Chapter 77: Chapter 77

I shot him a deadly glare. "Of all the questions you could ask, you chose this one," I blurted out.

Romeo raised an eyebrow. "Just answer my question. We were playing a game, remember?" He reminded me.

"Why do you even want to know if I have had sex with my boyfriend?" I demanded.

Romeo opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Then he cleared his throat, and met my gaze through the rearview mirror.

"You do know that I was only asking the question as part of the game, right?" He rambled. "And, I didn't ask the reason you asked me those three questions."

"I didn't ask if you had sex with Samantha or any other girl though," I retorted.

"Don't worry then," Romeo mumbled, avoiding my gaze.

He reached for the door handle and stepped out of the car.

A frown formed between my brows. Was he upset with me? I got out of the car and hurried to catch up with him.

"Are you angry?" I asked, after catching up with him.

"No, of course not," He replied.

I took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. "For the record, I haven't slept with my boyfriend," I told him.

Romeo faced me. "Good for you," He said, having a blank look on his face.

We entered the living room and found Romeo's friend in front of the TV, his eyes glued to the screen as he played a video game.

Suddenly, it hit me: I was stuck in a house with two boys until the early hours of the morning. Romeo, and his chatterbox of a friend, Jason. Jason was the guy I had seen when I was on a date with Romeo, the one who had mentioned the dare.

"What the fuck! You brought a girl over? I thought you were done messing around with bitches," Jason blurted out, his eyes still fixed on the TV screen.

He didn't even turn all the way around, he was focused on his game.

"Just shut the fuck up and turn around," Romeo snapped at him.

Jason paused the game and finally turned to face us. His eyes widened as they fell on me.

"Wow, it's her!" He exclaimed. "I believe I haven't say much, bro."

I cleared my throat. "Hi, Jason." I muttered, waving at him.

Jason gave a lopsided smile. "How did you know my name? Did Romeo talk about me?" He asked.

"I didn't even tell her about your name. How did you know his name, Ivy?" Romeo asked, turning to me.

I was caught off guard by their sudden attention. Their eyes were bored into me, waiting for an answer. I felt like I was being put on the spot.

"I met you the day I went out with Romeo," I replied finally. "I think Romeo mentioned your name."

"You must have a retentive memory then," Jason smiled.

"You were even talking about a dare that day," I added, smiling back.

No one said a word after I spoke, and an awkward silence hung in the air. Romeo and Jason shared a knowing glance that left me feeling unsettled. I wondered what was going on in their head.

"Impressive memory, I must say." James muttered his breath.

Romeo's hand found mine and he gave my wrist a gentle tug, leading me into the bedroom. I followed without question, and he closed the door behind us.

The room was tidy, just as I would have expected from someone as precise as Romeo. Everyone was in its place, from the books to the shelf to the pictures on the wall.

I pulled away from Romeo's grasp and wandered over to the wall, gazing at the pictures there. The artworks were really beautiful.

"Jason is an art person,"

A voice whispered in my ear, making me jump. I turned around to find Romeo standing right behind me.

I swallowed hard, getting a grip on myself. "This is Jason's room then," I muttered.

"Well, this was his room before I came to stay with him," Romeo replied.

I turned to face him, my honey brown eyes piercing his green eyes. My heart was racing, like a million butterflies were fluttering in my stomach.

"Why did you leave your house because of your dad?" I questioned him.

"Because I don't like him," He blurted out. "I'd rather not talk about it."

I nodded. "No problem," I said, swallowing a gulp down my throat.

I shifted my gaze to the pictures on the wall. They were really nice, but my mind drifted to the bed. Without thinking, I walked over to it and climbed on the bed. And yes, it was comfortable.

Silence fell over the room. I rested my head on the pillow and watched as Romeo walked over to the full-length mirror in the room. He pulled off his hoodie and let it drop to the floor.

My palms began to sweat, and my throat felt dry. I pressed my hand against my thigh, trying to calm myself down. I couldn't tell if Romeo knew I was watching him. His back was to me, so he might not have been aware. Or maybe, he was doing it on purpose.

I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing myself to take a deep breath. I felt like I was about to lose my dirty mind. Why was I getting so worked up? It was just a shirtless guy. This should be no big deal. But then, it was not a random shirtless guy. It was Romeo fûcking Sparks!

I opened my eyes to find Romeo sitting in front of the dressing table, his gaze fixed on the mirror. He reached into the small cupboard and pulled out a small box.

"Damn! Can I even do this?" He grumbled, fumbling with the box.

"Do you need help?" I asked, unsure if he was speaking to me or to himself.

"If you want to," He replied, without even turning to look at me.

Even though Romeo was kind of rude and wasn't explicit in his response, I found myself walking towards him. What was I doing? What was wrong with me?

Once I reached him, my eyes fixed on his chest, where I saw a small bruise.

"Ouch," I gasped. "How did that happen?"

"I ran into a door frame," He said, as though it was no big deal. "Would you mind helping me put some methylated spirit on it? I just need to a bandage over it."

"Okay,"

I perched on the table, feet planted firmly on the chair Romeo was sitting on. I opened the small box and brought out the methylated spirit and a cotton ball. I poured a small amount of the methylated spirit onto a cotton ball.

I noticed Romeo was staring at me intensely. I tried to focus on my task instead of dwelling on it.

"This might sting a bit," I warned, meeting his gaze.

"I know," He muttered.

"Ready?" I asked.

Romeo placed a hand on my thigh. I swallowed hard, not breaking eye contact.

"Just apply the damn cotton ball on the bruise now," He whispered.

Bracing myself, I took a deep breath , and I placed the cotton ball on the bruise.

His hand on my thigh clenched into fists. "Fuck!" He gasped.

"Sorry about that," I muttered under my breath.

I grabbed another cotton ball and dipped it in the rubbing alcohol. After carefully placing it on the bruise, I reached for the bandage and wrapped it around the area.

"Thank you," Romeo mumbled through gritted teeth, his eyes closed.

I felt bad for causing him pain, and I wished I could do something to ease it. I ran my fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him, whispering "I'm sorry."

"Ivy," He called out my name, opening his eyes.

Our gazes locked. I could feel my heart hammered in my chest as his eyes bore into mine.

"What can I do to have you back?"

"Pardon?" I asked, pretending as if I didn't hear what he said.

"Never mind," He muttered, his eyes dropping to my lips.