Straight Until You

Chapter 6 — The Night We Crossed The Line

Nathaniel Anderson made many questionable decisions in his life.

Agreeing to meet the Reyes family was rapidly climbing to the top of the list.

Mostly because Jordan and Dylan had spent the entire afternoon describing Mateo Reyes like some kind of underground crime boss.

Which honestly felt dramatic.

Probably.

Maybe.

Actually—

possibly accurate.

Nathaniel loosened the sleeves of his black hoodie while staring at his reflection in the mirror of his penthouse bathroom.

Then frowned.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Because he was nervous.

Genuinely nervous.

That almost never happened.

A knock sounded against his bedroom door before it opened without permission.

His mother walked inside carrying a cup of tea.

Nathaniel immediately sighed.

Nathaniel: “You and boundaries continue having a complicated relationship.”

Eleanor Anderson ignored him completely.

Naturally.

Instead, she studied him carefully for several seconds.

Then smiled slowly.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Eleanor: “You’re dressing casually.”

Nathaniel looked down automatically.

Nathaniel: “And?”

Eleanor: “You only dress casually when you’re trying to impress somebody.”

Nathaniel stared at her.

Silently.

Judgmentally.

Nathaniel: “I regret teaching you emotional intelligence.”

Eleanor laughed softly before sitting near the edge of his bed.

Eleanor: “So.”

Nathaniel already disliked that tone.

Nathaniel: “No.”

Eleanor: “What’s his name?”

Nathaniel nearly walked directly into the wall.

A disaster honestly.

Nathaniel: “Excuse me?”

Eleanor: “Your father says you’ve smiled at your phone fourteen times today.”

Nathaniel looked horrified.

Immediately horrified.

Nathaniel: “Why are you both observing me like a zoo animal?”

Eleanor looked delighted instead of apologetic.

Psychotic behavior honestly.

Before Nathaniel could recover, his phone buzzed.

Jordan.

Of course.

💚 Jordan

Are you alive?

💙 Nathaniel

Unfortunately.

🧡 Dylan

How scared are you exactly?

💙 Nathaniel

I’m not scared.

💚 Jordan

Liar.

🧡 Dylan

Mateo Reyes once made a grown man cry in public.

💙 Nathaniel

That feels exaggerated.

🧡 Dylan

He smiled while doing it apparently.

💚 Jordan

That’s somehow worse.

💙 Nathaniel

You both enjoy stressing me out.

🧡 Dylan

Correct.

💚 Jordan

Wear black.

💙 Nathaniel

Why?

💚 Jordan

I don’t know.

💚 Jordan

Feels respectful.

Nathaniel locked his phone slowly.

His mother looked deeply entertained now.

A nightmare honestly.

Eleanor: “You’re nervous.”

Nathaniel immediately denied it.

Nathaniel: “I’m absolutely not nervous.”

Eleanor raised one eyebrow.

The disbelief was painful.

Eleanor: “Nathaniel.”

Silence.

Nathaniel sighed dramatically.

Nathaniel: “Maybe slightly.”

Eleanor smiled softly this time.

Less teasing.

More understanding.

Eleanor: “That means you care.”

The words hit harder than expected.

Because unfortunately—

she was right.

⸻

Across town, the Reyes house was chaos.

Normal chaos.

Comfortable chaos.

Music played softly from the kitchen while Luca argued loudly with Mateo over whether pineapple belonged on pizza.

Asher regretted existing already.

Luca: “You have no taste.”

Mateo: “You say that while wearing those shoes.”

Luca: “Leave my shoes out of this.”

Asher walked into the kitchen carrying his phone while trying very hard not to smile.

Home always felt warm.

Loud.

Safe.

The exact opposite of campus.

Their mother stood near the stove cooking while shaking her head fondly at Luca and Mateo arguing across the room.

Then she spotted Asher immediately.

Dangerous.

Very dangerous.

