Page 59 of Make Me Bleed
But he finally manages to catch his breath and blows it out loudly. “Whew, that’s fucking funny,” he says, wiping a stray tear away from the corner of his eye. At this point, I’m frowning hard at him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“You don’t see the irony in that statement, do you?Youbitching aboutmeinvading your life without saying why.” He chuckles again for a minute, and I glare, but the words catch on. “It’s too good.”
“You’re a real piece of fucking work,” I snap, and that only makes Peris giggle harder, anddamnit,I want to be mad, but he’s laughing, and it sounds so good, I can’t help my own lips twitching to mirror his.
“You see it, don’t you?”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms over my chest with a huff. “Yes, okay? I see the fucking irony. No need to be a dick about it. Geez.”
“Oh, Abel fucking Silver. The chaos you have created in my life,” Peris says so casually, as if that’s not the most sobering statement I’ve ever heard spill from his lips. I wince, face twitching in pain as my heart twinges.
“Peris…”
“It’s early. I need coffee.” And with that, Peris throws the blankets back and gets out of bed. He walks over to his dresser and pulls on a pair of sweatpants, leaving the top half of his body completely bare for my viewing pleasure, which is kind of unfair, if you ask me, but I’m also not complaining because he looks damn good.
“Do you have something?...” I ask, trailing off as I look down at myself. The blanket has pooled around my waist, and my face flushes as Peris stares at me, eyes raking over me like I’m a meal for him to devour.
“Don’t want to wear your clothes?” he asks, brow quirked, and I flush hotly.
“I’d prefer not to,” I mutter, and that makes him smirk.
He digs around in his dresser for a moment. “Here.” He tosses me a huge sweater that flings across my torso. I pull it on, and when I crawl out of bed and stand and it comes to my mid-thighs, I flush again—for an entirely different reason.
“Uh, can I have some pants, too?”
Peris looks at me, eyes bouncing up and down over my covered torso to my bare legs. “No.” And then, he’s turning around and exiting the bedroom, leaving me standing there in nothing but a sweatshirt as the cool morning air burns its way across my exposed skin.
I huff indignantly. The fucking prick. He knows what he’s doing, but I’m also not putting those jeans back on until I have to, so if he wants to play those games… well.
He better remember who he’s playing with.
The house looks different bathed in daylight. The walls are white and bare for the most part, but that doesn’t surprise me. I take the stairs down, following where I hear Peris making noise in what must be the kitchen.
When I reach the bottom of the steps, I take a look around the living room to the right. There’s a big sectional sofa and a large T.V. in front of it and a shelf full of DVDs beside the T.V. stand. I walk over to peruse some of them, just to give myself a little bit of time to prepare myself, when a voice sounds from behind me.
“So, why are you really here?”
“Ah, Gabe. Just the man I was waiting for,” I drawl as my eyes skim over the backs of the DVDs. I straighten and turn around to meet his bright, brown gaze. He’s staring at me with narrowed eyes, which I guess I deserve.
“Well?” he says, not playing games, and I guess I deserve that.
“Peris invited me,” I tell him honestly. “And at the time, it seemed like a good idea.”
“Does it not anymore?”
“I’m not really sure.”
“He’s been through enough. He doesn’t need you coming back into his life and fucking everything up again.”
I frown. “That’s not what I want.”
Gabriel’s jaw is locked tight. “What do you want?”
That makes me grin. “Are you asking me my intentions, Mr. Avalos?”
Gabe rolls his eyes, but his lips quirk as a smirk pulls against his lips without his permission. “Fuck you, Abel. I’m serious.” He crosses his arms over his chest.
