Page 6 of Fall of Us
Before I realized it, the box of books I’d been putting away was empty. I stood from where I’d been sitting on the floor and broke it down. Right as I was heading to the back to grab another box of books, the bell above the door rang. Some gravitational force pulled me toward it. I turned in that direction and my breath caught in my throat.
Light filtered through the glass, casting a halo around him. It made him glow in a way that made him seem otherworldly. He was stunning.
“Andrew, it’s good to see you.” My mother came from behind the counter and wrapped him in a hug. He smiled and returned it, but his eyes remained glued to me the entire time. A strange shiver raced up my spine at his intense eye contact. I did my best to swallow around the lump that had formed in my throat.
After breaking whatever weird spell had been cast over me, I went to the back of the store while Mom bombarded Andrew with a ton of questions about what he had been up to. It wasn’t like he didn’t come into the store often. Quite the opposite, actually. He came here at least once or twice a week. Much like most of our friends, he’d struggled to find work after graduation. He’d settledon a part-time job at a pharmacy as an assistant until he could get a job using his degree in chemistry. He’d wanted to get involved in research, but it hadn’t happened yet.
As I turned, I collided with Andrew’s hard, muscled chest. Damn, how had I not heard him come back here? I dropped the box and neither of us moved to grab it. That weird spell was back, and he continued to stare at me.
What was happening here?
Chapter 5
Andrew
Ididn’t know what came over me, but I needed to get away from Mrs. Davis. Something prompted me to check on Brandon in the back. His sudden collision caught me off guard as I rounded the corner.
“Jesus, Andrew. What are you doing back here?”
I chuckled before looking around the space. There were shelves of boxes and other supplies for the store, but other than that, it was quiet and empty. Without thinking about it, I backed Brandon into the wall. His eyes widened comically as I leaned in closer. I buried my nose into the spot where his neck and shoulder met and took a deep breath of him. I loved when he used his different oils. He always smelled so damn good.
When Brandon released a shuddery breath, I backed away from him. His cheeks turned pink, and he swallowed a few times. It wasn’t unusual for me to get in his space like that, but it was getting harder and harder to keep from erasing my boundary lines. I desired to return to that night three years ago and relive it. To feel his lips against mine and hear those little contented sounds of pleasure that had fallen from hismouth.
“Your mom is going to suffocate me. I wanted to check on you, not answer a million questions.”
My answer seemed to snap Brandon out of whatever hazy spell he’d been under. He cleared his throat and bent down to pick up the box. “I’m fine. It’s business as usual here.” He tried to move around me, but I stood in his way.
“You had a lot happen yesterday. Did you tell your parents about that jackass dumping you?”
Brandon deflated, setting the box back on the floor and leaning against the wall. He wrapped his arms around himself and rubbed them up and down. “No. Not yet. Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it much. Maybe that’s a sign that he wasn’t all that special.”
My heart gave an involuntary tug. Even though I knew it was complicated, I hated Brandon giving himself so willingly to everyone else, but not me.
Brandon briefly rubbed his forehead, avoiding eye contact as he scanned the room. “I would’ve gotten you milk when I got off of work.”
He was deflecting. “It’s fine. I probably don’t need to be occupying your space all the time, anyway. I’ve overstayed my welcome by assuming I could stay this morning.”
When his gaze snapped to mine, hurt filled his deep brown eyes. “Why would you ever think that?”
I shrugged, but what I really wanted was for him to tell me I was always welcome, which I was, but I needed him to tell me that. “I don’t know.”
“You never need an invitation.”
And there it was. My whole body filled with warmth as I gave him my brightest smile. He returned it with a grin before I hugged him, kissed him on the cheek, and then headed out of the bookstore. It was one thing to assume that I could just take over his apartment; it was something different to just show up at his place of work. Sure, his parents knew me, and we’d been in each other’s lives since forever, but I’d been pushing things lately.
Our friends’ jokes about us looking like a couple didn’t help, which was what caused most of his relationships to end. I longed for it to be true with all my being. I’d wanted it to be true since that fateful kiss. I’d always found Brandon attractive, but he’d safely lived in an untouchable territory until we’d caved in. The floodgates had opened. I wanted more, so much more. I just wasn’t sure how to breach our walls while protecting our friendship.
The streets were interspersed with people walking, most of them in groups of young college-aged kids. It felt strange to be on the opposite side, the graduate, still living in the part of town where I got my education over the past four years. But this was still home. I’d be stuck until I found a degree-related job. The university claimed to prefer hiring their own graduates, but I had no luck there.
When I got to the small convenience store, I grabbed a half gallon of milk and paid for it before heading back to Brandon’s apartment. It felt weird being here without him sometimes, but it was better than my tiny-ass, empty apartment. I was jealous that he’d been able to get such a large place. Seattle wasn’t cheap, and his parents had helped him get it because the bookstore did fairly well.
I pulled the box of granola out of the cupboard and poured it into a bowl before pouring some milk over it. At least this didn’t taste bad. People made fun of Brandon a few times for his “crunchy” lifestyle, but it made him unique. I was used to it, having grown up with him.
Once I finished eating, I washed my bowl and stripped back down to my underwear. I wanted to be comfortable, and I had nothing that would fit me at Brandon’s place. It was odd that I didn’t leave clothes here since I was here so often. Though it would cause more issues in his dating life.
Then I did the unthinkable. I crawled into his bed and buried my face against his pillow. My lungs filled with his sweet smell as my cock sprung to life. My fingers crawled beneath the waistband of my boxer briefs, wrapped around the rigid flesh, and gave it a squeeze. It felt so wrong to be doing this in his bed when he wasn’t here... or to be doing it thinking about Brandon, period.
When I came way too quickly, surrounded by so many things that were all Brandon, I found ithard to feel ashamed.