Because mothers noticed everything.

Mrs. Reyes: “You’re smiling at your phone again.”

Asher froze slightly.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Because apparently he had been.

Annoying.

Very annoying.

Luca noticed instantly.

A disaster.

Luca: “OH MY GOD.”

Mateo looked up from the counter immediately.

Even worse.

Mateo: “What?”

Luca pointed dramatically toward Asher.

Luca: “Rich boy.”

Asher considered murder briefly.

Asher: “You’re all embarrassing.”

Mateo narrowed his eyes slightly.

Calm.

Quiet.

Terrifying.

Mateo: “He’s coming tonight?”

Silence.

Asher blinked once.

Asher: “Who said he was coming?”

Luca gasped dramatically.

Luca: “HE DIDN’T DENY IT.”

Their mother looked interested immediately.

Wonderful.

Absolutely wonderful.

⸻

Before Asher could defend himself, his phone buzzed again.

Nathaniel.

Unfortunately.

Very unfortunately.

💙 Nathaniel

Quick question.

❤️ Asher

That already sounds dangerous.

💙 Nathaniel

How likely is it that Mateo actually murders me tonight?

❤️ Asher

Depends.

💙 Nathaniel

On what exactly?

❤️ Asher

Whether Luca annoys him first.

💙 Nathaniel

That is not comforting.

❤️ Asher

You should probably be nervous.

💙 Nathaniel

You’re enjoying this.

❤️ Asher

Maybe a little.

💙 Nathaniel

Wow.

💙 Nathaniel

Cruel.

❤️ Asher

You’ll survive probably.

💙 Nathaniel

Probably is concerning.

❤️ Asher

Then maybe don’t steal his fries again.

💙 Nathaniel

In my defense, they looked abandoned.

❤️ Asher

They were on his plate.

💙 Nathaniel

Details.

A small laugh escaped Asher before he could stop it.

The kitchen became silent instantly.

Terrible.

Absolutely terrible.

Luca looked emotional.

Actually emotional.

Luca: “You laughed at his text.”

Mateo looked even more suspicious now.

Asher locked his phone aggressively.

Too late.

Far too late.

Asher: “I hate all of you.”

Luca looked delighted.

Luca: “Oh, he’s done for.”

Mateo stayed quieter.

Still watching Asher carefully.

Observing.

Calculating.

Like he was trying to understand something.

And honestly—

that scared Asher more than Luca teasing him ever could.

⸻

An hour later, Nathaniel stood outside the Reyes house holding a bottle of expensive wine his mother insisted was “socially respectful.”

He suddenly felt underdressed.

Overdressed.

Possibly emotionally unprepared.

The house itself surprised him immediately.

Warm lights glowed through the windows while laughter echoed faintly from inside.

It didn’t feel cold or intimidating.

It felt lived in.

Real.

Nathaniel hadn’t expected that.

Before he could overthink things further, the front door opened.

And Mateo Reyes appeared.

Well.

Fuck.

Jordan and Dylan had not exaggerated nearly enough.

Mateo was tall, broad-shouldered, tattooed, and terrifyingly calm.

Not angry.

Honestly worse.

Because calm people were dangerous.

Nathaniel straightened automatically.

Mateo looked him up and down once.

Completely unreadable.

Then—

Mateo: “You’re late.”

Nathaniel blinked.

Immediately confused.

Nathaniel: “I’m literally three minutes early.”

Mateo stared at him for another second.

Then unexpectedly stepped aside.

Mateo: “Good.”

Nathaniel stood there briefly.

Trying to understand whether he had just passed some kind of test.

Then Luca suddenly appeared behind Mateo grinning like a menace.

Luca: “Oh, he’s prettier than I expected.”

Nathaniel nearly choked instantly.

Mateo looked annoyed already.

Mateo: “Luca.”

Luca: “What?”

Nathaniel suddenly understood exactly why Asher sounded exhausted all the time.