“Well, two is boring and doesn’t have Vin Diesel, and we all pretend three doesn’t exist. If we make it through number eight, I call that a win.”
“I second that,” Dawson agreed. “Why don’t you grab the popcorn and the chips. We’ll bring the drinks.”
Dani’s eyes bounced between us and rolled her lips. “Okay. Just don’t take too long. Or at least keep it down...”
“Oh fuck off and go start the movie.” Dawson flushed and I laughed at his obvious discomfort. Once her footsteps receded, I sauntered over to him, loving the way his pupils dilated and his breathing quickened the closer I got.
“She’s not wrong. You were always pretty loud during…you know.”
Dawson gulped audibly, tensing slightly as I leaned into him. I reached into my pocket for the Skittles, dangling the bags in front of his face enticingly. His lips twitched as I rattled them obnoxiously, finally swiping them out of my hand.
“You know, those used to be worth a song or two.”
Dawson’s brow quirked up. “Maybe my prices have gone up.”
“Maybe I’m willing to negotiate,” I rumbled.
His lips parted on a shallow breath and my gaze darted to his tempting mouth. When his tongue swiped out, my dick jerked in response. I sensed his nerves though and reminded myself he asked for time, so I pulled back.
I went to the fridge, grabbing several cans of soda and turning just in time to catch Dawson’s gaze dart away from my ass. My smirk told him he’d been caught and he quickly snatched a couple of the cans from my arms, heading downstairs. I took a steadying breath, willing my erection to go down before I followed him.
And if I snuck a peek or two at Dawson’s ass as I did, that was nobody’s business but mine.
“Oh come on,why did you hit mute?” I griped. I was sprawled out on one end of the large U-shaped couch with Dani curled up in one of the corners and Dawson in between us.
“Because this scene always makes me cry and I can’t listen to that song anymore,” Dani whined.
“Why not?”
“Dawson was obsessed with it when this movie came out and played it on his piano formonths. Even Charlie Puth himself would be sick of it after that.”
“Christ, you’re so dramatic. I didn’t play it that much and it’s been years. Get over it already.”
“Yeah, you did and I still have the migraine to prove it. Also don’t forget all the weeks your mopey butt spent playing it after Theo moved.”
Dawson went rigid next to me, but I caught the nervous sidelong glance he shot me in the glow of the giant screen. A weird rush of emotion hit me. I thought about the lyrics and what Dawson would have been trying to say through the music. Was it meant to mourn me and my absence, or had he believed and perhaps even hoped that he’d see me again?
“Do you have any filter for that mouth?” Dawson grumbled, sinking lower in the cushions.
“Oh, was it supposed to be a secret that you missed your boyfriend? Because spoiler alert, it wasn’t much of a secret,” Dani whispered sarcastically.
“Neither was the time you snuck the captain of the basketball team in your room when you were sixteen, but maybe I should finally let your mom in on that secret too,” I stage-whispered back.
“What the fuck? You knew about that?” she squeaked loudly. Dawson barked out a laugh and I winked at him playfully, enjoying the spread of pink on his cheeks that told me he’d caught it.
“Whatever. It’s like two thirty in the morning. I’m out. You guys have fun,” Dani yawned, dragging herself off the sofa. We said our goodnights and Dawson spooled upFate of the Furious.
My attention was spotty at best after that. Being alone with him was a test of my willpower. His laughter, his smell, and even the way his throat bobbed while he drank hypnotized me. I loved that he was still the same Dawson, but also subtly different. His scent was more masculine, his jaw shadowed with faint stubble, and his body was carved with new muscles. I studied each little change in him I could find, seeing fragments of the boy I once knew in the man he was now.
“You’re staring.”
Dawson’s soft words snapped me out of my daze. I probably should have been embarrassed, but I had no shame when itcame to appreciating him. I rested my elbow on the back of the couch, angling myself towards him.
“I was thinking about the day this movie released in theaters. You remember?”
Dawson’s face split into a grin and my heart seized in my chest. After hearing that the theater was doing an all day screening for the movie series, we’d convinced a bunch of our friends to skip with us to go see it. We’d of course gotten caught and grounded for two weeks, but it had been totally worth it.
“Oh my god, I forgot about that. And we tried to shove like, fourteen people in two cars because only two of our friends were old enough to drive.”
