BURN

Chapter six

CHAPTER SIX

“I really doubt that,” I shook my head, applying lemon all over the sliced chicken wings.

“Why is that?” He leaned against the kitchen counter, my attention immediately drawn to the way his muscles flexed when he crossed his arms.

“If I had really caught the attention of many guys as you say, then why didn’t any of them approach me, not even you? I had to make the first move,”

“Danny being the Student President is kind of intimidating to most guys,” he shrugged.

“If my brother was that intimidating then why did you flirt back?” I poised, watching his face.

“Sometimes a taste of a danger is what makes life real,” I corked an eyebrow wanting to ask him what that statement meant but the mischievousness in his eyes was gone. An unreadable expression closed over his eyes, a blank, hard look washing over his features.

“Well, I’m glad you-“

“Malcom,” A feminine voice cut me mid-sentence.

A smile enveloped his face at the sound of that voice as I heard the clicking of heels hurrying towards the kitchen. I angled my head towards the door, as a tall, dark, brunette beauty graced the kitchen doorway. She rushed straight to Malcom, a thick pang of jealousy instantly slicing through my heart when he pulled her in for a hug.

“I missed you Mal,” She whispered against the crook of his neck. Mal?

“I missed you too Janet,” It was the affection in his voice that suddenly I could not handle. It was not faked.

When they pulled apart, she hit his arms playfully barely noticing I was standing just a few inches away from them.

“Are you sure you are not on steroids? Your muscles are much firmer than they were twenty fours ago,” she frowned lightly.

“No, I’m not,” the way he smiled at her was genuine, not the flirty, amused but clearly fake smile he let me see ever since we met at the party.

“Janet this is Sophie, Sophie, Janet,” Malcom suddenly introduced, catching me off guard.

“Carefully sweetie, you might cut off the chopping board if you keep chopping the lettuce any further,” she cooed. When did I get to lettuce chopping?

“It’s really been nice to meet you Janet but I really need to go. My roommate might flip and call the police if I don’t get back to the apartment on time,” I had clearly exaggerated on the police part but I badly wanted to be out of the place. Something about Malcom’s affection for Janet set me off. In truth, it made no sense because I had only interacted with the guy a few hours.

“But I thought we were going to cook that chicken, have dinner and then I’d drive you off to your place?” a light frown patched on his face.

“I’ll get a cab,”

“A cab? Where does she think we are? America?” Janet laughed airily, throwing her head back.

“Janet, can you please stay here and carry on with the chicken? I’ll take her back to the apartment and be back in a jiffy. Besides, Trent will be with Tina tonight, which means I’m crushing at your place again,” Did he have to add that last part while I was still here?

“Whatever. Just remember it’s never a wise decision to keep a woman waiting,” she smiled at him.

He grabbed my wrist but I quickly it tagged away, feeling a substantial amount of anger creeping into my skin. I knew I had no right to feel angry and yet I could stop it. I strode ahead of him to the living room, picked my bag from the couch before sliding it on my shoulder.

“Wait, I need to grab a coat,” he ordered.

I stepped outside the apartment, pushing all my weight against the wall. The evening breeze bit hard into my face but I really didn’t give a damn. All my mind could do was spin wheels over that girl in his apartment. Was she his girlfriend? But if he was a playboy then that would be an absolute no. Even still, I didn’t need words to know she was really special to him and it did not help that was so damn gorgeous.

Come on, Malcom talked to you today and you are already burning in jealous over a girl he’d known longer than you? You must be really bonkers, my subconscious scolded.

“Let’s go,” I walked after him, the sound of our shoes being the only sound in the quiet night air.

Most of the apartments in the building were quiet but that was the least of my problems. The ride back to my apartment seemed to be taking forever, and the feel of his warm back against my bust was not making it any easier for me. Feeling all these overwhelming sensations was new to me and deep in there was the growing desire to explore them. I was a little surprised when he pulled in front of the apartment I shared with Jade but I did not want to talk to him. I stepped off, muttered a thanks and began to walk away but not before he caught my arm. The hot feeling of all my body fibers on fire was alarming and yet I could not bring myself to pull away from his grip.

“I didn’t give you my number,” He said.

“I thought it through and I have made my decision. I can’t be friends with you Malcom and you losing some stupid bet, is the least of my trepidations,” I flat out stated, realizing I actually had a way out.

“I thought we had established the fact that we are already friends?” he asked surprised.

“No, that was what you said and I don’t agree to your decision. Good bye Malcom. I know you can easily find someone else irresistible to be friends with. Just so you know, it was good knowing you while it lasted,” I half smiled, finally amassing enough energy to yank my arm off his grip.

I turned to walk away quickly.

“See you tomorrow Munchkin,” he called after me, his deep voice surprisingly undeterred.

I swallowed down the pain searing through the back of my gut before reaching for the handle on the door, twisting it. It had only been a few hours but it had felt good while it lasted.