𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟹𝟷𝚜𝚝, 𝚂𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚢
Miles POV

The thing about those dumb kisses is that I can't stop thinking about them. About Parker.

Each time I try to untangle the thoughts inside my brain, I feel like a kid again, trying to straighten out my abuela's necklaces; whenever it seems like I'm making progress, the knot actually gets even bigger. At least she would pay me a dollar by the time I finished.

All that Parker is giving me is a fuckin' migraine.

One month ago, he was going on an I'm not gay tangent, and his cousin was damn-near threatening to take my life if I dared to make a move.

A few weeks later, Parker is the one moving in on me. Someone's gotta explain the math to me because this shit ain't adding up.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not mad about it. I'm only confused as hell.

My heart beats unusually fast as I walk up to the front door with those thoughts in the corner of my mind. Dropping out of this Halloween party would have been the smart thing to do after the Friday night Parker and I had. Yet here I stand.

Inhaling slowly, I raise my knuckles above the door and hesitate. The door suddenly whips open so fast that I startle, which scares the person on the other side.

"Alright, well—shit! Oh, I'm sorry! Excuse my language," Parker's dad stutters over his words in a manner so much like his son that I hold down a grin. Or Parker is the one who picked up that trait from his father.

"No worries, trust me when I say I've heard far worse. Emmett, right?" I smile and put on my best valiant face, even though I know exactly what his name is.

Emmett grins apologetically and backpedals from the door to wave me in. "Yes, you've got it. And you're Miles, Parker's new friend. I'm glad you could come and keep an eye on these troublemakers."

"You don't know Miles well enough. I'll be the one keeping him out of trouble." Parker laughs and comes around the corner as I step inside. His shoulders visibly sag as I slip my shoes off, the tension melting off his face as our eyes meet.

"I already locked the alcohol cabinet, so I'm sure you kids can't do much damage," Quinn says as she comes around the corner, her shiny blonde hair coiled in curls down her shoulders. "Miles! It's good to see you again!"

"You too, ma'am." I step out of his parents' way and take in their fancy outfits. "Date night?"

"Yep. We figured we'd leave you kids alone to enjoy your night. We have reservations at Quince." Emmett lifts his wrist and glances at his watch. "Speaking of, we have to be there in thirty minutes darling, we better mosey. See you guys later?"

"Sounds good. Later," Parker says and waves them out the door.

Our goodbyes follow them outside, and I turn to Parker once they're gone. "Can you guys adopt me?"

"Shut up." Parker grins and elbows me as he walks away. I don't miss the way his eyes sweep over my body before he completely puts his back to me. Grinning, I slip my hands into my pockets and follow him into the living room. My breath catches in my lungs as if it's the first time I walked in here again.

God, I can't believe that some people live like this. Half of my house would fit into the living room. Everything is spotless and arranged like a magazine catalog. I'm almost embarrassed that I invited Parker into my home the other weekend. I can only imagine what he was thinking.

"Miles! Good, you came!" Rose squeals and runs from the kitchen to jump next to my side and wrap an arm around my shoulders. I lean down to her height so she doesn't have to balance on her tippy-toes, and I laugh.

"What, you thought I was lyin'?" I reply and straighten back up when she bounces away, all smiles.

"I bet her that you would call and cancel on us," Griffin says from the kitchen, stirring together a bowl of puppy chow. If I didn't know any better, I'd guess the kid had never touched a cooking utensil in his life. I guess we're both full of surprises tonight.

Instead of telling Griffin that, I shrug. "What can I say? I'm a man of my word."

Griffin huffs and stirs a little more aggressively.

Rose rolls her eyes and whispers, "Just ignore him."

Another voice speaks quietly from my other side. "Literally ignore him. I've been in this family for years, and Grif still treats dog shit better than me."

I cast Forrest an amused look as he winks at Rose knowingly before walking past both of us to go into the kitchen, clapping his hands. "Okay, Grif, where are we at?"

"You cook, man?" I ask as I follow Parker up to the kitchen island and lean against it. Rose slips into the kitchen and pulls bowls down from the cupboard.

Griffin gives me a cold look from under his eyelashes. "Got a problem with that?"

"Hell no, I didn't know. That's all. I'm glad I found out when I did so that I know not to eat anything in case you dropped rat poison in mine."

"Oh, Jesus." Parker shakes his head and drags a hand down his face. Even Forrest and Rose freeze, but Griffin laughs.

"Fuck! Didn't even think of that. Maybe next time," Griffin says, his tone lighter.

Nothing like a little dark humor to get closer on his good side.

"No one is poisoning anyone!" Parker scolds and points a finger between the two of us. "Can we change the topic, please?"

"Yes, please," Rose pleads. "Did we decide on what we're watching tonight?"

"The original Halloween is pretty good," Forrest says as he grabs a bag of chips and dumps half of it inside one of the bowls that Rose grabbed.

