Page 20 of The Plan

Ok ok bye, I’m starting to feel ruder than usual with this much texting

Lmk if ya fuck

HAHA i will if we do but we aren’t gonna :,)

A few minutes go by, and Sire walks back in—andwoah. My eyes fall to his chest… his shirtless chest. He’s only in basketball shorts, and he is very fit. I mean six packs and cut-up arms.

I remember seeing he had a tattoo when we did those body shots a few weeks ago, but now that I really look at it, I can see it’s an eagle with a person in its talons. It looks like it's lifting the person out of the water.

A smile grows on my face when I also recognize the three words from the serenity prayer: Serenity,Courage,and Wisdom.He has them tattooed in a symbol that looks familiar. It’s a square in a circle, but I’m assuming it has to do with addiction because of the serenity prayer. I’m almost positive it’s the narcotic sobriety symbol.

He has it tattooed on his shoulder, with some pretty cool shading, while the eagle and the person in its talons are on the side of his ribs.

He has a light tan, most likely from playing in the sun all day, so his face and arms are a bit bronzer than the rest of his caramel complexion, but it somehow blends well.

He brushes his hands through his short hair, and it’s a bit curly, not as tight as mine or Hazel's curls. Maybe 2C if we’re using a curl chart. His hair is damp now from his shower, but it’s fluffy when it dries. Like he only puts conditioner in his curls.

He flops on the couch next to me, a bit closer than I thought he was going to, but I definitely don’t mind. “What do you want to watch?” Only one show comes to mind.

“Do you have Hulu?”

“Of course I do. It’s way better than Netflix.” He grabs the control and puts Hulu on.

“Exactly!” Hazel and I have been fighting about this for months, but I’m clearly right. “Okay, have you seenPrison Break?” He shakes his head that he hasn’t, and what the heck?

“Oh my God, put it on right now. I swear it’s the best show ever.” He smirks as he searches for the show in the search bar.

“It’s probably not even that good.” He just wants me to argue back, but I don’t give him the satisfaction. This show is the best to ever be made, and time will tell.

A few minutes go by, and I decide to bother him a bit, so when the main character comes back on the screen, I start fawning over him. “Ugh, he’s literallysohot.” He actually is, but he also looks the complete opposite of Sire. White, buzz cut, blue eyes.

I see him from the corner of my eye as he looks between the TV and me. “That's why you wanted to watch this? No, I’m taking this bullshit off.”

I laugh as I grab the controller before he does. “Don’t be jealous, Sire. It’s like Sage says, we can’t all be hot.” He starts laughing when he notices I was joking. We keep watching, and when the main character drops his infamous line, Sire turns to me.

“Wait, did he purposely go to jail to break out his brother?”

I smile at how excited he sounds about it. I look over at him, and he’s sunk into the couch, his arms crossed and legs spread. “I told you it's good.” He looks over at me and just… watches me.

“What?” I laugh softly, and his smile grows.

“You’re so beautiful.” I smile up at him, and it’s like I physically cannot pull my gaze from his eyes. His hand reaches over to my face, but then he freezes.

“What?”

He has a weird look on his face, and then he pulls his hand away. “Why’d you flinch like that?” I feel myself go still at his words as I try to remember if I really did flinch, but I must’ve since he’s looking at me with so much concern.

I never really thought much of it, but Hazel pointed out to me a few weeks ago that I always flinch when she moves too closely too quickly. Or when she drops something, or even when she starts arguing with someone at her job.

I know those things unsettle me. I’ve always felt my heart beat a bit faster, but I didn’t know I flinched. According to Hazel, I’ve done that for a while, and sometimes it’s hard flinches.

Sire is watching me carefully like he just read my entire mind, and I feel myself shrink under his concerned gaze. “Vidia…”

“It’s nothing, Sire.” I quickly try to brush it off, not wanting to talk about how fucked my shitty dad left me, but he doesn’t let me off that easy.

“It’s not nothing,” he says softly yet sternly at the same time. Forcing me to understand. “If that’s why you don’t want a boyfriend, let me make myself as clear as glass.”

My eyes cut to the ground, and he reaches for my face, but this time, I feel it when I flinch. He lets out a sigh and then tries again, a lot slower. He lifts my chin so my eyes meet his as he continues.

---