Page 51 of Creed

Keeping her safe.

No other reason.

As my feet hit the bottom step I can hear soft laughter filtering and bouncing off the walls of the house, emanating from the kitchen.

“No, that absolutely counts!” I hear Riley argue playfully.

“It does not!” Collins counters, her voice breaking as her pitch rises. Another effect of the vocal nodules; learning to speak in a lower tone because her higher voice came out as merely a whisper. “It freaking bounced off your lip and fell into your mouth. Does. Not. Count!”

I round the corner and step into the kitchen only to stop in my tracks. Collins is perched on the counter in Riley’s t-shirt he’d lent her last night, sans sweats. An empty plate sitting in her lap, the dish covering her smooth, bare legs on display as they hang down, swinging playfully in front of her. Riley has his back to me, his messy, scattered tattoos on full display considering his lack of shirt this morning, he faces the stove and pours more batter into the pan. So apparently wearing both a shirt and pants was optional this morning. Got it.

His shoulders shake with laughter as he tips his face in her direction momentarily locking eyes with her, and I know he’s smiling at her by the rise of his cheek before he turns back to watch the pancakes. After he flips it, he turns to her, planting his hands on his hips.

My eyes follow the movement but I try not to stare as I stand invisible in my own kitchen. No need to add more confusion over feelings and sensations I’m not ready to digest to my already muddled thoughts.

“Okay, one more. Winner take all, Snow.” Snow?

“And what exactly are we winning, Riley?”

“The best, most chocolatey pancake in the stack, obviously.” He scoffs teasingly.

“You’re on,” She smirks back at him, their eyes locking longer than a friendly amount, some mutual emotion passing through them. Ri dips his hand into a bag of chocolate chips and sprinkles a hefty amount into the batter of the next pancake before dropping a few into Collins’ waiting outstretched fingers.

Riley takes a step back and opens his mouth, sticking out his tongue. A second later, Collins takes aim and tosses the chocolate chip at him. Ri ducks at the last second and catches it in his mouth, chewing it once before swallowing it.

“You cheated! You’re supposed to stand still!” Collins laughs as she throws another chocolate chip at him. It must have melted in her hand because this time it hits him in the center of his chest and it sticks there.

Both of them look at the little morsel where it landed and break out into a fit of laughter. The sound makes me feel a little lighter. Something warms my chest and it feels good to see them both happy. Knowing that both of their pasts have the ability to hang over them like a dark thundercloud makes a moment like this feel like the first break of sun after an endless storm.

My mind temporarily short-circuits when Collins reaches out and swipes the melted chocolate from his chest and sucks it from her finger. Riley blushes at the same time his gaze turns heated as he watches her.

“Morning.” I say with all the calm, cool, collectiveness I can force as I make my presence known, heading straight for our coffee maker. I have to fight to keep from clipping my tone at them because this gnawing feeling inside of me is abso-fucking-lutely not jealousy.

It’s not.

At least, it’s not jealousy out of anger. I know Riley just met Collins, so I can’t assume what his feelings are for her, but I know he’s not blind. Collins is easily the most beautiful woman to grace this planet so I know he’s got to be attracted to her to some degree.

At the sound of my voice, both of their heads snap to me, Collins’ jade green shocked expression matches the deep mocha of Riley’s for a moment before their faces relax, each offering a smile while muttering a good morning back. They seemed surprised at my greeting breaking their bubble, but not even guilty that they got caught.

Not that they were doing anything wrong.

When I turn back around with coffee in hand, Riley’s shoveling the last of the pancakes from the pan. I grab two more plates from the cabinet behind me and set them on the island as Collins hops off the counter and loads her plate again, stealing the prize pancake that contains all the extra chocolate chips with a devious look in her eyes.

Riley looks at me with his own mischievous smile before we all make our way to the breakfast nook.

“Sleep okay, Creed?” Collins asks, but doesn’t look me in the eye as we all sit down. Does she know she ended up wrapped around me like a little koala?

The corner of my lips quirk up as I lean over, speaking low in her ear. “I’ve never slept so fucking hard in my life.”

Hard as a fucking rock.

I take great pleasure in the way her porcelain skin flushes the prettiest shade of pink, the color really emphasizing the freckles on her cheeks.

Yeah. She probably knows.

I shouldn’t goad her like I did, but it was too good to ignore. Pretty sure that makes me a hypocritical asshole after the way I kissed the fuck out of her last night then promptly pushed her away, but hey, I never claimed to be a good boy.

We eat in silence for several minutes before I finish off my second cup of coffee and clear my throat, gaining both Riley and Collins’ attention. My eyes meet Collins’ across the table as she slowly chews and finishes her last bite. Where the hell does it all go, indeed?

---