"Ow," I hissed, "gentle."
"Sorry," Si said, rolling her eyes, "almost--and done!"
I sighed in relief and looked at my eyebrows in the mirror.
"Thanks," I said, "so, I'm crazy right?" I asked looking for her denial.
"Jury's still out on that one," she teased.
"Ugh, you know what I mean," I groaned, "I mean, that's way too early for me to be feeling those things right?"
"Well," she said as she grabbed my tweezers from the counter, "I think you're just in the honeymoon phase. It's new and exciting. Plus, this is like your first boyfriend."
I huffed, watching as she plucked some hairs from her eyebrow.
"Okay, okay," I agreed, "you're right. I need to chill."
"Speaking of chill," she said as she placed the tweezers down and walked out of the bathroom, "Did you find out if Cal is single?"
I scoffed, raising an eyebrow, "Cal?"
"Yeah, you know, Calum," she said nonchalantly as she took a seat on my bed.
"Oh, okay, so I'm the crazy one for thinking I'm in love with Mikey, yet you have a pet name for a guy you've never even met," I teased, joining her on the bed.
"It's not a pet name," she defended, "that's what his friends call him."
"Mhm, sure," I pursed my lips.
She tossed the pillow in her lap at me playfully, "Shut up."
"To answer your question," I said after chuckling, "yes, all of his friends are single at the moment. I think Ashton just recently got out of a long-distance relationship."
"Okay," she smiled with excitement, "are we carpooling?"
"Um," I thought about it for a moment, "I dunno, I might spend more time with Michael after we all hang out."
She rolled her eyes with a smile, "And I might spend some alone time with Cal," she wiggled her eyebrows.
"Whatever," I chuckled.
---
"I think you've got enough cleavage there," I teased as Si adjusted her boobs in the seat next to me.
"Whatever. Gotta make a good impression," she winked before slamming the visor shut, "Ready?"
"Gross," Teo groaned from the backseat.
"Yes," Ale complained impatiently, "come on, let's go inside already."
Ale, Teo, Lucia, and Siena followed me across the street and into Hideout.
The bell above the door clanged as we entered and a smirk spread across Gio's face as he saw us.
"Hey," he waved from behind the register, "You guys want something?"
"Uh, sure," I nodded, reading the menu as I approached, "I'll get an iced green tea."
"Oh-kay--" he said drawing out the word as he tapped on the iPad, "Anyone else?"
"Nah," Si said, "I don't want coffee breath."
The rest shook their heads.
I pulled out my debit card to pay. We waited off to the side so the other people in line could order.
Matteo looked around uncomfortably.
"What's wrong?" I asked nudging him.
"Huh? Oh, nothing," he said shaking his head.
I squinted my eyes not believing him but didn't press.
"Bea," I heard Gio call out.
"Thanks, G," I smiled, "have fun."
I grabbed my drink and motioned for everyone to follow me downstairs.
When I opened the door a boisterous laugh filled the air coming from Calum who was bent over and clutching his stomach.
"No way," he said behind laughs, "No fucking way!"
"Are we interrupting?" I asked, looking between the boys.
"Hey!" Michael said smiling brightly as he approached me and pecked my lips.
"Come in, guys," he instructed, "make yourselves comfortable."
"So, let me introduce you to everyone," Mikey smiled, as he slipped his arm around my waist, "Luke, Calum, Ashton," he said pointing to each of them, "this is Siena, Ale, Lucia, and Matteo."
They each greeted with pleasantries and smiles before my family took seats on some of the leather sofas.
"What have you been up to?" I asked Mikey, "Sounds like fun," I smiled in Calum's direction.
"Nah, nah," he shook his head, gesturing with his hand for the boys to keep their mouths shut, "nothing really."
The boys smirked at Mikey.
"Okay," I nodded changing the subject despite desperately wanting to know they were talking about before we came in, "so, you guys gonna play something for us?"
"Yeah," Ashton jumped up and motioned for us to follow him towards the back room.
Teo and Lucia took a seat on the two barstools that were in the corner while the rest of us stood.
"Take Me as You Please?" Luke suggested as he looked at the boys.
They each nodded and Ashton called out the timing before Michael and Calum began plucking their guitars. Ashton tapped on the box he sat on and shook some sort of hand percussion instrument.
When the boys began to sing I watched my cousins' reactions. They didn't disappoint. Lucia and Siena's jaws had dropped and they gave me wide-eyed expressions.
I blushed as they sang, "Taste me, baby, take me as you please."
