The Writer | #4✓

Chapter 20

It was late noon on Friday, and Maxwell and I were sitting in the living room of Toby and Caleb's apartment. We weren't saying much to each other, but it was nice to sit in the comfortable silence as Duke walked about in the background with a toy in his mouth. Toby was in the small kitchenette with Caleb, and they were making dinner while I caught up on homework on my laptop as Maxwell watched T.V.

"How do you like your steak?" Toby asked, making both me and Maxwell turn to face him. He was at the counter, while Caleb was looking through the cupboards for a pan.

"Done," Maxwell said, making Toby nod in understanding before he looked away from us. Caleb took a pan out of the cupboard, and soon the two were talking to each other as they went about making the steak.

My eyes moved to Maxwell after a bit of watching my cousin and his boyfriend act, well, couply. I smiled at the sight of Maxwell. He had his eyes glued to the T.V., and I guess he liked cartoons as much as Toby and Caleb because one was playing. I let myself take in his red wavy hair that had loose strands sticking out by the side though he had made an effort to comb everything back. His freckled face shone under the fluorescent light, and I didn't look away until Maxwell turned towards me.

"Xander," he said with a firm tone before chuckling. It was obvious he knew I had been looking at him, but I didn't feel embarrassed, just a bit guilty for looking away.

"What?" I asked, looking up to find him rolling his brown doe eyes at me. "Can't I look at my boyfriend?" I asked, making him laugh. The dog chose the moment to bark randomly, and we both turned to watch Duke walk over to the kitchenette and wagging his tail. Caleb passed him a bit of beef, and Toby just chuckled before turning his attention back to the pan in front of him.

Turning away from them I decided to look around their place. I liked their apartment, it was small, but it was pretty looking. Caleb had told me he and Toby had done most of the decor. They wallpapered or painted walls and changed things like light bulbs and taps here and there. My face warmed up when my mind wandered to whether I would have a place like this with Maxwell in the future. I mean, we couldn't live in the school residence forever, and most people moved out by their second or third year.

"Are you two planning to move in together at some point?" I heard the voice of Caleb's boyfriend ask as my face grew warm. I watched as Maxwell's eyed went wide as he looked over towards the kitchenette. I looked over there too to Find Toby dishing out the steak while Caleb took out glasses and brought them to the small dining table.

"I..." Maxwell trailed, looking away. At least I'm not the only one that's red. I thought, staring at his now reddened face. "I don't know if Xander wants to."

Oh. I thought, not saying anything as I watched Maxwell look over to me.

"Okay, I was just asking because I know some good places. It's hard to get a decent affordable apartment," Toby explained, taking the tray of plates to the dining table. "Come on, don't you guys want to eat?" he asked us as he sat beside Caleb on the table. Caleb hadn't said much but follow and help Toby, but then again, he was usually quiet.

"Oh, we're coming," I said, getting up from the sofa before heading over to grab one of the free seats. Maxwell was soon sitting down beside me, and we were all eating. Caleb would leave his food to attend to his drawing pad from time to time. He would nudge Toby with it sometimes, and they would have a small discussion—probably about the drawing he was doing—before Caleb leaned away and continued sketching.

"So, how's school been treating you?" I asked, making Caleb look up from his drawing pad. He rolled his eyes before letting out a long sigh as Toby chuckled. His boyfriend reached out to run a hand through his hair.