I expected to still be on the couch, with a boy who was always the best at cuddling to be underneath me as a pillow. I was on the bed instead, meaning that Stuart must have carried me in here at some point, or that I had developed a habit of sleep-walking overnight.
Music was playing throughout the home and I could faintly hear the distant sounds of it echoing throughout a speaker. I stood up, brushing my hair out of my face with my fingers and heading towards the music to see why it was necessary so early in the morning.
With a few steps into the hallway, the music became even louder and I also could hear some singing. I spotted Stuart in the kitchen, his back to me as he seemed to be cooking something. A loud gasp escaped my mouth, which I rapidly smothered with my palm, as I realized that Stuart was completely naked.
A white towel was resting on the floor, meaning that he probably had recently taken a shower, and that his butt was on full display. He did have a nice butt though; it was perfectly round and toned, and seemed incredibly squeezable.
"Stuart," I finally called, since he had yet to notice my presence as he was too busy concentrating on the pancakes in front of him.
Stuart jumped as he heard my voice, turning off the music with a swift click of the remote. His back was still facing me. "Ann?"
I giggled. "You have a nice butt."
"Jesus Christ," He grumbled under his breath, letting out an embarrassed chuckle as he carefully bent down to retrieve his towel and wrap it around his waist again. Stuart finally spun around to see me, and his cheeks were bright red. "Why are you up so early?" Stuart yelled, as if he was mad at me for interrupting his little pants-off dance-off.
I shrugged, sinking into one of the chairs placed behind the kitchen island that separated us. "I guess I just sensed that I was going to see some booty today."
Stuart picked up a single red grape among the bowl full of them that was lingering on the counter, and proceeded to pelting the fruit right at my forehead as if a target had been placed right in the valley between my brows. "Shut up. You know you liked it."
"True. We should totally do our squats together," I suggested, mocking a peppy tone and laughing to myself.
Stuart rolled his brown eyes at me as if the motion was a second nature. "I don't think you could handle my intensity, babe."
My heart stopped at the use of babe as a term of endearment. I was aware that it was just friendly, especially considering the fact that I call the majority of the people I know that, but it still caused an exhilarating rush to trickle through my veins. I licked my lips before forcing a grin, trying my best to act casual and as if he hadn't completely taken me by surprise. And trying to cover up the fact that my body instantly reacted in a similar way that I feel when Benjamin kisses me. Dammit, this is confusing.
"I think I could last awhile," I purred, trying to keep the playful teasing we were enduring alive. I liked when we acted this way, because it was almost identical to the way we communicated way back when.
Stuart's thick eyebrows raised, and he shot me a wink. "Kinky."
I let out a loud chuckle as his dirty joke registered in my mind, and my face flushed a pink tone as I realized that I had said something that could easily have turned into a "That's what she said" joke. My fingers gripped onto a grape and threw it at him this time, making Stuart laugh and duck out of the way.
Our burst of hysterics was interrupted by my phone ringing, and I felt butterflies flutter throughout my stomach as I hoped that it was Benjamin. But it wasn't. It was Jordan.
I lifted one finger up in the air to motion to Stuart that I would be done talking soon. "Hey Jordan," I greeted, pressing my phone against my ear.
"Hi Ann. Can you do me a huge favor, please?" He asked breathlessly, as if he was bouncing on his feet in anticipation.
I groaned. Jordan always asked me to do such outrageous tasks for him but I always accepted because I loved the kid. He truly was like an older brother to me, and before Stuart had reconnected, he filled the void of having a male's insight and companionship. "What is it?"
"So I'm babysitting my nephew for the rest of the weekend but I forgot I had an audition in Burbank in a few hours so could you please watch him until I get back? His name is Parker and he's like four years old and you can just stick him in front of the TV for all I care and maybe make him some dinosaur nuggets or something I don't even know," Jordan rambled, talking so rapidly into the receiver that I could barely process the information that he was spitting out. "Please! I'll pay you!"
