The first time you meet someone, you make eye contact. You smile, say hello. Should be simple, if you’re anyone but me. The first time I met Dylan Reed, I found myself making eye contact with a different part of his body. You see, I’m very good at being shy, not to mention extremely well-versed in rambling nonsense and, unfortunately, rather highly skilled at making a fool of myself in front of a guy I’m attracted to.
At the time, I knew nothing about him and thought none of what I said would matter since I’d never speak to him again. Turns out, I was very wrong. He was the star wide receiver of the football team, one of the few players expected to make it into the NFL, and I ended up seeing him all over campus.
I might have also propositioned him, run away from him, attacked him with a cooking utensil…and…uh, maybe I shouldn’t tell you all of it. It’s pretty normal stuff, things you’d expect…from me. Eventually, the time came when I couldn’t hide anymore–not that he’d have let me even if I tried.
Before now, he never knew I was secretly watching him. Now that we see each other every day, he knows when I have a hard time looking away. It doesn’t help that I’m not the most subtle person in the world either.
He smiles at me and tells me he finds me fascinating because of my quirks. I can’t even tell him that I think my heart beats differently whenever he’s around.
He thinks we’re going to be best friends. I think I have a big thing for him, and the more I get to know him, the more I don’t care that I’m not allowed to be his friend, let alone fall for him.
The thing is, that’s exactly what I’m doing–what we’re doing, I think.
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It was only a few days into my move when I started to get back into my routineโor more like a new routine. We had a home game in two days and I was more than ready to play. I was doing my third set of push-ups when I looked up and saw Zoe rubbing her eyes as she walked straight into a wall, missing the bathroom door by ten inches or so.
โFuck!โ she hissed out in a low voice, this time rubbing her shoulder.
I dropped my head and tried to keep in my laughter. When I looked back up, I saw her looking over her shoulder toward my room right before she hurried into the bathroom and gently closed the door.
Two hundred twenty-three.
Two hundred twenty-four.
Two hundred twenty-five.
I heard the door click open then careful footsteps followed. When there was a loud gasp, I lifted my head, my gaze slowly making its way up her long smooth legs. Her hand was clutched over her chest and she was doing that deer in the headlights thing again. I smiled.
โGood morning, Zoe.โ
Letting go of her chest, she pulled at the hem of her t-shirt and took a few side steps toward the kitchen. Her eyes thoughโthey stayed put on my body.
โHello to you too. You scared the shit out of me.โ
I ducked my head and chuckled quietly. โI can see that.โ
โUh, whatโs going on here?โ she asked in a rough voice still laced with sleep.
โGetting in my push-ups.โ
A few more steps to the right and she reached the island. Keeping her gaze on me, she held on to the edge of the counter as if it was helping her stay upright, skipped the two bar stools, and walked around until she stood over the sink.
โIsnโt it a little early to do push-ups?โ
Two hundred thirty-six.
โI always wake up at six AM and get them done.โ
โSo, this is an everyday occurrence?โ
โYeah.โ I dropped my head down and ignored the slight tremor in my arm muscles.
โWeekends too?โ
โYeah.โ
โOh, okay. Thatโsโฆgood to know.โ Zoe reached for the glass sitting next to the sinkโeyes still on meโopened the fridge, took out a water bottle, unscrewed the cap, and poured it into the glass. After a second of hesitation, she grabbed it and took a few gulps.
I looked back down to hide my smile and kept counting.
Two hundred forty-five.
Two hundred forty-six.
Two hundred forty-seven.
โUh, and good morningโฆbuddy.โ
โSorry?โ I grunted and looked up.
โYou said good morning and I didnโt say it back. Iโm not really awake yetโฆmight also be dreaming, canโt be sure completely about that. Just in case Iโm not in a dream and youโre really there doing push-upsโฆgood morning to you, too, buddy.โ
โYouโre really getting into this buddy thing, huh?โ
She lifted a small shoulder, causing her very oversized t-shirt to slip and give me a view of the smooth skin so innocently hiding underneath the fabric.
โIโm liking the idea more and more.โ
Keep counting, Dylan. Keep going.
Two hundred sixty-one.
Two hundred sixty-two.
Two hundred sixty-three.
When I reached three hundred, I grunted and jumped up. Grabbing the towel Iโd left on the couch, I wiped my face. โWhat are you doing up this early anyway? I havenโt seen you around in the mornings these last few days. I only see you in the evenings.โ Not that she was around all that much. Whenever I came in, she found somewhere to disappear to.
She was still standing behind the sink, holding the glass in both hands as she took small sips and kept her eyes on me.
โBecause Iโm a normal person? You know, one who doesnโt get up at an ungodly hour? Today Iโm meeting with a girl whoโs paying me to take a few shots of her for her fashion blog. She wanted the streets to be empty, and according to her, her skin looks best with the early sunrise. No sane person would get up this early in the morning, butโฆwork.โ
โYeah? A fashion shoot, huh? Sounds fun.โ
โAs I can see with my own eyes, youโre not a sane person either, soโฆyour idea of fun might be a little skewed.โ
Tossing the towel back over the couch, I dropped my ass on the floor and started on my sit-ups.
