Chapter 8 Catching Up

Juss’s Pov It felt like a bucket of cold water just poured over my head at these words. Was he not even trying to pretend or was this all a trick to make me uncomfortable? I still couldn't figure out what his aim was. If it was sex he wanted, we had done that as well so why was he so adamant on making the quiet world I'd caved out for myself erupt into flames? "It's alright, Lani." I stood up with a smile on my face though I could tell from her reaction that she was wondering why I looked like that. I placed a hand on hers and said in a reassuring tone, "If you can just tell me how to get there, I could—" "This house is bigger than it looks, you don’t want you to miss your way." Of course, the male would have something to say. "As a gentleman and you being a longtime family friend, I just want to make sure you don't stress yourself because you are our top priority, Professor." At that word, Marlani laughed and placed a hand on her son's chest. I could feel my blood almost rushing to my head at his words. He was playing the 'Golden son' card and making her think he was an angel when he truly wasn't, and the worst part of it was I knew how much she loved him. No matter what I said, he would forever look perfect in her eyes. "Can you imagine it? Juss is a professor now. It still feels all like a dream." "Well," He said, passing a small smile to her now. "She has worked hard for the title and I respect that. Plus, she earned it, she’s inarguably one of the smartest and hottest professor at school." Marlani laughed, “Eggust, showing your aunt Juss that you grew up with your weakness, huh?” “I mean it, mum, she is,” he replied, staring intensely at me. I focused my gaze elsewhere, I couldn’t maintain eye contact with him. “Marlani nodded to his words, "True. True." Then she pulled away from both of us and clasped her hands together, saying with a happy smile on her face. "Alright then. You, take her things. And make sure you don't bother her for too long. I know how you can get." “Mum, relax, she knows how I can get too. Don’t you, Juss?” I nearly jumped out of my skin when he said that. I came to the conclusion that he was doing this deliberately to keep me on edge. Exploiting his Mum’s ignorance to taunt me. “Yes, I remember, you used to be a troublesome kid.” I said, stressing the kid. He chuckled now. It was the first time I had heard it and there was something about it that felt like a tickle, a part of me suddenly desiring to hear him laugh and in a second, he was carrying my luggage and saying to his Mother, "What room?" "Any of the guest rooms upstairs," she added with a small wink. "Preferably the one closest to your my room so I can bother her whenever I wish to easily." "Of course," Then he turned to me and nudged his head towards me. "Please, come along." Then walked away. I pushed down the anxiety climbing up my throat as I hugged Marlani, promising the second I had showered, I'd be back to her and we could do whatever she wanted which earned a happy nod from her and followed her son quietly behind. I had missed her, several years away from your best friend, could be very agonizing. Lani and I had really come a long way. She took care of me While we walked up the stairs, none of us exchanged a word with each other as I didn't bother to start up the conversation and neither did he but the second he walked into my new room and I followed suit, his hand grabbed onto my arm and he pulled me in, shutting the door in the process and then pinning me to it, he kissed me. Five seconds in, I wanted to rip off his clothes and have him inside me again. Everything around me felt like it was happening too fast and the only thing that felt or seemed reasonable was him but the moment I realized where we were, I shove him away again, immediately wiping my lips with the back of my hand as I snap, "Are you fucking insane?" "I missed you." He said this like it was something normal to say. Like we weren't in the one place that we shouldn't be doing shit in. Eggust looked like a puppy that had been kicked to the side as he continued, "You left so quickly yesterday that I couldn't—" "Yesterday did not happen. Do you understand?" I cut in with a tone so sharp, I felt my skin bristle from the cut of it while I watched his eyes widen as well. Knowing that perhaps, I'd gone too far, I tried to soften the brunt of it and said, "Please. Your mother means a lot to me—" "Don't I mean a lot to you as well?" He cut in. I could hear the pain and sadness in his voice and on instinct, I wanted to hug him. I wished to give him everything that he could possibly want and even more but I already knew from past mistakes that the second I touched him, it wouldn't end well so I stayed put and said, "You have always been. You're my little Eggust. My baby." His face scrunched up immediately at the pet name that he used to adore, his hands clenched into fists as he said, "Don't call me that. I haven't— I'm not the same person that I was all those years ago. I'm... I'm different. I want you Juss, I need you." “I might be your choice, but you’re not mine, you’re literally a baby to me. I need you to understand that.” “Stop!” He said more like a command. His eyes were burning with fury, it was a different side of him. He was right, a lot of things had changed over the years, he was totally different. “I am not your baby, Juss. I am a man now and I want you to be my woman.” I didn't listen to him, even though I should have. Instead, I egged him on, hoping that he would see from my own point as well. "Of course you are. Don't you remember? We used to do everything together and you loved being my—" "You don't get to call me that after abandoning me for an entire decade!" He suddenly snapped, my entire body freezing as I noticed the deadly look in his eyes. My heart began to beat so fast it nearly jumped out of my ribs at his outburst. It was the first time since I'd set my eyes on him in many years that I was seeing such an angry expression on his face. It gave me a glimpse of how horrible his anger was when he was younger. How hard it used to be to calm him down. How the only thing that could calm him down was me. “Eggust, please leave, I need to rest.” "Fuck." He hissed, now raking his hand through his hair while I... I was still standing in shock, not knowing the right way to react or what to say because I had become so terrified of the person standing in front of me. Because my brain knew just from his words that he was angry. Very very angry. "Eggust?" I moved away from the door as Marlani walked in, a worried expression coming to her face as she stared between Eggust and me. The tension in the room hung thick like a wet blanket so it wasn't surprising to hear her ask, "Is something wrong?" "No, Juss and I were just catching up, I’ll leave you two to it.” He said, walking towards the door, before Marlani stopped him. “You know you can stay, I won’t be long.” Marlani suggested. “It’s fine, mum, she’s my professor, I can see her whenever I want.” The calm and serene response he had given to her earlier had disappeared, now replaced with a gruff voice as he brushed past her and me, saying in one breath, "Excuse me." Then disappeared down the hallway I knew Marlani had a hundred questions running through her head but she didn't ask anything, she just excused herself and told me to get some rest but how could I after what just happened?