Heart Buffs, Coffees & Cats

14

Ryan walked around the kitchen with Canella on his arms, as he whispered all sorts of nonsense to the poor cat.

"When does he wake up?" I murmured to myself, sighing softly. Lucie had just bombarded my phone with endless kissing, fainting, and heart emojis, not to mention the over-the-top gifs. That gave me a vivid image of how she'd be if she were to be here with the cats.

Then a sound came from the stairs. It was faint at first, but then it got louder — heavy, dragging footsteps. Ryan and I both turned toward the noise, and there he was, Ayden, looking like he'd just rolled out of a tornado. His hair was sticking up in all directions, his t-shirt was wrinkled, and his eyes were half-closed.

"There, our sleeping beauty is here." Ryan snorted.

Ayden stopped midway down the stairs, blinked a few times as if trying to remember where he was, then slowly realized the two of us sitting in the kitchen. He looked straight at me, narrowing his eyes.

"What... what are you doing?" His voice was hoarse, deep with sleep, and he sounded about five seconds away from collapsing again.

Ryan grinned, clearly enjoying this. "Good morning, sunshine! We were just talking about how much of a delight you are to live with."

Ayden grunted, rubbing his eyes, clearly not awake enough to understand the sarcasm. "Uh-huh."

I tried to hold in a laugh as Ayden shuffled over to the coffee maker, moving as though gravity was working against him. He fumbled with the machine for a good thirty seconds before Ryan sighed.

"Dude, you have to put water in it first," Ryan said, moving past him and doing it for him.

Ayden just stared blankly at the coffee maker, his 180 IQ brain hadn't started yet. "Right. Water."

My heart filled with warmth. I never imagined Ayden, the cold, distant, and always sarcastic guy, could be so cute and innocent like this. Maybe Ryan was right — there was more to Ayden than what he let on.

Ryan smirked and handed him a mug. "Here you go, your majesty."

Ayden blinked at the mug in his hand, then glanced over at me. I quickly shifted my eyes, pretending to be focused on my laptop, but I could feel his sleepy glare.

"Why is everyone so loud?" Ayden muttered, taking a slow sip of his coffee and wincing as if it was too hot. He let out a long sigh, then sat down at the kitchen island like he'd just run a marathon.

Ryan, unable to resist, leaned in and said, "You look like you’ve been hit by a truck, bro."

Ayden shot him a bleary-eyed glare. "You talk too much."

Ryan shrugged, shooting a grin at me. "See? isn't he such a cutie?"

Ayden muttered a 'shut up' but the moment the realization hit, his whole demeanor shifted. His eyes widened in disbelief as they locked on mine, frozen in place like he'd seen a ghost. He blinked, his jaw clenching for a second before he looked away, a subtle gulp betraying his otherwise calm composure. he then shifted his gaze to Ryan, who was back to playing with Canella.

Biscotto was already clinging on Ayden's leg, meowing once a while.

He slowly stood up from his chair, the mug in his hand, and started backing toward the staircase, with Biscotto still clinging to his leg. Ayden's face was a mix of embarrassment and blankness. His eyes darted away, avoiding mine as if he wished he could disappear into the floor.

"I'll go up."

I nodded, trying my best to stay serious as he hurried upstairs in the most discreet way possible. But I couldn't hold it in anymore — I burst out laughing, like I had just watched the funniest comedy ever. Ayden trying to escape with a kitten clinging to him was too much.