Andrew's POV
I watched from my place in a pool chair as Patrick ran around the back yard, all three dogs following him as he went. All of their tails wagged as they chased after the stick Patrick flung as hard as he could.
Charlie didn't even have a chance to grab it before the other two all but ran over him before fighting each other for the stick even though there were plenty scattered around in the tree line surrounding us.
I tried not to wince at their snarls and growls but as got more aggressive it was hard to drown them out. Patrick ran between them with no fear in his form, putting his hands right on the stick the dogs fought over as if he had no doubt he wouldn't be bit, even on accident. A smile stretched across his face as he pulled the stick harshly until the dogs were forced to let it go.
As they continued to play harshly, Charlie's ears dropped and his tail laid still for the first time since I had been introduced to him as he watched the other two hold Patrick's attention with ease.
He looked absolutely pitiful as he turned away from them and went to go back in the house until his eyes landed on me.
He limped ever so slightly but his tail began wagging again as he continued his slow pace until his chin was resting on the arm of the chair. He peaked up at me with the saddest eyes I had ever seen, clearly silently asking for something but I couldn't tell what.
"I'm not a dog person," I told him when he began to whine a bit while I tried to not make it obvious I was shying away from him.
No sudden movements. I reminded myself; still feeling the pain of the bites I had received when I was younger.
Charlie whined louder as his foot on the chair, narrowly missing my knee.
My breath hitched as I stiffened more but Charlie didn't stop coming closer until he laid down on the edge of the chair, his tail barely touching me as it wagged back and forth quickly. His eyes were already back on the others but this time his ears didn't drop when he saw them playing.
I held my breath as I tried to push myself out of the chair but I didn't get fait before Charlie began whining again, his tail stilling in a second.
"You're spoiled rotten aren't you," I sighed as I stared down at him. My body was still stiff but I forced myself to lean back in the chair and just accept it to keep the dog still.
"I think all three of them are, actually," Patrick said as he walked up the small hill.
Sweat soaked through the shirt he was wearing and his hair was wild and flowing in every direction.
"At least we know Jem would treat us right if he treated us even half as well as he treats these dogs," I teased but the words fall deaf to his ears as he pulls the shirt that was soaked over his head.
My eyes were glued to his chest and stomach. His abs stood out boldly while his arms bulged from the work out with the dogs. I forced myself to look away from his form before he had a chance to notice I had been staring.
Patrick laughed at my words as he put the shirt on the back of his neck to wipe the sweat off from there.
"So Jem said he was working late tonight and he took Devon and Barrett with them," Patrick said as stared at the lake in front of us. A few fish jumped from the water while birds sang from just beyond the tree line. "What do you want to do while they're gone?"
Despite the view in front of me, my eyes had trouble straying from Patrick's back now. His shirt hid the muscles so well before but now that it was gone, you could see how much work he had gone through to earn them.
"I don't really care. Whatever you want to do I guess," I forced out after a few seconds of me staring, hoping he couldn't feel my eyes on him while also praying my voice didn't make my actions obvious.
"Well what would you be doing if you were at home?"
"Boring things I promise you wouldn't find fun," I teased as I stood up from the chair. Charlie whined but I ignored him as I headed to the house. The second my hand touched the door handle and barely cracked the door; all three dogs were rushing past me to get inside.
I couldn't suppress my annoyed huff but Patrick laughed at the sound as he flopped down on the couch.
"How do you know I won't like it if you won't tell me? Who knows, I might enjoy it?"
I raised an unconvinced brow at him.
"You find psychological studies, practices, and reviews interesting? Because if you do then I think you chose the wrong profession." Patrick frowned at that.
"That's all you did at home? Work and study about work? Isn't that the whole reason you went to college; so you knew about your job and didn't have to study anymore?"
"The mind is complex," I said with a shrug. "We're learning more about it every single day and the more you know the more you can help your clients. You never know what psychological problem the next person who walks into your office will have so it's good to be prepared."
"I get that but still," he said, his frown still prominent. "That's all you do and you have the nerve to call Jem a workaholic?"
I gaped at his words.
Jem and I are completely different! I mean the man carries five phones on him at all times just in case something happens. Besides, I actually enjoy my work so is it even really a chore if you enjoy it?
"It's a hobby," I state as I plopped on the couch beside him.
"No, gaming is a hobby. That's like saying a professional weight lifter enjoys exercising at his house instead of a gym. You're just working in a different place."
I huffed at him as I crossed my arms. I didn't expect him to understand it anyway.
"I told you that you wouldn't like it," I said barely above a whisper.
"I didn't say I wouldn't like it, I said it wasn't a hobby," he clarified.
"So you're willing to try it then," I asked innocently, knowing he would die of boredom within seconds of beginning.
"I'd really rather not," he admitted with a sigh, his body tense as if he expected a bad reaction.
"Fine then, what would you be doing if you were at home right now?"
His lips pressed into a thin line as he thought but when nothing came to mind, a frown taking over his face.
"I'd be watching TV as I looked over files," he admitted with a sour face.
"So you're going to call us workaholics when you would be doing the same thing as me?"
"Well it's not like I enjoy mine; I just don't have anything else to do."
"I think that's worse actually," I said with a small chuckle as I looked around the living room for anything worth doing. "It sucks that we can't leave. At least we could go find something to do then."
"Yea but I'd rather not take my chances out there, especially without Barrett and Devon when Jem hasn't taken care of that ass yet," he sighed as he looked around too, as if something would just appear from thin air.
Honestly I was going crazy at the fact that for the past few weeks all we have done is go to work and come back here. I hated how much our lives had to change because of something that wasn't even our fault.
"We should see if Jem will let us go out soon just for fun. He hasn't let us leave unless it was for work since we got here."
