Match Made in Quarantine

7. Day Two

I didn't like how quiet the apartment was.

Sure, Maddox wasn't exactly an early bird — just another in a long list of things that proved how different we were — but I'd been awake for two hours already. Usually, I'd at least hear the sound of music blasting from his room at this point.

I cast a glance at his closed door before shifting my focus back to the breakfast I was making. Pancakes and coffee, nothing better to start the second day of quarantine. Though to be fair, it kind of felt like it had been two weeks already.

It was another 20 minutes before I heard Maddox's door open just as I was flipping the last pancake. From the corner of my eye I could see his shirtless torso stretching in all its glory. Heat rushed through me and I reminded myself that we really needed to agree on a rules list at some point today. After all, I was just a woman and his abs had abs. This was a natural reaction, right? I swallowed hard and focused on not burning that last pancake as if intently staring at it would do the trick.

"That smells great." His voice came from directly behind me and I jumped a little.

"Ah, yeah, thanks." I muttered a little more flustered than I would have liked. Casting a glance at him, I debated on whether I should say what was on my mind or not. He seemed to be in a good mood, so there was probably nothing to worry about but still... I went into medicine because I didn't like seeing people troubled or even worse, in pain.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, quietly, and he just quirked an eyebrow at me. I stumbled over my words trying to explain, "I mean, you seemed upset yesterday and woke up late today so I just—"

"Oh!" It seemed he finally understood what I was hinting at and chuckled in response, "I'm fine. Better than fine. I just had a long night."

A long night? Alone in his room? During a quarantine?

I snorted at his remark not sure if he was being serious. I knew what his long night usually meant and somehow I didn't think he'd have spent the whole night bonding with his right hand.

"Um, wouldn't you usually need, I don't know, another person for one of your long nights?" I rolled my eyes as I poured us both a cup of coffee and set up two plates.

His booming laughter distracted me, making me almost spill coffee all over the place. He shook his head, running his fingers through his hair before his eyes stared at me in amusement. "I keep forgetting how innocent you are, Aimee."

I narrowed my eyes, sensing that I would regret asking this but unable to stop myself either, "Your point being?"

"Hm, how do I put this... In this time of technological advancements, you don't necessarily need to be face to face with someone to have fun, ya' know. There are many different sexua—"

I scrunched up my nose and held up a hand to stop him from talking, "Okay, I get it, that's enough. Or I can skip the eating part and throw this breakfast directly down the toilet."

He laughed again, clearly enjoying this more than he should have but his voice was a whisper when he muttered, "Never a dull moment with you."

I ignored his remark. Somehow, it felt like it wasn't really meant for me; just an unintentional slip of the tongue. I turned my back to him and rinsed off the dishes before arranging them neatly into the dishwasher. When I was done, I settled into one of the stools at the kitchen counter, eager to devour the breakfast I'd slaved over making. Just as I was about to take the first bite I noticed Maddox was just sitting in silence, staring at his plate with a mixture of desire and restraint. I could hear his stomach grumble in protest, probably overwhelmed with the smell of all the food he was not eating.