The Agreement •MXM• (Book 1)

Convertibles and turn tables

Cyrus

We have to drive back together. Of course we do but I just realised I shared too much with him today. Way too much. And if it was anyone else it would be okay to say that me and him had a normal conversation. We never have. It feels weird,but I can't go back now,to how easily we slip into talking,
"Oh come on now Button. Cat got your tongue again."
"If you call me that again I'll step on your left foot until your toe breaks."
"Fiesty as always."he mutters and keeps driving his arms speard in a way that makes his already fitted shirt hug his muscles like their in love. A small line showing the information that he has abs just underneath the black fabric,
"Don't call me that either."he scoffs at me and I get the feeling he's not taking me seriously,
"Why don't you tell what's on your mind again?"he stops looking at the road for a spilt second to flash his deep brow eyes in my direction. Instantly I can't handle the contact and I look outside to the neighbour. My cheeks flare and I curse under my breath,looking at the difference in the world this side of town. How different it is from my old place,the streets are so much cleaner. The have double the amount of parks here,I wonder if I'll get to walk in them soon. Or will everyone recognise my face as he son of Mr Brown? Like people at campus do now,I wish I could go back to being Cyrus Mclain. Not this. Its too burdensome. "Button?"I snap out of it as soon as he calls me,
"Yeah... I was just wondering where your convertible was and why you drive this jeep instead?"I take the first thing that comes to mind and he doesn't seem to notice,
"Oh? You wanna see my convertible? Why didn't you ask?"
"Because I thought maybe the media was just lying about it-"
"You were looking me up?"
"What? No- I just- you're everywhere on the Internet so it's not hard to know."I lie,I did read an article about him. JUST ONE. That's all. It think he knows because he makes a loud Uh huh sound.
"Well,their not wrong actually. I do have a convertible."
"... what color?"
"Blood red. I love it so much I'd rather not drive it. Scared I'll ruin it."
"You're such a wimp. When did you buy it?"
"Third year of college,it was after my first pay check. I realised later on that that was one of the worst financial decisions I ever made."
"Really? You?! Bad decisions?"I pretend to gasp and he rolls his eyes making a turn on the road,
"Well,yeah. I overestimated the amount of money it was and I ended up having to pay more than I thought. I had to ration my food and live without light in my house for half a year."as soon as he's finished I double down laughing. Never once did I thinking that he would do something like that,
"What happened after that?"I ask,tears from my fit spilling out of my eyes,I hold my stomach because it is in actually pain,
"Well,I never regretted it despite it being a bad decision. Because it taught me to be more mindful about what I buy. And I love the car despite how it almost made me go bankrupt."
"Question for you Aaron,were you a bad boy in college?"I can't believe I'm asking him this,but I can't help the feeling of curiosity. He makes a thinking sound for a second his lips pursed up,
"Depends. Who's asking,my husband or Cyrus Mclain?"
"Why don't you give me both answers?"I say,playfully falling into this easy feeling where I don't care or rather- I'm forgetting who I'm talking to. These exchanges can be nice when not I'm thinking about how much of a jerk he is.
"Well then-"he sighs and stops at a red light."for my husband Cyrus,I was not. I was the top of my class,I participated in lots of extra activities like music and art. And eventually I graduated with my undergraduate business degree and I am currently preparing to get a masters degree. I think not sure."he says in one breath and I let it sit with me for a moment. It sounds exactly how I think he spent his college years. "For Cyrus Mclain,I was the worst in college. Just because I was the top my class for the last three years doesn't mean I wasn't a total airhead. I fell in with a terrible crowd and was a tough person to be around. Uptight and judgmental. I was mostly scared because I was just from the Philippines and my English wasn't great back then so I often projected myself onto others."
"Hmmm,are you sure you've changed now?"
"Yes,not the same person."
"What about during my granddaddy's funeral? Were you bad then?"
"Well... I don't really remember much."
"Liar,liar custom suit pants on fire."he scoffs again and parks next to the apartment complex right on his reserved spot I think,
"Well,you weren't the sweetest boy on the planet then either."he grunts and I watch him with a frown on the opposite side of the car as we pick up all our groceries.
"Maybe you shouldn't have just stared at me the whole time. I was a boy who had just lost his grandparent."
