I peer over at Milo and wonder if he can tell how I feel with Oliver touching me. Would he still have the easy smirk on his face if he knew about the butterflies in my stomach?
No, I don't think he would.
I pull away and look down. “The back is fine, you called the front.”
“Damn,” Oliver curses and when I look up, he and Milo are staring at each other. Milo’s smirk has jacked up to a full-blown smile.
I shuffle in and scoot over so I'm behind the driver’s seat and Milo wedges himself in next to me. He grunts when he falls into the seat.
“We need to get a different car man. I'm tired of crawling in and out of the backseat.”
Dante's hand caresses the dashboard. “Not giving her up.”
I lean to the side and let the strap of my bag slide off my arm. It drops to the floor and I settle back in the seat.
Ten
As the rumble of the engine purrs to life, I have a second of indecision. I know my life is changing, veering into something I scarcely recognize. I also know getting out of the car now wouldn’t stop the changes from coming, maybe delay them, but probably not.
Dante pulls out of the school lot, making a right turn. Oliver reaches over to the radio, tapping the power button. Instinctively I slam my palms over my ears when it blares to life. He fumbles for only a second before the volume drops dramatically.
“Holy loud Batman,” I utter in shock.
Milo, who feels entirely too close to me in the small backseat, chuckles.
“You’ll get used to it. Dante is half deaf.” From the small grin on his face, I think he’s joking about the Dante being deaf part.
Oliver throws his elbow over the front bench seat, turning to face us. He eyes the space between Milo and I before peering at me.
“Hi,” he offers with a sweet smile tipping his lips.
I blush, and I don’t even know why. “Hi Ollie,” my voice is small. It’s the first time I’ve used his nickname, I hadn’t even planned on it. That’s just what came out.
He bites the corner of his mouth and breathes in deep. Milo reaches forward and pushes his arm off the back of the seat, a little too hard, if the look on Ollie’s face tells me anything.
I look down at my lap, feeling like I just got caught. Was I flirting?
Milo leans into my space a few moments later. I tense, expecting him to warn me off his boyfriend, instead he says, “I’m starving, how about you? You hungry?”
I glance at him from the corner of my eye. He doesn’t look angry. I turn my head enough to see him slouched in the seat, his legs spread wide to accommodate the front passenger seat.
I’m actually starving. I didn’t get my lunch today, but I’m not sure eating would be a good idea.
“Maybe a little.” I shrug.
Milo angles forward on the seat and leans to Dante’s side of the car, bringing him even closer to me. I push back into my seat. Feeling like I’m taking up too much space.
“Let’s hit a drive-thru. I’m hungry and I don’t feel like making anything when we get home.”
Dante’s head turns to his friend, then his eyes find me in the backseat through the rearview mirror.
“I’m down,” Ollie replies.
I order a cheeseburger with no mustard and an iced coffee. Hoping the sugar and caffeine will help me get through the next hour. The guys call out several numbers, each ordering more than a single meal.
Before we even pull up to the window, I have five singles flattened out, which I’d retrieved from my bag. I lean forward enough that the cash is over Dante’s shoulder. He looks over at me, then down to the money in my hand. He opens his mouth like he was going to say something, but stops himself.
His right arm bends and he pulls the cash from my hand, his fingers brushing mine. I like the way his skin feel rougher than mine.
“Wait, yours was like two bucks. This is too much.” I shrug. They had a twenty-nine dollar order, five dollars is all I can contribute but I want them to know I can.
“It’s fine.”
His eyes meet mine again in the mirror, but the drive-up window opens at the exact same time.
“Twenty-eight, seventy-seven,” says a boy that looks a little older than us. He barely even glances into the car as Dante hands over a card.
Seconds later the window opens again, and the card pops back out with a practiced, “have a nice day,” as the window snaps closed again.
Dante pulls forward and the girl at the next window is ready with a drink tray loaded with large sodas.
She smiles when Dante leans out with both hands to grab the tray. He shoves it over to Oliver and reaches right back for my iced coffee.
She leans forward on the windowsill, enough so her head peeks out, “It’ll be just a minute. We’re waiting on fries. Can you guys pull up and I’ll run it out as soon as it’s ready?”
“Here you go Laura.” Dante hands me my drink and straw before giving the girl at the window a nod.
Milo leans over me. His hand lands on my thigh just above the knee. “Can we have some ranch please?” He’s looking up at the girl.
I suck in a breath and his head turns to stare at me instead. Our eyes connect, and I have the strangest feeling. I want to lean forward and kiss him. The way his tongue makes a lazy lap over his top lip, I think he knows. He might even let me.
The car moves forward at a crawl. I snap my head to the left and Milo leans back into his seat, removing his hand from my leg.
The spot he covered feels cold now in comparison.
I open my straw and shove it into my drink, grateful I have something to distract me from the stupid mistake I wanted to make.
Oliver passes out the other drinks while we wait for the food to arrive.
A few kids from school pass in front of the car and Dante gives them a nod after they shout out, “Hey guys!”
