“Morning,” he grumbles, and his harsh tone surprises me so much, I look at him again.
“What’s up your ass this morning?” I ask, and he rolls his eyes at me, sipping coffee from his mug.
“Didn’t sleep well,” he replies before his expression softens ever so slightly at Benz and me. “There is some toast and self-made jam if you’re hungry. Coffee too,” Leonard says, still staring at us before shaking his head and leaving the kitchen. “I’ll take you home when you’re ready.” He leaves without waiting for a response from me. His odd behavior confuses me, but my hungry stomach growls in protest to my head trying to overthink while it remains empty.
It’s a simple breakfast, but, of course, it tastes like heaven. He shouldn’t have taken something as simple as jam and made my tastebuds dance from happiness in response. God, I fucking loathe him. Benz stays by my side, even when I go to the bathroom to get ready. I smile at her because it must piss Leonard off to see how much this dog loves me. It adds to the beauty of being Benz’s second favorite person in the world.
I’m still clad in Leonard’s clothes when I step back into the guest room to find mine folded and placed on the now-made bed. My heart flutters at the thought of him folding my underwear, but I ignore that jerk of an organ and simply get dressed. It doesn’t mean anything, except maybe slight irritation for him touching my stuff. Yeah, that must be it. I’m annoyed he saw my underwear, not because it’s making me feel things apart from my usual loathing.
“You ready to go?” he asks, serious as always. I give him a slight nod before following him and Benz out the door. Leonard never goes anywhere without her when he’s at home.
We stay quiet for the entire forty-five minutes it takes for us to get back to my flat. For the first time in months, I feel well-rested. I have a shift at the bookstore later and work at the club tonight, but my head isn’t dreading it as much. I’m not yawning every two minutes, and my eyes don’t have that pressure on them from being sleep-deprived.
“What are you going to do today?” I ask, trying to be nice and make small talk. It feels wrong to be polite like this but considering how nice he was to let me stay at his place and not make fun of my horrible state, I want to try and be better too.
“Training.”
He doesn’t give me more than that, so I let it go. We don’t have to make conversation, no matter how normal of an evening we had yesterday. One night does not mean our entire relationship is about to change. He’s infuriating, and I bother him. He’s my nemesis, and I am his enemy. We’re too alike to make sense to each other.
Leonard and I just don’t work.
“You working tonight?” he asks when I’m saying bye to Benz and reaching for the door handle.
“Yeah, but don’t come tonight. If you want to go to have fun, go tomorrow. Fridays are much busier,” I say, but he shifts his body to me, one of his hands still on his steering wheel and the other between his legs on the seat.
“I wasn’t going to come, I was just curious,” he says, and I sense surprise trying to settle on my face, but I swallow it down.
“Okay, then. Sorry I assumed you wanted to come after you made it part of our bet yesterday,” I say with a scoff, which doesn’t amuse him in the slightest. His eyes are trained on mine, his knuckles pressing against his skin because he’s gripping the wheel harder than necessary.
“I don’t. Now, get out. I have shit to do.” I don’t know why I remain in his car when I have no desire to stay with him, but there is no way any part of me is going to do what he wants. Not when his tone made anger seeth into my bones.
“I think I’m going to stay right here,” I blurt out, turning my body forward and ignoring the way his gaze burns into my side.
“If you do not get out, sweetheart, I’m going to take you with me everywhere I have to go, including making you work out for three hours until you pass out.” This is the second time in a month he’s called me that, and I hate the way a single butterfly storms around in my stomach in response.
“Fine, then I’m going to annoy you all day with uncomfortable questions. Like, why did me saying the word ‘sex’ yesterday bother you so much?” His jaw ticks in response, making it hard for me to keep my smile at bay.
“Has it occurred to you that it’s because I have no desire to picture you naked with some loser fucking you?” I scrunch my eyebrows together, forgetting how to breathe because of his words. He doesn’t want to picture me naked and having sex. That’s fine. I most certainly don’t want to picture him either.
“No one forced you to picture me having sex just because I said the word,” I challenge, making his features harden more with frustration toward me, but, at the same time, he knows I have a point. “Maybe you do want those pictures in your head. Do you have fantasies about me, Champ?” I tease, watching his Adam’s apple bob as he swallows hard.
“Yeah, fantasies of choking you,” he replies, and I raise an amused eyebrow.
“Kinky,” I say and his eyes widen when he realizes how I took his response. It brings a smug smirk to my lips.The ache between my legs? Let’s ignore it.“Unfortunately for you, I’d rather throw myself in front of a moving plane than have you touch me sexually,” I say, feeling how wrong those words taste.
“Why don’t you go do that and get out of my bloody car?” he says, and I roll my eyes before turning to Benz one more time and flashing her a small smile.
“I know your daddy’s a dick, so if you need a break from him, I will come get you,” I assure her, and my baby voice earns me an excitedwooffrom her.
“God give me strength,” Leonard mumbles, and I chuckle under my breath as I get out.
There is something satisfying about pissing him off, getting any reaction out of him. He’s the only person I’m able to let my frustrations out on, and I know he feels the same about me. Maybe we do work, in a really messed up way.
Fuck, I don’t know anything anymore.
* * *
Graham wasat work when I rushed around the apartment to get ready for my shift at the bookstore. We haven’t spoken since I left yesterday, but I’m convinced Leonard let him know where I was. Otherwise, Graham would have blown up my phone. No matter what’s going on in our lives, he’d never let me not stay the night at the apartment without at least checking in and ensuring I’m alright. We have been best friends for over two decades after all.
