“Blah, blah, blah. Keep talking a little more, and I’ll pull these down too,” he threatened, putting a hand on his boxers.
His thumb slid across the dark fabric of his boxers, and I blushed.
I bolted down the stairs embarrassingly fast. I only moved faster when my mom made pizza.
I put water in the kettle and stared at the little red light until it started blinking. I’d asked James to stay, but now that he was here, I was more afraid of spending the night in the same house with him than of the thought of Austin coming back.
I couldn’t come to terms with the fact that I’d called him and that he’d rushed over so quickly to save me. Just then I saw James walk into the living room wearing a robe with a pink flamingo-shaped hood. It was mine.
“Just tell me you’re wearing something under there.”
“It’s cute. Just a little small.”
He tousled his still-wet hair. I poured the boiling water into the mugs. I was particularly tense and couldn’t hide it.
“Why are you so nervous?” he asked.
“Maybe because of what happened tonight? And how is it that you always manage to mess with me even in cases like this?” I pointed at the robe he was wearing.
“Is it my fault you have weird taste?”
“Idiot.”
“I like it, shut up.”
I burst out laughing for no reason, and he bit the inside of his cheek to hold back another smile.
James didn’t say anything more. He sat down on the couch as I handed him the boiling-hot mug, which he used to warm his hands.
I expected him to tease me for the chamomile too. Instead, I was floored by his deep voice.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked him in the eyes without really knowing how to respond.
He was saying that while wearing my robe, so how could I take him seriously?
“For what?”
“For Austin. For earlier.”
I felt anxiety grip my chest again.
“They know where I live now. It throws me off,” I said.
“We shouldn’t’ve gone to the club the other day, and you shouldn’t’ve gone home alone tonight. You should’ve come to my house like I told you to. But instead you always want to do things your own fucking way. Always.”
His serious tone confused me. He really seemed worried.
“For once you were right, Hunter. What do you want, a gold medal? I’m already scared, don’t you start now too.”
“Did they hurt you?” he asked, pointing at my lightly scraped arm.
“No. I kicked that guy Tom in the balls.”
James sneered. “That dick is Tom Austin, Ethan’s brother. You could’ve pulled out your secret weapon with him.”
“That would be?”
