand, "You're comfortable in your body and you obviously exercise," He continued looking at my legs. I wasn't always..

"And how confident you are in your embarrassingly cute shoes." I looked down at my Lilo and Stitch slippers wiggling my toes. "And oddly enough, your addiction to grape juice." He finished with a small laugh.

I reeled back with my hand to my chest in offense, "Okay first, it's cran-grape juice. And two, how is that odd?" I exasperate, reaching for another cookie.

He shrugged, "Just that out of all the drinks in the world, you like grape, sorry, cran-grape juice the most."

Moving on I say, "I wouldn't say you know me though. That's just surface level." I crossed my arms defensively. His eyes quickly dropped to my breasts before looking back up at me. "The majority of the time I've known you, you haven't really been here. Cut me some slack."