FINE LINE - Zion Kuwonu

xiiv

"Oh my god can you adopt me" I laugh at Nick as he continues to shovel food in his mouth. "Careful before you choke" I point out, "and I'm not ready for a kid sorry Nicky" I pout while the others laugh. "This is so good though T" Brandon adds. "Thanks guys, Zion and Edwin helped" I smile. "She means I stirred things and Z supervised" the Bronx boy explains, exaggerating when describing Z's help. Zion pauses his chewing next to me and lets out an offended noise. "I was the brains of the entire operation" he defends, I only shake my head and continue my previous conversation with Brandon's girlfriend. We've only met once or twice before at parties but she's the sweetest and I love her already. "Honestly you would LOVE it there. The food, the fashion, it's all to die for" My unfiltered appreciation for the city of love itself is interrupted when Z lays his head on my shoulder. "You done with your food?" he asks and I nod. He gets up, cleans both our plates and proceeds to pull my chair back. "Right y'all have hogged her enough, sorry Maggie" he exclaims while lifting me like a rag doll. "Caleb!!" Everyone laughs at his childish antics and my protests. "weren't you just in New York together?" Nick points out jokingly. "None of ya business" the taller boy responds and lifts me over his shoulder, heading up the stairs. "I'll grab your number from B!" is the last I hear from Maggie as I'm taken further away through a door and lightly tossed on a bed. We lay beside each other for a while, myself on my back and Zion on his stomach, halfway across my chest. "You're a child" I point out, tone laced in humour. His only response is to grab my hands and put them in his hair. We spend the rest of the evening talking in soft tones while a random movie plays in the background. At some point, it hits me how important this boy has become to me and I swallow harshly at the thought, unsure of the depth of this epiphany. "What are you thinking about?" the culprit's question interrupts my thoughts and I realise I've been staring blankly at his jaw. "Just...we've known each other for a few months" "Mhm, three of them" he points out, smiling in confusion. "I didn't think I would get such a package of great company when I bought the house" I explain, tracing his tattoos. "Doesn't it scare you how quickly we've got so close?" I ponder out loud, immediately biting my lip in regret of even asking that question. When I look up, Z is staring at me intensely, brows furrowed. "Not one bit, why, are you scared?" He continues to play with my hair, attempting a messy braid. I shake my head, "No, it has been one of the easiest things to come to me in the past year" I confess, my chest feeling lighter, something which seems to be a reoccurrence in his company. "Good. You're kind of stuck with me at this point" he decides, splaying across my chest once again. "I'm fine with that" the smile on my face is annoyingly uncontrollable in its size.