Be My Friend

Chapter 40: Muddled Thinking

"You're so cute, yes you are. Who's a good boy?" I gush and the little pup lets out a yip.

"She said she was wearing a leather jacket, Mason. I- what are you doing? Pay attention and stop petting the dog, please." Alex scolds. I give him a pout and huff when I see he's not having it. I pull away from the Yorkie defeatedly. "We're already ten minutes late to meeting up with your future roommate, so some focus would be appreciated." He says. I roll my eyes and slip my hand into his own and intertwine our fingers. I wrap my opposite hand around his forearm.

"Someone's grumpy." I sing-song and lean my head on his bicep. He lets out a grunt in response. We make our way down the sidewalk with out feet in sync and pass by bustling people towards a little coffee and doughnut shop on the corner of the street.

"I am not grumpy. I'm just a little hungover." He says and adjusts the sunglasses covering his eyes. Good thing too, because it might attract unnecessary attention.

"Aw, poor baby. I told you drinking the whole bottle was a bad idea, Mr. "I can handle it"." I say sarcastically and raise my brows, feigning innocence. He gives me a little nudge and a woman gives me a nasty glare as we bump shoulders. I whip my head back around from the lady and glare at the side of his head. I feel an immense urge to wipe that smirk off his face.

We enter the building and I try to search the place for the article of clothing Alex mentioned but I can't remember what he said. I absolutely love Yorkshire's; they're so cute.

Alex tugs my hand towards the end of the shop and I see a blonde woman with a black leather jacket and short platinum hair that was so blonde it looked white, it went down to just below the chin. She was texting away but set her phone down and stood up once she noticed we were approaching the table she was sitting at.

"Are you Mason?" She asks politely; voice sweet and soft with an accent. It almost sounded Irish, but I was never good at placing accents.

"Yep, that's me. You must be Riley." She nods and begins to sit back down with pale hands and black painted finger nails intertwined around her cup of caffeine. I subtly shove Alex in first then myself. "This is my bodyguard." I joke to play off of how scary he looks to outsiders. He pinches my side. "Ouch. Okay, okay, this is my boyfriend, Alex." I introduce properly and he gives a nod of acknowledgment which she returns with no problem. There was no fear in her eyes, which was surprising because I'm sure even the prime minister would avoid eye contact.

Alex and I only officially gave a title to our relationship about a few days ago when we were watching Netflix. It wasn't that much of a big deal like the movies or books seem to make out of it. I remember him kissing me then bringing up the topic then followed by a question: "want to be my boyfriend?" To which I replied: "yeah, sure." Then we fell asleep on the couch and that was that.

Upon noticing her silence and intense gaze that told me she was listening and not incredibly bored already, I felt Alex slide his arm around my waist. "Alright then, I'm just gonna start asking simple questions if you're cool with that?" I ask apprehensively.

"Sure, go ahead." She sips her coffee again and clears her throat.

"Are you employed, and are there any problems or issues with paying half rent?" I ask and fiddle with the loose string on my hoodie. I notice her eye lids shimmering with a light grey dust and her brows were perfectly sculpted along with the black liquid eye liner around her ice blue eyes.

"Yes, I am employed, and no, half rent is perfect." She answers in a mellow tone. Damn, this chick radiated cool and I tripped over my own feet just trying to sit down.

Alex's hand slides up slightly from my waist and beneath a centimetre of fabric and cold fingers brush my skin. I suddenly found it hard to focus so I blink a few times and swallow roughly. A muddled confusion covers my brain like a mist. What was I talking about again? Images of him flashed through my mind like a picture book, more or less intimate pictures. A warm feeling spreads throughout my chest and up my neck. I was sure I was blushing hot red that moment.