Two

I walked into the apartment, carrying a big white canvas under one arm, while managing to drag my new easel with the other. I immediately spotted Sam and his best friend, Danny, sitting on the couch in front of the TV, even though the device wasn't on. His record player was blasting some music in the background, and if I had to bet on it, I would have said it was a The Doors song. I had already got used to that record player of his, music never ceasing to play in the apartment during the two months we had lived together for, ever since he had moved in.

- Hey there – Danny said from his spot on the couch, tilting his head backwards to smile at me.

- Need help? – Sam asked, standing up right away and hurrying to my side. He took both the easel and the canvas from my hands, and carried them in his lanky yet strong arms, leaving them on the dining table. It had remained a work table even after Brooke had moved out, with many of my drawings and Sam's text books scattered over it. We had stuck to eating on the coffee table, following the habit my best friend and I had taken up with the years.

- Thank you – I breathed out, blowing a strand of hair out of my eyes and smiling up at him.

Sam and I had become pretty close in those last two months. He had moved in the day after we had first met, and Danny had helped him to bring all of his stuff.

Daniel was one of Sam's childhood friends, and he was actually the sweetest guy ever. He gave off sort of a similar vibe to Sam's, but his long hair was pitch black instead of brown, and he had a more prominent nose which remained the main feature on his face, giving and interesting and exotic twist to it. He was a little bit more built than Sam too when it came to their frames, and it paired well with him the drummer of their band, something that clearly helped to develop some arms. He was studying sound engineering here, and also lived around campus, a couple buildings away from ours with one of their friends named Chase.

Danny was pretty much around every week, hanging out with Sam in the living room or coming to pick him up for their band practice. At first, he was really shy around me, but with time he loosened up, joking around with Sam and me as if we had all known each other for years.

Living with Sam had proved to be actually great, to my utter relief. We would take turns cooking and going grocery shopping, as none of us minded it, and even if we weren't the tidiest people ever, we would always make sure the apartment looked nice. He had indeed turned out to be a really laid-back guy, not going to parties that much, only hitting up some bars occasionally. I had just caught him coming back with a girl once or twice, them thankfully being quiet, but I was sure he got laid often from what I had heard from some of his conversations with Danny. It didn't surprise me, as I was wondering myself how I had never noticed such a cute guy as him on campus before.

I wasn't much of a party girl myself, but Brooke for sure was, dragging me to a couple parties every now and then. Sam had only caught me coming back with a guy once, but hadn't said a thing, just as I had done when the roles had been reversed. Apart from those times, there had been no awkward moments between when living together, and I was grateful for it, as I could be comfortable around my own place. He was actually really attentive and fun to talk to, so his company was actually appreciated and not just a mere casualty of needing a roommate to split the rent with.

I still hadn't heard his band play live yet, but he had showed me some of their songs and they were damn good. He had also made sure I started listening to "the greatest artists of all times", as he had said himself, making me daily listen to some of his records with him. I had let him place the record player in the living room after just a week, helping him stack his huge collection on some of the shelves I had freed for him.

Even though I was okay with the band and the whole music thing, at the beginning I had feared it would be too loud or annoying, and that I wouldn't stand it. But Sam had kept his word, keeping his instrument-playing to his bedroom, and actually had a great music taste, making me enjoy our daily musical routine when it came to his vast record collection.

I had learned on his first days here that he played the bass and keys, which he kept in his room, allowing me to occasionally hear him jamming in the living room the couple times I had insisted on it. I was pretty sure he played the guitar too, as more than once I had heard him play around with a six-stringed instrument outside his locked bedroom door. He was remarkably good with every single thing he played, and I was truly impressed by his talent.

For some reason, the bedrooms had remained forbidden territory. I had never been into his room since he had moved in, and he had never been into mine, keeping that little piece of our worlds to ourselves. It wasn't a rule we had made, but it had become something implicit, having that tiny speck of privacy for ourselves, and that's how it worked.

I stepped into my room, leaving Sam and Danny on the couch, to change my paint stained clothes for some clean and comfy ones. I pulled on an oversized t-shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts before stepping back into the living room, plopping down in between the two guys on the couch.

- New project? – Danny asked curiously, referring to the stuff I had brought with me earlier.

- Sort of... – I answered, looking over to his side – More of a personal project than an assignment – I explained with a shy smile.

- Matt's playing tonight – Sam announced as he turned on the TV, unaware of our conversation as he chewed on the last pieces of popcorn that remained in the bowl on his lap.

