Chapter 39
MINHO
Torin was walking a dangerously thin line, messing around with Noah in the fucking pantry, of all damn places.
Leaving the pancakes burning in a frying pan was a dead giveaway, too.
He was just fucking lucky Xavier was still too sleepy to notice any of the glaringly obvious signs—-like Noah’s boba cup sitting on the bench…
Sucking Torin’s fingers had been an impulsive move that I really hadn’t thought through, but now I could taste her on my tongue and desperately needed more.
“Slow down,” she laughed as I all but dragged her up the stairs with me, my mind already whirling as I tried to think of a private spot where I could strip her naked and eat her pussy until she screamed. Maybe Torin’s pantry idea wasn’t so stupid after all. “Minnie, where are we going?”
It was a good question. Where the hell—-
“Minnie, Noah, downstairs in five,” Ace barked, striding down the hallway looking half asleep. “Hair and makeup are on their way. We’re getting challenge results, then we need to film Mount Olympus content. Throw some socks on.”
“What?” I blurted out. “No, we have plans right now.”
Ace stopped dead in his tracks just a few steps away and quirked a brow.
“Oh yeah? What plans?” His gaze shifted from me to Noah and lingered there.
If I didn’t know him better, I’d think he was quietly crushing on my girl, but no, he was studying the ugly purple bruise on her cheek, which I desperately needed an explanation for.
When I didn’t immediately answer—-because none of the plans in my head were plans to be shared with Ace—-Noah gave my hand a squeeze.
“We were going to the dance studio,” she said, lying with utter confidence, “to work on some new choreography for Min’s ClikByte.”
Sure, if that choreography was done naked and sweaty and never got uploaded anywhere, because the idea of some random sleazebags watching my Noah falling to pieces in ecstasy made me want to commit murder. Many murders.
“Okay, well, it’ll have to wait. Leight is on his way, and he sent the beauty team ahead of him.
If either of you need to caffeinate, I suggest you do it now because this could be a long day.
Noah, take some painkillers, too, or concealing that bruise will be painful.
” Ace continued on down the corridor, leaving me pouting like a petulant child over my plans being ruined.
Noah sighed. “Well, you heard the man. Let’s go.”
She tried to move away, but I tightened my grip on her hand, reeling her in and pinning her against the wall. “Where do you think you’re going, little Chicken?”
She peered up at me with wide eyes, and I couldn’t restrain myself any longer.
I dipped my head low and captured her lips with mine, kissing her quickly as she gasped.
Then her arms wound around my neck, her fingers threading into my hair, and I forgot why we needed to keep it quick—-or why we needed privacy in the first place.
Her lips were utterly divine. Made for me. I could never tire of kissing her and listening to those breathy little moans she made.
The click of a door opening gave me the briefest warning to jerk away from Noah’s delicious lips right before Z stepped out of our bedroom along the hall and spotted us.
Admittedly, her hands were still in my hair and mine were around her waist, but at least we weren’t actually kissing when he saw us.
“Uh…” He squinted at the two of us sleepily while Noah quickly dropped her hands and slid out of my embrace. “Were you guys…?” He tilted his head to the side with confusion, like he was trying to work out if what he’d just seen was exactly what it was.
“What? Us? No!” Noah replied in a strangled voice. “I was just fixing Min’s hair. Um, I need to go…find Skye. Bye!”
She scurried down the hallway like her ass was on fire and honestly…it was. I loved her ass. It was a damn crime to have it hidden under those baggy pants she wore, but I was also relieved. It meant no one else saw what I saw of her, and I loved that.
Okay, fine, maybe Tor did, but I’d allow that for the time being because she clearly had feelings for him and he was my friend. I just had to work double time to make sure she eventually chose me and not him.
“So…” Z said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he approached. “I didn’t think you were into dudes?”
“Huh?” I replied, trying to refocus my brain away from Noah’s lush ass. “I’m not.”
“So what was that just now? Rocky was not fixing your hair.” He grinned teasingly, but there was an edge of something else in his expression. Annoyance, maybe?
I cleared my throat, shaking my head. “It was nothing. He’s just an affectionate kind of guy, that’s all.”
Z lifted his brows like he didn’t believe me, and I didn’t blame him. I was a horrible liar on the best of days. “Whatever, bro, just don’t let Ace catch you guys fooling around. You know how seriously he takes team dynamics.”
I shrugged, forcing a laugh. “Nothing to catch, dude. Like I said, he’s just an affectionate guy, and I don’t mind the popularity boost from the fans for shipping us. If they think we have great chemistry, it’s just more Cliks for the whole team, right?”
“Yeah, you’ve got a good point there,” he agreed, frowning. “But don’t lead him on. I get that Leight asked you guys to lean into the faux--flirting, but just be careful Rocky knows it’s not real. It’d be equally bad for team dynamics if you broke his heart.”
I swallowed hard, nodding. I would never intentionally hurt Noah, but what if Leight tried to push a different narrative next week?
It was hard enough for me to swallow when he wanted Xavier and Noah together, but how would she handle things if they proposed a cross--team flirtation?
If they started leaking rumors of me with another girl, for example.
The idea made me sick, but I also got the impression that jealous Noah would be sexy as hell.
“I know,” I said with what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “It’s not that deep, though. Noah knows it’s just for the Cliks, so there’s nothing to worry about. Did Ace tell you we’re filming today? He’s got hair and makeup arriving any minute.”
Z nodded, holding up two pairs of socks. “Yeah, he said to grab socks. Why?”
I shrugged, catching the pair he tossed me. “No idea. I guess we’re about to find out.”