I noticed that Ale was flushed as well, making me suspect he definitely had a crush on one of them.
When the song was over, Mikey winked at me as we all clapped from them.
"Encore, encore," Siena called out, causing Cal to chuckle.
"You heard the lady," Cal said raising his brow.
"Drown?" Ashton asked and the boys agreed.
The song began with Cal's deep voice, and Luke joined in.
When the chorus began, Mikey led, his face scrunching up with passion.
It was quite a depressing song and the emotion behind their voices really hit home. We were all speechless by the end.
"Ash, why don't you get your kit from your car?" Luke suggested when they had finished.
"Sure," he nodded standing up and pointing to Matteo, "help me carry it in?"
"Yeah, sure," Teo agreed, leaving the room with him.
"You guys are really good," Si praised.
"Seriously, like how do you guys not have a record deal?" Lucia asked.
Luke laughed uncomfortably, "I appreciate the compliments, but we're just messing around."
"No, you guys are talented," Ale objected, smiling.
Luke smiled, biting his lip and shaking his head.
"So, did you guys write those songs?" I asked.
"No," Mikey shook his head, "that was Take Me As You Please by The Story So Far and Drown by Bring Me the Horizon."
"But, we've got a couple that we've written," Cal smiled, lingering his gaze on Siena.
Well, she's going to be talking about that for the rest of forever.
"Oooh, I wanna hear!" She chimed.
Mikey looked hesitant, so I gave him a pouty face making him roll his eyes and give in.
"Fine," he sighed, smiling at me.
Ashton and Teo had returned and he set up his drum kit. Michael and Calum plugged their guitars into some amps that were in the corner of the room and they began to play again.
I watched as they smiled at each other as they played, bouncing around.
"Cuz I never wanna be that guy, who doesn't even get a taste," Calum smirked as he clearly sang to Siena.
"You're just a little bit out of my limit," Mikey sang, winking at me, making my heart skip a beat.
It sounded like a song you would hear on the radio. I couldn't believe they were selling themselves so short.
They played two more songs before putting their instruments down.
"I think that's enough for today," Mikey said walked over to us.
"Yeah, gotta leave 'em wanting," Luke joked.
"Don't want anyone to swoon too hard," Ash teased, "we all know what happened last time."
"Shut up," I laughed, my cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Mikey and I sat on one of the sofas while the others mingled and played foosball.
"Can't wait to be alone with you later," Mikey whispered into my ear making me shiver.
I bit my lip to try to hide my excitement.
"You guys wanna head over to my place?" Mikey suddenly announced, making me raise an eyebrow at him in confusion.
I thought he just said he wanted to be alone.
"I figured we could hang out, make some food?" he suggested, noticing my expression and smirking, "I got some stuff to barbeque since the weather is so nice."
"Yeah, I'm starved," Ashton agreed.
Mikey stood, grabbing my hand to pull me up off of the couch.
We lingered behind as the others climbed the stairs to head out.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and looked down at me with a grin.
His green eyes were filled with lust as he leaned down to kiss me. His lips moved against mine just long enough for my heart to start pumping. He pulled away, smirking, and winked at me before heading up the staircase.
The drive to his house was filled with Siena fawning over Calum and telling us about all the times he looked at her. She was so sure that they were going to smash. Matteo didn't appreciate the idea, since that is his sister, and he changed the subject to his girlfriend.
"It's her birthday this week, and I have no idea what to get her," he sighed.
"So, y'all are on speaking terms again?" I asked, looking in the rearview mirror at his expression.
"Yeah, I took your advice and went over to her house. You were right, she was upset for other reasons," he explained.
"Told ya," Lucia said.
He noticed a flash of nervousness cross his face.
"Teo," I said, glancing back at him as we slowed to a stop on the highway, "what's wrong?"
"No--nothing. I just want to get her something special," he explained, but I didn't really buy it. There was something else going on, but I didn't press it.
"Well, Siena seems to be the most knowledgable of all things girl," I teased as she checked her reflection in the visor mirror.
"Hmm," she paused in thought before turning in her seat to face the back of the car, "Something special--well jewelry is always a win."
"Like a ring?" he asked panicked.
"Chill, not an engagement ring. What about a necklace?" she suggested.
"I guess," he shrugged, "can you help me pick something out?"
"Leave it to us," Lucia said, placing a calming hand on his shoulder.
"You're lucky you don't have to deal with women," Matteo said to Ale.
"Trust me," Ale laughed, "men are just as high maintenance."