Jay is so exhausted by the time we get back, he falls asleep before his head even hits the pillow. Me, on the other hand, I've got energy to spare. I was hoping to loosen up a bit at Mason's but Will had to rear his ugly face.
In the guest bedroom- my temporary room, I wrestle with the zipper on my dress. This thing was fine when I put it on earlier, but hours of sweat has caused the material to stick to my skin. I keep shimmying around and eventually manage to slip out and change into a comfortable pair of shorts instead.
It's only after I've snuggled into a cozy bliss that my stomach sends out that sharp pain. Right, I haven't had anything to eat yet. Maybe I should head to the kitchen? But the bed is so warm.
One loud grumble later I'm out of bed, ready to scavenge. I quietly exit the room and creep down the hall on my tiptoes. The light coming from underneath Atty's office door makes me stop right in the middle.
Is he still awake? At 1:30?
Carefully, I tap my knuckles against the white wood. From the other side I hear a muffled response which I can only guess means come in so I do. I gingerly push open the door and shuffle in.
I know it's not realistic, but since it's Atty's office, I was expecting more of a sinister dungeon vibe. Instead, what I'm met with is a pretty standard work space. It's a small room with a heavy desk to the left piled with stacks of papers and multiple monitors, and several plush seats on the right. The back wall is a floor to ceiling built-in bookshelf decked with all variety of literature, though a significant amount is programming related.
My favorite part, however, is the small bay window to the right, with soft white curtains hanging loosely above the blue cushion.
Atty's at his desk, hunched over the keyboard. He hasn't said a word yet, he's completely engrossed in whatever's on his multiple screens. I round the table to stand directly in front of him and honestly, he looks kind of cute, almost. His fingers are folded and perched against his lip, chin resting on his palm. Taking up a majority of his face are black thick rimmed glasses. And of course, his ink black hair is a complete mess.
I relax into the seat across his desk, bringing my knees up to my chest. Atty shifts in his spot, then glides to the bookshelf and picks up a thick text from the programming selection.
Immediately my eyes are drawn to the flash of skin from his lower half. Wow, he's wearing shorts. I chuckle and let out a low whistle. He instantly stands upright, head whipped towards me.
"Did you just... catcall?" he asks slowly.
I nod, eyes visibly roaming over his legs. No need to be ashamed when admiring something beautiful. And those legs, god they're beautiful.
"And now you're checking out my legs."
"And your butt," I add.
He gasps, pretending to be all exasperated, but I don't miss his lingering gaze on my own legs.
"Big deal, it's not like you didn't just check out my legs," I say.
He smirks and retorts, "and your butt." Then he puts the book down and sinks into the indigo beanbag chair beside him. "Why're you still up?"
"Couldn't sleep. What about you?"
"I have work to finish."
"What do you do anyways?" Probably something in tech, judging from his bookshelf.
"I'm a video game designer." His response is short and frank, but I'm floored by it. Video games? That's the coolest thing I've ever heard.
Then something occurs to me. "How old are you?"
Atty takes a minute to consider, then he simply says, "ancient."
I fake a gasp and cry in mock disbelief, "no! You're 40?"
He purses his lips and locks his jaw, but a smile takes over anyways. "Worse, I'm 41."
I can easily keep this going, and part of me wants to as well. But I really do want to know how old he is. "For real though."
"19."
He's only 2 years older than me?!
"Everybody asks the same next few questions so I'll spare you the energy. Yes, I'm telling the truth. No, I did not cheat to get my job. Yes, I flew through high school and graduated at 15. Yes, I have a degree in computer engineering and game design, got it last year actually. Let's see, am I missing anything?"
Yeah, only the most important thing. "Are you happy?"
This takes him by surprise. He blinks for a bit and only manages a "what?"
"Do you like what you do?"
"I love it." Short and brief, as I've come to expect. A gushing Atty would be freaky anyways.
He chuckles and taps his wrist, then points to me. Oh, I know exactly what he's talking about, the ripped cuff of the left arm on my sweater.
I toss my head back and groan. "It's my favorite sweater," I grumble.
"Do you want me to fix it?"
I bring my head up instantly. "Fix it? Like with a needle and thread?"
He simply holds out his palm. Well, alright then. I pull my sweater off and hand it to him. He reaches for something at the top shelf behind him and immediately gets to work.
For the first time I notice how slender Atty's fingers are. Long with strong knuckles, he effortlessly weaves the needle between the fabric.
I watch him for a few minutes, enchanted by the movement. A sigh escapes my lips as I lightly say, "there's something so sexy about a man that can sew."
He snorts, his pace remaining steady. "You really don't hold back, huh?"
"Look who's talking. You don't exactly pull your punches either."
