“Did you know that you can be annoyingly persistent?” I asked, arching a brow.
He didn’t say anything, instead staring me down. I found myself squirming. “Stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?” Now it was his turn to ask questions.
“Like you want to eat me.”
“Well,” he grinned crookedly. “I will bite. But only if you want me to.” With that, he lightly nipped at my shoulder.
“Stop,” I lightly pushed him away and he went with a smile—one that almost reached his eyes.
It was like in the weeks we’d been together, he was getting better, and I was getting worse. I found myself frowning. I’d thought by moving here I could leave my past behind me, but it always has a way of catching up to you.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asked, brushing strands of dark hair off my shoulder and kissing the skin it exposed.
“No,” I answered honestly. Before he could question me further, I started painting. I didn’t paint anything in particular. Just a bunch of lines and colors blending together. While I was no artist like Caelan, it felt good to focus simply on what was in front of me. I was beginning to understand now why he did this. It took your mind off of things.
While I painted, he did everything he could think of to distract me.
“Stop it,” I laughed, pulling away so that his hand fell from my shoulder where he’d been playing with the strap of my tank top.
“I can’t help it that you’re irresistible.”
“You’re the one that wanted me to paint, so why don’t you let me paint.”
“Fine,” he grumbled, sitting back and watching me. It wasn’t long until he pulled lightly on my hair.
“Caelan!”
Finally he left, retreating into the kitchen where he poured a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, added milk, and proceeded to eat.
The drug addict eats kid’s cereal. Go figure.
“Want some?” He asked when he noticed me watching.
“Sure.”
I tried and failed to hold in my laughter at the sight of Caelan pouring me a bowl of cereal. We’d come a long way since he busted in my apartment. I never would’ve thought we’d end up here. Life works in mysterious ways like that. I couldn’t help feeling like I’d been meant to be here, in this place, with him. Maybe not forever, but for now, and I’d take that over nothing.
“What are you laughing about?”
“You.” I covered my mouth in the hopes of suppressing my laughter, but didn’t succeed.
“Me? What did I do?” He asked, rifling through a drawer for a spoon.
I waved my hand to encompass him standing there in the kitchen with two bowls of cereals. “This,” I laughed. “It may only be cereal, but I never thought we’d be where we are now.”
“What can I say?” He shrugged, dropping the spoon in the bowl and picking up the box of cereal. “You’re very persistent.”
“Me?!” I gasped.
“Yes, you,” he chuckled, dropping some dry cereal into his mouth and crunching. “If I recall correctly you showed up here and practically mauled me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever you need to tell yourself so you feel better.”
I had turned back to face the painting when I got pelted in the back of the head with something. “What the hell?” I gasped, noticing whatever I’d been hit with was now also stuck in the paint, as well as my hair. Peering closer at the object congealed on the canvas, my mouth fell open.
I whipped around, pieces falling from my hair, to face Cael