James cheered in his room distantly, stirring them both up from their books. Brayden opened his mouth to say something to her in that moment.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t.” She snipped and her eyes darted back behind her again.

She moved to get up, and Brayden’s mouth moved on its own.

“I’m just glad you’re back.” He whispered and moved to make room for her to get by.

He could’ve sworn there was a blush rising in her cheeks when he said that. Then just like that, she disappeared inside.

He heard the padding of her footsteps on the hardwood floors through the apartment and the soft clicking of James’s bedroom door opening and closing behind her. Then her muted voice rolled out of the window to his right.

“I’m a little tired, want to take a nap?” and James’s grunt of response.

Brayden glared furiously at the book in his hand. He was hoping she’d at least say something about his reading it, but she acted as if she didn’t even notice. Perhaps she hadn’t noticed, it’s not like what Brayden did was any of her business anyway, even if he desperately wanted it to be.

“Hellooo?”

He heard her drawn out plea again through the window. Was James actively ignoring that girl? The girl who was offering herself up? In his bed? Brayden’s head felt like it was about to explode. James had to be one of the greatest idiots Brayden knew at this point. The fact James hadn’t just tackled her into bed right then was something Brayden just did not understand.

A harsh snap back from James had Brayden’s anger rising like a wave. She had just come back, and he was about to go in there and rip into James and loose her all over again anyway. How could he snap at her like that? Suddenly a door slammed somewhere, and Lillian was stomping right back out on to the balcony leveling him with a hard stare.

“You’re reading my book.” she snapped.

He looked at her confused and then at the book and back again.

“Yes...?” he tried tentatively, what had he done wrong?

“Good.”

Her look was still cold. Brayden looked between the book and her again a few more times.

“Yes.” He said a little more firmly this time. “It’s actually pretty good, I didn’t know that porn came with such a plot these days, us boys are stuck with the old fashion barely strung together plot and a cumshot.”

He quipped quickly, trying to ease the hurt in her eyes, even a little. He couldn’t help the filthy part; he worshipped the ground she walked on and the blush that rose from her chest all the way to her ears made the evil look she leveled on him totally worth it. He grinned a little mischievously.

“That’s disgusting Brayden.”

She tried to shoot back at him, but there was a quirk to her lip, so the shot didn’t really land.

“Almost as disgusting as this here porn script.” He chuckled flapping the book around.

Her blush flared darker, and she opened her mouth in reply, but he cut her off.

“I especially like how detailed the books are though. Honestly, you’d think visuals would be explanatory enough, but you can’t actually see his tongue at work you know, in a video, but in a book! Phew, no I know exactly was he’s doing with his tongue” he cut her off, his evil grin growing “-and his fingers.” Brayden added with a curl of his middle and pointer fingers in Lillian’s direction.

She snapped her jaw shut, but he still heard the small sound that escaped her open mouth. She glared at him one more time, contemplated saying something else and then disappeared to throw herself on the living room couch in a huff. Brayden’s gentle, if not slightly aroused, laugh following her the whole way.

He didn’t care a lick if James heard a single word of their conversation, besides he probably didn’t, considering he probably still had on his headphones. Brayden could hear him clicking away at his keyboard through the window.

Brayden peaked at her over his shoulder and grinned when he caught her looking at him through the patio window. He just wanted to make her smile, or laugh, or feel anything other than the hurt she was probably feeling right now from James’s dismissal. The half smile she flashed back with a roll of her eyes was more than enough for him, so the two of them continued to read in a shared silence across the apartment.