The light touch made my heart flutter and fill up with a longing for more it didn’t exactly help me when our eyes locked which had my skin flushing from under me. I felt the heat rise up to my face and I’m the type to blush all the way to the tip of my ears. So quickly I averted my eyes from his gaze rubbing the back of my head “I’ll go check on the twins now.” I said and left the room.

I walked fast from the door and leaned on the staircase rail with one hand supporting my body and the other beating on my heart. Attempting to steady it, I could feel my heart beating hard all the way in my ears; all of a sudden the need to take off my shirt to cool off was strong. Instead I settled on fanning myself with a weak hand. I was so in my head, so in my feelings I hadn’t even noticed my mom waving her gloved hand at me from downstairs “come down here hon.” She called out snapping me from my reverie.

“Everything ok? You weren’t supposed to be back yet?” I asked curious of how their meeting with the Beauforts and the office had gone.

“Is that why you uhm” she definitely avoided eye contact with me and lowered her voice “erm…you know…to Conrad?” she raised her immaculate eyebrow at me.

“No mom!” I groaned dragging her to the living room where the twins were fighting “I didn’t do anything, nothing happened.” I said lowering my voice and explained the incident to her in detail. At least mom found the humor in it and believed me just like last time but I on the other hand was still mortified and disturbingly flustered from the memory of Conrad’s damp skin on mine.

Dad walked in and feigned a cough when he looked at me, which stung at me it was even worse when he couldn’t look at me in the eye. Like what the hell? I squared my shoulders mentally preparing to talk to him however before I could Conrad walked in and greeted my parents and glanced at dad’s direction “I’m sorry for earlier, I know how that must’ve looked to you and I would just like to make it clear that I wouldn’t disrespect your hospitality like that and I definitely wouldn’t come on a straight guy like that. It was an accident” He assured them without sparing me a glance and tried to explain what had happened but my mother waved him off since I’d already told her.

Mom and dad were quick to glance at me though “straight guy huh?” dad asked staring directly at me. Conrad hummed just as one of the twins ran into his arms crying “Con-arrd …Mika is stealing my air.” The other twin cried running to me “…it’s mine”

Now we had two thump sucking kids fighting for air rights and a homophobic father who exited the room most likely ruing the day he conceived me because not only did he have a gay son, but that gay son wasn’t exactly out to his roommate which in my dad’s mind translated to cowardice and I felt there was nothing I could do to make him respect me half as much as he respected Tess.

Mom was an angel though she rose from her seat smiling down at us sweetly and gave us supportive pats on our shoulders as we each tried to calm down the feuding twins. One of the twins kept grabbing at the air clasping it is hands then into his pockets as the other cried trying to grab the air back from the other’s pockets. It was the funniest thing to watch even Conrad couldn’t stop laughing, mom too.

She leaned her body by the door and spoke to both of us “I’d really find it peaceful if you were safe.”

I perfectly understood what she was alluding to, but not Conrad who snapped the thieving twin up in his arms and laughed asking “ you don’t need to worry we’ll keep the twins from sharp objects and brutal fighting.”

Mom cleared her throat and much to my chagrin she explained further “I’m talking about sex. If you’re going to be practicing it I’d prefer it if it was safe always.”

Conrad seized his laughing shocked I presume and I ignored my mother praying for the whole ground to open up and swallow me whole Conrad started mumbling something to her and she just hummed leaving the room.