“I wasn’t gonna comment on the rhyme,” she started, “but ‘knickers in a twist’? Oh, wait, is that the milkman I just heard knocking at the door?”

Nai laughed, and Everitt rolled his eyes. “It was... Anyway, whatever.” 

He got up and started clearing their dishes, which made her laugh even more. She still had reminiscent giggles and sighs when he was almost done and started putting the dishes away. Well, not without asking her where everything went. Danai smiled over at him, her chin resting in her hand, while he cleaned up. Any tension that might have been there earlier had completely dissipated, and all that was left was a realization that it was nice. Having Everitt there, cooking and, now, cleaning for Danai felt good. 

She cleared her throat, suddenly aware of her gawking and the fact that Everitt might look over any minute and catch her. Nai got up and made her way over to the living room to snuggle under her beige blanket.

“Alrighty,” Nai rubbed her hands together from the couch when Everitt walked into the living room, finally done cleaning up. “Shall we start with a movie or Uncharted?”

Everitt eyed her as he sat down on the couch, “who said anything about doing either of those things?”

Nai crossed her arms, “ain’t no way you came all the way here forgetting everything I said. I am giving you a thorough education.”

She waited for him to pick from the two choices she’d put in front of him. Everitt looked at the inactive TV screen, then at Danai, and back at the TV before he finally groaned. 

“Let’s play the game first,” he muttered. 

Nai clapped her hands together, excitedly, laughing when she noticed Everitt rolling his eyes. She grabbed her gold controller and the remote, settling in just a little closer to Ev when she got back on the couch. He sat there watching for a while as Nai explained what she was doing and how the game worked to him.

“We’re gonna start at the beginning of the 2nd game. The first one is just...” Danai shook her head.

Everitt narrowed his eyes, “what’s wrong with the first one?”

“I can just explain it to you in like ten minutes-”

“But,” he pointed a finger at her, “that I needed to get a proper education. Skipping a whole chapter of this character’s story doesn’t seem proper to me.”

Nai rolled her eyes, waving the controller around, “as a true fan, I’m telling you the 1st game is not necessary to play. It’s mostly combat, anyway, and I’m here for the story. Trust me, if you ever go back to the first one, you’ll understand.”

Everitt smirked, but left the matter as it was, and Danai was glad to be done with the whole thing. She didn’t wanna spend her day off behind barricades and shooting off NPCs with few cutscenes between. They started the game, and she gave fun facts and little explanations between the dialogue and cutscenes. Everitt went from leaning back against the couch to resting his forearms on his knees. He was getting into it, and Nai finally handed over the reins.

“Don’t fuck it up,” she teased. Everitt laughed sarcastically, his eyes glued to the screen.

 Though he didn’t have much experience with these types of games, Danai was impressed by how he navigated the obstacles and story. It was nice to sit back and watch him play, until he started screwing up and did need her help.

“You’re getting up too fast, that’s why you keep getting killed,” she said, leaning over his leg to get access to the controller.

Everitt pulled it back, and pulled her with it, “I can do it, I don’t need to play it stealthy the whole time.”

Nai laughed, “yeah, you do, cause you’re the one that wanted to play this game for the first time in hard mode.” She reached for the controller again, huffing when his hand kept getting out of her reach. Damn the man’s long arms and the height he had over her.

Everitt looked down at the woman struggling across his lap, “I can do it.”

“I never said you couldn’t,” she reached for the controller again, “I’m just trying to help you-”

“I don’t need you to do it for me...” Everitt’s eyes were on Nai’s face, and he looked at her like he was trying to memorise the dark freckles on her skin, the way her eyelashes curled upward, and the brown of her eyes. Danai felt his abdomen tense beneath her own, and her breath caught at the sensation. She sniffed the air, instinctually, and the smell of sexual tension could probably be detected if someone stood outside her apartment door.

So, why wasn’t he doing anything?

Danai cleared her throat while she got back up, getting back to a regular and dignified position. Their legs were still touching, but she would act like she didn’t notice if he would. And he did. 

They played on, the tension between them still palpable, and got to the middle of the game when their stomachs started making noise. Danai looked at her phone, only realising then that several hours had passed since Everitt arrived at her door.

“It’s basically dinner time,” she mentioned offhandedly. 

Everitt looked at her, “did you wanna get something?”

Nai’s heart fluttered, surprised by his suggestion. She thought he would take the opportunity to bolt, probably go see whoever the hell it was he occupied his time outside of work with. His idea to get dinner, and spend more time together, was not something she was expecting. She figured it was okay, since he was fine company. He wasn’t pissing her off, yet, and he actually seemed to be enjoying something that she loved to do. It was... Nice.

“Like, food?” Danai asked, just to be sure she wasn’t getting the wrong idea.

He chuckled, “yes, food.”

Danai bit her lip, thinking about what she might want, and how far she was willing to drive to pick it up. As she weighed her options, Everitt watched her, and she felt the couch rock when his weight left it. He got up to grab his phone.

“Since you’re putting up with me,” he said as he swiped across the screen, “I’ll cover dinner.”

Nai baulked, “n-no, you just brought and made breakfast. I’ll get dinner.”

Ev smiled, “kinda hard to do when I’m the one holding the phone.”

Danai scoffed, considering grabbing her phone and ordering whatever came up just to spite him. It felt weird being treated like this by Everitt, or any guy. First, he makes her breakfast. Then, he spends the day with her. And now he was offering, no, insisting on buying her dinner. He hadn’t even taken the opportunity to kiss her earlier, when she expected it most.

