This Beautiful World - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 28

Walking beside Arin made me feel a bit awkward. It was hard to tell what was going through his mind. He didn't seem bothered by our exchange, unlike me. Perhaps he was used to flirting with guys like that. I could see how they could easily fall for his charms. Arin was handsome, I had to admit. With a pretty face and a pleasant voice, how could anyone not fall for him? 

He caught me taking in his features. With a slight smirk, he asked, "Are you checking me out?"

It seemed useless to lie about it. He caught me red-handed. "And so what if I am? I can't help it that I find you attractive."

This response seemed to take him off guard, but he quickly regained his composure. "You find me attractive?" 

The small smile that tugged on his lips and the way that he looked at me when he asked the question was cute. He knew what he was doing. I wasn't head over heels for this man, but these interactions with him were fun. Arin seemed to enjoy this as well. This would never happen with Alex. Alex never accepted any of my affection while we were growing up together. After a while, it gets tiring trying. 

With Alex acting weird lately, it made my feelings for him confusing. Alex was never open about these sorts of things as I was, so it made me feel like I shouldn't bother asking. I also didn't want to anger him for jumping to conclusions. The way he acted the other night might not have been out of jealousy, but it still bothered me.

I decided to push all thoughts of Alex away for now. Thinking about him would only confuse and upset me more. It was best for me to focus on Arin and the task at hand. 

"Does me flirting with you bother you? I don't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," Arin said. He seemed to take my silence the wrong way. 

I wanted to clear up this misunderstanding. I didn't want him to believe he was causing me any discomfort. "It's not you, I promise. There are just some things that have been on my mind lately."

"If you ever want to talk to someone, I am here to lend you my ear. I may not be the best at giving advice, but I am a good listener." It was generous of him to offer. 

But I wasn't sure how I felt opening up to someone who I barely knew. I also didn't want to bother him with my troubles. He knew a little bit about Alex and me, but he didn't know the full scope of our relationship. I didn't know if I made it obvious that I liked Alex. 

I wanted to stop thinking about my friend. Without giving it a second thought, I grabbed Arin's hand. "Perhaps one day you can listen to me vent. But for now, I think that we have work to do."

Instead of pulling his hand out of my grasp, Arin gently rubbed his thumb against the back of my hand. The feeling was soothing, and I was surprised that he didn't let go. While we may have flirted with each other, that didn't mean that we were close or had feelings for one another. I believed that he did this in an attempt to comfort me. He knew that there was something wrong, even if I didn't say it out loud. 

Arin glanced over at me. When he caught my eyes, he smiled at me. Then he asked, "If this ever ends and things go back to normal, would you like to go on a date with me?"

His question was unexpected, and I didn't know how to respond. I was stunned, and I felt my face heating up. "Are you actually asking me out right now?"

He nodded with a smirk. "Of course. You don't have to answer me now. Give it some thought before deciding."

Arin couldn't be serious. He had to be teasing me. There was no way that this man was asking me out during the zombie apocalypse. A date didn't necessarily mean that it was something romantic. He could have been asking because he wanted to get to know me better. But if that were the case, then he could just ask me some questions when we were back at base. 

Before I had the chance to ask him about his intentions, Alex and Xavier came into view. I quickly let go of Arin's hand, but not before Alex had the chance to see it. When he saw, the look on his face changed to annoyance, and he looked away. It made me feel bad as if I did something terrible behind his back. But Alex and I weren't anything more than friends, so I didn't understand why I felt this way. 

My friend looked at our cart and the little bit that Arin and I had gathered. He scoffed, "Is this all that you two were able to scavenge? You must have been too busy fooling around instead of working." 

His comment irritated me. "We are doing our best. There wasn't much on this side of the store that we could grab."

I glanced at their cart, which was filled to the brim. At least they were able to make some progress, but it wasn't as if Arin and I were slacking. Sure, we talked a little bit, but we did that while we worked. There wasn't much for us on this side to begin with.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with Alex's attitude. I was about to open my mouth to retort, but Xavier jumped in before I was able to. 

"Let's not start an argument. Everyone did the best to their ability. Besides, there's plenty of stuff that we left on our side that they can grab. Let's go get what we can and then get out of this place," Xavier said. 

It was probably for the best to drop it right now. It wasn't worth arguing over something like this when we could easily get more supplies from their side. Though, I had a feeling that Alex would bring this up later when we were alone. It wasn't the amount of supplies we gathered that Alex was annoyed about. I knew that he was mad about Arin. 

We did as Xavier suggested while the two of them took their cart to the front entrance of the grocery store. It was a bit relieving to be away from Alex again. As much as I cared about him, I knew he was hot-headed. It made dealing with him frustrating at times. 

It didn't take us much longer as Arin and I stayed silent. I knew he could feel the tension. After my talk with him the other night, this must have convinced him even more that Alex was jealous. I couldn't say for sure what was going through my friend's mind. He was hard to read. 

Eventually, it was time to join them. Once we filled up our cart, we made our way to the front of the store. When we turned the final corner, we came to an abrupt stop. Arin let go of our cart, then grabbed me and pulled me behind one of the shelves. Xavier and Alex were still at the front of the store, but they were no longer alone. 

There were other survivors, who held guns pointed at our friends.