Insatiable (UNDERGOING REWRITES)

Chapter 16 : Julian Mason

My chest ached. My cheeks stung. My stomach was continuing to flip over and over and over.

I don't think I've ever felt this happy and relaxed in a long time.

"You alright there, Daniels? Doesn't hurt too much? To lose I mean."

Nolan turned sharp eyes on me. The blue a little paler, a little grayer. I hadn't even noticed before how much of a mix between blue and gray his eyes are. It brought out the emotions always evident there, sharpening them into something more. Like became love. Hate became loathe. Tired became exhausted. And right now, that playful annoyance became aggravation. Hopefully still playful.

I watched intensely as his face stiffened, his cheeks hollowing slightly as he tried not to break the facade of annoyance. But in the end, it failed and the smile that stretched across his face sent my heart into another beat in another fast pace song.

"It hurts because you cheated, professor."

Nolan's smile slipped into a smirk as I gawked at him. "How do you cheat at bowling?"

He snorted. "There's so many ways to cheat at bowling. One," Nolan pointed out to the lane they were using. I followed his finger to see him eyeing the bumpers put up right in front of the gutters. Mostly used for little kids to keep the ball on the lane, still in play. I had shamelessly asked if we could have them up. Nolan obliged, stalking to get one of the workers to put them up for us.

I looked up to see Nolan already looking down at me, one brow raised. He waved his hand towards the still standing bumpers as if to prove his point. I rolled my eyes at him instead of agreeing. Sure, once you reach a certain age, you shouldn't be using the bumpers anymore. But bowling is hard without them. Sue me.

"Two," Nolan continued, raising two fingers at me. "You aren't bowling right."

"There's no right way to bowl, Nolan."

It was Nolan's turn to roll his eyes at me. "Yeah, but switching between rolling the ball from between your legs and simply pushing it down the lane is not bowling. You bowl like a grandma. But even my grandma could bowl better than you."

I let out a little pfft in answer which just made Nolan's smirk grow into an almost smile. I wouldn't confirm or deny my bowling habits and strategies so he can pin his loss on my cheating. Which I didn't do.

"And three." When I looked back up at him, Nolan had stepped closer, his chest almost brushing against my shoulder. He drew the corner of his upper lip into his mouth, chewing on it thoughtfully. "No, I can't say it."

"Say it," I couldn't help but whispering out, staring up at him. His eyes sharpened as he leaned down, his breath fanning over my ear.

"You distract me way too much. Everything about you, Julian. The way you look, the way you smile, the way you talk and laugh. I won't ever be able to play to the best of my ability when you're around."

He pulled away from me, the smallest of smiles on his face but his eyes screamed how serious he was being. I stood frozen, trying to think of something to say in return. Maybe to lighten the mood, make a joke of his words. But they were already wrapping themselves around my heart as it beat faster and faster in my chest.

"Nolan!"

Said boy was suddenly being pulled away from me and towards the bar. Caleb was huffing trying to drag his best friend away, both protesting quietly to the other. I just smiled after them when Nolan mouthed he was sorry. He reluctantly turned to follow after Caleb.

Ezra was now alone, sitting on one of the benches while the rest of the small group were off doing their own things for the time being. I plopped down next to Ezra, watching Drake and Joshua playing a round with two other people I didn't recognize. They must be friends of Nolan's of course. And a couple, obviously, what with the way the blond watched the girl lovingly, even as her ball sailed horribly into the gutter. Tyler was no where to be found though, which was odd as he seemed to try to stick himself to Caleb most of the time.

"How are you feeling?" Ezra asked, making me look over at him. He sipped shallowly at a cup of water, also watching the two couples play against each other.

I shrugged even though he wouldn't see it. "I'm doing good. Having fun."

Ezra turned his dark eyes on me, scanning my face for something. "Something happened this morning. What was it?"

I shrugged again. "I don't know what you mean. Like us trying to eat breakfast with Nolan and his friends? Yeah, let's not do that again."

"Not that." Ezra's voice was quiet, his chin tilted downwards as he peered at me through his short eyelashes. Doing that wouldn't make him see all the answers. I wanted to tell him. I really did. I wanted to tell him that my past came calling for me, now I had to get a new phone. Or live without one for awhile. And I should probably leave town, again. I looked up to see Nolan and Caleb returning with two trays piled high with different kind of foods. Nolan was watching Caleb closely, making sure he didn't trip as he unfortunately ended up with the larger of the two trays.

But I couldn't leave town. Not now. Not after finding a job that I actually kind of really like. Not after feeling settled with myself and with Ezra. And not after meeting him.

Yes, this was only supposed to be about sex. And that's all it ever was going to be about. I wouldn't let anything more happen. But . . . I'd be damned if we didn't even get to have sex before I had to leave.

Because like all the other times, I always had to leave.

Nolan beckoned everyone over, spreading all the food out on the table in front of us. It was a large assortment of food, at least one of each item on the menu. And though it was bowling alley food, ultimately not the best and mostly grease filled, it completed the night.

We were all laughing and just talking about random things. It was relaxing, just like Nolan promised it would be. I looked over at him now to find he was already looking back at me.

He smiled softly.

I smiled in return.

He nodded towards the side, eyeing the bar and gesturing for me to follow.

I obliged with a nod and we both disentangled ourselves from the conversation, meeting a few paces away to approach the bar together. Nolan leaned against the bar as I hopped onto the stool next to him. It wasn't that busy tonight. The bar having a few stragglers here and there and only about half the lanes opened to different groups of guests. Nolan ordered a round of beers before looking over at me.

"Relaxing right?"

I gave him a nod, watching the bartender check in on each of the other people sitting at the bar and then going to grab beer from a fridge towards the back.

"So now that you've relaxed around me more, are you willing to go out with me, just us two?"

I looked over at him. His eyes were trained on my hands, squeezed together and starting to whiten. He looked back up at me, that soft smile on his face once again. "I'll take it as a maybe."

"Maybe sounds good to me."

If only maybe happens before the storm hits.

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i'm so sorry it's taken me so long to update . and it's a sucky update. it's short and bland but i just needed to get it out to start that boost of writing all over again. so here's to hopefully writing and updating more!

thank you and love you all loads!!!