Chapter 8
Landon
Iknock for a third time, wondering if maybe I have the wrong apartment. I pull up the message, checking the number on the door against the text, just as it swings open. My eyes fly up to find Parker standing in the doorway , absolutely covered in red and black paint.
“Fancy seeing you here.”
Ben?
He steps up behind Parker, giving me a little wave.
My throat goes dry as I stare at the two of them. I don’t know why, but something about the visual is… appealing, and that’s a wildly inappropriate thought to be having. Jesus, what is wrong with me?
“Uh. I’m just here to get my hoodie.”
Parker smiles. “Right. Let me go grab it.”
“Come on in,” Ben says right after.
Parker turns around, and if I know anything about him, he’s definitely glaring. “What the hell, Benson. You can’t just invite someone into someone else’s house.”
Ben shrugs. “Why not? Landon’s my friend. He’s a good guy.” Ben looks up at me. “Do you like true crime? Parker and I were just about to watch some. Wanna join us?”
Parker’s outraged gasp has something twisting in my stomach. “What the fuck, Ben? You really can’t do that.”
My cheeks burn hot.
“Aww, Cotton Candy, come on.” Ben sticks his bottom lip out.
“I wouldn’t want to impose,” I say, interrupting their… lovers’ quarrel. “I can come back another day, man.”
Or not. Parker can keep the hoodie forever at this point.
Parker looks up at the ceiling, then turns around. “You can come in. But holy fuck, you’ve gotta stop calling me man. And… don’t fucking call me Cotton Candy either.”
The flush on my cheeks gets hotter, and I’m sure it’s visible on my skin. There’s no way it’s not. “Okay. I won’t call you Cotton Candy, or man. But, uh, will you tell me what you want me to call you?”
The blinding smile that takes over Parker’s face nearly stops my heart. Holy shit. “Alright, come in.”
I follow the two of them inside and try hard to keep my eyes from straying and taking in the space. I’m curious about Parker. I can’t help it.
Parker glances at Ben. “Kai really might be onto something with the sign thing.”
I’m a little confused by that, but Ben chuckles just as Parker turns to face me. “I’m nonbinary. My pronouns are they/them.”
My throat goes tight. “Alright,” I say, nodding.
I’m not an idiot. I know nonbinary people exist, and I probably shouldn’t make assumptions about people’s gender.
That’s fully on me. Is it appropriate to apologize?
Fuck, I don’t want them to think I’m trying to make it all about me.
If I apologize, is that going to make it worse?
Parker taps their foot on the ground, eyeing me warily.
“I’m Landon,” I say again, even though Parker definitely knows my name. “My pronouns are he/him.”
Ben grins at me over Parker’s head, and the warmth in his gaze helps my stomach untwist just a little.
Parker’s lips turn up at the corner in a little half-smirk. “That’s good to know.”
“I really don’t need to stay,” I blurt out. “I can get my hoodie and go. I’m just some asshole who keeps somehow managing to run into you over and over.”
Parker laughs—this tinkling, bright sound.
“Yeah, but listen, my parents? Total hippies. So if they were here, they’d be talking about some red string theory shit.
” Parker closes their eyes, then brings their hands up like they’re meditating or something.
“‘The universe works in mysterious ways, Parker. You need to listen when She talks.’”
They open their eyes, only to roll them playfully. “So maybe the universe wants us to hang out.”
I sigh. “Or maybe I’m just terrible at watching where I’m going.”
Parker laughs. “That’s possible too, but either way, you’re here now. We may as well hang out and watch some true crime.”
“Unless you’re scared,” Ben says, grinning at me. My face flushes hot again. Holy shit, they’re like friends. Fuck. I hope Parker didn’t tell him I was staring at the sketch of him.
“Not scared.”
When we all sit down on the couch, I somehow end up between the two of them. It doesn’t take long before I’m hyperaware of each inch of space between us, or in Ben’s case, the lack of space. His legs are spread wide, thigh pressed against mine.
The warmth is searing and making it hard to focus, so it’s a bit of a shock when Parker sits forward on the couch and gasps. “There’s no fucking way. That dude is so shady.”
“Right?” Ben agrees. “They just didn’t even look into him at all?”
Parker leans past me, looking around me at Ben, and when they press a delicate hand on my knee to steady themself, my heart pounds against my chest. “It’s like they didn’t even try.
Okay, sure, the dude they arrested seems guilty as hell, but we can apply that ‘circumstantial evidence’ to the other guy too. ”
I don’t watch a lot of true crime, but I have to admit this one has me intrigued.
A whole family went missing and wasn’t found until years later—all of them were dead.
None of the suspects are a great fit, and each one makes sense in certain ways, but the guy they have on trial doesn’t seem any more guilty than the rest.
“I’m unsure about the brother. Something seems fishy about him.”
Parker looks up at me, staring into my eyes with their deep blue ones. “Really? The brother? I don’t think I would have considered that angle, but huh—” They scrunch their face up. “You know what? I could see it.”
