vexatious (infuriating sequel)

chapter fifty-five

"basement," i instruct the movers when they walk in the front door, carrying my bed.

"why don't you take a break from helping?" colby approaches me from behind, wrapping his hands around me tightly. "someone has to tell them where things go, and unlike you boys, i don't want to have to move everything up and down stairs later because nobody is doing my job," i push him away gently and he laughs. "my hard working woman," he comments quietly, placing a kiss on me. i quickly turn around when i hear another worker enter the doors.

"upstairs, the hallway on the right. first door," i instruct the bald man on where to put jakes dresser. i had to walk around the house a few ones beforehand to make sure i knew the layout. it's big, bigger than my house at home. everyone has their own room upstairs, and there are two living rooms, one downstairs, in which they have dedicated to filming, and the other upstairs. despite it being in the basement, i do not mind my room. it is spacious, and it has enough space for my vanity and my bookshelf.

"upstairs, second door in the hall on the right," colby surprises me by telling them when they bring in his bed frame. it is large and wooden, and they struggle to get it upstairs. i assist as much as i can, helping them turn it and squeezing through to the top, being the only one small enough to get around it. i feel jakes presence with a camera pounding on me from my side, and i look to him and instruct him to move aside once the bed is finally upstairs.

"colby your bed is too big!" corey yells out to the boy, who is still downstairs.

"big bed for big things!" colby calls back to him and i have to resist dropping my corner of the bed just to slap my palm to my face. boys.

•

"it looks great," colby comments once i hang up the last ornament on the tree and begin moving the small horribly-wrapped presents under it. "thank you, no thanks to you though," i laugh at the boy who is still sitting on the couch behind me.

"thanks jake," i smile politely when he helps me take the gifts over to the tree. he smiles and nods. colbys eyes are burning on me so intensely that i can't dismiss it. i whip back to him and see a scowl covering his face, but i just smile sweetly before returning to my task.

i didn't expect the boys to know how to wrap presents, but i didn't expect them to be so bad that i could visibly make out the words nurf gun on one of them. that's surely going to be a blast tomorrow.

"done!" i huff once i set the last present down. the small snowmen on the paper make me smile. that must be corey's doing, because i've noticed several other gifts of his having a similar theme.

"i'm going to go to bed, you guys all good for the night?" jake asks us once i sit down next to colby.

"yup," colby says cooly and i almost let out a giggle. the weird secretive jealousy strikes again, so not subtle colby.

"andro we still on for tomorrow?" jake asks kindly, trying to avoid colbys wrath by making his question quick and painless.

"yes sir," i respond with a smile. i turn to colby when jake is out of the room, and he is still frowning at me.

"he's just my friend," i remind him, poking at the dimple in his cheek. he smiles at me reluctantly, wrapping his arms around me in a sincere way. i bask in the feeling that i get when he holds me close like this. it feels like the earth is aligning with the sun, and the heat is the most pleasurable pain i could ever endure.

"are you tired?" he asks, concerned when he noticed my nearly unconscious state.

"very," i respond, climbing off of him and standing up. "sleep in my room tonight?" he pleas with me. his eyes are full of desire and love. i feel the urge to take him by his face and kiss the life out of him, but i have to remind myself that we no longer live alone, and that anyone could walk in at any given moment. i would be absolutely mortified if one of the boys simply passed through when i was having a moment with colby.