After Hours

25. Temperature

After a long dinner and many board games later, it was clear to see who was competitive and who wasn't. And as the night was nearing an end, lazy figures sprawled out around the television, paying attention to the movie that was currently being shown.

The unusual feeling in her stomach would not cease as she shifted into Elijah's chest. They'd taken a seat on the large sofa with a velvety thick blanket over them. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, feeling the exhaustion catching up with her body.

But she couldn't bring herself to sleep.

She hadn't been able to concentrate on anything, not when she could feel his presence.

Rainy glanced over to the side for the umpteenth time that night and her face softened when she saw that he was still focused solely on the screen. He had a sleeping Kaya wrapped around his strong arms, mindlessly stroking her hair in a gentle way whilst he watched the movie. When he concentrated on something, she noticed how his jaw would clench making his jawline appear sharper than it already was. Or the way his dark eyebrows would twitch every now and then and how his nose would scrunch up. He looked a lot more relaxed like this, his usual manly features looked boyish. A low chuckle left him, and he shuffled in his seat.

She swallowed hard, hastily hooking her attention back onto the movie before he could catch her staring. Rainy had to remind herself that once the movie was over, she could go home and sleep.

That was all she wanted to do.

It was becoming difficult being in the same room as him, she felt creepy continuously looking over at him.

Why did she even care to know what he was doing?

Oh, that was right, she didn't care. Not even in the slightest.

But then she felt the sensation appear in her stomach again, and her frown deepened. Reaching over to place a kiss upon Elijah's cheek, she saw as his ocean eyes drifted onto hers. "Is everything okay babe?"

"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm just going to the restroom, I won't be long." She announced gently, and he nodded with a smile, which only made her stomach pull even more.

Rainy needed to get the hell out of there.

After yanking the blanket off her exposed legs, she stood up careful not to block anyone's view and ducked her head as she made her way out of the living room. She started to walk aimlessly towards the foot of the stairs and then paused as she looked down the long hallway in defeat.

She had absolutely no idea where the bathroom was.

"Good one Rain." She muttered to herself, turning around to walk into the kitchen instead. Truth to be told, she didn't actually need to use the bathroom. She just wanted the space so she could collect her thoughts and breathe.

Making her way into the kitchen, she flicked on the light and searched through the cupboards until she found where the glasses were. Taking one out, she closed the cupboard and moved over to the sink where she turned the tap on and filled her glass up.

She wasn't sure how long she had been standing there, just drinking her water but soon enough her eyes found the rest of the dessert she had devoured at dinner. The sight of the tiramisu made her mouth water, and she hesitated.

Would it be rude of her to eat some more? She wondered.

Nevertheless, she put her glass down and opened the cupboard she remembered kept all the dish ware, and retrieved a small dessert plate.

When she walked back over to the tiramisu, she bit down on her bottom lip eyeing it up.

"I made more than enough to go around." The familiar husky voice had startled her momentarily, and she froze in her paths. "So please, don't hesitate."

Rainy closed her eyes for a few seconds as if to regain her confidence, before opening them. She let out a breath, and whirled around to see him situated by the door. "Oh... Oh right, thank you."

Silver's lips pursed slightly at her timid sounding response, he pushed himself off the doorframe and entered the kitchen at his own pace. He opened the same cupboard that she had opened, and got his own dessert plate out and two forks. Whilst he did that, she took in his attire slowly. His short curls was messy, and like he had been running his hands through them. He had a simple silver chain around his neck that spilled onto his white t-shirt.

Immediately, the image of his chain dangling in her face clouded her vision.

Her eyes broadened at her obscene thoughts, and she blinked a few times.

"Let me."

Ignoring the way his low voice dipped, she allowed him to grab the knife and cut them each their own slices. As he reached in to grab her plate, she felt him brush his fingers over hers briefly. In a quick motion, she pulled her hand away and dropped it to her sides. The atmosphere was somewhat uncomfortable, there was an awkward element to it causing her to cringe inwardly.

The moment he had finished plating up the dessert, he passed it over to her and that was when he dropped his eyes onto hers-studying her. Her curly hair was pulled up out of her face in a messy bun with loose strands framing her fresh face. Large gold hoops in-he could smell the scent of something sweet lingering. She wore the same knitted sweater and tight jeans, he made note of how small the oversized sweater made her look.

She was busy enjoying her food to even notice his shameless regard.

Rainy pushed the fork into the dessert, picking some of it up and putting it into her mouth. She held back the moan, swallowing the deliciousness with one bite. "You made this?" She asked curiously, his eyes flickered from her soft lips back up to her eyes and he took a step back, grabbing ahold of his own plate.

"Yeah." Silver muttered, not realising his grip had tightened causing his knuckles to turn white.

She gave him a toothy smile, her dimples popping out of her full cheeks. "Well it tastes really good, well done."

He wasn't sure why the words failed him, every time he opened his mouth to speak, nothing came out. Silver Rivera had never choked up on his words before, but the moment he saw her dimples he couldn't think of anything else.

That wasn't like him.

Rainy took his silence as the signal to leave, she figured he wouldn't want to speak to her, and honestly, she didn't blame him. "I guess I'll see you in the living room." With an awkward nod, she pushed her head down and walked right past him holding onto her plate with trembling hands.

Something was definitely wrong with him.