I chuckled, shaking my head although he was unable to see me. "You don't have to pay me, Jordan. That's fine. I'm not doing anything today anyways."
He let out a happy squeal. "Thank you so much, you're a lifesaver! I'll be there really soon and I'll bring his toys, okay? Thank you, oh my God, thanks I love you so much right now."
The phone call ended before I was even given a chance to reply, and Stuart shot me a weird look when I placed my phone down onto the counter. "What does he not have to pay for?"
"We're babysitting Jordan's nephew," I explained, matter-of-factly.
"We?" Stuart exclaimed, his eyes bugging out of his head in surprise. "I don't remember agreeing to watch an infant on my relaxing Sunday. I wanted to cuddle."
"Aw," I cooed, scooting off of the chair so I could come around the island and wrap my arms around Stuart's waist, while his biceps pushed against my back as he held me tightly. "We can cuddle after Parker leaves. And he's four, not an infant."
Parker was absolutely adorable in every way imaginable. I had never met Jordan's brother or his brother's wife, but I'm assuming they both were very good-looking since they were able to create such a cute little child. He had light brown hair and bright blue eyes and his skin lacked that porcelain pale color that his uncle has, since Parker was very tan.
One of Jordan's hands was being clutched onto by Parker, while his other hand was grasping a bag full of toys and snacks. "I shouldn't be gone for too long. Thanks for doing this, Ann," Jordan said gratefully, before bending down to get eye level with Parker. "Uncle Jordan will be back very soon, okay bud? Annabel is super nice and fun, she'll take good care of you. And if you need anything that Anna can't do she will call me for help, alright? Love you, Parker. I'll be back soon."
Parker nodded cautiously, giving Jordan a hug and a sloppy kiss on his cheek. Jordan waved goodbye as he slipped out of the front door, leaving me alone with his nephew. "Hi Parker. I'm Annabel. Do you want to go play with your toys? Or, what would you like to do?"
His cute smile disappeared as soon as I finished talking. The little tiny blue eyes he had glared at me with a mix of annoyance and fear. "You're a girl. Girls have cooties. I can't talk to girls or I will get cooties."
I laughed, remembering the old belief that toddlers had, thinking that the opposite gender had some sort of disease. I think parents just came up with that so their children wouldn't be gettin' frisky on the playground. "Only little girls have cooties, Parker. I don't have them anymore, and neither does your mom or grandma or your girl teachers."
"All girls have cooties," Parker declared stubbornly, crossing his arms across his chest. "Even Mommy. That's why I don't drink her boobie milk anymore."
My eyes widened at the information Parker had blurted out, and I bit on my lip to stop myself from giggling. "Okay. Well would you like to go do something?"
He immediately ran away from me and curled up in the corner of the room. "I told you I can't talk to you! Stay away from me!"
I sighed, placing my hands on my hips, and trying to keep my patience. "What if you need something? You can't just sit in the corner until Uncle Jordan comes back, you will be really bored, Bud. Why don't we watch TV or play some games?"
Parker clamped his hands over his ears and began to scream loudly so he wouldn't hear my voice. The cute façade had worn off rather quickly. Now I was worried that he would pee his pants or something since he couldn't ask me where the bathroom was. My frustration was building as h
e continued to yell, so I strolled over to the bedroom to call in Stuart as reinforcement.
"Stu?" I asked softly as I opened our bedroom door. He was laying on the air mattress, studying his phone intently. "Stu, the kid won't talk to me or listen to me because I'm a girl and have cooties. Will you please help me?"
He grumbled something under his breath and ran his hands through his hair, tugging on the ends of it as his fingers combed through the kinks. "Jesus, why do I have deal with him when it's your fault for getting herpes!"
"Cooties, Stuart," I corrected him, slapping his arm gently and making my best friend burst into a fit of laughter as he followed me out of the door and back into the living room where Parker was still crouched down.
