Is that bacon? Eggs, pancakes... Fuck that smells so good.
My eyes fluttered open and I see Paul on the floor, sprawled out with a pillow under his head, his mouth open and drool pooling in the corner. I pushed my foot into his side a few times to try to wake him up, but he just groaned and rolled farther away from me. The TV had been turned off and Orion was missing from the couch so I decided to go find him. Thinking the kitchen was my best option, that's where I started.
I padded down the hall and into the kitchen, the smell of breakfast getting stronger. Orion was standing at the stove pushing a spatula on a pan, most likely making eggs. I silently moved to the barstool I had been sitting at earlier this morning. He still hadn't heard me and it gave me a chance to watch him work.
He was wearing a black pair of basketball short that hung low on his hips and a black shirt. From the looks of it I would say he just showered, because his hair was wet and sticking to his head. He was whistling some tune I haven't heard before and he was bobbing his head up and down to his own beat. He looked so at ease, much different than his usual business attire and please-don't-recognize-me attitude. He picked the pan up and swiveled around quickly, taking a sharp intake of breath when he saw me.
"Fucking hell, Rae! You scared the shit out of me!" This chest was heaving up and down as he tried to relax. He took a step further and placed the pan of eggs on the counter.
"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" I said quirking an eyebrow at him with a playful smile on my lips.
"Fuck... wait no-shit! Sorry!" He said trying to control the words that were flying uncontrollably out of his mouth.
"Orion, it's okay. I cuss more than anyone I've ever met." I laughed as his cheeks flushed. "What are you doing?" I asked, cocking my head to the side
"I had a pretty gruesome hangover but I was starving so I decided to make breakfast. Do you want anything? I made eggs, bacon, sausage, toast. I made pancakes but they are no where near as good as Gingers. There's orange juice and coffee if you want some. Or if you don't want any of that, there is cereal in the cupboard." He was starting to ramble but stopped himself and an enormous smile broke out across his face that made my heart skip. He leaned his elbows on the counter in front of him and looked at me. The stance made his muscles bulge and the smirk made my insides do weird flips. "I'm going to stop talking now. What can I get you?"
"The works. Load me up a plate and show me your divine chef skills." I said with a smile. He cheeks tinged pink and he took out a plate from the cupboard and filled it with a little bit of everything, then took out a cup and filled it with orange juice, then a mug and filled it with coffee.
"You know, for someone who has to stay in shape to keep her job, you sure do eat like a man." He chuckled to himself.
Setting the food down in front of me, he started filling another plate. Once he sat that down, he walked out of the kitchen and down the hall. "Go ahead and start eating." He called over his shoulder. After a few minutes I heard a loud thud and what I'm sure was Paul groaning. Paul came rushing in and sat down next to me with a smile on his cheeky face, dipping his fork into the plate Orion had made.
"You didn't say he was making breakfast!" He said before shoveling food into his mouth. "Oh, god, yes." He moaned, his eyes rolling into the back of his head dramatically. Orion walked in rubbing his side soothingly. I guess it wasn't Paul who got hurt. When he saw Paul, he just shook his head laughing and started making another plate for himself. He didn't set it next to us, instead he leaned against the counter and brought the plate closer to his mouth so he could eat.
"So, what are the plans for the day?" Paul asked through his last bite of food.
"I've got work at 8. What time is it by the way?"
Orion looked behind his at the clock on the stove. "3:00." He said and I nodded my head.
"Is Lucy going to be there?" Paul asked and took a sip of his orange juice.
"What's today, Sunday? Yeah we both work until 4:00. Why?" I looked at him, then Orion. Both had an apologetic smile. "Please don't show up at my work again, guys. I already had to deal with Trish asking me for Rian's phone number. I don't need all of my coworkers drooling over you two." I begged.
"Who's Trish?" Orion asked looking at me with a lop sided grin on his face. My heart sank and the cocky grin on his face. He liked that other girls wanted him?
"Kitty." I said simply taking another bite of food. His nose scrunched and his lips pursed. Apparently he wasn't a fan of Trish. "You don't like her? She was practically begging for your attention."
"I know. It was a huge turn off. She only wanted to talk to me because she knows how much I'm worth. Don't get me wrong, I want to spoil the girl I'm with. But I don't want her to expect it from me." He rolled his eyes. I gave him a small smile but on the inside I was screaming with joy. He didn't like her back. Thank god.
"How do you know she only wanted you for your money?" Paul asked. I wanted to tell Paul to shut up because I wanted to drop the subject of other women, but I was kind of curious.
"I don't know, subtle hints I guess. She just kept coming back for more dances, and she didn't even seem surprised when I handed her a money, and she was offering me lap dances before I even took out my wallet. Like I would want to take some stripper home to become my new wife." He rolled his eyes.
My heart hit the floor. It's not that I wanted to become his new trophy wife, but the way he said it. Like doing that would disgust him. Like all strippers were scum. I set my coffee back down on the counter.
Paul's eyes met mine and I could tell he was sorry for what Orion had said. But Orion didn't think twice about it. Maybe it was just a slip because he was caught up in the moment. Maybe he didn't think of me that way. But, deep down, he still had the thought somewhere in his subconscious.
After the boys had finished eating I cleared their plates and washed the dishes. Orion had insisted that I didn't have to but after he made such a big breakfast for us I felt like I needed to. Besides I needed a minute to recover from the bruising of my heart. When I was finished I went to the living room but neither of them was in there. I heard faint yelling coming from the movie room so I followed it until I reached the door, pushing it open quietly. I thought they were arguing but it turns out they were just playing video games. I rolled my eyes and pushed the door open wider, taking a seat on the same couch as Paul.
