Drawn to You

Chapter 5

I shut the book close after I finish the last part of my homework. I put my book and notebook away before I let myself hobble to my bed and take a nap.  I am closing my eyes when I hear a pebble hit my window. Nic.

I hop out of bed and unlock the window. “Hey,” I say looking at him.

“Hey,” he replies. “Do you mind getting to the side for a while? I’mma jump in.”

“Alright,” I move away and I watch him jump in from his terrace. He mutters a curse when his shoulder hits the side of the window. I watch him rub the sore part of his body and roll my eyes playfully.

“What a klutz.” I tease.

He looks up at me and raises a brow. “Like you can do any better,” he retorts, “it’s easier to jump from a window to a terrace rather the other way around.” He shoots me an angry look but his lips are threatening to smile. You can easily read the playfulness glinting in his eyes.

I ignore his ‘angry stare,’ and walk to my bathroom. I open a drawer and grab the first-aid kit.

“Alright,” I say as I open the kit, “where does it hurt?”

Nic sits on my bed and points at his left shoulder. I walk and stand in front of him as I examine the scratch. It didn’t do much damage, but the skin is red. I had a feeling that it would bruise after a while. Parts of his skin are scratched out causing bits of blood to surface.

“Why didn’t you wear something with sleeves?” I mutter as I clean his wound.

“I don’t know,” he says softly. I feel his stare boring a hole into my head. “I felt lazy to change…so I just took off my polo and this tank top happened to be under it. So, yeah…”

“Next time,” I say, “where a shirt with sleeves.”

“Okay,” he says.

I dab alcohol into the wound and I see his muscles tense. I look up at him and see him wincing. “Sorry,” I mutter. He nods.

“We…” he starts, “didn’t spend much time today.”

I look up at him and feel guilty. I think I got carried away with Mark today that I didn’t pay as much attention to Nic. I stare at him for a while before saying, “I know, I’m sorry.” I hang my head lower and put the first-aid kit away. Every move I make, I feel his eyes following me.

“Do you...mind going out with me?” I hear him say. I look at him, but before I say something, he continues: “As friends, I mean.”

I flash him a smile and nod. “I’d love to.”

He smiles and walks toward me. I grab my phone to dial Mark’s number, but Nic grabs my hand.

“Who are you calling?” he asks.

“Mark,” I say and I think I see jealousy flash before his eyes. “I was going to ask him to join us.”

“Don’t call him,” Nic says. He gives my hand a reassuring squeeze before letting go. “I want it to be only the both of us…” he locks eyes with me, “even if it’s just as friends.”

 “I…”

“It’s just you didn’t…we didn’t hang out that much today with Mark”—he spits his name like venom—“in the way…so, I wanted to make up for the lost time…”

I smile at him and hold his hand. “Alright,” I say, “I understand. I’m sorry.” He nods.

“So, will you let me get ready?” I raise a brow.