The Soulmate System

19. Each Soulmate Experiences the Soulmate System Differently; Enjoy it

Dylan glanced away and mumbled, "Shut up."

Bryce let forth a toothy smile, leaned forward, and kissed him on the cheek. "You can get me back for that later if you want, okay?" he asked, unloading the grocery bag and depositing the alarming amount of pizzas on the counter. "Is this enough?"

"There's seven pizzas here. We're fine." He spread his hands out on the cool countertop and finished, "I'm not in the habit of having company over."

"I know. Have you seen your flat?"

Dylan smirked and squeezed Bryce's nose with his thumb and pointer finger. "You're relentless today, you know that?" Bryce, giggling, nodded.

Dylan released his nose and returned to the living room, only about two steps from where he had stopped to speak to Bryce, where Theo asked, "Okay, are you serious that we have to play along with this?"

"Why the fuck do you already – " Dylan glared and Bryce, who found the ceiling so interesting, and Dylan wiped his hands on his face. "Nope, don't care, moving on." He sighed and, rubbing his hands on his temples, nodded. "Yes. Just, play along for right now. After, like, a week or so, everything will be back to some semblance of normalcy."

"What's normal about this?" asked Jack.

"Who else is coming?" asked Theo.

"Just a couple people from work," Dylan told them. Turning to Bryce still in the kitchen, he asked, "Is Chris bringing Michael?" Bryce stared up at the ceiling, suppressing a toothy grin. "Bryce," Dylan chuckled, hitting his arm gently, which brought his Soulmate's eyes to him. "Is Chris bringing Michael? Did you ever get a firm 'yes' or 'no' on that?"

Bryce quickly checked his phone, pursing his lips, and shook his head. "Still nothing from him."

Dylan groaned loudly and mumbled, "I don't want to go out and get more food when the movies are playing. Also, who brought movies?" Katie, Theo, and Jack suddenly produced movies depicting three of the most famous detectives in literature and cinema– Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple. Dylan picked one up and scrutinized the cover for a moment. "When did this turn into a murder-mystery night?"

"When we decided it was going to be a murder-mystery night," replied Katie bluntly, who took the movie back from Dylan and tossed it back onto the dark brown coffee table.

Dylan opened his mouth to speak, but knocking at the front door stopped his objections. "Hi," came Amber's quiet voice; Peering through the spyhole, Chris and Travis stood behind her.

"We're allowed in, right?" asked Travis, hidden behind his two co-workers.

Dylan opened the door. "Yes, you're allowed in. Why did everyone come in packs?" Dylan asked, moving to greet his newly arrived guests. "The City isn't that terrifying." Amber gave him a knowing look before Dylan quickly let slip, "Point taken. What did you bring?"

"Wine, mostly," said Amber, as she and Travis held up two bottles – a chardonnay and a merlot. She physically moved Dylan to the side and asked, "Are you okay? How're things with..." She gestured comically to Bryce.

Dylan nodded and took the bottle of chardonnay, which had been chilled slightly but had begun to condense in the unexpected heat of the evening. "We talked about it yesterday, but nothing new other than the intense, crippling fear and paranoia I feel towards having a Soulmate."

Amber's eyebrows rose at the specificity of his answer. "Okay," she warily replied, following by her whispering, "We brought along two strays." Turning her head, she smiled as the first "stray", Ross – a tall man with blonde-brown hair and a crooked nose – grabbed her hand and followed her into the flat and towards the yellow couch.