Poison

[ 19 ]

"If it's by you then yeah," he confirms and I offer him a small smile.

"I guess you're cute," I shrug as I lick my lips.

"You guess?" he repeats in the same nervous tone.

"Yeah," I reply vaguely as I assess his face. "I wouldn't use the word cute, though."

"Which word would you use?" he continues to query and I raise and drop my shoulders again

"Attractive," I prefer. I'd say hot if it wouldn't make me sound like a teenage girl from a 90's movie. I watch as he lightly licks his lips and allows them to fall back into a large grin. In fact, it's such a large smile that his eyes close a little as he stares at me with his arms crossed behind his head. Hot, just like I said.

"What makes me attractive?" he milks with a flirtatious grin and I bow my head a bit in thought.

I smirk widely when I meet his gaze again. "Your tattoos." A bellowing laugh rips from him and he puts his hands on his face.

"Wow, thanks- something that I paid money to get put on my body is what makes me attractive," he acknowledges with a strong nod.

"The rest of you is nice, too," I reply. "You have nice hair. And your face is really nice. You're really smart, too, and funny, even though I hate to admit it."

Noting my brief pause, he waves his hand encouragingly. "Keep 'em coming," he insists.

"I also like the way you dress," I commend and he grins at me. "My turn." I place my hands under my chin and peer up at him. His eyes take in my face before he turns his attention back to the ceiling.

"You're not that gross," he comments dryly. My mouth drops open and I try to detangle myself from the blankets.

"Hold up, I just showered you in compliments and that's what you give me?" I ask as I flip to face him. "And it's not even a little compliment, like cute!"

"I wouldn't use the word 'cute.'" I scoff at him once I manage to get myself out of the blanket burrito. I cross my arms over my chest and attempt to regulate my ragged breathing. Cover wrestling takes a lot out of you.

"Yeah, 'not gross' is your preferred term," I acknowledge with a roll of my eyes.

With a small laugh, he shakes his head. "I was going to say beautiful," he comments and I turn to him with raised brows. "Or gorgeous. But 'not gross' encapsulates both of those words, in my humble opinion."

"You know, for the longest time I honestly didn't think you found me attractive. Sometimes, I still don't," I comment after a few seconds. All I get in return is a flat expression.

"I wouldn't have flirted with you if I didn't...or hugged you...or kissed you...or talked to you at all," he lists with a roll of his eyes.

"So let me get this straight...you only associate with me because of my looks?" I playfully press in hopes of squeezing more compliments out of him. He seems to catch on because he offers me a long blink.

"Pretty much. It's not like you're funny or understanding or anything," he concludes with half his mouth turned up into a smile. He pulls himself out of bed, twists his arms about above his head, and swiftly removes his shirt. He tosses the abandoned garb at my feet and I watch as he lightly rubs at his stomach . "I'm going to take a shower."

"Cool..." I utter as his hands drop down to his shorts. I immediately roll onto my stomach and bury my face in his pillows, which is apparently very amusing because he lets out a hearty chuckle. I listen as his bedroom door opens and closes. For a while, I scroll through my phone. I reply to my father's text, which asks if I'm seriously not coming back for Thanksgiving. I roll my eyes but try my best to type out a semi-respectful response. A few minutes later, I get an incoming FaceTime call from Aaliyah and I urgently answer it. How could I have forgotten to tell her about my new, temporary living arrangement?