Page 13 of Unspoken Confessions
5
Nick
After that awkward first encounter in the middle of the night, I certainly wasn’t looking forward to venturing out of my room. It was early, the sun was barely breaking over the horizon. I hadn’t been able to sleep well, my mind spun in circles until it finally gave out. But I’d only been asleep about an hour at most before I woke up restless again. I didn’t have to check in a mirror to know the level of shit I looked like. Just another reason I didn’t want to leave the safety of my room.
But I refused to be a prisoner in my own home.
So that had me pulling my shoulders back and all but marching out the door and down the stairs.
With any luck, no one would be around and I could eat my breakfast in peace.
It was that moment that I realized how hungry I was. I hadn’t eaten the night before, and I was more than positive that I’d also skipped lunch. I might have been a little too anxious to eat. I didn’t like that there would be strangers in my place even if they were supposed to be there for me. They were on my side, something I constantly had to remind myself.
To my dismay, there was noise coming from the kitchen. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t even pick up on it until I was almost over the threshold.
Austin’s head snapped up, his gaze shooting to me instantly, but his body remained relaxed. That one little thing told me he was good at his job. He might have come off as less than professional last night, but he knew what he was doing. He wasn’t the trigger happy kind of person and that was something that set me at ease.
Austin was sitting at the closest end of the island to where I stood. There was a steaming plate in front of him filled with savory breakfast food that smelled like Heaven. One arm rested on the end of the counter while the other held a fork full of eggs ready to be shoved into his mouth.
Jameson was standing on the other side of the island, smoothly wielding a spatula as he scraped a fresh batch of scrambled eggs onto a plate. His gaze flicked to meet mine, but it was so quick I wasn’t sure if it had been real.
“Morning,” Austin said with a wide smile.
“Morning,” I mumbled as I made my way past him.
A plate hit the marble top of the island but Jameson didn’t release his hold on it, as if the angled plate in my direction was supposed to be some sort of invitation. I froze, my gaze bouncing from the plate full of food to his eyes.
As good as the food looked, I couldn’t.
For one, I had to eat healthy. I’d already decided that today would be a vanilla yogurt with fresh blueberries kind of day.
And two, I didn’t know this guy. With the vibes he was giving off last night, he might have spit in it. Forget the fact that he hadn’t said one single word to me, the constant glare and furrow of his brow when he looked at me was enough of a negative vibe.
I shook my head, hoping that I didn’t come off rude, and took another step in the direction of the fridge.
The plate scraped against the marble as he scooted it to follow me.
“Look, I appreciate it, but I can’t eat that,” I said as nicely as I could manage.
The eggs that appeared to be scrambled with spinach, tomatoes, and some kind of crumbled white cheese looked fucking amazing. In fact, the more I stared at it, the more the saliva pooled in my mouth. There was a slice of wheat toast cut in half on the diagonal and it had a thin layer of jam spread on it. Strawberry, I would assume by the color. And lastly, sausage links.
I was a sausage man.
So the fact that it was sausage on the plate and not bacon, enticed me beyond reason.
I’d stood there looking at the plate way too long at this point. This whole situation was getting awkward.
Jameson let out a heavy sigh, full of frustration and annoyance. His face expressed the same things. Except for his eyes, which he cut to the side but not before I saw a flash of hurt in them.
“Okay,” I relented with a nod. I reached to pull the stool out so I could take a seat.
Jameson let out a grunt, which had me looking back up at him. His eyes cut to Austin and then he was sliding the plate down a few more chairs. All the way to the opposite end of where Austin was, actually. The island was long, holding seven chairs on this one side. I didn’t think there needed to be that much space, but I also wasn’t about to say anything.
Then, oddly, he moved the plate back in three spaces.
Giving up, I went to the refrigerator to pour a small glass of orange juice. I figured this would give Jameson enough time to settle on where he thought I should be. Plus, it gave me a little distraction. Why the hell did it matter where I sat anyway?
I didn’t get this guy.
