Everywhere, Everything. ★ STURNIOLO TRIPLETS

CHAPTER TEN

Buttery light fell across our bare feet padding down the carpeted corridor as Matt's fingers loosely pulled me towards the pitch dark living room. Outlines of furniture casted shadows across the walls, my eyes making humans out of their shapes.

    "It's a little creepy out here at night," I whispered, eyeing the slender black mass forming near where I'd seen a standing lamp earlier.

    Matt tried poorly to stifle a laugh, and I could make out his head shaking in the low light. The back of his hair was a mess of matted down waves, and somehow that only made him hotter. The butterflies in my belly started flapping so hard, it was difficult to hear over the sound of them mixed with the pounding in my chest.

Matt led us through the kitchen down into an alcove Chris hadn't shown me on our tour. I squinted against the dark towards a tall rectangular shape to which I assumed was a door. I leaned into Matt's back. "You're not about to murder me are you?" I whispered jokingly. But really, where were we going?
    "I guess you'll just have to trust me," he breathed.

Well, that was reassuring.

    A piercing screech came from the hinges as Matt eased the door open wide enough for us to slip through. I sucked in a breath at the shrill noise, worried it would wake the others, but the breath left my lungs just as quickly as it had entered when I registered what we were looking at.

    Milky moonlight poured in from all angles, bathing the sunroom from floor to ceiling. All around the room were miscellaneous bean bags, patterned throw pillows, and a two-person loveseat positioned against the back wall facing panoramic windows, offering a full view of the woods adjacent to the cabin.

An involuntary gasp escaped my lips as I followed the view upward. The sunroom's roof had been constructed out of slanted glass that made it look like you were standing outside beneath the sky. The stars seemed to have tripled since we first went to bed, blanketing the night in pinpricks of light.

Matt clicked the door closed behind him, stepping down into the room beside me. "What do you think?" he said, a little above a whisper.

My mouth was practically dragging on the floor as I took in our surroundings. A pleased smile spread across his face.

"It's...it's-" I couldn't find the right word. Amazing? Stunning?

Breathtaking.

"I know," he finished for me, walking to stand in front of the windows. A thin veil of mist settled along the glass. I traced a runaway dewdrop as it raced towards the ground.

"Chris didn't show me this," I said.

Our shoulders were touching and I could feel his rise an inch. "This has been my favorite place since we were kids. He probably assumed I'd show you eventually." There was so much affection in his voice, I didn't stop myself when my fingers found their way to his and gave them a delicate squeeze.

All of the sexual tension I'd felt earlier had softened into something far more intimate. This whole time I'd been scared of talking too much about myself, my past, believing it would scare the boys off, but now, I understood that that was my brain's last ditch effort at control. Deep down a part of me was clinging onto the idea that if I kept my walls up it would force them to stop trying to break through, and prove to myself they were no different than anyone else who'd let me down. But that perception couldn't have been further from the truth.

I held onto Matt's hand as we stared longingly out into the night. Our breaths leaving patches of fog along the panes.

"What do you love so much about it?" I asked. Though the view alone was reason enough.