Flat 64

Chapter 11

"Stay at my place tonight."

Mike has a nice house a couple of roads down from me, I've been round a few times but I've never slept over. I think about if it's a good idea to go, but ultimately it saves me from having to go back and awkwardly act like nothing happened between Jackson and I.

"Are you sure?" I ask him, hoping that he actually meant it and didn't just throw the idea out there accidentally. Mike nods at me with a gentle smile. "Of course! plus it's already 4:45AM and I wouldn't feel good about leaving you to walk back alone. You can sleep in the spare room."

Grinning, I jumped up out of my seat. "Thanks! I'll just go get my bits from the locker and let my brother know why I'm not home." I rush out, before running off to get my things.

Shit. My phone is dead, I guess he will probably already be asleep anyway so there isn't really a rush to let him know where I am.

"You ready to go?" Ethan says when I approach him, and we head out the door together.

***

Walking into his house, is like walking into work again. All the decor is dark and moody like the place I work at, he even has a bar in the lounge stocked to the brim with alcohol. This guy's whole identity seems to surround his job, which I really admire to be fair. He owns his own chain of bars/clubs and is doing pretty well for himself.

"Do you want anything to eat before you crash ? It's practically morning and I'm warning you now, after how busy last night was I probably won't wake up till after 2." He chuckles while absently making himself some toast. Instantly I realise how hungry I am, after all I didn't really eat dinner last night. The reason for me not eating at the restaurant forces a blush on me, but before I can think about it further Mike pulls me out of my thoughts, "Lottie?"

"Sorry, yeah I'll take a slice please." I reply quickly. He nods at me, adding another slice into the toaster. While I'm waiting for him to finish, I realise I don't have anything to wear, is it okay for me to ask him for something? I mean, I've already invaded his time away from work, is it too much? Ethan slides a plate of toast towards me, before nodding at the clothes I'm wearing. "If you want you can borrow a shirt and joggers or something, that can't be comfortable to sleep in." A laugh comes out of me immediately, his comment has crazy timing.

"What?" he says chuckling along with me, looking very confused.

"Don't worry, it's nothing. That would be great thanks."

"Okay, weirdo." Mike says rolling his eyes at me. I playfully push his shoulder in response, earning me a chuckle from him.

"Right, I'll just go get you something to wear, you know where the spare is yeah?" He waits for me to nod before he walks off, leaving me in the kitchen. I put the plates into the sink before going towards the spare room. It's nicer than I remember, the decorations are more calming in here. The door is open behind me, but Mike still knocks before he comes in with a handful of clothes in his arms.

"I wasn't sure what you would wanna wear so I just brought a couple of things in. Anyways, is there anything you need before I crash?"

He asks me, placing the pile of clothes onto the bed.

"No. Thanks for this Mikey, I really appreciate it." I gently hug him, feeling grateful for the opportunity to escape the flat, well Jackson. He hesitantly returns the hug, before we both pull away. When I start shuffling through the clothes, I notice him still standing there, staring at me. Raising my eyebrows at him in a silent question, he runs his hand through his hair before nodding at me sheepishly, "Well alright then, I'll see you in the morning." He says, before rushing out and closing my door behind him.

That was weird, he's usually not so awkward.

Without much thought, I slip out of my clothes and change into a tee shirt and some shorts, It was way too hot to wear joggers, and before long I'm under the covers drifting off to sleep.

***

Beams of light invaded the dark room through the curtains, eventually forcing me awake. Groaning, I roll on to my side reaching to get my phone off the bedside table, but I forgot to charge it last night. Great. I climb out of bed, moving to open the curtains fully, I let the sun warm me for a few moments, before the need to pee takes over. The ensuite bathroom is connected to the bedroom and holds a large bath/shower. I can't even imagine how nice Mike's room must be if this is just the spare. I finish my business before going downstairs for some much needed water, and to search for a charger. Opening my door, I'm hit with the smell of spaghetti Bolognese and immediately my stomach grumbles. I see Mike in the kitchen, mixing up some food and he smiles immediately when he notices me.

"Morning sunshine, you sleep okay ?" he says, awfully chipper.

He's stood before me in just some sweatpants, shirtless. I had never seen him like this before, and I can't help it when I shamelessly check him out. He looks good. He clears his throat, and raises his eyebrows at me, I feel myself flush at the fact he caught me looking at him in that way. I've always thought Mike was handsome, but I've never thought about it more than I would think a stranger is attractive across the street. Some people are just good looking and that's all there is to it.

"Yes, really well actually. What time is it? My phone is still dead from last night, I forgot to ask if you had a charger free." I ask, desperate to ignore the fact that he caught me checking him out.

"It's 4:30 actually, that's why I'm cooking dinner." he says with a chuckle. My eyes widen beyond belief. 4:30? There is no way I slept that long. "Oh my god! I can't believe how late it is, I blame your bed you know, it's way too comfy. I usually am not one to sleep in." I yawn out at the end, still unbelievably tired. "How long have you been up for?"

Ethan looks at the clock on the oven before replying to me. "Um, maybe about 2 or 3 hours? I'm not sure really. You seemed like you needed the sleep though so I just left you to it." he says mindlessly while stirring the pot of sauce. "You hungry?" he asks me, without looking up.

"Sure, what ya cooking." I say moving next to him to be nosy. We are stood shoulder to shoulder, and I feel him tense a little before he goes back to normal. I shake it off and continue to watch what he's making.

"Bolognese, that okay with you ?"

My mouth waters at the smell, "Oh yes, I thought that's what you were making. It's actually my favourite." I grab a spoon from the draw and go to sneak some of the sauce mix, but before I can get there he grabs my hand. "Excuse you, what do you think you are doing ?" he says with raised eyebrows, his hand still holding mine back. "I want to try it." I say with a pout. He shakes his head at me, releasing my hand, and just when I try to take some again, he quickly stops me once more.

"No. Go chill in the lounge or something, I'll bring it in once I'm done." he says to me, in a way I can't argue back. Huffing, I turn away. "Fine" I mumble under my breath, hearing him laugh behind me.

Falling down onto the sofa, I flick through netflix to find something to distract me, ultimately deciding on The Vampire Diaries for my hundredth time watching the show. Yes! Relief floods me when I spot a charger in the corner of the room. I rush over and plug my phone in, waiting for it to come to life. Immediately it buzzes violently, and I see an overload of texts coming through. A couple from Lily, about 15 from Drew and one missed call... from Jack.