Page 28 of The Not So Super Hero
Zane’s face stated how stupid he thought that question was.He opened his mouth as if to sass back before shaking his head.“Yeah.There’s a clean towel under the sink.”
“Cool.Thanks.”Bailey quickly grabbed a pair of sweatpants he packed and a shirt before scurrying into the bathroom.Once the door closed, he felt a tiny glimmer of relief.
Bailey got his shower while trying to ignore his thoughts that kept repeating that he was in Zane’s shower.The body wash he was using was Zane’s.The shampoo he used was Zane’s.The towel he used belonged to Zane.Everything was Zane’s.By the time Bailey finished and got dressed, he smelled like Zane.That certainly was not a bad thing, but he wasn’t sure if it was good either.
Bailey stepped out of the bathroom to find the delivery person had arrived.Zane sat on his bed, legs crossed, while holding a paper plate covered in pizza.Zane took a large bit, retreating so that a long string of cheese remained attached.To say Zane looked like an idiot when he glanced at Bailey with slightly wide eyes and cheese hanging out of his mouth would be the understatement of the century.He howled with laughter, watching Zane try to restore his dignity by turning away to remove the stray strand of cheese.
“I’ll kick you out,” Zane threatened upon deaf ears.
“You should have seen your face!”
“Just eat the damn food,” Zane responded.
Shaking his head, Bailey got himself some pizza, then took a seat beside Zane.He ate in silence.It wasn’t until he saw on his second slice that he realized they were watching Extraordinary.
“You like Extraordinary?”Bailey asked.Zane had on a duh face, which was the only answer he needed.“Right, I guess that was a dumb question.”
“I’m not changing it if you don’t like it.”
“I love Extraordinary.”
“Really?I can change it then.”Zane picked up the remote.
Bailey rolled his eyes.“You’re hilarious.”
Zane sat the remote back down.The two continued eating silently.Once they finished, Bailey got up to throw his paper plate away.He hesitated next to one of the framed pictures on the wall, the one of Zane and Chris at his graduation.
“You and Chris are really close,” he said.
Zane hummed.Bailey returned to sitting beside him, legs up on the futon.He tossed the blanket over his legs.
“How did you two meet?You don’t seem like the type to have gotten into trouble in high school,” Bailey joked, but seriously, Zane had to be too lazy to cause trouble.
“He’s my guardian,” Zane responded more honestly than Bailey expected.
“That makes sense.He seems really proud of you in that picture.”
“He was just shocked I didn’t drop out.”
“I don’t think so.You should give him more credit.”Bailey playfully elbowed Zane in the side, which successfully got him a signature heated glare.Maybe he was pushing it, so he decided no more physical contact.
“How long have you been in New York?”he asked.
Zane dropped his head as if he were overcome with sudden exhaustion.He gave Bailey a tired expression.“I thought I wasn’t going to even know you were here?”
“Yeah, but it’s awkward when it’s quiet,” Bailey replied, shrugging.
“It’s worse when you ask questions.”
“They’re perfectly normal questions.It’s not like I’m asking you when you lost your virginity.”And Bailey’s face went from pale to red in under a second.Zane’s smirk didn’t help, either.
Zane leaned towards Bailey, so his warm breath tickled his neck.“I could answer that if you’d like.”
Bailey’s palms broke into a sweat.His mind imploded.His heart threatened to burst from his chest.A tingling sensation filtered from the base of his gut to every part of his body, invoking a shiver.All he could do was sit there, motionless and in so much frantic turmoil that he couldn’t process whether Zane purposely made his voice sound seductive.
Thankfully, for Bailey’s sanity, Zane retreated with that same smug expression.He released a soft chuckle, then kicked Bailey, which only made the tingling sensation worse.
“With that reaction, you’re definitely sleeping on the floor,” he teased.
