AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s nothing serious,” he insisted even while noting the envious looks that the two men who’d brought in the couch were giving him. “Just a few twinges in the muscles, but they’re all gone now. I can still help. Promise.”
Despite Xolani’s protests, he went back down to help the other men carry stuff up to the apartment.
Even though he and Xolani were just friends, Barry still wanted to leave a good impression on her family. He didn’t want her brother thinking that he was lazy.
10
JUSTINE SHOWED UP JUST AS the group finished most of the hard work. But Xolani was still happy to see her because she drew most of the men’s attention to herself and took the heat off Xolani. Now, Xolani could talk to Barry without constantly getting interrupted because one of Camryn’s friends wanted her attention.
“The pizza’s here,” one of Camryn’s friends announced. He waddled into the living room with a tower of large boxes.
“Oh my God, Cam!” Xolani exclaimed in shock when she counted seven pizza boxes. “Are we supposed to finish all that?”
“Not if you don’t want to.” Camryn shrugged. “I love leftovers.”
But as it turned out, Xolani had underestimated the men’s hunger. They were like vacuums sucking up slice after slice of pizza, all while chatting and boisterously laughing. It was clear that when they were done, there’d be no leftovers.
“I think they have hollow organs,” Justine, who was seated next to Xolani and had just finished her second slice of pizza, said. Her mouth was half open and her eyes were filled with awe as she watched the men wolf down their food.
“Nah. It has to be more than that.” Xolani leaned closer to her friend to say, “Let’s add hollow legs to go with the hollow organs. That’s the only way to explain where all that food is going.”
“But if the food is going to their legs, how will it get digested?” Anika, who was seated to the right of Justine, murmured. “Does it just like settle down there and rot? Or is there some sort of digestive system that pushes it up and_”
“There she goes again.” Justine interrupted with a laugh. “Bringing brains into fantasy.”
Anika immediately blushed. “I’m just asking.”
“Are you guys teasing Niks?” Camryn, who was supposed to be talking to his friends, zeroed in on the ladies.
This, of course, drew the other men’s attention to them too. Barry, unsurprisingly, focused on Xolani. When their eyes met, he smiled. If she wasn’t sitting on the rug, she would’ve melted into a puddle of delight. That man’s smile was a weapon.
“No, we’re not teasing your Niks,” Justine said to Camryn. “We’re just trying to figure out how much it will cost to get all your stomachs pumped because of how you’re overeating.”
“You call this overeating?” One of Camryn’s friends chimed in. “This is nothing. Remember when we went to…”
The man, with the help of Camryn’s other friends, regaled them with colorful accounts of odd culinary escapades.
Most of the group kept their attention on the storyteller, but Barry just kept watching Xolani. While everyone else was distracted, she crawled from her spot to sit next to him.
She bumped her shoulder against his and murmured, “Why are you staring at me so much?”
“Not staring.” He tilted his neck to watch her. “Admiring.”
Her insides turned to gooey mush. She smacked his knee. “Stop flirting with me.”
All that got her was a naughty smirk that made her blush. If her skin was lighter-toned, she would’ve turned as red as a tomato. Shyly, she looked away from him, only to run right into her brother’s eyes. Camryn was watching them with what could only be called a smug stare.
When his and Xolani’s eyes met, he lifted his eyebrows then silently mouthed, “Friends?”
“Mind your business!” She mouthed back at him.
But that wasn’t enough to shut her brother up. He kept wordlessly teasing her to the point where she had to move away from Barry just to get Camryn’s attention off her. But Barry wasn’t ready to let her go. As soon as people started discussing how they were getting home, he offered to drive Xolani, which got her another knowing look from Camryn.
She considered refusing the ride, but it seemed rude when he’d just spent the day helping her brother move. As an alternative, she tried to get more people to ride with them so they wouldn’t be alone. But that backfired. Camryn was staying back to organize his new apartment. Three of Camryn’s friends were going the same way as Anika. Justine had hit it off with the last of Camryn’s friends, and the two were going off to drink elsewhere.
That left only Xolani with Barry.
“Thank you,” she said when he opened his car door for her. As she got into his car, she made sure that their bodies didn’t touch. She was already heated enough without the added body contact.