"That movie is weak!" Griffin tosses the spatula into the sink. "I've been saying The Conjuring all week long. That one is a classic."

Parker and I share a brief look, his eyebrows quirked. I can read his face like a book. These choices are so basic.

I smirk, a corner of my mouth tugging up. I don't expect anything else from rich suburban white kids.

I'll literally kick your ass to the street.

Biting my cheek to keep from chuckling, I look away from Parker and clear my throat. "Any of you seen The Exorcist? With Linda Blair?" My pronunciation catches on the actor's last name. "And Jason Miller? No?" I look between everyone, but all I get is blank stares in reply.

"I've seen it pop up on streaming platforms, although I've never watched it," Parker says and leans across the counter to snatch a handful of puppy chow.

Griffin scowls but doesn't reprimand him. "Me too. Is it any good?"

"You've never seen that movie?! I expected it from you, at least!" I wave my hand at Griffin. "All right, I won't hear any other options. That's what we're watching."

"Is it really scary?" Rose asks and retrieves a bowl of fruit from the fridge, her lips thin as she peels off the plastic cover. "Like, really scary?"

I grin and shrug. "I don't want to spoil it. Just make sure you're cuddled up real close to your mans."

"He's no better than Rose," Parker teases and laughs when Forrest flicks him off.

Forrest clicks his tongue as he grabs the chip bowls and starts for the living room. "I look away from a scary movie once, and you all act as if I pissed myself."

"You definitely did. Didn't you hide in the bathroom during the clown scene in It?" Griffin asks as he picks up the bowl of puppy chow and presses his lips together to stifle a smile.

"Again, that was once! Hop off!" Forrest laughs as he and Griffin walk out of the kitchen, still going on as they accuse each other of past actions.

Rose sighs and tips her head at the tray left behind on the counter. "Could one of you guys grab that, please?"

"No problem." I launch away from the counter and press a hand against Parker's back when he starts to move. "Relax, amigo. It's good enough that you're hosting. Let us do the dirty work."

A rush of pleasure fills my head at the way Parker blushes with my touch. Sometimes he's too easy.

"You know what hosting means, right? I'm supposed to be taking care of you." Parker punctuates his point by turning and prodding a finger against my stomach. That touch sends a different type of rush down my body.

I grin sheepishly and let my eyes droop to his lips before flickering back to his bright green eyes. "Not tonight. You've done enough for me recently."

Parker squirms as I wink at him and turn away to grab the tray of vegetables. Leave it to Rose to make sure we get all of our necessary nutrients with the junk food.

I follow Parker out of the kitchen to the living room. One of the others already dimmed the lights and organized the rest of the food on the central coffee table. Griffin is manning the remote and pulling up the movie from where he's lounged on a couch on the far side of the room, taking up every square inch of space.

Forrest and Rose share the loveseat closest to the kitchen; with his arm wrapped around Rose and her head on Forrest's shoulder, they certainly got comfortable fast. Rose pretends not to notice as Forrest picks pretzels off the balanced plate on her knee.

That leaves only one couch open that's between the other two. There are armchairs too, but they're faced away from the tv, tucked up against the windows.

I don't need a stethoscope to know that Parker has stopped breathing.

If I'm being honest, I'm a little shocked that Griffin even left that spot open for us. Knowing him, I thought he would have made me sit on the floor.

The veggie tray clatters on the coffee table as I set it down. Parker settles on the couch and pulls up a nearby ottoman. I'm right behind him and glance at Griffin as I hover over the couch. He's not even facing us.

Swallowing, I fold down onto the couch and prop a pillow under my elbow.

"Here," Parker mumbles and scoots the ottoman between us. "We can share this."

"Gracías," I reply quietly and move my feet up.

"De nada." He grins proudly. "That's the only thing I retained from two years of Spanish."

The thought of that makes me laugh. "What happens when you get kidnapped and taken to Mexico? And you can't communicate?"

Parker shrugs and leans back. He makes that simple human move look stupidly hot. Each atom in my skin buzzes with restraint to keep from leaning over onto his lap. To not slide my mouth over his exposed neck.

"Guess I'll get shot."

"Tough words. Remember, you're talking to the guy that has actually gotten shot. You'll be bleeding out wishing you retained the language."

Parker blinks, and his face turns ashy. "Fuck me, I forgot."

Okay, I can't not tease him for that. His tone shows that he doesn't mean his words to be interpreted like that, yet... "If you say please, I might consider it."

"Wha... oh my god." Parker goes from grey to scarlet dangerously fast.

"Are you idiots done flirting back there? Can I start the movie?" Griffin asks and waves the remote in a circle.

A stupid smile splits my face, and I nod as I look away from Parker's bewildered eyes. "Go for it."

