The Invitation

Pedro's Pov

"Fuck" I swore as I made my way down the dark basement with my phone as the only source of light which meant I wasn't seeing much. Just like the rest of the house, the basement was tidy and well arranged. I groped around a bit till I found where Jane had placed the toolbox. I popped the lid open and grabbed a new fuse and a set of screwdrivers and pliers. Finding the fuse box and screwing off the bolts holding the protective cover took a little over 10 minutes and I was soon sweating profusely. I had forgotten to get the rubber gloves and swearing once again, I went back to get it from the toolbox.

Somewhere at the back of my mind, I wondered what Marco would be doing. He may have probably gone to bed and is sleeping cutely. A gentle smile tugged at the corner of my lips. I got back to the fuse box, my hands now protected. I identified the blown fuse and using the plier, pulled it out before proceeding to replace it with the new one. After securing the protective cover back in it's place, I switched the electricity back on and everywhere glowed  with  satisfactory brightness.

After replacing everything I had used back into the toolbox, I made my way out of the basement and into the house again. I was severely tired so instead of doing anything else, I switched off the light bulbs in the sitting room and made my way upstairs. I wanted to check up on Marco but I also really needed a bath. I decided to have my bath, check him before going to bed finally even though it was already a few hours to sunrise.

I walked into my room and froze for a second. From the dull light being reflected into the room from the window, I could make out the silhouette of someone lying in my bed. Trying as much as possible not to make a sound, I flipped the light switch and immediately relaxed when I saw his cute brown hair slightly covering his face and cascading down the pillow in short waves. Marco was lying down on my bed and judging from the gentle rise and fall of his chest, he was fast asleep. Still trying to be as quiet as possible, I got closer to the bed and seemed to get hypnotized by just watching him lie so peacefully. Watching him sleep was becoming my favorite highlight and I was getting addicted fast. I wanted so badly to touch his hair, his face. I wanted to kiss his little lips. Just seeing him lying in my bed was enough to awake all the feelings I had kept in check all night. I swallowed and slowly backed away from the bed before my instincts and desires won. I got into the bathroom and without bothering to use soap, I just stood under the warm shower pour over my aching body. I didn't spend a long time bathing though and soon I was back in the room dressed in just shorts and ready for bed.

I tried to get into bed without waking him but as my weight pushed the mattress inward, he stirred a little and turned to face me, still sleeping. I swallowed. Not because I was scared he would wake, but because I didn't know what to do. His face were just a few inches away from mine and his lips were slightly part, as if inviting me for a kiss. I fought hard with my mind to resist the urge of just grabbing him and kissing him till his lips were swollen and after the intense tug of war, I won over my mind and just lay down. Even though having him so close to me was doing crazy things to my head, heart and body, I wasn't going to do anything to scare him.

I just lay there watching him sleep till my eyes gave up and shut on their own.

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I woke up to the rich aroma of eggs and bacon. I could hear Jane moving around in the kitchen, whistling her favorite track from the Billie Eilish "Hit me hard and soft" album; Birds of a feather. But that was not enough to distract me from the situation in my bed. Somehow, Marco's hand was crossed over my chest and one of his legs was on mine. His face was so close, I could feel his hot exhale on me. If he had looked cute the previous night, he looked otherworldly with his hair messy from sleep and sleep lines on his face. What a beautiful way to start the day. I glanced at the alarm clock on the dresser and the time read 9:43am. We should be at the office right now. Him especially. But then, he's with me. He's still at the right place. My legs were numb from being in one position for long but I wasn't about to move. Marco was still very asleep and his soft snores were the only sound in the room. I wondered how Jane's ruckus downstairs didn't wake him. She was being quite loud.

Until my phone rang, disrupting the silence and finally waking him. At first he looked confused. Then he looked up and our eyes met. He froze at first and then as if the points our skin were touching had suddenly gotten hot, he rolled away instantly.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to sleep in here" he said as he stood up, hurriedly adjusting his clothes and looking everywhere else but my face.

"Good morning to you too Marco" I replied calmly, amused by his reaction.

"Good morning" he responded, already bright red.

"I hope you slept well" I continued, getting off the bed too. My phone was still ringing.

"Yeah...."

I glanced at my phone briefly and saw "Dad" boldly showing on the screen.

"Excuse me" I said and picked up the phone.

I swiped to answer and put the phone at my ear

"Hi dad"

"Pedro, I called the office and Shanice said weren't in yet"

I rolled my eyes.

"They can survive without me for a few hours"

"I didn't build my empire off laziness boy! You better get to work and fast"

I clenched my fist tightly in annoyance till my fingers were digging into my palms.

"Yes sir_" I replied through clenched teeth.

"Good. However, I called to tell you your brother would be getting married next weekend and you will be there"

"I'm glad with the fact that I don't have a choice Dad" I responded sarcastically, my anger evident in my voice.

"And I'm glad you understand. The wedding would be holding at the Fairmont orchid, Hawaii. There would be a bachelor's night holding the night before and you are also going to be there"

"Noted Dad"

"Good. I've forwarded the invitation to your email. Get to work"

And the line went dead.

Finally my whore of a brother was getting married. To one of his plastic dolls, I'm certain. I rolled my eyes in disgust. Marco had actually taken the opportunity of my distraction to slip out of the room. I could still hear Jane moving around in the kitchen but she wasn't singing anymore. I pulled a shirt over my head and began to go downstairs.

As I got close to the kitchen, I could hear laughter. Marco was whisking eggs in a bowl and Jane was laying perfectly made pancakes into a plate. They were both laughing and talking like they had known each other for a while.  Jane finally looked up and saw me hanging by the doorway with a look of amusement and surprise on my face.

"Oh Pedro, you are just in time for breakfast. Marco here helped make the work a lot faster. I'm surprised you are still home by this time though" Jane said in one breathe.

She was a small woman in her mid forties. Always smiling and as you should have guessed, extremely neat. Compliments to her OCD.

"Yeah, I slept really late last night and missed my alarm" I responded yawning and collecting the mug containing warm coffee from her, "you guys are really getting along like you've known each other for a while now"

"Oh" Jane laughed, "Marco is really friendly and immediately offered to help me out"

"And besides, he's way better than that Fred boy" she concluded and went back to continue what she was doing.

Yeah, he's better than Fred.

I looked over at him and our eyes met briefly before he looked away shyly.

I smiled.

Way better.

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