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“C’mon,” Devan beckoned. “Let’s play another round with all four of us.” He pulled me in closer to his side as the other two joined us on the floor, and I found myself squeezed in tightly between Devan and Garrett. I couldn’t deny it made my pulse race. I felt small between them, dwarfed by their towering forms, and the pressure of Devan’s leg pressed against mine on one side and Garrett’s arm on the other made heat coil low in my belly. I tried to ignore it, feeling ridiculous to be affected by the two of them, especially when the guy I’d actually kissed was down on the other side of Garrett, but I couldn’t help it.
It was probably just a lack of simple human contact and companionship, I told myself. I’d been so long without it that my body didn’t know how to react.
Devan shifted his leg against mine, stretching it out against the floor, and my breath caught at the sensation. Even through both our pants I could feel the muscle there, the strength, and without my permission my mind tried to imagine what it would feel like to have that weight on top of me, pressing me down.
Ashamed at my own traitorous thoughts, I covertly pulled my leg away, putting a little space between us and cleared my throat, picking up my controller. I chanced a glance up at Devan and found him watching me, his pale blue eyes sparkling. It made me wonder if the move had been intentional on his part.
He bent down a little, closing some of the distance between us, and I reflexively held my breath. When he spoke, his voice was soft. “What did sodium say to chlorine?”
I choked on a laugh. I should have known.
“I don’t know, Devan,” I said, rolling my eyes. “What did sodium say to chlorine?”
But he didn’t smile back, just leaned in a little bit closer, so I could feel the heat of his breath wash over my hair. “I’ve got my ion you.”
My spine tingled at the implication in his words, even as I laughed at the pun. “Oh my God, how do you keep coming up with these? You’re ridiculous.”
He smiled at that, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
“What, you think all the good chemistry jokes argon?” He shook his head as I groaned. “I don’t zinc so.”
Garrett reached over my head and punched his friend in the shoulder. “Dude, shut up. Your jokes are terrible.”
Devan put a hand over his heart in a mock wounded gesture, and I put my hand on his arm in sympathy as inspiration struck. “What should you do when no one laughs at your science jokes?” I asked him, and his eyes lit up with anticipation.
“Oh no, not you too,” Micah groaned from the other end of the couch.
But I grinned at Devan. “Keep trying until you get a reaction,” I told him.
His shout of delighted laughter was loud in my ear, and he swung an arm around me and smacked a kiss on the top of my hair.
The kiss wasn’t a romantic one, but I glanced quickly down the line to see if Micah had noticed. He was busy with the game though, engrossed in choosing a chicken costume for his avatar before climbing into his celery car. Laughing, I scrolled through my own menu, selecting a zombie for myself before Garrett hit start and we all took off, racing down the course amidst flying obstacles and slime traps.
We laughed, and jeered, taunted each other and whooped and threw pillows. It was more fun than I’d had in well over a year.
23
Things began to change after that.
I wasn’t exactly sure of the cause of all the changes. To be sure, my daring and probably ill-advised rescue seemed like the obvious answer, but I didn’t get the impression that Garrett was the sort to let his gratitude change his personality. Although really, I guess his personality hadn’t changed. He was still the somewhat grumpy, intense, high-strung guy he’d always been; only he didn’t seem to direct his intensity at me anymore. Except that wasn’t exactly true either. It was more like I’d been accepted into his tightly-knit inner circle, which also didn’t really make sense, since I still knew none of their secrets.
After our marathon afternoon of video games, we skipped dinner and Devan made a run to the dining hall, bringing us all back enormous slices of pizza. They put on a movie, and we all sat on the floor to eat together, before I finally returned to my dorm late in the evening.
When I awoke the next morning, blearily stumbling down the stairs to grab my requisite cup of coffee from the dining hall before class, I found Micah leaning against the wall of the building waiting for me.
“Um, hey,” I greeted him, somewhat taken aback. “Did I leave something in your room?”
“Nope. I’m here to join you for breakfast.”
He smiled at me innocently, and I couldn’t help but notice how good he looked, his leather jacket a small concession to the rapidly cooling temperatures. Beneath it he wore a dark t-shirt and a pair of perfectly fitted jeans over black boots. His black hair fell over his brow a little and he had his glasses on. He’d been delectable in pajamas, but it was hard to say no to this version either. Still, he was the last thing I’d expected to see propped against the brick wall of my dorm this early in the morning.
Nora had already left for an early meeting, Frank was still sleeping, and Julie had, as usual, not come home the night before, so I’d assumed I was on my own this morning.
“Where are the other guys?” I fell into step beside him.
He shrugged. “They won’t get out of bed until the very last minute before class.”
“They don’t eat breakfast?” I asked.