He was flicking through the channels, trying to find the one from campus that would broadcast tonight's football game. Even though both of us were really close with our football player friend, we had never hanged out all together. It felt as if we both belonged to different sides of Matt's life, me to his jock, college version of himself, and Sam to his childhood one, and we all respected that.

- Oh, is it Wednesday already? – I asked looking back at him, totally oblivious to what day of the week it was. Sam nodded, stopping once he reached the channel he had been looking for, already showing our team warming up on the field. His record was still playing in the background, and I was completely sure this time the voice singing belonged to Jim Morrison, working as a nice soundtrack to the game that was about to start– Mind if I invite Brooke over? – I proceeded to ask.

I knew Sam wouldn't mind, as both Brooke and Danny were always around. But I still felt the need to check with him first, knowing I appreciated when he asked before he invited his best friend over. It had become a little tradition of the four of us to gather together to watch Matt's games, though, none of us knowing a shit about football but enjoying sharing that moment and cheering for our friend anyways. Brooke had really got on well with both Sam and Danny right from the start, so it was normal to have us four crashing Sam's and mine apartment. But, anyways, it never hurt to ask before calling her over.

- Of course not – he smiled, looking at me in disbelief as if I shouldn't be asking – We could all get Chinese food for the game – he suggested, both Danny and me agreeing right away.

I crawled over the back of the couch to go to the kitchen, almost kicking Sam in the process, and grabbed the little magnet with the Chinese's place phone number that we kept on our fridge. I called right away, and ordered our usual, before texting Brooke to come over. Not even a second had passed before she told me she would be down in five minutes.

I grabbed four beers from the fridge, and an opener from one of the kitchen's drawers, before heading back to the sofa. Sam had already taken out the coasters I had painted a couple years in the past, which he had talen a particular liking to, and I placed the bottles on them, throwing the opener into Danny's hands so he could pop our drinks open.

Half an hour later, Brooke, the boys and I were finishing our food, chatting over the match that was still going on in the screen. The record that been playing had stopped providing music long before, but nobody had cared enough to get up and flip it over, too engrossed with the game we didn't even understand ti be bothered by it.

- Let's agree those uniforms are totally hot – Brooke stated after Danny had made a comment about how uncomfortable they looked.

- Oh my god, Brooke, the football uniform is like a flag reading womaniser and dickhead at the same time – I chuckled while playing with the last remainders of my food. You could say I wasn't a big fan of football-kind-of-guys, which made both Danny and Sam chuckled as I placed the almost empty food container on the tiny table – But, I have to admit it's very flattering. I mean, look at Matt's butt in that – I added just as the camera followed him on the field, showing his muscly and toned body compressed within tight pieces of clothing.

Sam scoffed right beside me, rolling his eyes before taking a swig of his beer. I looked at him intently, but his gaze avoided mine as his eyes searched for Danny's. They shared a look before going back to staring at the screen.

- What? – I asked, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows.

- Nothing – he dryly laughed, his eyes fixated on the screen which now showed both teams in the middle of the field. I squinted my eyes at him, trying to figure out what was wrong, but decided to just drop it, turning my head back to the TV.

We kept on watching the game, pointing stuff out every now and then even though we knew our comments couldn't be further from being ESPN material, but closer to an E!News kind of thing. Our college's team eventually won, and I made sure to send Matt a text congratulating him before my chaotic mind forgot about it.

- I'm heading home – Danny announced once we got bored of hearing the actual ESPN review of the game, stretching his arms over his head while yawning – I'm picking you up tomorrow at 6PM for practice – he told Sam, who simply nodded, seeming lost in his own world.

- I should be going too – Brooke agreed as she stood up, yawning right after Danny and letting her head fall his shoulder.

They both helped us to pick up everything from the coffee table before leaving, Danny being nice enough to offer to take our trash out for us on his way out.

- Tell Layla I said hi – I shouted to Brooke as they walked out the door, and she waved a hand my way just as it closed shut behind them.

I got up from my spot on the couch and walked over to the record player, putting away the The Doors record that had been playing before to replace it with Déjà Vu by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. I heard Sam softly humming from the sofa, smiling to myself as I knew how much he enjoyed this particular record.

- Great choice, but we have already played this one like a hundred times – he softly chuckled once I had walked back to the couch where he was still sitting.

