Rory looked over at me. "You okay?"
"Yeah, this milk has gone bad. It's rancid. Don't drink it. I'll throw it out." I had just bought it yesterday afternoon. I grabbed a paper towel and wiped off the counter. Then sat back down and took another bite of cereal.
"I thought you said it was bad?"
I hadn't realized that Rory was still standing there. God his abs are amazing.
He walked over to the fridge and brought out the half gallon of milk. He opened up the top and sniffed it. "It doesn't smell bad, Keira."
"Yeah, I know. I lied. I don't know. I was just surprised to see you. I've gotten used to living alone, I guess." I looked down at the bulge in his boxer briefs and then back at my cereal. My cereal didn't look nearly as appealing.
"Did you want me to wear more to breakfast?" He was smiling at me. He was clearly enjoying my reaction to his half naked body.
"What? Psh. No. Rory, I mean, wear whatever makes you comfortable. That wasn't it at all. You're not bothering me. I'm cool. Totally cool. Heck, maybe I'll start walking around in my underwear. It's just so comfortable in here. Between us, you know?"
"I'm going to go put on a shirt." He walked back into his room and reemerged as he pulled a t-shirt down over his head.
He made himself a bowl of cereal, walked over to me, and sat down beside me at the kitchen counter. I quickly took another bite of cereal. I hadn't realized that I'd been staring at him.
"So, I take it you don't do one night stands?" he asked, without looking at me.
"Oh no, I do them. I do them all the time."
Rory laughed and looked over at me. "Oh, you're serious?"
"Why is that thought so funny?"
Rory shrugged. "I don't know, you just don't seem like the type."
"Yeah." I pushed my cereal around with my spoon. "I'm not."
"You lie a lot, you know. I have no idea what to believe and what not to believe."
"I don't lie. I just sometimes don't know what to say when I'm nervous. Not that I'm nervous around you. You know what, I'm going to finish my breakfast in my room. I have a lot of work to do today." I grabbed my bowl of cereal and slid off the stool.
"So you work from home?"
"Yeah." I opened up my bedroom door and quickly closed it behind me. Why am I so awkward?
***
I finished up the article I was working on. I was holding my bladder, hoping that Rory wouldn't be in the kitchen anymore. I opened up my door a crack and looked out. The coast was clear. I tiptoed past Rory's door and quietly opened up the bathroom door.
"Um, excuse me," Rory said calmly.
"Oh my God!" I shrieked. Rory was standing there peeing. "Oh my God!" Stop staring at his penis!
I turned around and ran out of the bathroom. I started pacing the hallway. This was not going well at all. This wasn't working. How am I going to get the image of that out of my mind? Geez, do I even want to?
When Rory emerged I started yelling, even though I knew he was the one that should be upset with me. "You said you wouldn't walk around naked! You can't go walking around with your huge penis everywhere! I mean penis. Normal, average penis." My face was turning scarlet.
He looked amused. "Keira, I wasn't walking around. I was taking a piss...in the bathroom."
"With the door unlocked!"
"You should have knocked."
"But..."
"Let's finish this discussion later. I'm going to be late for work." Rory walked past me and out the front door. Before he closed it he put his head back in. "Huge, huh?"
"I said average!" I ran back into my room.
Chapter 7
I watched Rory as he flirted with a girl on the couch. I hadn't realized that poker night wasn't just for his guy friends.
"Hey, Keira."
I looked up and saw Jackson standing next to me. "Hey, Jackson. So, I was wondering. Is that Rory's girlfriend?"
Jackson started laughing. "No."
"Why is that so funny?"
"Rory doesn't do the whole girlfriend thing."
"Oh."
"You like him, huh?"
"What? No." So Rory didn't date and neither did Connor. I looked away from Rory and turned my attention back to Jackson. "Do you do the whole girlfriend thing?"
Jackson rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "I actually just got out of a relationship. I only just started hanging out with Rory and Connor again recently. My ex hated them."
I laughed. "So what are you guys? Like the wolf pack or something?"
"You mean like from the Hangover?" Jackson started to laugh.
"You're all a bunch of sluts," I hissed.
Jackson laughed again. "Is that what you think? Well, I heard that you're kind of a peeping Tom."
"What?"
"Rory told me about the bathroom incident this morning."
"Oh God." I was completely mortified. "Who doesn't lock the door? If I had any idea that he was in there, I wouldn't have gone in. It's not like I was being discreet about it."
"He said you tiptoed in."
"It was an accident!"
"Mhm."
I looked over at Rory. He was smiling at me. He knew exactly what Jackson and I were talking about. I needed to change the subject. "I thought poker night was like a guys thing?"
"Rory didn't tell you?"
"Tell me what?"
Jackson smiled down at me. "This is going to be more interesting than I thought. Come on. It's time to get started."
My brow furrowed as Jackson walked over to the table that they had set up earlier. It was nice of them to ask me to join, but was I missing something? What had Rory not told me? I followed Jackson over to the table and sat down in the last seat, which was between him and Connor. There were two other girls at the table that I didn't know. And no one bothered to introduce us. Which was fine, because they both had huge breasts, way too much make up, and I instinctively didn't like either of them. Especially the one that Rory was staring at.
"Okay, winner chooses the person and the article of clothing for each round," Connor said and winked at me.
I swallowed my sip of beer. "What?" I looked over at Rory, but he was too busy staring down another girl's shirt.
Jackson put his elbows on the table and leaned over to me. "I told you it was going to be interesting," he whispered. "We're playing strip poker, Keira."
I could feel my jaw drop. What the fuck? "Rory, can I talk to you?"
"Yeah." He reluctantly pulled his eyes away from the girl to his left. He stood up and walked over to the kitchen. I followed him, fuming.
"You're turning my apartment into a brothel?!"
Rory laughed. "Well, it was going to be a normal poker night, but then you saw me naked this morning. So I figured this wouldn't be a big deal."
"Well it is a big deal."
"You don't have to play. I can call someone else to be our sixth."
Jealousy seared through me. Do I want to do this? Can I even change his opinion about me?