Bray reluctantly stepped out the warm hug that the shower offered him before wrapping himself in a towel—wincing at the rough material that rubbed against the bruises on his side. He quickly ran the towel across his body, the rough exterior catching all the little droplets that dripped down his supple skin.
Stepping towards the oversized bathroom door, he took a deep breath before opening the door and peaking his head out. Once he realized the coast was clear, he wrapped the towel around his torso before booking it to the guest room. A sharp gasp left his mouth for two separate reasons. Holy fuck it was cold in there and also deep brown eyes were there to greet him on the other side.
"Atticus! Shit man, you scared me."
"I came here to give you this." responded with throwing a pair of sweatpants and plain white shirt on the bed in front of Bray.
Bray could barely recognize what Atticus was saying to him. All he could focus on was trying to look at Atticus' face, but his eyes had a different idea. Much to his dismay, his pupils began scanning over the large tattoo that spanned over Atticus' biceps. The thought of tracing his tongue up and down the body ink became overwhelming, so much so that he tore his eyes away from the large man and began admiring the floors in order to not dwell on it.
"Is there something wrong?" Atticus asked with slight concern.
"No," Bray said a little too loud and with a little too much urgency, causing him to wince, "No, you're fine. Not fine! I mean you are attractive, but that's not—" an amused exhale cut off Bray's ramble. He looked up and saw the man staring at him with his arms crossed, amusement laced all throughout his eyes. Bray thought the way his eyes looked much softer now than they did a few hours prior made him look even better.
"I'm attractive?" Atticus inquired.
Bray's small smile faltered slightly, "Why yes, you are. I assume you knew that already."
Atticus hummed, "I guess I do." he responded hesitantly.
Bray's eyebrows knitted together at that, "There's no 'i guess'. You are extremely attractive Atticus."
Atticus blew out a small breath of air from his nose before turning towards the clothes on the bed, "I'll be out of your hair, you can change now."
He walked out of the room and softly shut the door behind him.
That small moment that Atticus was self-conscious was extremely against his usual character and it bothered Bray. Considering he had only known the man for a day, if that long, Bray was confused as to where this slight concern was coming from. Bray had always been against self-deprecation of any kind, but this was something different. He couldn't put his finger on how it was different, he just knew it was.
He took his time with putting on his clothes in order to gather up his scrambled thoughts. Bray wondered how he was supposed to sleep alone, something he had never really been fond of doing. Before getting locked up he would sleep in the same room as his sister and during his time he would always have a cellmate.
Loneliness of any kind scared Bray more than the biggest spider ever could, even just the simple act of sleeping alone—the thought of doing so tonight was unsettling. He made his way out of the guest room and into the living room in long strides before looking up at the loft that sat afloat at the top of the Condo.
Atticus' space.
"Atticus." he softly whispered, hoping that would be enough to catch the attention of the main upstairs. He figured since the loft was an open space that Atticus would be able to hear him just fine, but the silence that followed said otherwise.
"Atticus." he said a little louder, earning a tired grunt in response.
'Oh, did I wake you," he asked. Silence followed, "I wanted to ask if I could sleep up there with you."
After a beat of silence, a tired voice answered finally, "Come."
The corner of Bray's lips tugged up slightly before he balled them up in protest. He made his way up the loft before settling down on the floor.
"What are you doing." Atticus' gruff voice rang out.
"About to sleep?" Bray meant for it to come out like a statement, but it turned into a meek question instead.
"No I mean, what are you doing on the floor?"
Bray quirked an eyebrow up, "Are you suggesting what I think you're suggesting?"
"If you think I'm suggesting to haul your ass on and sleep next to me then yes."
Bray titled his head to the side in response.
"It's freezin' out there, you not cold?"
Now that he mentioned it, Bray did feel small chills running down his body—especially when stepped in that guest room wetter than a wishing well after that shower. He nodded his head in order to answer the question—the question that was most likely rhetorical.
"Wouldn't sleepin next to you like that be weird tho?"
Atticus responded by pulling the covers back a little, "It's only weird if ya' make it weird."
Bray couldn't exactly argue with that logic, so he swallowed his hesitance and crawled into the bed next to Atticus. He turned away from him and tucked his arm under his head for support—closing his eyes and forcing his increased heartbeat to seize. The man smelled of firewood and Hennessy, a scent combination Bray found himself inhaling every chance he got. Bray was used to feminine scents, like Daisy Eau de Toilette, from his ex-girlfriends. However, such a masculine scent was doing a lot of different things to Bray. He pressed his thighs together and tried his best to will the inappropriate thoughts away.
Just as he was about to call his mission a success, a dark-skinned arm wrapped itself around Bray's torso—causing his progress to stutter before crumbling completely. Despite feeling like he was going to pass out any minute, the extra body heat was almost comforting to Bray. Bray thought about mentioning it or even gently pushing his arm away, but not being somewhat held by Atticus didn't sound all that pleasant either.
It's only weird if ya' make it weird
The thought kept swirling around Bray's mind in a frenzy as he forced himself into dreamland.
A/N: Wooo, went M.I.A for a couple of days but lemme tell ya... the last few days have been really kicking my ass. However, I still managed to write something small so here you go! I also wanted to ask if there was any predictions you guys may have for the future of this book.
As for the usual questions...
Thoughts on Atticus?
Thoughts on Bray?
What's your favorite perfume/cologne scents?
Why do you think Bray is afraid to be alone?
Do you think Atticus and Bray sleeping in the same bed will become a common thing?
YOU ARE READING
Ace of Spades
Adventure"I'm not deranged, I just don't tolerate bullshit." In which, Bray is an ex-convict that may have gotten himself into trouble once more. Atticus is an artist that has ran into a little bit of turmoil with his work. What happens when the two cross p...