โOkay, whatโs happening now?โ
โSit-ups.โ
I heard a little groan, but instead of glancing at her, I kept my eyes forward and kept going. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her moving around, and even if I hadnโt been able to, the sounds of cabinets opening and closing and flatware rattling reached me just fine.
Forty-one.
Forty-two.
Forty-three.
Forty-four.
When there was a long stretch of silence, I spoke up without breaking my focus.
โWhatโs up, buddy?โ
โWhatโs up?โ she returned back.
I could feel her eyes sweeping over my skin like the gentle touch of a feather. My dick stirred in my sweatpants. โYouโre staring.โ
โHow do you know Iโm staring? Youโre not even looking at me.โ
โI can feel your eyes on me,โ I grunted.
โYou can feel my eyesโof course you can. Well, Iโm not staring because there is something to stare at, Iโm only looking toward you becauseโฆyouโre in the way of my view at the moment and I donโt know where else to look.โ
Curious, I turned to see what she was doing. I tried to maintain my pace and keep counting in my head at the same time, but she was making it hard. She was standing in the exact same spot, only difference was this time she had a blue bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other. The dish was full of what I could only assume was the cereal that was heading toward her pink lips. I tried to meet her eyes, but her gaze seemed glued somewhere elseโnamely, my torso. So I was the breakfast entertainment. For some reason I couldnโt quite articulate, I didnโt mind her gaze on me, and trust me, if it had been anyone but her, I wouldโve minded. Being gawked at usually broke my concentration, thus pissing me off, but Iโd never had a set of eyes moving over my body feel like fucking feathers, of all things. My body heated, and I was pretty sure it wasnโt because of my workout.
โYouโre having breakfast and still staring,โ I grumbled, sweat starting to pour off my forehead already as each rep got a bit harder and my dick did the same.
Her spoon paused midair, and then she was chewing again. โI think so. Yes.โ There was a loud clink when her spoon hit her bowl and she winced, but two seconds later the chewing started back up. โThey always say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I think Iโm becoming a believer.โ
One hundred.
Finishing my first set, I lay flat on the ground and shook my arms to relax my muscles as I slowly caught my breath.
โSo do you always do thisโฆhalf naked?โ
I smiled up at the ceiling. โIf itโs bothering you, I can do it in my room from now on. I only came out here because I didnโt think youโd be awake yet.โ
โNope, itโs fine. Just wanted to check.โ
There was a two-second pause before she spoke up again.
โAlways at the same time?โ
โAre you gonna come out every morning and keep me company?โ
Taking a deep breath, I started on the second set.
A hundred and one.
A hundred and two.
A hundred and three.
โNope.โ
โYou sure? You thought about it for a second there.โ
โYup. Nope.โ
A hundred and ten.
A hundred and eleven.
Feeling that addictive good burn in my stomach, I pushed through my second set in no time.
I heard loud coughing so I glanced her way. โMore?โ Zoe asked in a squeaky tone when I went for the next hundred sit-ups.
โYeah,โ I puffed out. I miraculously managed to finish my last set with only a few glances thrown my curious observerโs way. At least my dick was behaving. A few times when I looked, she quickly averted her eyes and became increasingly engrossed in her cereal bowl or the sink. Standing up, I wiped off my forehead, chest, and stomach. Throwing the small towel over my shoulder, I moved toward my intriguing roommate. Her eyes followed my every step.
Stopping when only two steps separated us, I leaned against the marble counter. โHi. How is your morning going so far?โ
She made a few vague noises then cleared her throat after swallowing a mouthful of cereal. โJust like any other morning, really. Nothing special is happening. Yours?โ
It was hard holding back my grin, so I chose not to. โIโm really enjoying it so far. Thanks for keeping me company.โ It looked like she was still having trouble holding my gaze when we were standing close to each other. Oh, she tried, Iโll give her that, but it only lasted a couple seconds before she shifted her focus to my ear. Iโd noticed the chosen spot could also be my mouth if I was smiling or talking.
โYou want cereal?โ She stirred her spoon in what must have been very soggy cereal by that point then sipped a little milk from the edge of it.
โNope.โ
โCoffee?โ
โNo.โ
โCereal?โ
I laughed. โIโll grab something with the boys.โ
โWater, then?โ
โI wouldnโt say no to that.โ
She shuffled back and reached up to grab a new glass from one of the cupboards to my left, and I had to grip the edge of the counter in a white-knuckle hold when my attention dropped low.
Eyes up, Dylan. Donโt look at her ass, man.
I only saw a flash of light blue against her pale skin before she dropped back down on her heels and filled my glass with water before handing it to me.
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