Who They Are

~45~

*Changed the party to tonight

Alyx's POV

The inside of his house looks just as nice as the outside. His kitchen is like two of mine put together. I wonder if he'd ever let me use it to practice or do homework once my classes start. After we become better friends, of course. There's no way I'd selfishly ask him that yet.

"Your kitchen is nice," I tell him.

"Thanks. I rarely use it. Take-out is my best friend." I almost can't hold back the groan. He literally doesn't even use it?! Oh my god. "Hey, since you're going to that cooking school, you should come over and make me something. You can use my kitchen, and I'll judge the food for you."

My eyes widen in surprise. He can't read minds, can he? "For real?"

"Yeah. It's a win-win. I don't have to cook, and I get to eat," he says with a shrug.

"Well, I'm definitely not going to turn the offer down."

"Awesome. Just let me know when you want to do it."

"Okay."

He pulls one of the double doors open on his fridge, grabbing two beers. He shuts the door back before grabbing a bottle opener out of a drawer and pops both caps off.

"Here you go," he says, handing me one.

I step closer and take the bottle from him. "Thanks." I bring it up to my lips and take a small swig. Oh, it's been a while. I chew on the inside of my cheek to avoid grimacing.

"You can help yourself to as many as you want. I don't give a shit. I'm only going to have this one since I have to drive us." Yeah, I don't even plan to drink there. This one is probably going to be the only one I want.

"Uh, how many people are going to be there tonight?"

"Not a lot. Just my friends Jay, Will, McKenna, and Ava." So, two girls are going to be there... Maybe they won't even talk to me much. I don't want to have to be rude to Finn's friends if one of them tries to come onto me. "McKenna was the one I was telling you about. She's the one that would be down to fuck. Ava won't. She's got a boyfriend," he says with an eyeroll.

Ignoring the part about McKenna, I ask, "Is there something wrong with that?"

"Besides the fact I want her, her boyfriend's a dick." Oh, he likes her. That must suck for him that she's taken. "God, if I could just fuck her once, I'd be fine." Oh. So, he's just lusting after her.

"Are you not the type to date?" I ask curiously.

"Not really. I don't like being tied down. Plus, I go and visit my dad sometimes, and I'll be gone for a while. I don't want to have deal with a pissy girlfriend because I'm busy."

"Ah, alright." He's got a different viewpoint on that than I would. I'd be happy I'd have someone to talk to on the phone at the end of the day. Someone to come back home to. "Do you not get lonely in this big house?"

"When I do, I leave it. It's pretty simple." I nod, not wanting to continue and offend him. "I mean, she's cool. If she wanted to leave her boyfriend for me, I'd maybe give it a shot."

"Maybe she will then," I mumble and drink some of the beer in my hand.

"Speaking of girlfriends, I can't believe you don't have one."

"Why do you say that?" I question.

"You're a pretty good looking guy, and you seem to be financially stable, considering you live alone and you're about to spend nearly ten grand on my bike. And you work the evening shift, so you're free all day, aren't you?"