Parker moves fast to grab a blanket and cover his lap, stuttering. "I... We weren't..."

"Thank you," Griffin grumbles as he cuts his cousin off and presses play on the remote.

I run my nails up and down my thigh as I steal a glance at Parker from the corner of my eye, the sound of the opening credits pouring out of hidden speakers in the room. It overpowers the erratic pounding of my heart.

Parker's attention is still on me. I can almost tangibly feel it. Especially since I've literally, physically, received his full attention on me before. My little sexual dig isn't doing either of us any favors.

Looking away again, I make myself comfortable and ignore the several inches of space between us. I expect the desire to close that space to go away the longer the movie goes on.

Except it doesn't. If anything, the urge grows stronger. Our secret kisses have been a blessing and a curse.

A blessing because I always imagined Parker being eons out of my league. The taste of him was something I saved for my imagination, for late hours and dark nights.

A curse because I did get that taste, and every little thing about it was better than my wildest dreams. That was the gasoline on the fire, making me crave more.

Of course, with my luck, that urge is fighting against the leash tonight out of all nights.

It's nearly impossible for me to focus on the movie. I hear the soundtrack and the actors chattering, but that's about all I can do. The rest of my senses are on Parker like a crackhead trying to avoid cocaine inside a locked room.

Gratitude, or maybe annoyance for our other three friends, is the only reason I haven't wrapped Parker in between my legs yet. I can't even think about that stupid scenario because it gives me a goddamned boner.

Parker must not be faring any better than me. He keeps squirming and shifting, adjusting his weight from one hip to the other. His fingers keep pulling at the blanket, especially around his midriff. It's like he's wrestling this insatiable urge not to be obvious about the attraction between us.

Seriously, this is draining.

One of the characters on TV starts to tremble from the demon inside of it, and Rose winces as she looks away, burying her face in Forrest's chest.

I would be spooked, too, if I didn't relate so fucking much. I'm about one more glance away from trembling myself over here. There should be a category in the Oscars, the Grammys, or whatever the hell it is for suppressing feelings. Because if that were a category, I'd win first place.

The movie continues. It's getting more difficult for me to sit here stagnant. I'm forced to take my feet down and lean forward, dumping various snacks on a paper plate. Hopefully, food will be enough of a distraction from this hard-on from hell.

Settling back onto the couch, I pop a chip in my mouth and look over at Parker. He's watching me intently, not bothering to pretend to be interested in the movie. He had that same look on his face two nights ago when he was two seconds away from kissing me.

Rather than letting that happen again, as much as I'd love to right now, I hold out my plate towards him and raise an eyebrow in a silent question.

Parker glances down at the options and snags a few pieces of fruit.

I smile and glance at the movie again. Right as a jump scare happens.

"Fuck!" Griffin and Forrest curse simultaneously, their bodies flinching so hard that they'll be sore tomorrow. Poor Rose yelps and burrows deeper into Forrest's chest.

"Hijo de puta!" I also curse, even though I've seen this movie and know what happens. Still, it's shocking enough that I momentarily forget about my sexual crisis.

Everyone's collective reaction frightens Parker, making him grab my wrist so hard and suddenly that my plate shakes. Puppy chow scatters across the couch.

"Why the hell did you choose this movie?!" Parker hisses in an effort to be silent, except he starts to giggle.

"Shhh!" Griffin hushes, his attention engaged on the screen.

I bite down a grin and instead shrug again. Parker mimics my shrug and grabs onto me tighter as the music in the movie starts to get intense.

My skin is burning up where he's touching it at. His fingers are still wrapped around my forearm, his eyes locked on the scene unfolding.

Chewing on my lip, I wait and wait, then...

Everyone screams this time.

Instead, my fear reaction is to laugh as Parker dives closer to me and instinctively buries his head against my shoulder.

"Screw this," he says into my sweatshirt, his words muffled. "Tell me when the scene is over!"

I laugh and use my other hand to grab a grape and throw it in my mouth. "I will. Keep your eyes shut. His eyes are still bleeding out."

"Ew. Fuck this movie."

Parker curses it out, except I wonder if he's genuinely panicked or simply looking for an excuse to get closer. He lets go of my wrist and rests his hand on my abdomen instead, his fingers slipping under the hem of my sweatshirt.

Everything about the way his fingertips slide on my skin is intentional. I know it. I'm not one to complain, though, so I don't.

Parker's fingers don't move any further, but I feel his chest heaving as if he finished sprinting across a football field. I finish my snacks and set the plate off to the side before allowing my hand to settle down on him casually.

Thankfully, we have the rest of the movie as an excuse to stay extra close together and get away with it. Besides, everyone's so caught up in the story that they don't bother to look back here.

And I'm glad for it when Parker nestles closer, making himself comfortable. It's too easy to pretend that this could be our forever, if only he were ready to admit it.