I laid down next to him, with my legs squished to his side as I couldn't completely extend my body with him settled there. He immediately grabbed my calves, lifting my legs up so that they ended up resting comfortably on his lap. He stopped flicking through the channels as he had been doing, and turned off the TV, leaning over to place the remote on the coffee table in front of us. The sweet music coming from the record player's adjoined speakers was the only sound filling the apartment as we laid there in a completely pleasant silence, enjoying the peaceful moment of loudness but yet quietness that had taken place between us.

- Danny's got a girlfriend – he suddenly blurted out, making me open my eyes, which I hadn't realised I had closed, to look at him.

- Oh my god, really? – I asked, feeling truly happy for him – What's her name?

- Mackenzie. I mean, they aren't that official yet, but you know, they are crazy about each other – he smiled proudly, leaning his head on the back of the couch and shutting his eyes himself.

I couldn't help but look at his prominent Adam apple in the dim, warm light of our living room, bobbing slightly in a graceful movement every time he swallowed. But I also noticed how his face showed pure content for his friend's joy, showing how deeply cared about each other. He started to absentmindedly run his fingers up and down my legs, caressing my soft skin with his calloused fingers in the most delicate way. I couldn't help but get goose-bumps at that mere sensation, holding back a small hum of approval that was dying to fall from my lips.

- He's like a brother to you, isn't him? – I asked after some seconds, even though I already knew the answer, not being able to hide the small smile on my face.

- Yeah, he is – he happily sighed back, still keeping his eyes shut as his fingers danced over my shins.

- And what about your real brothers? You never talk about them – I tried asking a moment later, trying to be as smooth as possible. The movement of his hands over my legs suddenly halted, though, making me internally cringe as I knew my approach hadn't been that subtle.

Sam never talked much about his siblings. All I knew was that two played in the band with him, and that one of them had been the one that had lived with him before dropping out of school. I had never tired pushing on the matter, as I wanted him to feel comfortable enough with me to willingly talk about his family. I really didn't know what was the deal with them, and I didn't want to pry when, in reality, it was none of my business.

But after two months, it had really begun to intrigue me, especially since they all seemed to be pretty close to each other. They got together to practise on a weekly schedule, and sometimes even went out together, meaning they indeed had a good relationship. I just couldn't figure out why he avoided the subject if everything was fine, and it only helped to spike even more my undying curiosity.

- There's not much to them – he simply shrugged off, trying to play it cool and avoiding to expand on it.

- Oh, come on, I'm sure there must be something you can tell me about it – I tried again, not ready to give up this time – The one that sings already sounds amusing just by his voice, I'm sure he is an interesting character.

- That would be Josh – he sighed after some seconds, finally opening his eyes. He let his head fall to the side so that he stared at my lying form, his eyes going over my face before speaking again – He's studying film at a college and hour and a half away from here.

- That's cool. He has a beautiful voice – I replied, proud of myself for getting even the smallest piece of information out of him – I'm missing just two of them then, right? – I asked, remembering he had actually told me he had three siblings once, but had never shared their names or any more information about them.

- Yeah, there's Ronnie, who is a year older than me, she's your age. She's studying in Chicago, some marketing thing or shit like that. I really wouldn't know – he chuckled, clearly embarrassed about not knowing what his own sister was majoring in – And then there's Jake. He's the one I used to live with. Are you happy with that? – he asked in a tired but yet playful tone, looking down at me with a teasing raised eyebrow.

- For now... – I stated, rolling my eyes in an also playful way. At least I had got something, in comparison to all the other times I had tried to get him to open up about his family.

- What about yours? – he asked after a while, turning to look down at me again after spending some time staring at the ceiling, letting the music fill our silence.

He already knew I had an older brother, but I hadn't talked much about him. I had always thought he wasn't up to sharing that much family information, so I had kept most of it to myself, waiting till he told me more about his before telling him everything about mine.

- You already know, I have an older brother, Carter – I said, waiting for him to ask more with a smug look on my face.

- Well, but what's up with him?

I couldn't tell if he was genuinely interested, or just trying to make small chat after I had asked about his brothers. But I appreciated it all the same, glad we were getting past that closeness of his when it came to relatives after all this time living together.

- He'll be graduating by the end of this year from law school – I shrugged, the image of my hard working but charming brother popping up in my head – He's studying all the way back in California. I haven't seen him in a while, actually.

- Can I ask you something? – Sam asked out of the blue, interrupting me without a care in the world. I really didn't know if he was going to ask something about my brother or what was going on with him, so I simply nodded, in a way to let him know he could go on – You and Matt... Did something ever happen there? – he hesitantly said after some seconds of internal debate, searching for an answer with his eyes as he stared at me.

