Private But Not A Secret [on A hiatus]

Chapter Thirteen

Zee pov

"Play with me"Nunew says, rubbing my thigh as I drive us home, '' Hia, play with me." I should be upset about the trouble he caused today, but I can't help how I feel. He has a way of making me weak.

'' Nat and Max coming over for dinner tonight,"I say, trying to distract him. He sighs and turns away, gazing out the window. I sense his disinterest." Don't you like them?"I ask." It's fine, I guess," he replies, his tone indifferent.

" What's wrong with having them over? They just want to see you," I press on."Can Alex come too?" he asks, his eyes lighting up. I suppress my annoyance at the mention of Alex. That damn Alex, Fuck him. "Of course, I'd love to have him over too," I say, forcing a smile.

Nunew's enthusiasm suddenly shifts, and he starts texting on his phone, likely inviting Alex. Now he's excited about dinner. What's so special about Alex anyway? "Can we go get fresh groceries? I want to cook everything," he says excitedly, naming the different things he wants to buy. His mood swings really quickly. "If Alex wasn't coming, would you still be as excited?" I ask, mainly out of jealousy, but I'm curious. "Well, maybe not as excited," Nunew says. "Why don't you like Natt and Max?" I have noticed that he has been hesitant to let them visit him in the hospital, and now this. "I do like them, I really do, but they are more your friends than mine," he says, going back to texting. That makes so much sense. After everyone graduated, Nunew completely disappeared and only reappeared because of Max and Nat's wedding. How did I not realize that? Him being closer to Alex makes sense now. I felt bad for him. Alex was probably just his only close friend.

I held his neck and passionately kissed him. "We'll play later," I said, making him sink into his seat, flustered. I took his hand and drove with the other. He had made us go to a flea market to buy fresh ingredients and start preparing for dinner two hours earlier. I was exhausted afterward. I had just gotten out from work, and Nunew was making me walk around the market while holding bags of food. I wished I could cancel this dinner, but Nunew was in too deep. "I don't think we need four types of milk; pick one," I told him, making him pout but comply. This went on for a while. "Nunew, I'm sure we can just get onions without spring onions; just pick one, they are the same thing," I told him. "No, it's different. I like the normal onions cooked and the spring onions raw," Nunew said, putting them both in the basket. To me, an onion is an onion. "Do you need that much mint?" I asked him, looking at the bouquet of mint he was holding. He rolled his eyes. "It's not only mint; it's other herbs too," he said, putting them in the bag. I sighed. I wasn't going to win. He saw that I was questioning everything he was doing, so he sent me to get potatoes and then sent me back because the potatoes were 'big and weren't baby potatoes.' The baby potatoes I brought were still wrong because 'they were fingerling potatoes, not russet baby potatoes.' I decided to stop running errands for him. After dissociating for who knows how long, we were finally done. When we got home, I immediately took a nap, letting Nunew take over everything.

Nunew pov

I was slightly disappointed when Zee told me that Nat and Max were coming over for dinner. I love them, but I had hoped for some alone time with Zee. I wanted to have him all to myself in every physical way possible. I can't really be mad at them, though, because they didn't know.

"Can Alex come too?" I asked him. I wanted Alex there because he hasn't seen me since I left the hospital, and having him would help this dinner go by faster, thus killing two birds with one stone. I was excited. I have never hosted people for dinner before.

I wanted everything to be perfect, but I mistakenly tired Zee out. I don't think we'll get to 'play' tonight. He helped me bring the groceries inside, but immediately threw himself on the couch and fell asleep. I started making dinner, humming and singing. He was so tired he didn't even flinch when I accidentally dropped a pot or unintentionally sang too loud.