Nia woke up to the sound of running water and badly having to pee. Having half a cup of tea in the middle of the night had been a terrible idea. She could hear Malcolm taking a shower in his room's ensuite and saw the glow of warm light shining through the closed door's frosted, horizontal slats.
She laid in his bed and stretched her body out like a cat. Last night, talking with Malcolm felt like a fever dream, and this morning, waking up in his bed felt equally surreal.
Nia would be lying to herself if she didn't admit to fantasizing about whether or not their relationship would feel so much like this weekend did. From a cute, cozy movie night, to passionately arguing in the middle of the night, Nia and Malcolm felt like they were dating —except they weren't. Like they were soul-tied — except they shouldn't be. And while they both knew a romantic relationship was off the table, it was like they couldn't help but fall into the pattern of one.
Nia pressed her fingertips in soothing circles on her temples to ease her anxiety when she realized something was missing. "Traitor." She hissed as she eyed the bold colours of her satin head scarf that had slipped off in the middle of the night rippling through his mess of forest green sheets and duvet.
Nia rolled out of Malcolm's bed, and headed to the two piece bathroom by the entryway. She peed, washed her hands, and brushed her teeth before she slid the door open and walked back to Malcolm's room.
"Holy shit!" Nia's gaze had been on her feet as she shuffled into the bedroom. In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a looming, tall figure.
Malcolm was standing still as a statue, fresh out of the shower; his skin still wet and glistening with droplets of water, and a grey towel tied around his waist.
"Shit, did I scare you?"
"Kinda - you gotta stop popping up like this."
"In my house?" Malcolm asked laughing in disbelief as Nia exhaled with a frown. "I'm sorry Ni. You okay though?"
"Yeah, I'm good but like, slam a door or something, please." She giggled.
"My bad." Relief swept across his face. "You're the first woman I've lived with aside from my fam so I'll take your critiques to heart."
"Oh my God, and your mom used to holler at us if we walked too loudly or made too much noise. Classic Miss Althea."
"Yeah." Malcolm grinned in nostalgia. "Well I'm about to hop in the shower and get dressed – anything you want to do today?"
"Wait, you didn't shower already?" Nia eyed his damp chest suspiciously.
"Yeah, uh–" Malcolm stammered. "I just needed to–" He shifted his weight between his feet and crossed his arms. "That first one was to calm me down."
"Oh?" Nia frowned again.
"Not like that- I just needed to clear my head."
"It's okay. We don't have to do this." Nia waved her hands in surrender. "I can stay somewhere else."
"Nia please, I want you here. It's just–"
"It's just hard, I know. Look, this is the hardest thing I've ever had to do, Mac. Let's not over-complicate things." Nia sat down at the foot of his bed, suddenly shrinking in exhaustion. "Let's not make it harder..."
In his silence, Nia looked up at him. Expecting to find a somber expression, Malcolm's face was set in a wide grin, damn near bursting with laughter. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"
Malcolm had fixed his plump lips into a slick smirk. "Because, hard was a craaazy word choice."
"What? This isn't hard?"
YOU ARE READING
The List that Lead the Logical Nia Birch to Fall in Love
Romance"Nia." Her name softly fell from his lips and she soaked in his sweet breath like a pancake to syrup. Her eyes were low and she was watching his chest rise and fall. She couldn't look at him just yet. She was frozen in place. With just this brazen...
