Infected Blood

Chapter Seventeen

I grinned, pulling him to my kitchen and grabbing two tubs of ice cream. I tossed him the s'mores and kept the cookie dough- seeing him quirk a brow at me once more.

"Why do you have so much ice cream?" He asked, giving me a nasty look and I shrugged.

"I eat my sadness away- I'm sad a lot," I replied, popping the top of the ice cream off and digging in as he watched me weirdly. I placed the spoon in my mouth and set my ice cream down, opening his for him. I spoke the best I could with the spoon in my mouth, "it's untouched, eat it!"

When he didn't move, I scooped some with a spoon from my drawer and shoved it against his lips- smearing it like lipstick when his mouth didn't open and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"Give me that!" He snapped, ripping the spoon from my hands and licking the ice cream from his face. Not gonna lie, watching him do that was hilarious- especially trying to be angry about it.

I chuckled at him and his annoyed expression softened ever so slightly, I popped another bite of ice cream and felt the nerves in my teeth cry out for help as I swallowed the frozen treat. Holding my face, I wailed like the drama queen I am as Tiago continued to stare at me weirdly- then the pain went away and I straightened back up.

"Better," I grinned, downing more ice cream and noticing he didn't touch it- except for what I did.

"Why did I agree to this?" He asked himself lowly, I hit him and he shot me a death stare which made me regret it instantly.

"Eat," I said, he pushed the ice cream toward me.

"I don't eat sweets," he answered, I sighed obnoxiously and threw our spoons in the sink- putting the ice cream's back into the freezer and licking it off my face.

He was looking out my window and I snapped him back to the real world by waving my hand in his face, he then looked at me and scowled.

Why is he always so mad? He needs to cheer up every so often, no wonder he's so stressed- he has no fun!

"Basketball," I stated, he didn't reply so I assumed it was a yes and I rushed through my back door where the basketball hoop was. I turned and saw him following so I went to the box and grabbed the ball.

"How are you so hyper?" He asked, watching me spin the ball on my finger.

Because I like you and I get jittery whenever you're near.

"Because I am hype to show you up at basketball!" I grinned, he must've believed that lie because he shook his head with an eye roll.

Let the game begin, I will get a smile before this is over!

I dribbled the ball, dodging his attempt to steal and I turned my body to block him from my shot. I took the ball and threw it to the hoop, he came out of nowhere and knocked it down for the steal. He went to score on his side and I slid under his arm, taking the ball and shooting it from across the cement. If there were lines it would've been half court!

He chased it, jumping to knock it off course but he barely missed it and the ball went into the hoop.

"Score Kate!" I cheered, doing a victory dance and he held the ball after catching it from the hoop. I grooved out and I don't know if it was my adrenaline but he was actually smirking at me with amusement.

Woah, anger isn't his only emotion!

Honestly, it was amazing to see him happier, it looked nice on him.

"I was taking it easy on you," he said, I rolled my eyes jokingly.

"That's what they all say," I replied, he started another round and caught me off guard but I quickly got back into action.

He was a lot quicker, it was harder to keep up and he kept tricking me with his movements. I went to snatch the ball but he shot it and it went through the hoop within seconds of the round.

Damn, he's good... in more ways than one.

"Sucks to lose, doesn't it?" He questioned, spinning the ball on his finger just as I did to mock me, "miss I'm hype to show you up in basketball."

"Best two out of three!" I declared, he shook his head at me and started the next game. I swooped for the ball- taking it and spinning to confuse him.

He hit the ball from my grip but I recovered, getting it before he did and he retried to take it but I shot- missing the hoop and he took it. He swerved me and shot but I jumped up, hitting it and reclaiming the ball.

I went for the point and made it, letting the ball roll into the grass as I jumped up and down fist bumping the air repeatedly, "in your face, Tiago! I'm better than you!"

His brows went up and he looked amused which made me stop cheering, "what?"

His eyes landed on the hoop and I looked at it, confused until I realized.

I shot it in the wrong one...

Well that explains why he didn't try to stop me.

"I win," he stated with a shrug, "easy game," he looked at me and my mouth fell open so I shook my head frantically.

"No, I shot it!" I argued, his amused look never faltered and I jumped at him- throwing tiny punches and slaps but he went unbothered by them.

"Not how it works," he slightly smiled, I almost couldn't tell, and it was made me smile like a goof. It was so cute, I swear I fell in love just by the look of it.

He may have won basketball but I won something better- getting him to smile a genuine smile. That was far better than winning any game.

I admired his gorgeous smile, I'm sure he was unaware he was even smiling but I'm glad. I could stare at it all day and he looked down at me with a soft look- it wasn't stern or angry like every other time.

No matter how much he denies it, he's having fun and it brings me so much happiness.

"Come on," I said quietly, I laid in the grass and looked up at him as he stared down at me with a raised brow.

"I'm not laying with you, that's too close and personal," he commented, I scowled at his insult but ignored it the best I could, "this isn't a date."

"I know! Just lay down, the sunset is calming, I promise," I rolled my eyes, he was reluctant but listened and laid down a few feet away from me, facing the sunset that looked so beautiful.

"Isn't it amazing? It's so pretty," I said after a moment, not prying my eyes off the sky that was mixed with dark blue, orange, yellow, and pink.

"You're corny," he said very bluntly and rudely, killing the moment and I turned to glare at him. There was a part of me hoping he'd agree and when I looked at him he'd be looking at me- nope! That was too good to be true because his gaze never left the sky. He's still an ass!

