How to Survive Your 19th Life [BL]

Chapter 28: The First

I woke up the next morning beyond mortified at how the night ended. Getting up at noon the next day, I looked around my room. How did I get there? My heart skipped at the thought of Emiel carrying me upstairs. My heart then soured at the smell of my shirt. I pulled it off and tossed it in the trash. There was no saving it.

I dragged myself to the bathroom to take a much-needed shower and put on some fresh clothes. In the living room, Malai was asleep on the couch with Tariq on the floor. Finn was in the kitchen... cooking an omelet. I leaned on the counter.

"You cook now?" I asked.

Finn narrowed his eyes at me, his face reddening. "No, I just--"

"What smells good?" Malai said, suddenly awake and standing behind me.

Finn almost dropped his spatula. "I am making you guys breakfast is all." He flipped the omelet onto a plate and handed it to Malai, which she accepted with a smile. "Ladies first." I noticed that he didn't make any more. It was just for her.

When Malai began to eat it, even I could hear her first bite. Her face contorted into a shocked disgust. She spit her first bite back onto the plate and said, "Um, this is crunchy. Did you cook the egg shells too... on accident?"

Finn's face sank. "N-no, I picked them all out." He took the plate from her and began mushing the omelet up with his fork, pushing the shells to the edge of the plate.

"Let's drive to town and get Starbucks," Tariq said from the floor.

Finn stammered, "Sorry milady---Malai. Sorry, Malai. Let me make you another one. You fellas can go on ahead."

She grabbed my arm and gave him a silent smile. I sighed. Malai was too nice for her own good. It made rejecting guys very hard for her. If there was one thing I was good at, it was pushing people away.

"Next time Finn," I said as we put on our coats. "I have to get Malai to her dorm before her roommate sends a search party out."

Right before we left, Malai called out, "Thanks for the eggs!"

We stayed mostly silent until we made it to my car, where we burst out laughing.

"Your roommate is cringe, Solo," Tariq laughed from the backseat.

Malai, riding shotgun, added, "Did he call me milady?"

"Probably what he calls you when he beats his meat," Tariq said.

She reached back and playfully punched him. "That's disgusting!"

"Hey, what happened last night after I passed out?" I asked them.

They grew silent. The shift was so sudden, I almost gasped. Malai and Tariq's faces were stern and now very serious. I turned on my car and blasted the heat, needing something to do.

"Emiel made things a bit awkward," Malai said. "I got back with Kanani... and I have to tell you about that drama later. But, all of a sudden, we see him carrying you inside, which would have been sweet if he didn't go off on all of us for 'letting' you drink that much."

"I told him I am not your damn daddy or your babysitter," Tariq said.

Malai nodded. "I mean, I felt bad." Of course she did. "But he was a little scary."

Tariq nodded. "Dude tucked you in and then... Oh shit that's right."

"What?" I asked.

"Oh right," Malai said. "He made you some soup. It's in the fridge. He told us to make sure you eat it when you got up."

I froze, then sank down into my seat. "He made me soup?"

Malai nodded, then took my hands in hers with a warm smile spread across her face. She looked as blown away as me. "He made you soup from scratch. He glared at us the entire time, sure, but... It took like an hour."

And just like that, I ran face first into the undeniable realization that I was in love with Emiel Hugo.