Atty brings the thread to his lips and uses his teeth to cut it off, he stretches the fabric then tosses it back to me. Holy crap, that was barely five minutes!
"Where'd you learn to do that anyways?" It's not a common hobby for guys, that's certain.
His lips form a smile but the edges of his eyes don't crinkle like they should. "My mom taught me, when I was little."
I want to ask him about his parents, since this is the first I'm hearing of them. But the way his shoulders are slumped, I really don't think I should.
He clears his throat and shifts on the bean bag. He opens and closes his mouth twice before finally asking, "are you upset? I mean, are you upset about me not telling you why I came with you for the car? About why I wouldn't let Jay go?"
My response is instant. "No. Why would I be?"
He's at a loss for words, clearly, since he's just sitting there with raised eyebrows. I sigh and add, "look, your reasons are your own. You don't owe me so why would I be upset? Tell me when you feel like, or don't, its your choice."
Neither of us can get a word in before my stomach grumbles so loud I half expect Collette to come barrelling in. Right, I was originally on a scavenging mission.
Atty is laughing so hard his shoulders are visibly shaking. "Hungry?" he manages to choke out.
"Very," I complain. I want to ask Atty a lot more questions, especially about his video games, but if I don't eat now I'll hit 0% charge and faint.
Atty pushes himself off the chair and strides across the room, stepping into the hallway. Gesturing towards the stairs he tilts his head and says, "come on, dinner's in the fridge. I haven't had any yet either."
Once we're both in the kitchen, he hands me a blue plastic container. "Heat that up, I'll get the rice ready."
"I'm not a simpleton, I can handle the stove." And I mean, their microwave has a knob on it so I'd rather watch him use it first.
"I didn't say you were... you know what, never mind." He simply shakes his head as he switches our duties.
It takes some time, but eventually we're seated across from each other with a table full of steaming food between us. The scent of hot mashed potatoes mixes with the roasted chicken and bean, I almost pass out as my mouth begins to water.
"Here," Atty passes me a plate, "you first, since you're ready to drop dead any second now."
Ha, he's not wrong.
I completely ignore him for the first ten minutes, taking my time to savour every bite. Once I've regained enough energy, I ask, "so, what were you so busy with when I came in?"
He sets his spoon down, burying his head in both hands. "Why'd you remind me," he grumbles.
"Well, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was dealing with a big baby," I tease in between mouthfuls of rice.
Atty pushes his hair back, locking his eyes on mine. "I'm in charge of the redemption part of one of the character's story arcs and I'm out of ideas. All I have is a vague outline, but specifics are due Monday and I'm lost."
The familiarity of the situation makes me grin. "I'll tell you what my mom tells me whenever I'm out of ideas for anything." I pause for dramatic effect. One glance at Atty and I know I've got him hooked. His eyebrows are scrunched and he's leaning in.
I put on my best mom voice, pouting my lips to imitate my gorgeous mother. "Mija, just watch a movie."
He laughs and picks his spoon back up, apparently relaxed enough to eat again. "That's the secret, watch a movie?"
"Or two or three. Point is, you've got all of tomorrow, just spend the rest of the night watching movies until your eyes close. Who knows what ideas you'll have in the morning."
Atty considers this for a minute, then nods. "Do you want to watch with me?"
Hell yeah, after that meal, I feel resurrected. I can watch four movies at least. "Sure, wait till I'm done though."
He glances at my newly empty plate, eyebrows raised. I cluck my tongue, shaking my head. "Excuse you, I'm taking seconds." Sheesh, so judgy.
Atty begins clearing the table while I work on my plate. By the time I finish my second round, he's cleaned everything up as well. Whoops, I did mean to help.
We're both seated comfortable on the couch, and the movies loaded. I grab his hand before he clicks play. "Wait." I command, my tone low and serious.
He looks at me with wide eyes filling with concern just like Collette's do. "What? Are you okay?"
"We don't have a blanket."
Atty closes his eyes and groans loud enough for me to feel the vibrations in my elbow. "Unbelievable," he huffs.
"My legs get cold." I hold my arms up in defense, "you should understand, you're wearing shorts too."
Which reminds me, I take the opportunity to check his legs out again. He gasps, shocked. "Unbelievable," he repeats.
As Atty walks by me, he lightly flicks my forehead with his index finger. "Wait here, perv."
He returns after a few minutes with a massive grey wool blanket in his arms. With everything settled, we begin the movie.
/\/\**/\/\**/\/\
This chapter was honestly so much fun to write (I love, love, love writing dialogue) and I truly hope it was fun to read :)
Any thoughts on Jade or Atty? Or the relation between them? I would love to hear it!
Chp pic: very close to Atty's bookshelf