"I was waiting for the right time to introduce myself to you. But you decided to start a war with me."
"I didn't. Your ugly black suit did!"I lie as I get on the elevator,that suit,looking back at it fit him and his tall,lean frame well. "Besides we were bound to hate each other from the moment people called you Mr Brown's other son."
"Were we? I don't think that's what cut the cake actually it was-"with all the bags in his hands he manages to press our floor and close the door, "You calling me spare son."he wants to make me feel bad. Its kind of working,I did jump on his back then,
"I said I'm sorry alright. No need to keep pointing it out. You were the one who called me button after,Mr not so innocent."
"I just wanted to get back at you for being so rude. You up and said this and I quote to me saying hi,if you think we can get along then your six ways to Sunday wrong,spare son. Hurry and go back to your dad or whatever you call him."my cheeks flare at how he decides to imitate my old strong country bumpkin drawl before puberty did its thing. I did say all that,and he remembered each and every word,even
"Well weren't you the one you said and I quote,well,well,well way to prove your from the country side Mr no manners,or should I call you Button? On account of your height."I feel satisfied once his cheeks turn red as well. I nearly want to laugh,it's been long since I revisited this memory with all it flaws. It was that one simple interaction that made us hate each other. How it's always been influenced by other outside pressures and not what we really thought of each other,
"I had no intention of being that rude,it's just that- you started it."
"What a way to act like the older one."I roll my eyes as he opens the door to the apartment and we get in. He places all the vegetables on the counter and places the other ones away. He looks at his phone the entire time I can't help but peek at what he's doing not my fault I'm a noisy Nellie. It's the fault of me spending almost every second with old ladies in my childhood. A cooking app? What is he doing with a- I don't get to have a better look because he flips the phone off,
"What do you think your doing?"He smiles like he just caught me doing something serious,
"Checking if my husband is cheating,why? Is it bad?"I turn around and carry the milk into the fridge,he follows me
"I get the feeling you wouldn't care if I had an affair but I'll let you know I was checking my monthly."he wags his phone in the air before putting it on the counter,
"What's that?"I feel dumb now,like I should know what he's talking about,
"It's so I see how many new recipes I've made this month."He says placing more stuff into the cabinets . I'm about to ask more questions when my phone starts to ring,grandma.
"Hi,Nana."I say as I walk away into the sitting room,
"Cyrus! You said you would call me back! How cruel you are."she exclaims and can already see her face in one of her long sweaters that she knits making a pot of soup smiling,
"I know,I just forgot I got so busy lately."
"Mmmh,did you pass your midterms honey?"I keep quiet for longer time than I should've,"Sweetie It's alright if you didn't,I'm not one of those old people and you know it."
"Nana... its not that. I passed,"
"Then what happened? You're never quiet like that."her concerned voice makes me wish I could just be there,be with her instead of this place. This campus where people hate me because they think I lied,because they think I'm nothing but the chairman's son.
"Nothing,we went out with Aaron today."
"Oooh? What did you do? I heard the parks where you two live are great."
"We went to the store got some stuff."
"Well then,I won't disturb you two. If you ever need a break from the man you hate so much you know where home is. Bye bye."
"Goodnight,Nana."
"Goodnight sweetheart."then the line goes off and I'm left in the dark sitting room listening to Aaron arrange things behind me. I probably shouldn't cry right now. But I do. I cry,
"Cyrus?"his voice gets closer and I regret everything that happens between us,I remember why I hate you. Because maybe if you weren't here,maybe if weren't you and I wasn't me I could go home. I could comfortably spend the rest of my life away from you people,away from all this guilt,all these burdens that weigh on my back. Even if that means going back to my old apartment,where nothing works and my roommate is the worst and my room is the size my thumb. Anything is better than this. I mean it.
"I want to go to bed."I say swallowing all the terrible things I have to say to him. What's the point of yelling at him anyway? It will be this until I can find something else,
"It's a little early to be going to bed."he says tilting his head at me,
"I'm tired. Maybe you can put the rest of the stuff away yourself."I don't wait for his answer as I head to my room and shut the door. I start to plan how I'm going to pay Aaron back for everything in my blue notebook.