Rolling my eyes, I returned my attention to the sky and relaxed at the colors shown. It was like a painting made by angels, the sunset always calmed me when I was younger.

The grass was so soft and I felt like I was in heaven, laying here with him and watching the sunset. It made me feel so complete, I was truly happy.

"You're not that aggravating after all," he spoke after a moment, I bit my cheeks to keep myself from smiling.

"I'll take it," I replied and a peaceful silence took over, the sun getting lower the longer we laid there together. I never wanted it to set if that meant we'd be together longer.

This man is doing things to me I'd never imagine could be done to one's feelings, it scares me incredibly. I'm not sure what is to come in my life anymore- one thing's for sure, my sleep schedule is ruined if I've been up for a few hours and the sun is already setting... but that's okay.

The sun was barely in the sky when I turned my head to look at him, he was looking straight at it and the light reflecting off his facial features drove me crazy. He was perfect, so dreamy and handsome- I could stare at him for years.

Slowly, I inched closer while he was distracted with the painting in the sky. The distance between us was now only a foot instead of three but my body came to a halt when he turned his head and our eyes connected instantly.

Shit, I hope he didn't catch me moving!

Surprisingly my face didn't turn red from his stare, the look we shared wasn't like any other time. This one felt personal, like we were forming a deep connection and couldn't look away.

I slowly inched my hand over, stopping when I felt his warm one and the second they touched his eyes darted from mine to our hands. My eyes followed his and he was watching our hands as if mine was made of fire.

I was waiting for him to rip away and yell at me but that didn't happen so I continued, seeing how much I could do before he snapped.

Moving my hand slower than before, I placed mine over his and held it lightly- waiting for him to reject me but he never did. His eyes made their way back up to mine and I released the breath I didn't realize I was holding in, all the nervousness started to fade the longer we held hands and it made my heart beat faster.

Suddenly I felt tingles start to arise, it warmed up my hand as they grew stronger but the moment was ruined when he broke apart from me and sat up, almost as if he was coming back to his senses, "we should head back," he stated, avoiding my eyes as he stood up.

I pushed myself off the ground and stood up next to him, he walked off into the woods without even checking to see if I was behind him. It made me frown so I rushed to catch up.

He's distancing himself again!

"I had fun tonight, I'm glad you agreed to come out," I said, trying to strike conversation so it wasn't awkward.

"I accept your apology," he said as a response, confusing me because it had no relevance to my sentence, "I was wrong about you, Katerina. You're different."

I couldn't help my smile so I looked at our feet walking across the grass, he didn't even notice the compliments he gave me and it caused butterflies every time.

Unfortunately we arrived back at the pack house too soon and we walked together to our rooms- but only because they were right next to each other. We stopped before going separate ways and I gave him a small smile.

"Thank you for giving me a chance," I said, watching as he gave a singular nod and entered his room- shutting the door behind him which left me alone in the hall.

If only I could've followed him inside.

Sighing, I sadly pulled myself into the room I was staying in then about jumped out of my clothes when I turned the lights on and Pj was sitting on my bed with a grin.

"Holy-" I gasped, censoring myself and he patted the spot next to him with urgency so I walked over and sat down. He stared at me, waiting for me do something and I returned his stare with furrowed brows.

"How did it go?" He questioned, keeping his voice down so he wouldn't overhear, "did you kiss? What did you do? Does he like you now?"

"Chill!" I laughed, pushing his forehead back a little to keep distance with our faces- he was too close for my liking, "it was pretty good, we played basketball and watched the sunset together."

His face lit up and we squeezed my cheeks, "awe... did you guys cuddle?"

I swatted his hands away, "no, but I was able to hold his hand for a few seconds," I whispered, his face grew brighter and he shook me around.

"MARCO!"

His shrieking voice killed my ears and Marco was in the room in seconds, glaring at Pj, "dude, shut up! Tiago's room is right there!" He snarled, pointing at the wall and Pj smiled cheekily, "what do you want?"

His finger pointed in my face, "she held hands with Tiago," he whisper/yelled, Marco looked at me in surprise- a smirk forming on his face.

"Oh? So it's working?" He asked, intrigued, and he came over to sit on the other side of me, "is that what you two were doing? He told me he was going out with you."

"Partially, I'm just being myself," I shrugged, "we played basketball and I showed him I'm not as bad as he wants to believe. I held his hand and he didn't pull away!"

"You should take him out more often, he might just like you," he stated, patting me on the shoulder and standing up, "maybe invite him to watch a movie with you tonight, don't be afraid of him and you might just get what you're looking for."

I thought about it, watching the two start to leave my room but I stopped them, "how do I spend time with him without it seeming suspicious?"

Pj smiled and Marco replied, "don't make the first move! And if you do, be casual so if he rejects you it doesn't look like you meant it. Also, don't throw a fit if you're rejected- give him space."

I nodded and they left the room, my feet dragging me to the room next door and I knocked lightly. It took a moment but he answered, shirtless...

He wore nothing but silky shorts and I was at loss for words, oh dear heavens- his sculptured body looked so tan and nasty like caramel, the urge to feel him was immense.

"Hello?" He broke my trance, I blinked and lifted my line of sight to his, no amusement in his expression but I stayed strong.

"Would you maybe want to watch a movie with me? I figured since you never really relax you could finish the night off just chilling. We can sit at separate sides so we aren't on each other, it's okay if you say no," I rambled, he didn't reply for a moment and my nerves were burning the longer the silence was until he finally replied.

"I'm good," he shrugged, shutting the door and leaving me sad in the hall.

Well that was a rude way to put it.