Mike & Dylan

Chapter 8 - Dylan

Yesterday was a bust. I groan for the seventh time as my hand hovers over the door. Sure, I cried last night when Mike rushed out of there like he'd just made the biggest mistake of his life. I mean, fine. If he doesn't want to think about it, I'll put it behind me like nothing happened. My heart twinges, and my stomach sinks, but I gulp back the aching feeling and knock on the heavy wooden door.

But it did happen, and these feelings aren't going to go away after one night of crying.

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to wash away the hurt that keeps rolling through me like a giant wave. I hear someone approaching the door and school my features. The door swings open, I brace myself, but it's Alexis. Mike's younger sister.

"Hi, Dylan," she smiles at me, but her brow wrinkles. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I try to smile back, but even I know it looks pitiful. The puffiness around my eyes was still fading when I left.

"Did Mike bully you?" She crosses her arms angrily.

"No," I say way too fast. "Why, did he say something to you?"

She gives me a quizzical look, "funny, that's what he said." She shrugs and holds the door open for me to enter. "He's been acting strange since last night."

"Oh," I don't want to say anything more that will give me away. I'm unsure how Alexis would feel about me crushing on her older brother. We're closer in age than Mike and me. We even spent a year at the same high school, not that we knew each other back then. I didn't meet Mike until he hired me straight after finishing my degree.

I take off my shoes and place them next to the others.

"Mike's in his room." She says, closing the door behind me and sauntering off to her room.

"Thanks,"

Not sure what to do, I walk down the short hallway toward Mike's bedroom. It's either that or waiting awkwardly in the living room until everyone arrives. I should just get this over with. We'll have to face each other eventually. His door is ajar, and I peek inside.

My cheek's instantly flush with heat as I watch Mike's sculpted back tense with muscles as he raises his arms, pulling a dark blue shirt over his head and down over his sleek tan skin. My hands turn clammy, my pulse throbbing in my neck as he turns around. My stomach does this swooping thing while my eyes are glued to his body in awe. His stomach is lined with more ridges and dips than I remember. Even though I had my hands on his abs last night.

"Uh, Dylan," Mike clears his throat, and my eyes bounce up to his face. I can feel my face turning an even brighter shade of red. Damn my pale complexion for showing exactly how I'm feeling. "You're here. I wasn't sure if you'd come."

"Yeah," the sound comes out as a croak, and I blush even deeper.

Mike opens his mouth to speak, but Wolf's loud voice shouts hello from the front door. The two of us make our way to the living room. Cole trails behind Wolf's large body as I see Alexis peeking around the corner. I guess I'll have to wait till later to talk with Mike. Not that I know what to say? What if he doesn't want to see me anymore? But that can't be right. Mike looked surprised, sure, but he also looked relieved and happy that I showed up. I bite my lip as I take a seat on the couch. Maybe there's hope for me yet?

I try to swallow down my hopeful feelings as Mike sits beside me, his elbow grazing against my arm and his outer knee touching my jeans. The beta testing game loads and I forget about everything, throwing myself into work mode and ignoring my heart, battering inside my chest.

The evening ends. My worries about Mike shunting me to the side are gone. He's the same old Mike all evening, laughing and teasing me like usual. Everyone's gone, and the kitchen lights are dimmed, but I wanted to stay and help clean up before I left. Maybe a part of me wants to stay and see if anything will happen between Mike and me. Okay, fine, it's the main reason. He's been flashing me that hot smile all evening, and I can't get enough of it.