Poison

[ 13 ]

"Asa?" I call as I walk down the hallway.

"What?" he replies and I track his voice to the kitchen. I venture further into the apartment and find him searching through the cabinet in nothing but his underwear. My voice is lost in my throat and my eyes are locked onto his caramel colored skin. His muscular back flexes as he riffles through the shelves in search of something to eat. He startles me by talking again and it's quite noisy seeing as I'm only a few feet behind him. "I said 'what?' Ivy."

"Uh," I attempt to speak in a voice that's a little too quiet. He jolts in surprise and turns around with his hand against his chest.

"How long have you been standing there?" he wonders while giving me a curious once over. His change in position doesn't help me gather my scattered thoughts. My eyes fight to drop below his face but I challenge myself to keep them up. It's a battle; I want nothing more than to assess his tattoos and the curvatures and indents of his chest. I swallow nervously as I squint at him, struggling to think of a potential response. "Are you high?"

"No," I manage to answer in slight disbelief.

He scrutinizes me with furrowed brows for a second before turning back to his task: finding food. "Well, if you're here for Maya, she said she won't be back for an hour or so," he dismisses me.

"Actually, I'm here for you," I blurt as I lock my gaze onto the microwave.

"For me?" he questions in a slightly higher pitched voice.

"Yes," I confirm with a firm head nod. Now what? "I was wondering if...you...want to go grocery shopping."

"You came here to tell me I should go grocery shopping?" he replies as he turns back around. I put my focus on opening the fridge and peering in.

"With me- you should go grocery shopping with me," I correct myself as I analyze the shelves. They're full enough to last another few days.

He stares at me in slight confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asks with a lost look on his face.

I take out the last of my chocolate milk and put it on the counter. He retrieves a cup from the cabinet behind him and hands it to me. "See? We're all out of chocolate milk. We have to go shopping," I tell him as I slowly empty the contents of the carton into my cup. I take my time in throwing away the container.

He stares at me in slight confusion before shutting the cabinets and the fridge. "Okay?" he responds hesitantly.

"So get dressed," I press as I wave my hands a little. Please put some clothes on, I want to say.

It only takes a few minutes for him to put together an outfit. I'm barely finished with my chocolate milk when he emerges from his room in actual clothing. His black briefs and bare torso are now covered by a sweatsuit. "Come on," he insists as he swings his keys around. I follow behind him and text Maya the plans.

We get into his car and I feel his piercing gaze on me. I keep my eyes locked out the window, trying to rid my perverted brain of Asa's body. "Are you okay?" he blurts after we sit in pure silence.

"I am," I confirm with a robotic bob of my head. My mind just won't get rid of the image of you practically naked like that in the kitchen is all. No big deal. "Are you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not the one acting weird," he retorts with a small shimmy of his head. I can tell he doesn't believe me, which is completely understandable. I'm a weird person and even I can see that I'm acting weird. I try my best to shake the intrusive thoughts from my mind and attempt to fall back into my previous character.

"Are you worrying about me?" I tease as I force a small smirk slips onto my lips. He turns to me with a faint scowl on his face as he reads my features quickly.