Z yawned heavily, running his hand through his messy, red hair. “I’m starving. Is he allowing us time for breakfast?” Then he sniffed the air as we headed for the stairs. “Did someone burn something?”
I snorted a laugh. “Yeah, Tor walked away and left pancakes on the stovetop.”
“What? That’s not like him.”
“He was distracted,” I murmured with a grin, remembering how very distracted he’d been in the pantry with Noah.
How she’d tasted on his hand. How her face had flushed pink and her eyes nearly popped out of her head when I’d sucked Tor’s fingers.
She’d liked that interaction, and I needed to file that information away for later, because unlike me, Tor had fooled around with other guys before.
Maybe all the months I spent falling for Noah while thinking she was a guy had shifted my feelings around what I was comfortable with.
“Did you rescue any for us to eat?” Z asked as we strode into the kitchen where Torin was flipping pancakes like nothing had happened. “It stinks of smoke in here.”
Torin shot him a middle finger, then smirked at me. “That was quick. Good to know the competition is weak.”
I gave him a middle finger right back, glaring. “We ran into Ace. He said we’re filming today and hair and makeup are on the way already.”
“Huh? What competition?” Z asked, glancing between the two of us. “Is there a bet going? Loop me in, assholes.”
“That explains why Ace is moving around the furniture in the living room,” Torin replied, ignoring Z’s question.
The doorbell rang a moment later, and we heard Ace call out that he’d get it.
“And I guess that’s the team arriving. Great.
Right when I was feeling the muse fresh on my fingers.
” He shot a sly smirk my way and I rolled my eyes. Muse indeed, the asshole.
Z reached out and snagged one of the fresh, unburned pancakes from the stack that Tor was creating, and took a huge bite. “Yum. You should start diversifying your platform and do some cooking content, Tor. Your fans would go feral for it, especially if you do it with Augie.”
“Augie suggested the same thing last week,” Torin said with a nod. “I’m thinking about it.”
“Do we know what today’s filming is for?” Z asked between mouthfuls of pancake. Just plain pancake, no syrup, no butter…like an animal. “Is it results from the charity challenge? We won that, right?”
I nodded, taking two pancakes for myself but putting them on a plate like a civilized person before crossing to the fridge to find some syrup and whipped cream. “I think so. We were decently ahead on Cliks when I last checked it. He did say we need to film Mount Olympus content, though.”
“Ah, yeah, that makes sense. We haven’t filmed much lately.” Z filled his cheeks like a damn chipmunk, then headed over to the coffeepot, pouring cups for all of us without needing to ask. “I just wish he’d given us some notice. I wouldn’t have stayed out so late with Tess.”
“How’s that going?” Torin asked, turning off the stove elements and dropping his fry pan into the sink. “I got the feeling you weren’t super into her these days.”
The question seemed to hit my roommate like a gut punch and his whole mood deflated, his shoulders sagging. “Honestly, I’m not. I tried to end things with her after Camp Beaver, but it didn’t go well.”
I frowned, eyeing him with concern. I had some insight into that incident, because he’d been a wreck for a couple days after he got home, but he’d been very cagey on the details and then everything seemed to go back to normal.
I assumed it was just a normal rough patch, but now it seemed like something more.
Before he could explain further, Ace bellowed that makeup was setting up in the dining room.
All three of us grumbled complaints and took our food and coffee with us as we did as our team leader ordered.
I made a mental note to speak with Z about Tess later, though.
She was a manipulative little shit on the best of days, so it wouldn’t shock me if she’d pulled some real bullshit to stop him leaving.
At least she couldn’t have faked a pregnancy, considering they hadn’t had sex in forever, so that was a bonus.
Xavier and Augie joined us a couple of minutes after we started with hair and makeup, but Noah and Skye were nowhere to be seen.
Had something happened? Ace was clearly irritated, glancing at the doorway every three seconds, and I decided to go find her as soon as the young makeup girl finished with my face.
“Um, do you like to use any highlighter on your face?” she asked in a shy voice, bringing my attention back from my Noah musing.
I squinted my confusion. “Highlighter?” Because all I could picture was neon--colored pens for highlighting important text.
She nodded, showing me a pearly white pressed powder with sparkles.
I shrugged. “Honestly, I have no clue. Sorry, I only wear makeup for filming.” Which means I sit there and let the professionals do their thing, because it was part and parcel of film and photography.
Outside of that, it wasn’t my area of interest at all.
Which, clearly, didn’t help answer her question.
“Just whatever you think looks good is cool with me.”
She smiled, a little flustered as she nodded. “Okay, sure. Sorry, I’m super nervous. This is my first time working with celebrities.”
“Minnie’s not a celebrity,” Torin interrupted from the next station over. “He’s retired now.”
I rolled my eyes, but my makeup artist giggled at Torin’s teasing. “Retired from K--pop, sure. But not from ClikByte, and I’d argue you’re way more famous now than when you were in the group.”
“Thanks,” I said with a smile. “Tor’s just jealous, for so many reasons.” I shot him a smirk, knowing perfectly well that he could read between the lines. Sure, he might have gotten to have Noah in the pantry, but I was still winning this silent war, and he knew it.
To my relief, Noah and Skye showed up before my hair and makeup were done so I could breathe easy once again.
I desperately wanted to pull her aside and finish what we started earlier, but Ace was in full work mode and Leight had woken up on the wrong side of the bed, so I needed to put a pin in that plan.
For now, I was just happy being near her—-even if I did have my six other teammates and a dozen staff for company. I’d take what I could get.