They sit back, removing their hand from my knee in the process. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or upset by that. Parker is incredibly attractive, but so is Ben. And I’m not sure what to make of that, or what—if anything—it means that I feel that way.
“Do you always watch true crime?” I hear myself asking.
“No,” Parker answers. “Well, not until Ben. You have one failed hookup with a guy, and he decides to make you his new bestie and then invites all his football player friends to hang out at your house.”
How did the hookup fail? And why am I picturing the two of them in bed together? Parker’s head tipped back, a sheen of sweat on their skin, chest heaving. Would Ben be serious and intense or fun and carefree?
“As you’ll recall,” Ben says, dragging me from my inappropriate thoughts. “You invited Lan, not me. I didn’t even know you knew each other.”
To be fair, we don’t. Not in any real way, anyway. Like I said before, I’m just some asshole who keeps running into them.
Parker shrugs. “Semantics.” I swallow down the urge to tell them I can leave. “Besides, you’re both here now. And we’re mid-show. What’s there to do? I guess I’ll just have to keep you around for a little while.”
“Are you sure?” The question comes out against my will, and I feel slightly stupid for even asking it. What is it they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth?
“Of course,” Parker says, turning to face me. “I know I look terrifying and unapproachable, but I’m pretty chill, and I like hanging out with new people.” They shrug. “Besides, we’ve only gotten halfway through the first episode. Don’t you need to know how it ends?”
“I mean, this was years ago. I could just search the case online.”
Ben makes a displeased noise. “Or not.”
I’m not sure why the two of them are trying to include me in their little friendship, but I’m not going to complain. Not even a little. “Okay,” I say.
“Great.” Parker grabs the remote and hits play again. “Now that we’ve settled that, let’s get back to it.”
We’re halfway through the second episode when something hits my arm. I open my mouth to apologize when I realize that it’s just Parker. They’re slumped against my shoulder, blond and pink hair falling in a curtain over their paint-streaked face—dead asleep.
Something tightens in my chest. “They fell asleep.”
“Huh?” Ben says, adjusting so he can look around me. “Oh. Huh.” I can hear the smile in his voice, but I can’t stop staring at the blond halo of Parker’s head. “That’s cute.”
It definitely is. “We should probably leave, right? It’s rude to hang around when the host is asleep.”
“That’s what I did last time.”
I drag my eyes from Parker’s sleeping form and back to Ben. “Last time?”
Ben nods. “Yeah. They fell asleep in the middle of an episode, so I just let myself out.” He frowns. “They were in bed, though, not on the couch, so I’m not sure what to do about that.”
“We can just wake them up and head out,” I suggest.
There’s a beat of silence before Ben shrugs. “Sure. That works.”
I gently shake Parker, and after a few seconds, sleepy blue eyes peel open and blink up at me. “Ah, shit. I fell asleep. My bad.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “No worries.”
Parker sits up, stretching luxuriously like a cat, then yawns loud enough to damn near crack their jaw. “Shit, I need to go to bed.”
Ben laughs. “You definitely do, Cotton Candy. We’re gonna head out, but we didn’t want to leave you asleep on the couch.”
“Mmm, I appreciate that. Would’ve had a crick in my neck for sure without my big, macho football player arm pillow.”
Me? I’m the big macho football player pillow? Why does that make pride swell in my chest?
Ben chuckles. “Now I’m jealous that I put Lan in the middle.”
Parker pushes to their feet. “Sucks to suck, I guess. I’m going to bed. Hang out. Don’t hang out. Crash on my couch. Leave. Doesn’t matter to me either way.”
Ben and I share a look.
“Night, boys,” Parker says, yawning again before stepping away and slipping into what must be their bedroom, pulling the door shut behind them.
“You like them,” Ben says softly.
I don’t really know how to answer that. I mean, sure, Parker is very attractive, but I’m not sure I know them well enough to say if I like them or not. Ben, on the other hand… Fuck, I really like him. “I don’t know,” I whisper. “I mean, they’re gorgeous for sure, but…”
Ben studies me, eyes roaming all over my face. It feels heated and intense. I’m not even sure what—if anything—he’s looking for, but it makes me feel slightly squirmy inside.
“They are,” he finally says. “But fuck, so are you.”
His words nearly stop my heart. I laugh them off, since I’m not sure what else to do. “What about you?” I ask. “Do you like them?”
“I do.” My stomach sinks a little. “But like they said, failed hookup.”
I’m still not quite sure how one fails at a hookup, but I’m far too embarrassed to ask.
“Well, we should probably head out,” I say instead.
Ben sighs. “Yeah, alright.”
He stands, shutting the lights off, and I join him, walking to the door just as he reaches it. When we step into the hall, he locks the handle and pulls the door shut behind us.
I’m not sure what all of this meant tonight. I can’t quite reconcile how Parker so easily invited me in or how they and Ben fit together.
One thing I know for sure is that if I’m invited again, I’ll be here with bells on, and I think that tells me all I need to know.