WITH YOU- I Never Had A Choice ✔️

CHAPTER EIGHT

"You were eavesdropping on us?!" I ask, annoyed and hop off the stool to face him. He peels his glare off my face, focuses on something on my left and walks past me.

"I came here to take a bottle," he answers nonchalantly and opens the freezer to grab one.

"And were you expecting the bottle to walk up to you on its own?" My scowl remains fixed at the back of his head.

"Well maybe I didn't want to interrupt your discussion," he says lifting an eyebrow and brings the bottle to his mouth to take a sip.

"So you thought you could as well stand there and eavesdrop on us?" I cross my hands against my chest and raise an eyebrow, mimicking him.

"Being the topic of discussion, I think it wasn't too wrong of me to be interested in what people talk about in my absence, was it?"

"Provided that they are talking about it in your absence should make it clear enough for you to understand that they don't want you to hear it."

"In that case, you might want to use some kind of code language to talk when there is a chance of me hearing your confidential discussion," he says and walks past me towards the door.

"Or maybe you could just let the other people know about your presence." As he turns around to face me, keeping one elbow on the door frame. "Oh no, that wouldn't let you eavesdrop on people right?"

As a reaction to my comment, one corner of his lips pokes up into a smirk and with a small amused shake on his head, he looks at Bear, who is sitting up in the stool staring at him. "That's your dog?" He lifts his chin in Bear's direction.

"No, I just picked him up from the street this morning. Any problem?" I say in a sarcastic tone.

"Nope. Not at all. Even better." He flashes a mocking smile at me and turns around and heads towards the stairs. I stomp towards him and halt at the end of the steps, putting my hands on my waist.

"Just so you know, I wouldn't care if you  had a problem." He turns around and smirks at me. Instead of moving ahead, he turns back and walks down to stand directly in front of me with a few inches between our bodies.

"Of course, wifey. You can do anything you want," he says in a husky voice, enough raising goosebumps all over my body, and leans forward bringing his face closer to mine. And surprising, I don't lean back. My face instantly heats up due to the closeness and I feel the blush rising to my cheeks. My breathing is rugged. I don't know why but with every passing moment it feels as if his face is moving closer to mine.

He eyes my whole face slowly as if taking in every single detail. Every little reddish glow on my cheeks. My eyes fall on his lips and for a brief moment, everything stills.

Sucking a sharp breath, I gulp and step back with a jolt. He leans back, his features tight. The amused expression on his face is long gone. He looks away from my face and puts his hands inside his pockets. "I'll see you at dinner," he says hurriedly and turns around. I see him climbing the stairs and disappearing behind the wall as he turns. My face is still burning and my whole body is still as if hypnotised. I can still smell Dylan's perfume around me. And suddenly I am all conscious of his smell.

A nudge near at my feet breaks the spell and I look down to see Bear sitting at my feet, looking up at me, rapidly moving his furry tail. I pick him up in my arms and head back to my room, still feeling a little dizzy.

When we reach the room, I put Bear on the bed, where he curls up immediately and makes himself comfortable. I decide to freshen up and head towards the bathroom for a long hot shower.

HAVING CLEARED my mind at least partially, I spend the rest of the evening in my room, working and reading before going down for dinner. As I reach the dining room, Mrs Griffin puts some dog food into Bears bowl. I see there is a small cute elevated counter on the under the bowl, which wasn't there previously.  Frowning, I look at Mrs Griffin.

"This was Buddy's, Dylan's dog. It was at his parent's house, he brought it for Bear," she answers my silent question. A small smile tugs at the end of my lips and my heart warms up. It's a small gesture but feels so special. I see Bear happily eating his dinner, as I take a seat and Mrs Griffin walks back into the kitchen.

"You need some help?" I call out.

"No, honey. I've got this," she answers poking her head to look at me through the door and gives me a sweet smile. 

Hearing footsteps, I turn my head to find Dylan walking down the stairs, his hair wet. And all of a sudden, I'm aware of his perfume, only to realise its Dylan's smell. It's almost intoxicating.  As he approaches the table, our eyes meet and the air around me warms up. 

Shaking away the feeling, I clear my throat and say, " thank you."

"For?" he asks, as he sits down on his side.

"For...that." I point at the small elevated counter. He glances at that once and with a tight smile says, "it's not a problem. No one was using it so I thought it would be better to bring it."

A silence falls between with us just staring at each other. A small smile, reflecting Dylan's is playing on my lips, all the friction between us forgotten.

Mrs Griffin enters the room with the trays and starts serving. The rest of the dinner, we dont speak, nor look at each other. I get up and take my plate to the kitchen to wash, so does Dylan. As we stand at the sink, Dylan speaks up. "Uh...my parents invited us for dinner. You free next Saturday?"

"Yeah. I'll be back by 5. After that I am free," I say.

"Cool," he gives me a cheeky smile.