Stuart didn't even acknowledge Jordan's presence, he simply plopped down on the sofa and rummaged through the bag of toys that Parker brought with him. He pulled out a mini pretend- guitar that was probably about the size of Stuart's forearm and was complete with light up buttons as the strings and this little plastic knob that you could strum to make the music come out. Stuart began playing with it and instantly figured out how to play a basic song as if it was second nature for him to understand a children's toy.
Parker slowly headed towards Stuart as he heard the music and noticed that there was another male in the vicinity, and his small body crawled up onto Stuart's lap without a word. Stuart seemed genuinely surprised by his brave action, but eventually smiled at the young boy who was staring up at him in astonishment.
"Hey buddy," Stu greeted, poking Parker's dimple and making him let out an adorable giggle, which made Stuart smile even wider. He held the little guitar out to him. "Do you want to play?"
Parker nodded his head quickly, yanking the toy out of Stuart's grip. Stuart let him experiment with the different buttons that represented chords for awhile, but it all sounded awful, which would be expected from a little tike. Stuart hesitantly picked up his miniature sized fingers and moved them around the buttons for him, letting a "Mary Had a Little Lamb" tune play.
"I did that! I am good at music!" Parker cheered, laughing happily and reaching out to give Stuart a high five. His palm was not even half the size of Stuart's, and it made my heart melt.
I slowly took a seat on the couch next to them, far enough away so Parker would yell at me, and watched Stuart help him play the pretend guitar again and seeing his eyes crinkle with joy whenever Parker would giggle. It was one of the most precious things I've ever witnessed, especially since Stuart has always been awkward around younger kids, but now he was coming out of his shell and enjoying it.
Stuart must have felt my amused stare on him because he suddenly reached out with his free hand and picked up my own, carefully slipping his fingers through the spaces and interlocking our hands together. My breathing hitched in my throat. Holding hands was something so simplistic and friendly, but it also could be considered the linking of the two of our souls and emotions together. It was as if this mere touch could express support, but it also was causing a spark to dart down my spine. His hand laced together with mine felt like home, and once I realized just how blissful this feeling was, I never wanted him to let go.
Parker stopped playing, maybe because he realized that Stuart and I were holding hands or maybe because he was bored, and turned around to face Stuart again. "Do you live here?"
"Yeah. This is my house now."
He sent him a puzzled glance. "So you live with Annabel? Like, together?"
Stuart's thumb brushed over the top of mine, moving in a circular motion and making this dizzy feeling inside of my head to increase. "We're roommates."
"Why would you want to live with someone who has Cooties?" Parker interrogated in an astounded tone, with his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
Stuart let out a loud chuckle, obviously finding his hatred towards me to be the funniest thing, or he was relating it back to some other STD that I swear I do not have. "She doesn't have cooties. If she did I would move the fu-, I would move the fudge pops with me when I left this house to get away from her."
I giggled at his save for almost dropping the f-bomb. This, in the most possible raw form, was the Stuart I knew back in the day. This was not famous Stuart Robinson or take-your-virginity-and-humiliate-you-for-it Stuart Robinson. This was the boy who had a problem with profanity and dirty jokes and looked super intimidating, but deep inside he was just a major goofball who dances around his kitchen naked and turns into a cutie-pie when he makes toddlers grin.
Parker crossed his puny arms across his chest again, a sassy habit of his that he must possess. "She has cooties. All pretty girls have cooties."
Stuart's pouty lips curled up into an even bigger smile. "Does that mean you think Anna is pretty?"
He nodded shyly as if I wasn't sitting right next to him and couldn't see and hear this entire conversation. "Yes, do you?"
"I think she's very pretty," Stuart agreed in a velvety tone, squeezing my hand tightly and making butterflies flutter throughout my stomach again. These weren't like the nervous and anxious butterflies I got when I was with Benjamin. These were incredibly unprecedented.
My cheeks must have been burning bright red by now. "So if you think she's pretty does that mean you two will have kids like Mommy and Daddy did? 'Cause if you do make sure you tell your kid not to drink Annabel's boobie milk or else he'll get cooties too."