He was being a good guy, and she let him have it. “Fine,” Danai finally said. “Hopefully we can agree on something.”

After a few minutes, Everitt suggested a Chinese place, and made sure to watch Nai place her order so she couldn’t put in her card info. They turned off the game, and put on one of Danai’s tv show suggestions that Everitt seemed the least opposed to. Surprisingly, it’s Scandal. 

Olivia Pope was yelling at Fitz over the woman he slept with when there was a knock at the door. Danai paused the episode while Everitt got up to get their order. She leaned back to look at the door, enough so that she saw him give the driver a cash tip. 

So, he was kind to service workers, too.

“You cool with eating in your living room, or are you a ‘dining table only’ type of person?” Everitt asked, walking back into the house after he closed and locked the door.

Danai sat up, “the living room is where I usually eat.”

She watched him roll up his sleeves, then open up the paper bag, and put out their beef and broccoli, seafood chow mein, vegetable mei fun, and wonton soup. His forearms flexed as he put everything down, and Danai found herself swallowing as she watched him. Her eyes trailed a path up his body to his exposed collarbone, then to the stubble on his chin and jaw. When she started to feel the heat from her stomach travel down, she got up to get something for them to drink. 

“Do you want water or soda? I don’t have any juice aside from the ones from this morning,” Nai said loudly, opening her cupboards to get some short glasses. 

“Whatever you want is fine by me,” Everitt replied.

Danai stacked the glasses, then took a 2-litre bottle of sprite from the fridge, and held a jug of water between her arm and her chest before she walked back into the living room. The sight of her hands as full as they were didn’t escape Everitt, and he stopped what he was doing to help her.

They watched more of Scandal over their food, and Danai loved watching Everitt’s reactions to the drama as someone who had seen the show several times. She managed to eat half of her food, and sampled some of everything. Everitt had a much bigger appetite, though, even going in for seconds. Nai cleaned up once they were done, a smile on her face when she settled back into the couch and under a blanket. She rested her elbow on the back of the couch, her cheek on her fist while she looked at Everitt. He gazed back at her, and Danai felt so comfortable that she let her inner thoughts leave her mind through her mouth. 

“I’m surprised you’re not-” she shut her mouth, too late once the words were already out.

Everitt’s eyebrows shot up, and he gave her a small smile, “you’re surprised I’m not tryna assault you?”

Danai started to choke on the air around her, and her face felt warm at the mention of their past encounters. The fact that he would even say that out loud was beyond her. “Wh- I wouldn’t call it assault.”

Everitt sighed, mirroring Danai’s position on the couch across from her, “well, don’t worry. I’m not gonna do anything.”

Danai tore her eyes away from the alpha, “I see...”

As much as he had insulted and aggravated her before, Danai couldn’t lie to herself about whatever it was between them. Physically, Everitt made her body thrum and sing, and that was without them ever having sex or anything close to it. Just feeling his touch made her skin tingle, and seeing him act like a regular person as opposed to the guy that was going to interview her at work was breaking down the walls she had up surrounding him. After the day they’d had, and the side of him she’d seen, Danai would not have been opposed to him doing something. 

Everitt smiled, promptly cutting off her train of thought, “you seem disappointed.”

Nai scoffed, “pfft, I’m not disappointed. I’m not anything, actually. C-Can we move on?”

Everitt laughed, and didn’t mention it again. Just a little over an hour later, he decided it was time for him to go, and Danai resisted the urge to invite him to stay the night. She helped him put his coat on without a second thought, and watched as he put on his dark grey running shoes. Danai crossed, uncrossed, then crossed her arms again, unsure of how to say goodbye. He looked at her once he was ready, and they stared into each other’s eyes for a while without speaking.

Nai looked away, then broke the silence, “thanks for coming. I mean, my invite was so random but I had a lot of fun. So...”

She looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders, expecting him to say ‘bye’ or ‘okay’ or maybe even ‘this was horrible, see you at the office.’ Everitt’s gaze was soft, like the smile on his lips, and she recognized that look. He nodded, opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Danai opened hers to say something, but then her breath hitched, and within seconds he took possession of her lips. Everitt held Danai’s face in his hands as he kissed her, and she sighed into his mouth. It felt like a relief, touching him again, because she knew if she hadn’t that he would have been on her mind for the rest of the night. Well, now he would be, but for a different reason. His hands travelled down her body until they landed on her hips, which he gripped just enough to make her moan and gasp. He watched her mouth while she did, then kissed her again, playing with her tongue and bottom lip. By the time he pulled away for real, she was undone and relying on his strength to hold her up.

She smiled up at him in a daze, her lips a little red and swollen, “I thought you weren’t gonna do anything.”

Everitt kissed Danai again, sweetly. She chased after him once he pulled away, and he grinned, “I wasn’t, but I guess I couldn’t help myself.” He kissed her again, and at that point Danai wasn’t sure how much more she could take. “I hope you don’t mind, Nai.”

Even the way he said her name, the tenor of his voice smooth and deep, sent shivers down her spine. Danai sighed, “no, I don’t.”

He touched her face, brushing away some hair that had gotten misplaced while he was exploring her. Everitt stood Danai up, then kissed her one more time before they walked to the door and he opened it.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Ev said, and he touched her hand like it was a promise.

Danai smiled, letting him interlock their fingers, “yeah, see you tomorrow.”

They let go of each other’s hands, and Nai watched him walk down the hallway, happy that he looked back once, and she waited for him to turn the corner before she closed the door. Danai locked the door, then pressed her palms and forehead against it, not able to keep the grin off her face.