LIX

                                    

                                          
F A L L O N
                          
"I love the taste of you in the morning, keep me warm and nothin' else, nothin' more important. Makes me wanna believe in love."
                          
. . .
                          
After a whole day of watching movies and lounging around, I'm standing in the kitchen and decide to do the dishes since I got nothing else to do.
                          
Nicholas is freshening himself up, and as soon as he left, my phone started ringing. The caller ID says, Dylan.
                          
My fingers hesitate over the screen, and I debate if I should pick up or not. After a few more seconds, I swipe to the right and take the call.
                          
"Hey, babe." 
                          
I cringe when I hear his voice through the speaker. It's been before the summer break since I last talked to him.
                          
He probably wants to be more in contact now that we're going back to college. 
                          
"Hi, Dylan," I manage to bring out. "It's been a while."
                          
"Yeah, it has been. I was wondering how you were doing."
                          
I got to know Dylan through mutual friends. He's always been laid-back and chill. We started to make out casually last year and spent some time together whenever one of us was feeling bored or lonely. 
                          
Or horny.
                          
But we were never exclusive, and I never had sex with him. 
                          
"I'm doing really good," I say and smile at the thought of Nicholas. "You?"
                          
"I'm alright," he says and I can picture him smirking and raking a hand through his hair. "I've been bored, though..." he trails off. "And I've missed you."
                          
Those words don't have the same effect as when Nicholas said them to me. All I do is cringe and shake my head. 
                          
I turn around with my phone in my hand, ready to tell him off. 
                          
But I freeze on the spot when I see Nicholas standing at the kitchen island. He's leaning both his hands on the counter and is watching me with narrowed eyes.
                          
"I was wondering if we could meet up," Dylan continues, oblivious to the man listening in on us and maybe even planning the poor guy's death.
                          
Nicholas slants his head to the side, raising a brow. 
                          
He's looking down at me with the most authoritative and dominant look in his eyes. Possessiveness takes its place there, too. 
                          
"I can't," I tell Dylan and lick my lips, not able to look away from Nicholas' gaze. I inhale sharply when Nicholas moves, walking around the counter and making his way towards me.
                          
"Why not? We used to have fun all the time."
                          
A muscle moves in Nicholas' jaw as he nears me and softly touches my chin with his fingers, tilting my face up.
                          
He then takes my phone from my hands and disconnects the call.
                          
"You're mine," he whispers.
                          
I part my lips to sputter something back, but he puts a finger on my lips. "Who was that fucker?" he demands.
                          
He swipes his thumb across my lower lip, tugging on it before letting it go so I can speak.
                          
"A friend from college."
                          
"He sounded like a lot more than a friend."
                          
I glare at him. "We used to... make out," I shrug and feel my cheeks catching fire. "But today is the first time I've spoken to him in months."