Savior [Completed]

Savior: [Five] [I/II]

Five: Max

“I was so embarrassed!” Lani was saying, and all of us – me included – laughed. “Shut up you guys,” her cheeks flushed “it’s not funny.”

She turned to semi-amused Nick for support, who shrugged. “Well, yeah, it was awkward,” he conceded after a moment, “but I gotta say, it wasn’t that bad either.”

Her disbelief was apparent. “ Not that bad? One second Mum is telling you that you look good, then she comments on being ‘safe’ and you’re saying it wasn’t that bad?”

“They’re your parents,” he replied defensively, a small smile playing across his lips, “and I was going to spend time with you in your room, so I get where they’re coming from!”

“But we’d already told them we were doing homework!” Lani argued. “And besides they know you,” she paused, “they know me, for that matter. Gosh.”

“Well, you know, parents probably think ‘homework’ is code word for, you know, s-”

“Don’t say that word!” Lani interrupted, her face turning a little more red, and Rodney just silently mouthed the ‘ex’ instead, inducing some more laughter amongst all of us.

“Very mature,” Nick commented, then proceeded to high-five Rodney.

Lani wasn’t convinced though. “But why now? Nick and I have been doing this every week!”

“Maybe they suddenly realized that you’ve been together for a while now?” Ryan offered.

She took a moment to digest that, then nodded reluctantly. “Maybe,” she agreed, “but still. They should have talked to me about it or something…but whatever, I guess…” she brightened up a little, “have your parents ever said anything to you? You’ve been together for, like, ever.”

Needless to say, that was directed towards both Rodney and Ryan, and I felt myself smirk as it became apparent that it was their turn to get all tongue-tied now. ‘Now’ because earlier it had been Lani, in reaction to Nick’s suggestive ‘how was last night?’, which, by the way, is how Lani had ended up being forced to launch into the incident with her parents from the day before.

“Um…” Ryan looked down to his lap, cheeks starting to redden.

“Uh, well, we…” Rodney’s eyes were trained to his plate, and I think he was a little more eloquent than Ryan in that he managed to say a little more, but I didn’t quite catch all of it.

Nor did anyone else, apparently.“Come on!” Lani insisted, “you can tell us! I just told you about yesterday, didn’t I?”

“Well, the thing is-” Rodney started.

“No.”

It was a little surprising how firmly Ryan had interrupted him, and obviously, our eyes all turned to him. He averted his gaze again in embarrassment. “I mean,” he mumbled, “like, no. They haven’t ever said anything. There was this time when we were taking things a little too quickly, if you know what I mean, but then, um, Rodney…”

“I realized I wasn’t too keen on making things that,” Rodney cut in, shifting uncomfortably, “hot, I guess.”

“Oh,” was Nick’s reaction.

It was a collective reaction of surprise, I think, to learn that Rodney wasn’t too keen on making things hot and heavy. He was always the one initiating the PDA with Ryan – and I believe it was the same exact thing going through all our minds, and that Rodney realized it too, because then he looked away - again – but this time it wasn’t embarrassment.