Boy Next Door ✔

chapter twenty-four

C A L E B 

Thankfully, when the both of us woke up that day - we hadn't been cuddling like I had expected us to be. Instead, he was still laying on his side of the bed and I was on mine. Perhaps because he had been too busy clinging onto his teddy bear instead. 

I had awoken at around half past seven in the morning when I realized that my shift was supposed to begin at nine. So, Mateo asked me to take a shower while he prepared breakfast - which I did. After I was done with my shower, however, I realized that I didn't have any damn clothes to wear. Which was how I ended up being stuck in the washroom with my head poking out of the room like an ostrich. 

"Mateo?" I called, hoping he could hear me. 

"Yeah?" he called back. 

"I don't have any clothes," I complained. "Do you have anything I can borrow? Anything that's washed?"

When he didn't respond, I was sure I would have to walk out of the room butt-naked. So, I prepared myself and began to open the door, when a hand placed itself onto the knob and pulled it halfway shut again. Then, Mateo's figure came into view. He handed me a pair of fresh clothes and raised his brows at me, "What were you trying to do?"

"I thought you were ignoring me," I admitted sheepishly. 

"So you were going to walk out naked?"

"Duh," I snorted before shutting the door in his face so I could get dressed. I quickly changed into the clothes he had given me and was pleasantly surprised to find that they were a perfect fit. Except maybe for the shirt, which was a little longer than I'd prefer. 

After I had finished getting ready, I made my way into the kitchen. Mateo slid me a bowl of cereal and assured me that the milk was plant-based when I gave him a concerned look. God bless him for remembering. But God un-bless him for staring at me like a hawk whilst I ate while wearing nothing but his damn tank top and a pair of sweats.

"What about you? Aren't you going to eat?" I questioned, my mouth full of food. 

He waved me off, "I finished eating while you were in the shower. When does your shift start?"

"Nine."

"Alright, I'll take you there," Mateo sighed, standing up and stretching. "Hurry. It's already almost quarter to nine."

"I can drive," I responded. "I have my keys, too." To prove my point, I raised my car keys which had been resting on my lap.

"Shut up, I'll take you there," he replied. "You look too tired to drive."

"That's because your music is much louder in here than it is from my room."

"Which means my ears are subjected to more torture than yours are, so you don't have the right to complain," he stated like an idiot. I was too dumbfounded by his stupidity to comeback with a witty remark.

I sipped the rest of the milk from the bowl and took the bowl to the sink so I could wash it, when Mateo placed his hand on my wrist to keep me from doing so - and that simple action resulted in a thousand sparks of electricity rushing through my entire body. So, like an idiot, I let go of the bowl just like how I had done with his notebook that day - but this time, he caught it.

"You idiot, you scared me!" I huffed, my heart pounding.

What the hell was that? What's wrong with me? 

Mateo rolled his eyes at me before placing the bowl in the sink, "I'll wash it later. You have to get to work, right?"

"Yeah?" I said, my answer sounding more like a question instead. "I'll go wait in the parking lot then, I guess."

"Parking lot?" he snorted. "No, we're walking there."

"What? Are you crazy?" I hissed. "It's freezing outside, and my workplace is like ten minutes away!"

"Ten minutes isn't that much, stop being such a baby," he responded, walking over to the front door. "Have you ever heard of saving the environment? I mean, of course you have, since you're vegan and everything. Geez, I expected a little more from you."

I huffed, offended, "The only environment that needs saving is your room."

"Let's not get too feisty now, I let you stay here, didn't I? Would you rather have spent the night in the streets?" he questioned with a raised brow. When I didn't answer, he continued, "Thought so. Now hurry up."

I complied and made my way out the front door, following him. "If we're walking there then why are you coming with me? I could've just taken my car."

"Stop complaining before I break your legs and carry you there," Mateo hissed.

"Killing stalking much?" I retorted before deciding to shut my mouth to prevent myself from saying anything stupid again. 

"Huh, didn't know you were into those kind of th-"

"Shut up! I'm not," I grumbled like a toddler. 

This was going to be a long ten minutes.