Chapter 18
eighteen
“Lyla, wake up.” I hear Will murmur.
“I don’t wanna,” I mumble as I try to bury my face further into my blankets.
Wait a second, that doesn’t feel like fleece, and my bed isn’t this hard. The night comes rushing back to me.
The party. Wyatt offering to stay for a while and to hang out, then nothing after turning on the TV. I feel the beating of his heart under my cheek.
Son of a bitch. I fell asleep on Wyatt Scott. One of the most sought-after men on campus.
“You with us, babe?” he rasps as he starts to play with my hair.
“If you keep doing that, I won’t be,” I mutter, making the guys laugh.
Reluctantly, I peel my eyes open and look at my brother. “What’s up?”
“Dad’s about to come out here. I figured I should wake you up before he sees you,” Will says, raising a brow.
I can only imagine how Dad would react to finding “Agatha” sprawled out on a man in the middle of the living room. Or his daughter if he is lucid this morning. Either would be bad.
“Good call. Besides, Wyatt needs to head back to his place.” I sigh as I push myself up.
Once I’m standing, I look down at Wyatt, who sits up. “I’ll see you later?”
“If it’s all right, I thought I would wait for you to come back.”
“Sure. Give me a few minutes to change.”
Wyatt smiles. “Take your time.”
I head upstairs and to my room. After grabbing clothes, I take the quickest shower possible before going back to the guys. As I walk down the stairs, I hear Dad puttering around in the kitchen and muttering coming from the living room.
“What are you two talking about?” I ask as I approach Will and Wyatt.
Both men turn toward me.
“I was wondering if you wanted to spend the morning with me,” Wyatt says.
“And before you say no, I’m wide awake right now and can hang out with Dad for a bit. I don’t have to work tonight, so I can sleep a bit later.”
“But days are my thing, and I just had my respite night,” I protest weakly.
Will rolls his eyes. “Do you want to go with your boyfriend?”
“Yes,” I say without hesitation, and I don’t miss the way my answer makes him smile.
“That’s what I thought. So go. Come back by one, though, okay?” Will says.
I look over at Wyatt. “What do you want to do?”
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to run home and take a quick shower. Then we can make some plans,” Wyatt says as he rubs the back of his neck.
“Sounds good.”
Wyatt turns to Will, and they do one of those guy handshakes.
“Thanks, man. I appreciate you doing this,” Wyatt says to him.
Will shakes his head. “No thanks needed, just take care of my sister.”
“Always,” Wyatt says as he takes my hand in his.
I don’t know why, but for some reason, I believe him.
We leave my house and head toward his place. On the sidewalk, though, Wyatt trades places with me, making it so he’s the one walking closest to the road.
“Why do you do that?” I ask as he takes my hand.
“Do what?”
“Anytime I’m walking closest to the road, you switch spots with me.”
Wyatt shrugs. “Promise you won’t think I’m some sexist pig when I tell you?”
“Wyatt, you couldn’t be a sexist pig if you tried. Now tell me.”
“It’s a safety thing. Any real man wouldn’t be okay with a woman walking closest to the road. Instead, we take that spot, that way if some asshole loses control and drives up the sidewalk, we can push you out of the way. Then we are the ones who are hurt, but you would be fine.”
“Seriously?” I say incredulously.
“Seriously.”
“Huh. Will does it, and my dad did it before he got sick, but I never asked why.”
He shrugs. “It’s because we care. Just one of those little things that we do to try and keep you safe.”
I don’t know why, but it gives me butterflies.
It’s sweet. In a non-sexy way.
We get to his house, and we head inside.
“Make yourself comfortable,” he says as he heads into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
Kicking off my shoes, I get onto his bed and lean against his headboard and start doom scrolling through social media.
When I come across a video of me with Cora at a game, I shake my head.
When it’s Wyatt and me, I almost forget that to the other people on campus he is a celebrity.
I still haven’t quite gotten used to seeing my face in random posts and videos.
Scrolling by the video, I continue my pastime.
I don’t know how long I’ve been scrolling when I hear the shower click off. A few minutes later, he steps out of the bathroom. Steam billows around him as he stands in the doorway with a towel low on his hips.
Jesus Christ.
No one should be this hot.
Wyatt clears his throat. “Sorry, I forgot to grab clothes before I got in.”
“It’s okay,” I rasp.
When he turns his back to me, I watch a bead of water roll down his spine, and for some really weird fucking reason, I get the urge to lick it. When he turns around, I try to clear my face of my lustful thoughts, but it must not work by the way he smiles and shakes his head.
I watch as he walks across his room to his dresser. He pulls out some clothes before heading into his closet.
“Be right back,” he says when he pops out a minute later.
“Take your time,” I tell him as he slips back into the bathroom.
Sliding down on his bed, I throw my arm over my face.
I’m going to hell. I just stared at the poor guy like he was a steak from a five-star restaurant.
I have seen him like this before, but it was different then. I was still trying to deny my feelings. I’m coming to terms with them now, and let me tell you, I want Wyatt Scott.
The little taste of masturbating together hasn’t helped either. I still dream about the way his cock looked in his hand, his eyes focused on me like I was his saving grace.
Things with Wyatt and me are building up to the point that I don’t know what will happen once it becomes too much.
I want to have sex with him.
I rub my legs together as I remember what I did the last time I was in this bed like this. I almost want to initiate it again and more.
Wyatt walks out of the bathroom and raises a brow. “You good?”
“Great,” I lie.
