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"None that I'm keeping intentionally," she promised.
She looked past Corbus to see that it was much later than she expected it to be. She must have been at the mall with Renly and Ellenora much longer than she thought. If she remembered correctly, the guest house they owned was locked, and Renly didn’t have the key. That meant only one option for her.
"Now, if the offer still stands, is it possible that I could borrow a shirt? I also think that after this conversation, it might be best that if Blaine won't be home tonight, I'll sleep in there again. I don't want to pressure you and have any misunderstandings."
"What's to misunderstand? You're obviously into the others. Why wouldn't you be?" he muttered.
"Corbus—"
He dropped her hands and moved to the side, away from her.
"I'll go grab something for you to wear," he stated and practically ran towards the hallway. When he came back, he held out a pull-over sweatshirt to her. "It's probably going to be a little big, since it's sort of big on me, but it should work."
She unbuttoned her shirt and threw it onto the counter before she pulled the sweatshirt over her head. He was right; it was a little baggy and big on her, but it was in a way that was comfortable and relaxing. She was assaulted by the smell of Corbus and his cologne as soon as it went over her head, which was also a nice touch.
Corbus looked nervous. She would have chalked it up to him seeing her almost topless if it weren't for him opening his mouth.
"About what you said at dinner, about not being 'just friends'..." he trailed off and fidgeted with the bottom of his shirt. “Caspar said something like that before, but I didn’t believe him.”
"You're a great guy, Corbus. I really like you, especially when we've had the time to spend together. I wouldn't have come over to spend time with just you, if I didn't. I want to be with all of you, but only if that's okay with all of you," she murmured. "We probably should talk about this another time, though, when everyone is present."
She balled up her bloodied shirt in her hand before she padded across the kitchen. She reached one of the middle steps of the stairs before Corbus called out to her.
"Wait! I have one last question!"
She leaned her arms on the railing and laid her head on one of her arms. "Yes, Corbus?"
"You told me you wouldn't kiss me when I was drinking, but...but I haven't drank anything tonight. Will you kiss me now?"
She pushed herself back from the railing and slowly walked down the stairs, step by step. She was sure it felt like an eternity for Corbus as he watched her take her time coming down and around the side of the stairs. She kept the same pace as she walked across the wooden floor until she stood in front of him.
She lifted one of her hands to his cheek and felt him lean into her touch.
"I thought you'd never ask," she murmured, biting her lip before releasing her grip. She pressed forward before he could change his mind. His lips were chapped, but plush as she kissed him. He reacted quickly and eagerly, almost too eagerly, as she had to press him back with her other hand.
"I'm kissing you, not looking to have sex with you. Not yet, at least," she murmured when she broke the kiss. "I don't want to jump the gun before we're both ready."
She took a step back, even though she was tempted to pull him closer. She needed to get to bed if she was going to stick to her word.
"Goodnight, Cor. I'll see you in the morning," she said as she took another step back.
He nodded mutely in response.
She climbed the stairs and leaned her head into Renly's room after a quick knock. He was in bed with his phone in his lap when she stepped inside his door.
"I just wanted to let you know that I'm heading to bed," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I hope I didn't ruin dinner, since everyone suddenly disappeared when I was in the bathroom."
He gave her a lopsided smile and brushed his fingers through his hair. "You didn't ruin anything. I'm just glad you're seeing things my way for a minute. What you're proposing with us is exciting, but I'm willing to put my all into making it work between all of us."
He shook his head and smiled to himself as he chuckled. "Blaine always did say there was something different about you. Like you were holding something back. I guess he was right."
"He said that?"
He nodded. "He asks about you every now and then. Especially after the night we were supposed to hang out at the bar, but you got busy."
"But he didn't say anything else, right?" She tightened her grip on her arms.
"No, he asks more questions about you than anything. He hasn't really expressed an opinion on you otherwise. Why?"