Oliver is more welcoming, he waves and answers with a, “What’s up?” One of the guys comes over to the passenger window and leans down to look in the car. He does a double take when he sees me in the backseat. I move my head, pretending to look outside.
“So… what are you guys up to?” he asks slowly.
Dante doesn’t even look in his direction.
“Just grabbing a bite to eat,” Oliver replies easily.
“Here you go. Sorry about the wait guys.” The girl from the drive-up window leans down and whispers conspiratorially, “I threw in a dozen cookies, don’t tell my boss.” Her smile goes mostly unnoticed, as Dante is busy handing food bags over to Oliver.
“Thanks,” he mutters dismissing her.
Her eyes roam over the car and the other guys crowded around it before she turns back toward the lobby.
“Going,” is Dante’s only warning as he lets his foot off the brake and we roll forward slowly.
“See ya!” Oliver yells back to the guy he was talking to. ”You don’t always have to be such a dick,” Oliver accuses while pawing through the fast food bags.
“Didn’t think I was,” Dante replies.
Milo’s head tilts close to mine. “They can argue about anything,” he mock whispers.
“I thought it was you two that were the old married couple,” I whisper back pointing between Milo and Ollie.
Milo’s mouth drops open. There’s a second when I think I might have offended him before he lets a grin free, shrugging his shoulder into mine.
“What are you two whispering about? They’re whispering back there Dante,” Oliver rats us out like a toddler.
My eyes immediately go to the rearview mirror where I see Dante already watching at me. Milo bumps his shoulder into mine again and Dante tracks the movement before looking away.
“It’s your fault they’re back there together. Now you’ll have to deal with the consequences.”
Oliver produces a long fry from the bag and leans over the seat. “Here,” he says while focusing on me.
“I didn’t get any fries.” He shrugs, then leans forw
ard more, bringing the fry close to my lips. I open to take it on instinct.
Oliver grins at me. When I pull back he holds on to the fry, so it breaks off and he’s left holding a small piece.
Milo leans forward and snatches the bite right from Oliver’s fingers, using only his mouth.
“Knock it off Ollie,” Milo warns while chewing.
Feeling chastised, I swallow the salty fry and look down.
“You’re no fun,” Oliver mumbles as he crumples the top of the bags, closing the food up. Now that I’ve had one bite I’m starving. I hope we get wherever we’re going soon.
Dante turns down a tree lined blacktop road. I can’t see any houses, but I see a few mailboxes and driveways leading off each side.
He slows to a crawl then turns left on a single lane road. After a few hundred feet, the trees give way and I see a fairly large house stationed in the middle of a clearing.
It’s a cheery yellow with a wraparound front porch. There’s even a swing and a few rocking chairs with thick padded cushions. The front entry has a wooden screen door with an intricate design. The upstairs has a row of long windows, and above that are two arched windows, indicating an attic.
It’s quaint and homey looking. It’s completely opposite of what I’d expect Dante’s house to look like. He heads up the drive and around the side of the house, parking in front of a large detached garage.
The car doors open as soon as the engine is off and the quiet invades my ears, leaving a ringing in its place.
Dante shoves the seat forward and his hand thrusts down to me. I take his palm, stepping out of the car and releasing it immediately. The tingle is still there, reminding me why I’m here with these guys.
I look around the property. There’s a waist high black metal fence surrounding an inground pool. It butts right up against the house with a large patio area between the pool and a couple of French doors.
I feel a tug on my fingers. Milo tilts his head, beckoning me to follow Dante and Milo, who are disappearing through a side door of the garage.
I plunge my straw in and out of my drink a few times, stalling, then trail after Milo.
The door opens to a set of stairs leading up. I can’t see into the garage, but there’s another door to the left that looks like it leads in that direction.
“Laura,” Oliver calls down from somewhere above me. Milo waves his hand for me to go ahead of him up the flight of stairs.
I rush up, feeling self-conscious about him being behind me. I’m not even sure why, it’s not like he’ll be checking out my butt.
At the top it opens to an expansive loft. My eyes immediately land on a big bed that Dante is hastily throwing covers on to make the bed.
Milo searches through the numerous bags on a low table in front of a leather couch. Satisfied, with his hands full, he drops back onto the sofa with a humph. “Come grab your food,” he says around a mouth full.
“Do you mind if I use… is there a bathroom? So, I can wash my hands,” I stammer and set my half full coffee on the table next to someone else’s drink.
Dante gives up fixing the bed. “Yeah sure, right here.” He kicks at something. I hear it slide across the hardwood floor before he hurriedly opens the only door I see.
“Shit,” he curses as soon as the door opens. His eyes find mine as I approach. “Give me like, one second.” He doesn’t wait for my reply, just flies through the door, closing it behind him.
I hear a few drawers and cabinet doors opening and closing before he comes out a brief moment later. Face red.
“Sorry, it’s just usually me and the guys,” he says, not meeting my eyes as he gives the explanation.
I leave the door open as he passes by, heading back toward the others.
There’s a toilet against the far wall with a tiled shower directly across from it. A few bottles of soap sit on the ground, with a single bar of yellowish soap placed on a small ledge built into the wall. I inhale, pulling the clean musky scent of the soap in.