"Fuck you, Orion!" He yelled when Orion's car passed his.
"Ooh, were using full names, now? I guess you mean business." He mocked him.
I recognized the game they were playing but didn't say anything. Amanda's ex-boyfriend, the one that she met at an engineering class, used to play video games all the time. She thought it was stupid and a waste of time, I on the other hand thought they were interesting so he taught me everything he knew. We played a lot of online gaming together as well as some of the classics that he had collected over the years. We played together a lot until she broke up with him. Soon after that I stopped getting to know anything about them considering they wouldn't stick around for very long. In a way, it almost felt like I was breaking up with them too. No use in getting to know someone who is just going to leave.
"God dammit, Wolcott! Get off my ass!" Orion shouted. Paul drove into the back of Orion's car and caused them both to spin out and die. "Nice, bro." He said and Paul scowled at him.
"Fuck off."
"Can I play?" I asked and both heads snapped to look back at me.
"Wait, really?" Orion asked in disbelief and it kind of irritated me.
"Here, you can play mine for a minute while I get something to drink. Careful he cheats." He said and walked out of the room. Orion rolled his eyes and set up the game. I walked over to the couch and took Paul's seat.
"Ready?" he asked and I mumbled a yes in response. He started the game and took off. I dragged behind for a minute, crashing into walls on the way. By now, he was far ahead of me and about to cross the finish line. I finally got half way finished with one lap as he won the round.
"Not fair, give me one more chance. I just had to get used to the controller." I begged with my best puppy dog eyes and he fell for my trap. If he was just going to forget about the whole stripper comment, then I would show him whose boss this way.
He restarted the match picking a different track. As the screen counted down from three I leaned forward in my seat and got ready.
3...
2...
1...
GO!
And just like that I was driving like a mad woman, twisting around the turns and heading straight for the finish line. I had already finished two laps by the time Orion had finished his one. I passed him and he tried to nick the bumper on my car but I just barely passed by. He went flying into a wall and I shot forward.
I had a half of a lap to go and I heard the door to the room open up again, signaling Paul's return. "Damn, girl! Go!" He said right as I passed the finish line and I jumped up to high five Paul. I looked at Orion with a smug smile on my face. His jaw was slack and he was still looking at the screen.
Paul sat down and handed me a water. He opened his beer and started to drink it, gulping down half of it in one go. When Orion finally snapped out of his daze he looked over at the two of us.
"The fuck bro? You bring her a drink and not me? Some friend you are." He scoffed.
"What can I say? I like her more than you." He grinned and slung his arm around my shoulders.
Orion furrowed his brows and grumbled under his breath, "I want a rematch."
"No way, dude. I want in on this!" Paul said stealing the controller from Orion and pressing play.
~ ~ ~
"Alright guys, I didn't bring any clothes for the weekend, so I have to run home and grab a few things. I don't think I'm going to come back here after I finish at my place, so I will see you tonight when I'm off, Orion." I pushed myself off of the beanbag that was lying on the floor and straightened out my clothes. They both followed behind me out of the room not saying a word to each other. When I turned around, Paul was giving Orion a very serious look that Orion was returning back to him.
"I'm going to go too." Paul announced, breaking his stern look from Orion and glancing at me. "I should really do some work at the office, someone had interrupted me last night to drag someone else from a certain strip club." He glared at the two of us, but it just caused us to laugh. "Anyways, bye dude, I'll see you at work on Tomorrow." He said giving him a nod. "Princess, always a pleasure." He said grinning and leaned in for a side-hug. "Don't forget about Lucy." He whispered and pulled the front door open. With one last mock salute he was gone.
"I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I didn't mean anything by it. I wasn't trying to imply that all strippers were worthless or anything. She just hit a nerve and I spoke without thinking."
"It's okay. I already forgave you." It was half of the truth. It still stung but I wasn't going to hold onto it and let my anger eat me up. He didn't have to like strippers. I wasn't going to waste my breath trying to convince him to.
"So, he said you took care of me last night. Thank you." His smile was shy and I returned it with a reassuring one of my own.
"It was no problem. You just needed to let loose for one night." I whispered and he took a step towards me. I backed away mindlessly until my back hit the wall behind me. He rested his hands on the wall on either side of my head and took a deep breath. His deep green eyes were staring down into mine and his close distance made my breath hitch in my throat. He was so close I could see the faint reddish-brown specks in the forests of green.
"I am trying really hard, Raegan." He spoke slowly, saying every word with so much force, as if he wanted me to understand a deeper meaning to his words. It was as if his hands on the wall were the only thing keeping him from moving any closer. "I don't know what you want, but I know what I want. I want you Raegan." His eyes were closed tightly and I couldn't speak. He was letting me have control over whatever it is that we are. "For some inexplicable reason, I need you to let me be in your life. If that's just as a friend, then that's what I will be. But I don't want Trish or Ginger or anyone else. I want Raegan."
At that moment he opened his eyes and looked directly into mine. There were so many emotions flying through them, each one only there for a moment before it was gone. His green eyes, once resembling the deep forest alight with wonder, were now stormy and dark. The red flecks burned like wild fire and it left me breathless. I wanted to tell him, tell him that I wanted everything with him. But I couldn't speak, I couldn't move, I could barely breathe.
"Right. Well, I suppose you should get going to work. Don't worry about getting clothes; I'll pick them up while you're out. I will see you in the morning." He said and took a step back and left the foyer. And even though our bodies never touched, I felt an absence rush over me. The warmth from his gaze was gone and the air had returned to my lungs in a way that left me feeling lonely.
I want you too, Orion.