“Come on, let’s go downstairs and grab something to eat while we decide what we want to do for the day.”
“Lead the way.”
When I asked Lyla to hang out with me, I didn’t expect it to turn into a group date, which it did as soon as we left my room. We found my roommates downstairs, arguing over what they should do for the day. When Lyla perked up when she heard about laser tag though, I knew we had to come.
It was reinforced when she admitted to me that her dad used to take her to play all the time. It was often a location for their daddy-daughter dates. Sometimes Will would come along, but it felt more like something for just her and her dad.
I hate that he can’t do things like this anymore, but I love that I can bring this bit of nostalgia to her.
Lyla laughs as she ducks behind the pillar I’m stationed behind, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“I forgot how fun this was. Thank you for bringing me,” she says breathlessly.
“You’re welcome.”
“Come out here, you dickheads!” some kid yells.
When we arrived we were told we would have to wait our turn. The people working thought we would want to play against each other. Then some sixteen-year-old kids who are skipping school demanded to team up against us. They thought they would wipe the floor with us, but we’ve proved them wrong.
“Think they regret challenging us?” Lyla murmurs.
“Oh, one hundred percent.” I watch a shadow approaching us on the wall. “One sec.”
I pop up and take aim. I press the trigger as soon as I catch a glimpse of him, making his chest plate light up.
“Son of a bitch!” the kid yells, making me laugh.
I look down at Lyla and see that she’s staring at me with hunger in her eyes. I follow her gaze and see that my shirt got pinched up under my vest, putting my lower abs on display.
Male pride rushes through me as she checks me out, again.
I honestly didn’t mean to forget grabbing clothes this morning before getting in the shower, but I’m glad I did. I fucking loved the way she watched me when I came out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel. There was no denying that she liked what she saw.
I saw the lust in her eyes. Seeing her lying on my bed the way she was only reminded me of the last time I had her here. I wanted to take things so much further, but slow and steady is best for this. We didn’t start the way I wanted, so I need to build up that trust.
I’m getting there, though. One day she will truly be mine for real.
The lights rise in the room, signaling the game is over. Wordlessly, I hold my hand out to her and pull her up.
“I’m so glad we did this.” She sighs as we make our way to the door.
“Me too.”
“That was awesome.” Cora laughs when she sees us.
“I told you, it would be a good idea!” Calvin boasts.
We exit the room and find the horde of pissed off teenagers.
“You’re cheaters!” one of them yells.
Cora rolls her eyes. “Please. We didn’t cheat. You guys just suck.”
“You know, it’s better to take the loss gracefully than to make a scene,” Lyla adds.
The angry kid steps forward like he’s about to do something, putting us guys on edge, but he’s stopped by his buddy, who places a hand on his shoulder.
“Come on, they aren’t worth it,” the kid mutters.
We watch as they walk away, shoulders and heads slumped.
“You know, for a second there, I felt bad about kicking their asses, then that dickhead had to go and open his mouth and now I don’t feel bad anymore,” Kellan says.
“Zero regrets on taking the last kid out,” Calvin mutters.
“Come on, I’m hungry. Let’s grab some pizza,” Cora says as she grabs Kellan’s hand.
We follow them through the arcade to the dining area. After grabbing our pizzas, we sit down at one of the tables.
“Man, I don’t remember the last time I came to one of these places,” Kellan says as he takes a bite.
“I honestly don’t know if I ever played before today,” Calvin admits.
“Wait, you had never played laser tag before today?” Lyla asks.
“Well, not like this. In my neighborhood back home, all of our parents bought us the laser tag kits, and we would play at home. Every Saturday night for a couple of years while our parents socialized, we would play. No one’s yard was off-limits, but we weren’t allowed to go inside,” Calvin tells us.
“That’s awesome. Think of some of the hiding places you could use,” Jason says.
Calvin nods. “It was great. Shit, in our group chat we were talking about buying new vests and doing it again when we are all in town next.”
“I love that,” Lyla tells him before turning to me. “Have you ever played before today?”
I nod as I wipe my hand on a napkin. “Last time was freshman year. I know for sure Brett, Beckett, Clay, and Grace were there. I can’t remember if Peyton was too or not.”
“You got my brother to play laser tag?” Cora asks.
“I didn’t. Grace did.”
“She’s good at convincing people to do things.” Kellan nods.
If anyone would know, it would be him since they were best friends before she got with Clay.
“We should do this more often,” Calvin adds.
“Count us in,” Lyla tells him.
Cora looks at Kellan, who nods.
“Fuck it, why not? Let’s make it a thing,” Cora says.
As Lyla finishes up her pizza, she looks at her watch.
“Time to head back?” I ask, already knowing her time with us is running short.
“Yeah, if that’s okay. If not, I can text Will and see if I can be a little late,” she says reluctantly.
“Nah, don’t do that. I bet he’s dead on his feet. Come on,” I say as I stand.
Lyla gets up and takes our paper plates to the trash can while I order us a ride.
“Do you want us to take you guys?” Kellan offers.
I shake my head. “Nah, I just ordered a ride. You guys have fun. I’ll see you at home later,” I tell them.
Lyla says bye to everyone, and we head outside. As we wait for the car to show up, she rests her head on my shoulder and sighs.
“I know this wasn’t what you had planned to do today, but I loved it. Thank you for bringing me.”
“Anytime,” I say as I press a kiss to her head without thinking about it.
Seriously, anytime. I’d do anything with her if it meant I got a few minutes of her time.