Chapter 78 - Both- A Day At Makai’s House

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Ocean

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My heart was pounding. I cannot believe he just said that. Did he know what it would seem like when he said those words? Did he understand that to me, hearing those words, it would be like he was telling me that he loved me or something. He couldn't possibly love me though. We haven't known each other long enough for that. 

I mean, I liked him a lot, and it just seemed to be more each and every time I saw him, but that wasn't love was it? That was just an intense attraction. Wasn't it?

I didn't want to think about this right now, it was too soon. I didn't know what to do or say at the moment though, so I was just sitting there frozen in place while he smirked at me. 

When he finally pulled back, I both felt relieved and empty. Why was I always so conflicted? And why was I always wanting him near me, no matter what?

"Do you want to watch a movie?" His question was so normal that it threw me through a loop at first.

"Huh?"

"A movie? I have a lot, or we can stream something. Let's hang out all day. When we get hungry, we can order something or we can cook together." He was smiling like this was turning into the best day in the world for him.

"And what kind of movie did you have in mind?" I smiled back at him, that look on his face seemingly infectious.

"Well, it is Halloween, we can watch a scary movie." There was excitement in his eyes, and I tried to keep it in mine too. I didn't like scary movies, but he had watched the movies that I liked so I could do the same for him.

"Sure. Did you have one in mind?" Oh thank God, my voice didn't crack or squeak when I spoke.

"A couple. Come on, we can watch in the theater room."

"Wait, you didn't show me a theater room." I followed after him as he raced out of the room.

"Well, I had to leave some mystery, didn't I?"

Ten minutes later we were sitting in the reclining, movie style theater chairs. They were big enough for two people so of course we were sharing a seat. We had a large tub of popcorn, an actual tub. Who the hell just has popcorn tubs laying around their house? That was just weird. And there was a popcorn machine in the theater room as well. It was a legit, carnival looking popcorn machine, this wasn't microwaved popcorn at all. Oh, the lifestyles of people who were way wealthier than others.

Makai turned on the movie, and we started to watch it. I don't want to say that we were snuggled together as we watched the movie, but that was basically the case. Our shoulders were touching as we leaned in toward each other. The popcorn tub was set between us as we angled our bodies to make room for it, this made our upper bodies come even closer to each other.

Quite often our hands brushed against each other when we reached for the snack. In the past, I jumped when that happened. When we went on that date before, that is what happened every time he touched me. Now though, I let my hand linger against his whenever it brushed against him. And soon, we stopped eating the popcorn altogether, and we just held hands while watching the screen.

I really, really wish this was a romcom, or a comedy, or a drama, or anything but a horror movie. This movie was freaking me out. It was full of jump scares that I should see coming but I never did. I jumped a lot, and I screamed, way more than I would have liked to admit. And I am very sure the laughs that came from Makai had nothing to do with the movie, and everything to do with me.

'Oh thank God, that's finally over.' I breathed a sigh of relief when the killer psycho in the movie was caught, and the two people that didn't die made it out safely. Who the hell thinks up movies like this?

"You seemed to have enjoyed that." Makai laughed as sarcasm dripped from his words.

"Oh yeah, it was great." I grimaced. I know he could see through me already.

"Why did you agree to it if you don't like horror movies?" He was still chuckling at me.

"Because you seem to like them, and you watched the movies I wanted to before. I wanted to do the same for you." I smiled at him in the most affectionate way I could.

"I appreciate that, but are you going to be fine?"

"It's not going to give me nightmares." I snapped at him. "I am not a fucking child." That made him laugh.

"Alright, alright." He may say that, but his reaction wasn't changing at all. He still thought I was funny.

"Oh shut up, you ass." I pushed myself out of the chair and grabbed another bottle of water from the mini fridge that was at the back of the room.

"I really didn't mean it like that. It's just that, during the movie you looked really freaked out. I wanted to make sure that you were going to be OK. But when you said that about nightmares it was so funny I just couldn't stop laughing."

"Whatever." I drank half the water in one go then looked back at him. "What do you want to do now?"

"Hmm, we can have some lunch and then go for a swim."

"You've got a pool?" I was excited about that at first then I remembered something. "Wait, I can't swim with you; I don't have a suit."

"You can borrow one of mine." He grinned at me. "I have more than I need, really. Come on, let's go.

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Makai

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I took Ocean's hand and pulled him from the theater room, and I didn't let go until we were in the kitchen.

"What do you want to eat? Anything specific? Or should I just make something quick and easy?"

"I don't care, just make whatever. When it comes to food, I am not usually that picky." He was so cute when he said things like that.

"So, you're picky about other things?" I asked suggestively.

"Oh, shut up." He rolled his eyes and I laughed again.

"This is fun. I haven't laughed so much at home in years. It's nice having you here."

"So you can make fun of me?" He pretended to pout.

"So I can flirt with and have a good time with you." He blushed again, damn he blushed easily.

I started to pull things from the fridge. I knew that Ocean would eat a lot and so would I, so I needed to make something that was quick, yet plentiful. I was taking out vegetables, beef, onions, garlic, and a few other things. I also needed soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar. I was going to make beef stir fry with lots of rice.

The food didn't take long to make, and by the time we were sitting down to eat, I felt ravenous. It already felt like days since we had eaten those pancakes for breakfast. It seemed that Ocean felt the same too, since he started to devour his food the moment I set it in front of him. So far he seemed to be enjoying my cooking. I liked that, it felt good to cook for someone other than myself.

After we were done with the food, I quickly washed the dishes. Ocean didn't want to just sit there, so he offered to dry them for me. Between the two of us we got them done in no time at all. Now, with everything cleaned and put away, we could head over to the pool.

Well, first we needed to go upstairs for a couple pairs of swim trunks. I really did have a lot of pairs of them. My parents tended to buy me new pairs when they went out of town, it was like a thing of theirs. I had several pairs that had never been worn. 

I had hoped that Ocean would just change in front of me after last night. He had gotten dressed in front of me after all of that happened, but no, he took his shorts into the bathroom and changed. When he was changed, and I was as well, I led him down to the back of the house.

The pool was in a building that was attached at the back of the house. It was obviously fully enclosed, temperature-controlled, and a lot nicer than most places that you could find. There was a diving board, a slide, and lots of room for us to swim. The water went from four feet deep in the shallow end to ten feet deep near the diving and slide end. There were lounge chairs and even a sauna nearby. Again, it was too much, but I was happy to share it with Ocean.

"Holy shit!" Ocean walked into the room, stepping past me as he looked around. "This place is awesome."

"It's nice, yeah." I was smiling at him and his excitement.

As I stared at him I noticed one thing. The mark on his back near his shoulder blade had changed color. I hadn't noticed it last night, but then again I wasn't exactly paying that close attention to his back. It had most likely changed color because he had turned eighteen, just like mine had done.

Now though, I could see that the birthmark on his back that matched mine was no longer brown. It was a shimmering bluish color with a hint of silver in it. It wasn't that different from mine. Mine shimmered and had silver in it as well, only mine was green where his was blue. So, that meant he wasn't the same as me, but he was similar.

Hmm, what was he?