Surprisingly the bathroom is really clean. A few small white smears surround the sink and a couple spots dot the mirror, but that’s the only defect I can find.
I make my way over to the long black counter and note the three toothbrushes, all resting upright in a tumbler.
Do they all live here? There’s only one bed. That I saw anyway, well and the couch. Maybe they just stay over often enough to have them here. What even is this place, his apartment? Who lives in the house?
When I exit, the guys are close together whispering fervently. I clear my throat and they stop immediately.
It’s Oliver, not surprisingly, who breaks the awkward silence that follows. “Come eat, it’s already pretty cold.”
Milo is on the floor in front of the table, his legs spread wide as he leans on one hand while eating a burger with the other. Dante grabs a box of fries from the table and sits on the arm of the couch. He digs in, fully engrossed with his food. My cheeseburger is out next to Oliver’s food.
I sit as near the middle between the two boys as I can, putting me on two cushions, then grab my sandwich.
The uncomfortable silence is back, and the same feeling I had when we first sat together at the diner invades my body. I’m super self aware, and hyper alert of them as well. My wrapper seems loud as I pull back the paper, making me slow my movements.
Milo stretches out more on the floor, leaning on his side to look over at us. His head his propped on his hand, while his other arm is draped over his side, leaving his hand low on his stomach. He reaches up to brush something off his shirt and the fabric lifts up, exposing the waistband of his dark gray jogger pants. He doesn’t seem to notice so I focus on my food keep from staring.
Oliver is next to me, and he scoots closer, grabbing his soda from the table. Instead of moving away, he stays with his hip pressed to mine. I’m tempted to move over, but I don’t.
After two bites of my burger I can barely swallow. I’m overwhelmed with their presence. I’ve never been the center of anyone’s attention. Not even my mom’s. She’s always too wrapped up in her own issues to worry about me.
I fold the paper over my burger and set it on the table, sliding forward so only my butt remains on the couch cushion.
Just when I’m about to ask for an explanation about why I’m here and what they think they know about me, a phone rings.
I look at Dante who stands up to pull a phone from the front pocket of his dark wash jeans. He looks at the screen then over to me. He stabs his finger on the surface and tucks his phone back away, only to have it ring again almost immediately. He shakes his head pulling it free again.
“Yeah,” he answers, walking over to one of the few windows.
There are no drapes or blinds, so he’s bathed in afternoon sunlight. He looks out toward the large house before turning and facing the room again. He listens for a few seconds and his eyes fall closed slowly. His head falls back on his shoulders and his chest expands in a deep inhale.
Oliver bumps me with his shoulder to get my attention. When I look over he smiles at me and offers me a cold fry. I wrinkle my nose at the thought and shake my head in denial.
His grin gets even wider before he plops it into his own mouth.
“Yeah, I got it,” comes Dante’s rough reply. His voice is hard. Not for the first time I wonder who it is.
I lean close to Oliver. His eyebrows shoot up, but he doesn’t object. I turn my head just a little, so my mouth is near his ear. “Should we go? Are we going to get him in trouble?” I’m not sure what’s brought me to that conclusion, but I feel like me being here might cause a problem.
Oliver leans closer; I swear I feel him shiver once before he rolls his shoulders. I pull back to look at him and his eyes are half closed. The clear green is clouded with something akin to sleepiness.
He pulls his bottom lip past his teeth, and then inclines his head back, telling me to lean close again. His lips graze my ear as he breathes, “He’s not in trouble. Wouldn�
�t matter if he was.”
I swear I feel the tip of his tongue against the bottom of my earlobe right before Dante barks, “I said I got it!”
I jump away from Oliver’s warm breath, my heart beating fast, and not because Dante just yelled at someone.
I put some much needed space between us, scooting into the corner of the sofa Dante just vacated. I run my hands over my thighs several times, afraid to look at Milo. I can’t let him see how affected I am right now. I think his boyfriend just nibbled my ear, and I liked it.
I’m way out of my element here. I’ve never had so much as a friend, let alone three gorgeous boys giving me attention. I don’t know how to handle it.
Dante walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him with the phone still at his ear.
I feel the cushion next to me dip and look to see Milo taking up the position between Oliver and myself.
My neck feels hot, I’m completely embarrassed. How could Oliver do that with Milo sitting right here, and how does he behave when he’s not around, does he flirt with everyone? I wouldn’t be able to handle that. It reminds me how dismissive Dante is with Delaney. Maybe they’re both terrible boyfriends, or maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about. Maybe that’s how all teenagers are. Not all relationships are serious, maybe that’s just the way they act.
I still wouldn’t be able to deal with it.
“You didn’t eat much, there’s still a ton of food left. I know Dante has some snack stuff up here to if you want something else.” Milo’s voice is level, calm, as he offers me kindness. I feel like a total dirt-bag.
I can’t even voice my denial, instead I shake my head no, watching the stairs. I think I should go. I don’t belong here. Just as I move to stand the bathroom door opens and Dante comes out. He’s off the phone, but his brows are drawn, and his jaw is clenched.
Infinity Chronicles Book One: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Series Page 8