Chapter 9

Sam left the gym with an awkward smile and a wave, while Mick stayed behind with Alyx.

The smaller man smirked the minute Sam was out of sight. “So… Sam, huh?”

Where Alyx had been packing up his things, he went still, looking at Mick through the fringe of his hair. “What do you mean?”

His best friend grinned, his hands on his hips. “You like her.”

“No!” Alyx jerked his bag over his shoulder. “I mean, she… You like her!”

Mick snickered, following him through the gym with a casualness that made Alyx feel like an idiot, like a gawky teenager again, clumsy and broken and too big. “Nice come back. Yeah, I like her,” he shrugged, “so what? You like her.”

Alyx kept his grumble low and stalked towards the doors, lost in his own misery to really understand what Mick was saying. Of course Mick likes her. Sam’s smart and tough. She’s funny, and people like her, and she is so fucking beautiful it hurts. He’s probably not asking her out because I’ve been so awful, and he thinks she would say no because he’s my friend, but no one ever says no to Mick. “So ask her out and leave me alone,” he growled.

“Jeez man, you really don’t get it.” Mick laughed, clapping him on the shoulder and swinging around to step in front of him. “I’m not into her that way, I’m into… Someone else.” He shrugged his shoulders, resettling his jacket, “So if you like Sam, you need to man up.” Mick turned to go, but paused, looking over his shoulder. “For what it’s worth, I think she likes you, too. So guess what? You are coming to movie night tonight.”

Alyx watched Mick walk away after dropping that bomb, before climbing into his car and sitting in silent thought for nearly fifteen minutes before he was able to gather himself and head back to the dorm.

* * *

Paxton narrowed his eyes at Mick suspiciously. “Movie night?” Mick nodded vigorously, already unpacking the junk food he bought on the way back from the gym. “But… It’s Thursday.”

Mick finally looked up at that, thought for a moment, and shrugged. “Yeah, but no one has any classes tomorrow, and Sam only has to work in the afternoon.” Paxton looked over at the black dry erase calendar that had taken the place of the rules list on the back of the door. Each of them had been assigned a color by Mick, who had turned out to be more of a mother-hen than Paxton would have ever expected from a bad-ass 28-year-old pilot that regularly told stories of his reckless and rebellious antics.

All the markers were neon colored that showed up really well on the glossy black surface, and the system had kind of been working amazingly for knowing where everyone was and what they needed. Paxton was the white marker, Mick was orange, Sam was green, and Alyx had been given red. There was even room for a shopping list and all their contact numbers.

“And we need a bonding night. Trust me.” A variety of candy spilled out over the small counter as Mick unpacked, bags of chips were tossed on top of the fridge, salsa and sodas went into the fridge as Paxton watched in a stupor.

Scratching his neck, he sighed. Mick would get his way. He always did because Paxton couldn’t seem to say no to him.

Mick grinned at him, and Paxton felt himself weakened. “Okay… Okay. But you have to tell me why.”

He watched Mick, the most beautiful man he had ever seen, snort in laughter as he agreed. “You know how Alyx has been trying to apologize to Sam? Well, I think they patched things up.” Mick tossed the trash and finished up the kitchen with a wipe of a paper towel. “So we need to have a night with everyone together, no fighting.”

“You want to invite Alyx?”

Mick finally paused, looking at Paxton curiously, clearly just now seeing his expression. “Well, yeah. Is that okay with you?”

With Mick’s big brown eyes looking at him, his beautifully tanned face questioning and wanting something that Paxton could give him, he crumbled. “Ye-” He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I guess… Is he going to be chill?”

Feeling Mick’s arm sling over his shoulder, Paxton had to swallow nervously. “Oh, yeah, he’ll be fine, don’t worry.” His broad hand squeezed the ball of Paxton’s shoulder, and he nodded mindlessly, agreeing as his brain turned off, all his senses tuning into Mick’s arm around him. “Now we have to pick out the perfect movie.”

Two hours later, Paxton was still confused. Maybe more confused... Something was going on that he wasn’t aware of and no one was talking about it, and Mick was being suspicious.

When Alyx came back, shortly after Mick and while they were picking out a movie, he immediately took a shower and then retreated to his room. Mick followed him in, and Paxton had no idea what they talked about in there, but when Mick came back he looked smug. When Alyx came out a half hour later, he was dressed differently, and it looked like his hair had been brushed back and styled. It was terrifying, because it was Alyx, and because Paxton had never seen him dressed up. Not that slim fit, dark blue jeans and a button-up shirt really counted as ‘dressed up’ but compared to his usual black on black on black it was.

Sam had taken her usual place on the couches, her pillow from her bed under one arm and a blanket thrown across her legs. Paxton sat in his usual spot on the other couch. Mick had taken the one chair, instead of sitting next to Paxton like he always did, without any explanation. So when Alyx approached, the only options for him to sit were next to Sam or next to Paxton.

The hulking giant looked a bit more uncertain than usual, shoulders hunched and eyes glancing back and forth between the two spots. Paxton raised his eyebrow, as if daring Alyx to sit in either place. He didn’t want Alyx sitting next to him, but he didn’t want him sitting next to Sam either.

Turning his expression on Mick, he shifted his eyes, indicating he should come sit next to Paxton so Alyx could take the chair. That would solve the whole thing, but Mick was somehow both avoiding his look and being oblivious to the situation with Alyx’s seating.

Finally, Alyx huffed and sat next to Sam, who smiled and shifted her blanket around to give him room. He was hunching, clearly tense and trying to avoid touching her in the small space, practically leaning over and hugging the arm rest.