Page 25 of Convergence

“I don’t fight with my ex,” I added with a shrug.

“What’s your ex like? And how ‘ex’ are we talking?” Nate asked eagerly.

I smirked at his ardent tone and expression. “Well, his name is Caleb, and he was my boyfriend throughout high school. We broke up to go to college and be with other people.”

Ev cleared his throat. “Daisy may have mentioned that you and he are still involved.”

“Not really. We hook up casually when we’re both home,” I said with a shrug.

“Like friends with benefits?” Nate asked, incredulously.

“Sure,” I said. “That’s probably the closest way to describe it.” I grew uncomfortable talking about my previous relationship, so I changed the topic. “What about you, Nate?”

“I had a girlfriend maybe six months before moving here,” he replied. “She and I were… not compatible, to say the least.”

“Anybody else? Or only her?” Everett asked, focused on Nate and eyebrows raised.

“Nope, just Sidney,” Nate said and leaned back on his hands.

“Wait, you mean you’ve only had one girlfriend?” Everett asked in a nonjudgmental way.

Nate nodded with a “Mhm” of confirmation.

“Were you a virgin until her?” Everett asked almost at once after Nate’s response. Everett was still focused on him and his eyes were scanning Nate’s face intently.

My head snapped to Nate, remembering last night and the way he spoke to me.

He blushed. “Yeah, I was. Okay, ha-ha, you can make fun of me now.”

“I don’t think we’re making fun of you,” Everett said with a shake of his head.

“We’re not,” I clarified with another shrug. “I’ve only been with Caleb, too.”

“What’s your body count, Ev?” Nate asked him, clearly trying to get the attention off himself.

“I’m not answering that,” Everett said, then stood from the floor and stretched his arms over his head. Nate rolled his eyes, and we followed suit. Conversation about our past relationships ended as we headed out to finish our run.

We had an office heavy day, and Everett went home to bring us lunch. I wanted to go to Nate and kiss him again, but he was clearly involved in his work and music, so I opted not to derail him. I worked at my desk quietly as he typed away at his, tapping his foot to the beat of the music in his headphones. Ev came back with our lunches and set us up at our desks. He had, like always, put so much thought into our lunches. I would have probably thrown together some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with some salads and called it a day, but not Everett. He had made each of us grilled cheese sandwiches, still warm in their containers, and some piping hot tomato soup. A little container of sliced vegetables and hummus, and a small piece of chocolate, were all carefully packed into an insulated lunch box. He unboxed it on the space on my desk next to me and I watched him with a smile on my face. He did this most days when we didn't shovel cereal in our mouths during a quick break. I loved the care he took of us, regardless of Nate’s attitude or my silence. He truly enjoyed taking care of others. I thanked him and squeezed his hand before he stepped away.

He moved to Nate’s desk and unboxed Nate’s identical lunch for him. He set the spoon down on Nate’s left side, knowing he was left-handed. Nate lowered one headphone. “Did you make the soup?”

“No, Mrs. Campbell did,” Ev said with his signature smirk. “I made the sandwich, though.”

“Thanks, baby,” Nate said brightly and blew him a kiss. It was silly and total Nate to talk and act like that, even to Everett. It always caught Ev off guard before he would respond, and I loved watching their banter. I watched them today while I ate my soup as Ev walked to his desk with a pink blush staining his cheeks above his beard. My chest swelled with affection for both of them.

Everett unpacked his own lunch, the same as ours, and we ate in comfortable silence. Only the sound of Nate loudly slurping his soup and occasionally humming to his music met my ears. Everything Nate did was loud. He had no mute button. But strangely, I liked his noise. As a person who lived life on mute, it was refreshing to be around someone who came with their own soundtrack. Even if that soundtrack was often stomach sounds and random parts of songs or viral videos shouted out. I always knew when Nate was in the room.

Later that evening, Nate and I were playing video games on the couch while Everett did a few chores around the house. Nate called it “putzing” around, but we both knew Everett needed to keep busy.

“If I win, I get a kiss,” Nate murmured to me, his eyes on the screen intently.

“You’re already winning, that’s not fair,” I laughed. He was literally two seconds away from winning the round of our game.

“Fair and square,” he said as he won and turned to me and quickly pushed me back on the couch, so I was lying beneath him.

I lifted my head enough to kiss him and he sighed as he pressed his weight down on me. Kissing him here, with no alcohol, in our home after a day of work, was no less exciting than last night. My stomach fluttered as his tongue slid against mine and his thigh notched against my core. I gasped into his mouth and gripped his considerable biceps.

“I’ve been thinking about this mouth all day,” he said in that deep, commanding voice again.

---