Stuart burst out laughing immediately, not even being able to stop himself from cracking up. He glimpsed over at me for the first time since he had intertwined our fingers together which ultimately made me laugh as well. "Okay, Parker. No boobie milk for the kid. But what about for Daddy?"
"Stuart!" I shrieked, unlocking our hands so I could smack him in the arm again, feeling my face grow hot again. I couldn't help but laugh along with him, although it was extremely inappropriate, but Parker's confused face just made the situation even funnier. "Parker, you didn't hear that, okay?"
"Hear what?"
Chapter 18
Stuart
"So Ann told me that her nineteenth birthday is like this Friday," Benjamin stated as he threw another handful of M&M's into his mouth. "Did you get her a present yet?"
I sat up straight, since I had previously been laying on the floor in the boys' living room while the four of us just hung out and did our usual crap together. I missed being with them every second of the day. A part of me felt disconnected, for a lack of a better word, from the band since I was living like twenty minutes away from them and it was a hassle to travel there every morning.
"Not yet," I answered, scooping up some of the chocolate candy out of his bag and plopping them in my mouth as well. I remembered that Annabel's birthday was coming up but I had no clue what that girl even needed or wanted.
"Maybe you'll get lucky and Annabel will give you the present," Bradley suggested cheekily, wiggling his eyebrows at Benjamin and poking him in his side. He started to sing that old Birthday Sex song that used to be on the radio.
I rolled my eyes at them, trying not to look uncomfortable about this subject.
"I sure hope so," Benjamin agreed, smiling widely with his cheeks flushed pinker than normal. "It's so weird how we haven't hooked up yet. Like this is the longest I've had to wait, especially since we already know we both like each other."
A knot began to grow in my stomach as my desire to get myself out of this situation increased. He didn't know Annabel like I did, and he didn't know about her cautious behavior around guys or the fact that she had morals that she clung to.
"You shouldn't have sex unless you love each other, not like each other," I blurted out, not being able to bite back the words from escaping my mouth.
The laughter halted instantly, and all of their eyes shot to me in complete and utter shock. "What the Hell? Stuart, are you okay?"
I shrugged. "Yeah. I just genuinely think you should wait until you guys are both in love. That's the way it should be."
"You're such a hypocrite," Clayton said with
a chuckle. "You weren't in love with Ethan, or with Sophie, or with Marissa or with-"
"Alright, alright," I cut him off before he could blab on about all of the girls I did the deed with while were on tour. "Just because I may not listen to my own advice doesn't mean it's not true. Annabel isn't some random girl. She's a successful girl with her own career that doesn't need to sleep with someone famous to get famous, so she actually has feelings unlike those other girls who are just in it for the fame. I just don't want her to get hurt, okay? Especially because that puts me in a weird position."
Benjamin just shook his head at me in disbelief. "Okay, whatever. Well I'm going over to hang out with Ann right now. I promise I'm not going to hurt her so don't get all pissy, it's weirding me out."
"Aren't we going to the studio to write today, though?" I asked, suddenly feeling disappointed in the fact that he was skipping our session today to go visit my best girlfriend. Maybe it was because I was acting strange, but I was so protective over her that I couldn't help it.
"I'll go with you instead, Stu," Clayton announced, placing his hand on my shoulder as Benjamin scurried towards the door to leave. "I have a lot on my mind anyways. Grace said she wasn't feeling it so I guess I have to find another fish."
I sent him a sympathetic glance. I felt bad for him, and I wonder if he was aware of the fact that Grace and Bradley kissed at the party. Actually, I don't even know if Bradley knows that they did that. He was pretty drunk.
By the time Clayton and I finished our basically unsuccessful writing session, it was late. My hands had cramps in them from constantly writing and erasing, and now they were gripping onto the steering wheel as my eyes peered out the front of the car into the dimly-lit streets. Barely anyone was on the road, leaving only me, the gusts of midnight wind, and the radio to be the creator of any noise.
My eyelids were starting to droop as soon as I parked the car in our driveway. I can imagine bags were clinging underneath my bloodshot eyes. I was absolutely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to curl up into bed and let my body rest.
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