Love is Only an Illusion (J. Daniel Atlas)

Chapter IV

Once in the confines of her bedroom, Sutton removed her current clothing and replaced it with her favorite kinds of clothing- a t-shirt and athletic shorts. Sutton shimmied into a pair of gray shorts and her favorite Harry Potter shirt. She left on her Nike socks, as they were worn constantly around the apartment due to the cold flooring.

Pulling up her hair into a quick messy bun, Sutton walked of her bedroom, but not without running into Danny who was on his way to the bathroom. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"It's fine," Danny replied, looking down at her shirt. "Cute shirt." He winked at her as a smirk took over his lips.

Sutton squinted her eyes at him. As Danny closed the door, the smoke alarms started going off.

"Sutton, I need you!" Henley's voice yelled. Sutton shrugged off Danny's comment and made her way to the kitchen.

~~

The new friends ate pizza in almost complete silence. Henley chose to serve the boys pizza for their first night together, each one adding their own toppings. The only words leaving anyone's mouth were barely understandable as they hungrily devoured each pie.

"I can't eat another thing," Merritt huffed as he rested against the back of his chair, patting his stomach.

They all agreed, but Jack. He stole the leftovers from the stove.

"Jack, how do you stay so fit with all the food you eat?" Henley asked.

Jack swallowed. "I work out a bit. You know, run five miles every morning, pushups throughout the day, crunches."

Danny's eyes grew wide in horror. "That's insane!"

"But the chicks dig it, man!" Jack insisted, winking at Sutton and Henley.

"Oh, please, Wilder!" Sutton waved her hand at him. "You are so not my type."

"Type?" Danny piped up, leaning closer toward Sutton's right side. "You have a type?"

Sutton looked him up and down. "You ain't it either, city boy."

Everyone cracked up laughing as Danny stuttered, "City boy? Oh, and what are you?"

"She's a country girl," Henley announced, admiring her cousin with a smile. "The farmer's daughter."

The boys stared at her, as if they couldn't believe it.

"A mentalist and a farm girl, huh?" Merritt asked, walking into the kitchen to refill his water glass. "You'll make a lucky man happy, Sutton Reeves."

Sutton blushed lightly, but was soon rolling her eyes when Danny asked, "What is so amazing about a 'farm girl'?" Although she wanted to throw back a nasty comment, Sutton swallowed it.

Jack said, "Dude, they are some of the hardest working women you'll ever meet." He smiled at Sutton as she blushed again, but something in his smile told Sutton his next comment would be inappropriate. "Plus, those girls are the best in bed."

Danny and Merritt choked on their drinks as Sutton and Henley burst into fits of laughter.

"How would you even know that, Jack?" Merritt asked as he regained his voice.

"I spent a day in New York's rural area," he smirked, leaning back as if he had outdone them all.

"I hope you aren't trying to get in Sutton's pants," Henley commented. Sutton's eyes went wide.

"Oh, I'm sure she would put up a fight," he winked, noticing Sutton's uncomfortable posture.

Sutton groaned, collecting everyone's plates. "Is this how life is going to be from now on?"

"You better believe it, beautiful." Jack threw another wink at her and stared as she walked into the kitchen.

Danny hit him on the arm and waited until Sutton had started the running water for the dishes. "You're being so unprofessional."

"Leave him go, Danny," Henley intervened. "He's just joking. It's not like you haven't slept with, what is your count now? 100?"

Danny scoffed. "It's 101," he joked, standing up from his place and traveling into the living room, where he returned to the same place as before.

Henley rolled her eyes. "Don't mind him, boys," she told Jack and Merritt. "He is just so used to everything being his way."

"Oh, one of those personalities," Merritt smirked. "This is going to be fun!"

The three laughed as Sutton asked, "Can someone dry these dishes?" Henley rolled her eyes and went to help her.

Jack and Merritt joined Danny in the living room. Merritt flopped down on the couch and Jack sat on the floor by it, turning on the television. He flipped through the channels until Danny yelled, "Can't you just pick something?"

Jack looked over at him, annoyed with his attitude. "Someone needs to go to bed." Danny ignored him as he did more card tricks.

"Leave the grumpy boy go, Jack," Merritt said. "He's just jealous because the girls like us better."

Danny scoffed. "They do not. They simply take pity on you."

"Oh, yeah, extreme pity."

"Okay, boys," Sutton announced, drying her hands on a dish towel. "We have two air mattresses in the closet, so someone needs to sleep on the couch."

"Called it," Merritt announced, rolling to face the back cushions.

Sutton smiled lightly at the elder gentleman. "You two, follow me." Jack and Danny hoped up at her words. Sutton opened the closet door where she and Henley had stored props and other items over the years. A soccer ball rolled between Sutton and the boys.

Jack reached down and spun the ball in his hands. "You play?" he asked Sutton.

Sutton made a small laugh. "Did. Not so much since high school."

Jack flipped the ball through the air. "I'm sure you still got it, Reeves."

Sutton blushed. She wasn't quite familiar with all this attention from a guy. Danny cleared his throat, as if to remind them he was there. "Oh, here's the mattresses," she said, crouching down and dragging out the boxes. "Have fun blowing them up."