Singles Club

the one where the Houston Rockets win

"No, you dumb fuck!" I yell tossing a Cheeto at the TV. I'm wrapped up in my blanket watching the Houston Rockets against the Washington Wizards. I may live in DC, but I'm a Texan at heart.

Sunny jerks awake from my yelling and looks around for the cause of my yelling. He groans when he realizes it's just the TV and pulls me close to him so I'm wrapped in both him and my blanket. I laugh and try to push him away, but he just grips me tighter.

"Sunny!" I laugh-scream when he starts kissing me obnoxiously. For people who aren't even officially together, we really did become domestic quickly. Avan is at his mom's place, and it's just us two for the night.

The game quickly ends the loves of my life, the Rockets, of course, win outstandingly. When he realizes I'm done yelling at the TV, Sunny places his head in my lap. I stay for a minute without moving before patting around looking for my phone.

"What are you doing?" he asks groggily. It's only 10 PM, but I guess that's what being a working parent does to you.

"Gathering my things. It's getting late. I should head home."

He hugs my waist tighter and traps my arms under his hold, "Don't go, babe."

"I have to! I have work tomorrow," I plead, but I'm literally one more ask away from giving up.

"Stay," and there it is, the most beautiful dark eyes looking at me with his pouty face.

I groan, "Fine, but I need a toothbrush and something to wear." Secretly, I'm ecstatic. I've never stayed over at his place before overnight.

He pulls off his shirt and hands it to me. "There. Something to wear."

I can't help but let my eyes trail down his body. I look back at his face with a smirk, "Doesn't seem fair that you're the only one without a shirt." His eyes widen as I pull off my own top.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Jaan," he warns.

"I think it's up to you to decide if I finish or not, isn't it?" I tease before throwing off the blanket and sauntering over to him, winking as my nail traces his bare chest, and passing him towards his room.

I'm walking slowly until I hear his steps moving at a much quicker pace than I am. I pick up my pace to find him chasing after me. He catches me in both his arms, and we both fall onto his bed laughing. He traps me under his strong arms and kisses me before moving down to my neck.

He rummages through his drawer for a condom. It's starting to take him a minute, so I look around his room. He apologizes as he starts pulling miscellaneous objects out, and I can't help but laugh. Real-life sex really is so different than the movies. 

It's when he pulls out a dead, crumped array of flowers that I stop laughing. I pick it up to examine it, and I realize that its familiarity makes sense. It was my corsage. The one I left on the steps after prom. I stop him and look at him with an intensity I never have used before. 

"What is this?" I know what it is, but he needs to say it. 

His cheeks tinge pink as he realizes what I'm holding so carefully in fear it'll turn to dust in my hands. 

"Your corsage," he replies shyly. 

"You kept it?" 

"You left it there, and I don't know. I felt like you wanted me to have it?" 

There had been no real intention for me leaving it- no conscious one anyway. The gesture warms me and reminds me of the Strawberry DNA tube I have stored away in a box under my bed. 

"I still have the strawberry DNA," I admit. His eyes snap back towards mine, and he leans in to kiss me hungrily. 

I wrap around him to pull him closer. 

"I need a condom, Jaan," he groans. 

"You don't. I'm on the pill," I admit. He grins and makes his way down my body.  

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We lay in his bed facing each other. He makes a kissy face and kisses the tip of my nose and I giggle. We stare into each other before laughing again.

"I really like you, Jaan" he says. I smile before he continues, "I think I always have. I call you 'Jaan' because it means 'Life'. I think you're my life."

"I know what Jaan means, babe. I'm brown too. But I thought you just called me that because it's a shorter version of my name" I laugh trying to defuse how serious this is.

"Don't do that. Don't make jokes. I'm out here trying to confess my undying love for you, and you got jokes?" he groans pushing his face into my chest. He's acting more peeved than he really is.

"Alright, alright. Sunny," I push his face up to look back at me. "I really like you too. So much my heart feels like it's going to explode every time you look at me. It's scary, but you make me feel like I'm a teenager again. I don't know if that's a good thing, but I like it."