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.
Milo’s hand lands on my knee, he leaves it there without any explanation or reason. The weight and warmth gives me pause. The guys give touch so freely. I let my body ease into the cushion behind me and Milo relaxes with me. His palm drags up my leg and falls off to the side. He keeps it there, lightly toying with the seam of my baggy jeans.
“I don’t want to get you in trouble.”
Dante’s eyes narrow and he opens his mouth before he frowns.
“I mean, I just thought… I asked Oliver, and he said it wasn’t about me... us being here, but I just wanted you to know. I can go. I don’t want to get you in trouble.” I peer at Milo, I want him to know that’s what I was asking Oliver.
Dante catches my attention when he waves his hand. “Seriously it’s nothing like that,” he responds, dismissing me easily. He walks over to the table and grabs a box with a hamburger inside, flipping the lid back. He looks at it with no real interest but picks it up anyway, taking the first bite. Without a word he comes over to the arm of the chair again and sits.
“Here, sit.” I jump up and back away from them. One because it’s his room, house, whatever, so he should be able to sit. And two because their nearness does something to me that I’m not ready to look too closely at.
All three guys are watching me, making me even more uncomfortable. “Laura, I’m fine. There are other places I can sit.” Dante motions with the burger still in hand to his bed or a desk chair near it.
“It’s your house. You should be able to sit.”
“Like I said. I am.” Dante’s brows rise in challenge. Completely comfortable after the weird phone call, he looks over at his friends. “Gonna need more furniture.”
“I’ve been wanting you to get a couple chairs for a while,” Milo points out. Dante slides down into the seat I abandoned and pulls a lever on the side, extending the leg rest of a recliner as if to prove a point. Milo rolls his eyes then turns to look back at me. I fidget under their gazes. Crossing my arms then uncrossing them just to shove my hands in my pockets.
“Soooo…” I prompt. I don’t know how to ask them about the strangeness I feel when they touch me. Earlier when it was happening it was natural, now I feel like they’re going to think I’m crazy.
Oliver pats the tiny space between him and Milo. He scoots a little closer to the arm. “Come sit, let’s finish eating.”
I eye the space where he’s indicating I should sit, skeptically. Milo even beckons me forward after he scoots as close to Dante as he can.
Blushing at the thought of being crammed between them, I shake my head in refusal.
“No, no it’s okay. Eat, I’m fine down here.” I sit on the floor in the same spot where Milo was laying earlier. Keeping the table between us. The guys readjust themselves back to a more normal position on the sofa.
Dante lifts up the arm of his side of the sofa and brings a long black remote out. He points it behind me and loud music flares to life. He grimaces while still pointing behind me. ”Sorry,” he mutters when it’s a more subdued volume, before placing the remote back where he got it. I’m not familiar with the song, but the music has a hard driving beat I’d qualify as rock.
Milo and Ollie seem to be done eating, so it’s just Dante finishing up. Milo gets up and heads over to a large TV hung on the wall behind me. He grabs a couple remotes to a gaming system and drops one in my lap as he passes. “What do you play?” he questions, plopping down next to me. I turn so we’re both facing the TV.
“I don’t.” I shrug, picking up the surprisingly light controller. It’s white and black with a digital camo print. There’s a rectangular black pad in the middle. I flip it over and see additional buttons on the back.
“You don’t like video games?” Milo continues as the TV screen comes to life.