“I don't know how."
"Just inhale the smoke, hold it, and blow it out. Easy."
I grinned as Matthew hesitantly took the joint from me and put it to his lips. He inhaled, holding it in as I had instructed, coughing the smoke out when he must have felt a twinge that told him he needed to breathe.
My lips, unbidden, twitched upwards into a smile as I rubbed his back, taking the joint back.
"Hey, look at this." I grinned, feeling a bit like showing off, taking a hit. I opened my mouth. Nothing happened for a moment. Then, rounding my lips, I let out a carefully controlled puff of smoke. It spun out of my mouth, small at first, then gradually growing into an impressive smoke ring.
"And I can't even do it normally." Matthew sighed dejectedly.
I puffed out another and smirked, then took a deep drag. I beckoned Matthew closer. Frowning, he did, visibly surprised when I trapped his chin between my thumb and for finger and guided our mouths together.
It was the weed making my grip on my own sanity drift away, probably; I blew the smoke into Matthew’s mouth, lips nearly touching. He still looked surprised, staring wide eyed at me before blowing out the smoke with a little more grace than before.
“There we go, that was better.” I encouraged him with a sloppy smile. The cloud above him looked a lot like an octopus. Or was it a strawberry? Tearing my gaze away and settling it back on Matthew, I noticed how soft his lips looked, full and parted in shock, decisively kissable.
“The hell was that?”
“Shotgunning.”I replied nonchalantly. No big deal. Only shit I usually did with my hookups.
“It was weird as hell.”
I just shrugged.
“You do that with every stranger who crosses your path?”
“Nah,thatwould be weird as hell.”
“You’reweird as hell.” Matthew muttered.
I grinned.Was it even weirder to be proud of that? Or to like the way he said it? I liked the way he said it. He could call me weird all the times he wanted and I wouldn't object.
“Well, it was nice meeting you and all, but I should probably go. See you around.”
Why did I feel disappointed about that? I was probably lonely.
“Yeah. Sure.”I replied through a cloud of smoke.
CHAPTER 2
Theo
I awoke in the middle of the night to use the bathroom; I’d only managed to reach the middle of the room when Stryker sat up in bed, his blade pulled out of its holster and held between us. I startled, stopping to stare “it’s just me” I muttered uncertainly, kind of hoping I wouldn't get stabbed and that I hadn't been put in a room with a nut job.
Stryker lowered his knife a couple of inches but didn’t put it away.
“Sorry.” He offered.
Sorry? That's it? You wanted to stab me for going to the bathroom, mate.
My gaze didn’t leave Stryker’s weapon. “Do you always sleep with that?”
He offered a wry smile “you never know. People can get dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night.”
“Yeah but...we’re not at war or anything, so I-”
“You never know,” he repeated, finally tucking the blade back under his pillow.