"It doesn't hurt to ask I guess but I wouldn't get your hopes up," Patrick sighed as his eyes landed on the x-box in front of us. He leaned forward to take both remotes in his hand before handing me one. "I know you don't know how to play much but there's has to be something we can find that you'll like."
I don't bother hiding my frown as I took the controller as Patrick laughed at me.
I watched as he kneeled in front of a shelf with a few games and movies on them, his eyes scanning all the titles I had never heard of quickly.
"He has minecraft. That seems more your style anyway," he said as he handed me the box so I could look over it.
"What do you do?"
"Whatever you want mostly," he said with a shrug. "There's supposed to be a plot where you fight a dragon but I've never done it. I usually just build things." I hummed as I handed him the box and gestured for him to play it.
After a quick break down on how to play, the two of us went to do our own things.
Patrick had already built a decent size house by the time I had figured out exactly what I was doing. The house honestly kind of looked like Jem's wing of the mansion.
Patrick didn't even have to look at the controller to know what he was doing while I was all but staring at my controller just to keep myself from falling in creeper holes.
"What are you even doing," Patrick asked as he put the last few touches on the outside of the house, despite us being on survival mode.
"I'm trying to find flowers."
"You've got to be kidding me," he teased.
"I'm just trying to make a flower bed. It will make it nice to look at." Patrick didn't bother trying to hide his laugh but didn't say anything else as he went on building.
As time went on, I died over and over again by random things, a zombie at night, a skeleton hiding in the shade mid day, a few wolves I hit on accident when I tried to help Patrick get building materials. Every time I was forced to re-spawn the less I wanted to play.
The final straw came when I was trying to kill a skeleton so I could make a dog but just as I collected the bones I had won, another one snuck up behind me, killing me before I had a chance to get the bones to a safe place.
"Mother fucker," I yelled as I threw the controller on the couch while Patrick laughed at me.
"That was a good try," he said in between laughs but it only pissed me off more.
"Don't make fun of me," I said as I glared at him.
"I'm not! That was a good try, honestly. You just have to be more careful next time." I only scoffed as I stood up from the couch. "Where are you going?"
"I don't see how this is supposed to be fun. I've done nothing but die for the past hour straight and I'm tired of it. I'm going to do something that's actually fun."
I barely had time to start walking towards my room before Patrick's hand went around my wrist.
"Oh come on there's no need to get this worked up. We can find something else to do," he promised while I tried to pull my hand away from his.
"I don't want to," I pouted but that only made him smile more.
"Come sit back down or I'll do what Jem would do," he threatened as his grip tightened just a bit more.
"You wouldn't dare."
The words barely have time to leave my mouth before he's pulling my body back down to the couch. I don't have time to brace myself before I'm landing on Patrick's lap while his arms wrap around my body; his hands press against my hips.
I go as still as I can the second I realize what positions we are in.
My ass was inches away from his dick. That realization alone was enough to make a deep blush cover my face.
His breath tickled my ear as his chest lightly brushed my back with every intake of air. His grip on my hips was gentle but strong enough to make sure I wasn't going anywhere.
My heart hammered in my chest, hoping Patrick couldn't feel how much it was pounding.
I tried to remember exactly who was behind me and that I shouldn't be reacting this way. This was Patrick, the guy I had known for years, the guy who got me the job at camp when I couldn't get a job anywhere else. This was the guy whose ex-wife was my boss, the guy who has been my only real friend for a while now.
I shouldn't be acting like this around Patrick. It's not like he was freaking out. Hell, he probably wasn't even bothered with the fact that if I moved back, even just barely, my ass would be grinding into his dick so why was I?
"Andrew?" He whispered innocently, the sound of my name making my stomach knot up. I forced myself to not shiver when his breath brushed against ear. "You okay there?"
"I'm fine," I'm able to whisper out without my voice breaking.
"Are you over your little temper tantrum," he teased as the grip on my hips faltered every so slightly.
"Yes," I whispered again, my cheeks still burning.
I could feel the heat coming off from him, wanting nothing more than to lean back against him to see if his stomach was as hard as it looked when we were outside.
"Good." Was all he said as his hands left me just long enough to hand me the controller I had been using.
I took it just to keep myself from looking stupid while Patrick took his and begin playing as if nothing had happened but I was still frozen on his lap, not knowing what else to do.
"You sure you're okay," Patrick asked after a few more seconds, his voice coming out slightly concerned.
"Positive."
"Okay. I was just making sure." Silence filled the room and as the seconds passed, Patrick became stiffer behind me. "Then do you mind getting off of me?"
A new blush tore through me as I jumped off of him and landed back in my previous spot, my eyes glued to the TV. I begin moving my player around quickly, praying that if I didn't comment on any of it then Patrick wouldn't either.
When he began playing too, I could feel my chest release the pressure that had been there since Patrick touched my wrist.
I was just horny from living with Jem. I didn't like Patrick in that way. He was my best friend, my only friend really, nothing more nothing less.
I tried to convince myself of that but his actions had me thinking back to my life ever since I met him.
Had I always reacted when we accidently brushed up against each other? Had I always had butterflies in my stomach when he whispered important things to me? Did I always blush this much around him?
I couldn't remember. Would it be so bad though if the answer was yes?
I remember when I first met Patrick I had thought he was handsome but I didn't know enough about myself back then to do anything about it. Then he offered me the job at camp and I met Mary so he became off limits. I had taken any thought I had of liking him more than just a boss and threw it every far away from me but when he insisted on becoming friends I let him in, making sure to keep him at arms length.
Now that Mary was out of the picture though, would it hurt anyone to entertain the idea?
I mentally shook my head.
Patrick was my friend, nothing more than that. I wouldn't risk my first friend since high school over this. Patrick and I were friends; I wouldn't allow anything to change that.
Last updated February 5, 2022