“I’m not allowed to leave this room.” Well, I made that a rule, I guess. Maybe? Vincent said I didn’t need to be at his beck and call today.
“Fine. I’ll be right back.”
Seeing Adrian so free, not fearing consequences from saying or doing something was going to take me a bit to get used to. He was happy.
Not that he ever hated life. He always saw the best in every day, even on the bad days. Now was no different.
It was refreshing.
Having the room to myself, for like five minutes it’d take him to track down whatever he was trying to find, I let my mind wander.
I didn’t remember falling asleep last night. I remembered the bath, enjoying it more than I thought I could. Vincent had been so gentle as he washed my body. He didn’t touch me more than he needed to, and he didn’t rush me through it. He was there, supporting me without wanting a single thing in return.
If he kept up the niceness, I could get used to it. Used to being here with him.
Adrian came back in, stepped fast, making a dash to the night table on the other side of the bed. When he found a black remote, he held it up in triumph.
Then—because only he could make it look natural—he launched himself onto the bed, landing on his knees with a thud before spinning around and pulling up something on the TV like it was second nature.
“Do you remember those PE drills?” he asked, eyes flicking toward me. “The ones where we had to hold a position for way too long?”
I didn’t answer right away. There were too many times to count.
“Which one?” I said Finally. We did that often. Especially when an Omega was being used to make a point. To remind the rest of us what happened when you stepped out of line.
“The one I couldn’t stop giggling at.”
Oh, that one.
I shook my head, still surprised and thinking he was stupid for not having better control. It was one of the few times he got the case of the giggles, finding simple things so funny he just couldn’t help himself.
I didn’t remember what had possibly set him off that time, but I remembered his humor was contagious to a few of the other Omegas that day.
“You made us all run until we were puking.” Not the best end of a lesson. I hated running and didn’t make it very far. On the other hand, Adrian had ended up running like three miles before he was hunched over, spilling his guts.
“I mentioned it to Moore the other day, and now he wants me to start morning runs with him. Can you believe he can be so cruel?”
“You like running.”
“Yeah, but not till I puke.” He rolled his eyes. “Not that Moore would make me go to that extent. But now I have to exercise three days out of the week with him.”
I tilted my head. Looking at Adrian, he didn’t seem upset about it at all. If anything, he almost glowed.
“I’m not running with you.” To make sure he understood I wasn’t going to be dragged along with his…whatever it was. His ideas?
He stuck his tongue out at me, then finally found whatever he was looking at on the TV for. He pressed play, and the screen changed to some show that was written in red letters.
“You have six months of catching up on shows with me. We're gonna do this as often as possible.” Adrian settled against the headboard, a pillow along his lower back. “Moore likes game nights, and now that Vincent has you…”
“Uh…”game nights?
“It’s where we play card or board games. Like Uno, or Sorry. Sometimes it’s Mario Kart.” He went on when I had nothing to reply with. “It’s fun. Moore is big on friends and family. And Vincent is like his brother. We’ve done a few game nights, but it’ll be so much more fun now that you’ll be there.”
I doubted it, but instead of answering, I lay down, facing the TV, letting whatever show it was pull me in.
***
Adrian fell asleep. A light snore passed his lips as he lay beside me, arms resting over his stomach.
