Cheating in Love [Completed]

Chapter 5

Beckett jiggled the key into the lock as though he were trying to force a butter knife through a steak. Sawyer watched from across the hall, messenger bag on his shoulder and blue carry-on sitting in front of him. Beckett clenched his free hand into a celebratory fist as the key turned and the door opened.

Sawyer was painfully aware of the squeaking wheel on his suitcase and the zipper that rattled against itself with any slight movement. He winced at the tiny noises that seemed to echo into roars when he passed through the doorway.

"Anyone home?" Beckett called out.

Sawyer took a small step back as silence answered. He pushed his suitcase to the side, turning his feet so they pointed perpendicular to the door.

"If they aren't here, they will be," Beckett shrugged. He took the suitcase from Sawyer and started pushing it down a small hallway. He grunted as he lifted it and staggered backward, bumping into the wall. The wheels made a clicking sound as Beckett set it down and pushed it the rest of the way.

"This is the spare room," Beckett pushed the door open. Inside was a small room, lavishly decorated. Expressionist artworks wallpapered the space above the bed and gold accents punctuated the rest of the room.

Sawyer stood in the doorway, hesitant to step onto the white carpet. Beckett had already rolled the suitcase into the closet and was watching Sawyer with an eyebrow raised.

"Should I take my shoes off?" Sawyer reached for his feet.

"If you want," Beckett said with a shrug. "I didn't." There was a click from down the hall and Sawyer heard the door thump into the wall.

"Milton I've asked you over and over not to do that," said a voice muffled by distance. "Beckett are you home?"

"Yeah," Beckett called back. He squeezed past Sawyer, still awkwardly frozen in the doorway and sprinted down the hall. Sawyer pushed his shoes off and took a few hesitant steps into the room. He could hear voices in the background, and footsteps. He gingerly took a seat on the bed and a faint lavender scent wafted up to him.

There was a knock on the door.

The top of Beckett's head was barely visible over the shoulders of the two people standing in the doorway. The woman looked like him. The man was Asian and bore no resemblance to Beckett.

"Sawyer?" asked the woman. He responded with a nod. "I'm Camille and this is Murray." Sawyer moved close enough to shake their hands.

"He'll be staying with us for a week," Beckett said. Camille turned to face him.

"That is... if you don't mind," Sawyer cut in quickly.

"We don't mind at all," Murray said. "We just wish Beckett would give us a little more heads up next time."

"Is he a friend from school?" Camille whispered loudly to Beckett.

"We met on the flight over," Beckett said at a normal volume.

"Where has he been staying since he got here?" she sounded panicked.

"With his girlfriend," Beckett hissed.

"Well that's a shame," Camille said. "He's cute. I was hoping you'd brought home a nice boy."

"Mom!" Beckett's ears turned bright red. Sawyer was watching their interaction with his head slightly cocked. He could feel a laugh hiding in his throat.

"So anyways, honey, let's leave Sawyer to settle in," Murray clapped his hands together. "Sawyer, feel free to ask if you need anything. Make yourself at home. Beckett, help him out if he needs anything. Just because he isn't your boyfriend doesn't mean you aren't responsible for taking care of him." Beckett's whole face had turned red. He tried to respond but all that came out was a jumble of incoherent words. The homeowners left and Beckett had switched to trying to apologize to Sawyer, but he still couldn't form anything more than a single word.

Sawyer could barely choke down a laugh. He could feel his shoulders shaking from the force of it.

"I'm so sorry," Beckett said. "My god... I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it," Sawyer said with a wink. Whatever redness Beckett had been able to get rid of rushed back. He covered his head with his hands and let out a groan.

Sawyer opened his suitcase and began to dump its contents into piles. Beckett hung back, peering over his shoulder.

"Going to help or what?" Sawyer said as he folded a pair of shorts.

"Yeah, my bad, yeah," Beckett awkwardly reached over Sawyer to grab a handful of hangers from the closet.

The two students sat next to each other on the floor, one folding and one hanging in silence. Sawyer was vaguely aware that Beckett was watching him as they worked. Sawyer glanced up. Becket's eyes shot down. Neither could help a small grin. Even as he tried to hide it, Sawyer could see Beckett's eyes crinkle at the corners.

When Sawyer reached back into the suitcase for another pile and found it empty.

"Did... you..." Sawyer said.

"What?" Beckett looked up.

"My underwear..."

"What," Beckett said, more of a statement than a question. "I haven't done anything with those I promise." The two blinked at each other in a mixture of confusion and hesitation. Sawyer rifled through the pockets of his suitcase a second time and came out empty-handed. "Any chance you left them at Sophie's?"

Sawyer pursed his lips and squinted in thought. He walked himself through his packing job.

"Are you sure you didn't take them?" Sawyer asked.

"I swear," Beckett made a 'cross my heart' gesture. "I wouldn't do that. I'll take you back to Sophie's right now to look." He pulled his keys from his pocket and jingled them. Sawyer scowled at the ground, racking his memory.

He remembered opening the drawer but he didn't remember doing anything after that.

"Fine, let's go."

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