- I have already told you – I laughed in a sort of awkward way, completely taken aback by his sudden question – He asked me on a date on his first year here but we decided to remain friends after that. And that was all. Why are you asking?

- I don't know. He said something when he first talked about you, and after you commented on his butt today, I was wondering if there was something going on that I had missed.

- What did he say? - I couldn't help but ask, my face probably showing my confusion given the unexpected turn of our conversation.

- That you were hot – he replied, clearing his throat afterwards. He was clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation, but I still couldn't understand why he was bringing it up.

- We are just friends. Yeah, he has an amazing butt, and he may think I'm hot, but there's nothing more to it – I decided to answer, letting it show my confusion at where all of this was coming from.

- Alright... - he trailed off, closing his eyes back again, trying to focus on the music that still played in the background.

- What? – I snapped, having spent enough time with him to know that tone of his.

- Nothing... It's just- You are always texting each other. I even saw you congratulating him after the match. Danny has noticed the constant texting too... – he added, raising his eyebrows in an unbothered way.

- Yes, because we are friends – I replied, emphasising the word – What, we are texting so you think we are dating? I'm texting you all the time too, and it doesn't mean we are suddenly together– I pointed out, slightly laughing at the silliness of it all.

Sam simply closed his eyes, resting his head back on the sofa and shrugged, not answering to my statement. I allowed myself a moment to stare at the side of his face, trying to see where all of this was coming from or why did he care, but I couldn't come up with anything.

A tiny smile crept on my face at the mere idea of him being jealous of Matt, but I quickly reminded myself that it was stupid. We were just roommates, and that's the way it'd stay.

Eventually, his hands went back to gently caressing my legs, a kind of white flag that told me he was giving up on our argument. I melted into the feeling, letting my own head fall back on the puffy cushions bellow me to stare at the white ceiling.

- Danny and Chase are throwing a party this Friday – Sam said, looking down after a while. He cleared his throat right away, as his voice had come out somewhat raspy.

- At their apartment? – I asked surprised, knowing that they always kept things calm over there. Chase was pretty much like Sam and Danny, he wasn't too wild. He was a music kind of guy as well, but didn't even practise with his own band at their apartment to avoid disturbing neighbour students.

- Yeah, are you coming? – he asked, making me finally look over him.

- I don't know... – I sincerely sighed, biting down on my lip as I thought about it.

- C'mon, it will be fun– Sam whined, in a poor attempt of convincing me.

- You know I hate parties – I stated, rolling my eyes at his upcoming insistence.

- Yeah, but it's Danny's party we are talking about. It won't be anything too crazy – he went on, knowing that he had a fair point – C'mon, Gwenny – he whined again, making me slightly smile at the nickname he had picked up for me a couple weeks into living together.

He started to softly shake my legs on his lap, like a little kid throwing a tantrum to his mother or in desperate need of attention. But he stopped after some seconds, realising it wasn't the best idea. His cock was getting some friction out of the movement of my legs over it, and he probably didn't want to go through an embarrassing moment like that one in front of me. I laughed to myself at the sight of the sudden stiffness of his muscles, trying to hold back a smirk that was beginning to show on my face.

- I may go... – I decided to say, a tiny smile creeping onto my face when I saw his own face light up – But I'll have to ask Brooke first.

- I already did – he replied nonchalantly, in an almost dismissing way– She said yes, of course.

- Oh, so you want Brooke to go? – I said, my smile slightly dropping. I quickly tried to cover it up, thinking it hadn't been perceivable, but he still noticed, furrowing his eyebrows at me.

My stomach fell a bit at the thought of him asking Brooke to go to the party before he asked me. I knew, or at least believed, that Sam wasn't interested in her that way, but yet I couldn't help to feel a little disappointed I wasn't the first he came to. I guessed I had become a little territorial when it came to him, as I really could count my real friend with one hand, and Sam had made his way to the top two on that list.

- I want you to go – he reassured, luckily not saying anything about my weird fit, and squeezed my legs gently - I asked her first because I knew that if she was coming, there would be more chances you agreed to come too. And she'd help to drag you there if you said no – he added with a chuckle – So, are you coming?

- Okay... – I agreed after some seconds, giving up. I was still fighting to hold back my smile, after he had said he wanted me there.

And we stayed like that, lying on the couch until the record finished, eyes closed while his fingertips still grazed over the skin of my bare legs, simply enjoying each other's company in our small but homy apartment.

In that peaceful moment, I really hadn't known the disaster agreeing to go to that party would eventually lead to.