CONSENT: Book 1 in The Dangerous Games series

Chapter 10

4weeks ago

MARC

Tonight the house is all mine! NightShade is having some sort of annual bash. Since they expect a full house Xavi and Ethan and another bartender are all working tonight. Of course David's working the door. Thomas and Natasha are out so who knows when he'll be back. As for Marc, I think he had some family shit to do. So I have complete freedom to do whatever I like in the house tonight without interruption. First things first. I'm taking a shower and using all the hot water. I wash my hair, use some girly body wash, shave, and even try some after shower spray. (WTF is that for anyway?!) I stay until the water turns cool, literally using all the hot water and having no choice but to finally get out. I wrap a towel around myself and go dig through my clothes to find something to wear. Finding a pair of sleep pants and a matching top, I get dressed. Once I dry my hair I go down to the kitchen.

Opening the freezer, I grab my pint of mixed cookie ice cream. I've had it hidden under the frozen vegetables in the very back. When you live with a group of male children you have to get creative and hide things. If it sits longer than an hour, odds are good you won't see it again. I get a spoon from the dish rack and grab a soda out of the refrigerator. Picking up the bag of chips from the counter I leave the kitchen and head into the living room. I plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV. It's time to binge watch something and eat copious amounts of junk food. I toss the chips on the table next to my soda and dig into my ice cream as I wait for Netflix to load.

It only takes me a second to decide what to watch. I click on the program and watch the little circle swirl on the screen as it loads. Happy to have this time to myself I fluff the couch pillows and wriggle my butt into the cushion while I wrap the blanket around my legs. When my show starts I'm snug and comfortable and so ready to relax and enjoy some "me" time.

Then I hear a key in the front door lock. Seriously? Of course the door opens and my sanctuary is ruined. I turn and find my angry glare lands on Marc. "Why are you here?" The look of surprise and confusion tells me my statement might have come across a little harshly. "Oh, I ... live here? What crawled up your ass?" He stands in the foyer as if he's unsure if coming in any further is a good idea. "I wasn't expecting anyone to be here tonight." I huff. I turn back around on the couch and pause my show before I miss any more of the opening scene. He approaches the couch cautiously. "Sorry to intrude on your evening. What are you watching anyway?" When he decides I'm not going to physically assault him he seems more at ease. He talks over his shoulder as he walks toward the kitchen. "A romantic comedy? No wait, one of those dramatic period piece chick flicks right?" I hear him laugh at his own joke before he appears next to the couch with a cold beer in his hand. "No... The Walking Dead actually. I'm in the mood to watch people get shot and stabbed in the face." He simply stares at me. I look at him, completely void of expression. He clears his throat looking slightly uneasy. "Okay then, I'm going to take a shower." He heads down the hall and I can't help but laugh to myself, fucking with him is just too easy. I settle in and turn on my show. I really am watching The Walking Dead, I wasn't joking about that.

About a half an hour later I hear Mark in the kitchen getting something to eat. I fully expected him to return to his room so I was somewhat surprised to hear his voice coming from the doorway a few short minutes later. "Mind if I join you?" I sit up and scootch my pillows and blanket over so I'm not hogging the entire middle of the couch. "Nah man, it's cool." With a small smile he comes around and sits on the side of the couch. I finally approached him and we had a good talk about our kiss at the club. You could see the tension just melt out of his body when I told him it was nothing and to forget it ever happened. So hanging out has been fairly easy for us since then. Of course when you are greeted at the door with a resting bitch face I can understand your reluctance to pursue further conversation. Hopefully I look a little more receptive to his presence than I did an hour ago.