Morning came quickly.
Casey stirred, the early morning light peeked through the blinds in Matt's living room. There were clothes still discarded on the floor, the coffee table, and underneath the two of them. They were still holding each other, Matt still sleeping and barely awake himself. The fuzzy sensation he felt holding onto Matt was surreal. This wasn't what he had planned when going to hang out with his best friend, hell, it wasn't something he had thought would happen... ever really.
Casey knew he was attracted to guys, but he never saw Matt that way. He was an attractive guy, but not someone he had fantasized about or ever considered in that way. He just didn't. But now? They were cuddled up together naked on Matt's couch. Were they... boyfriends now? The thought made him blush to himself and squeeze Matt a little tighter. But, wait, he was getting ahead of himself. Matt has always been a 'dude'. A 'bro'. He was into the girls and Casey knew that. He never expressed any interest in guys, not to Casey anyway. But neither did he the other way around, really.
He was thinking too hard about it. Though, he just didn't want this to be a one time "we just were caught up in a weird moment" type thing. He wouldn't mind-- actually, he would adore if they were a couple. They already have so much in-- Stop. His mind was racing frantically about 'ifs' 'buts' and 'what ifs'. He snapped out of it when Matt stirred somewhat, inhaling through his nose like he had been holding his breath for some time now.
Casey felt Matt move as he tried to sit up slightly. He was moving so slightly, trying not to wake the sleeping boy on his chest. Swelled with anxiety on his thoughts, Casey pretended to still be sleeping. More corpse-like, as he didn't react in the slightest to Matt gently moving him as he got up and began shuffling through the room. He lay there with his eyes closed for a while longer, Matt's footsteps slowly walking around, then out of the room, then back again. Before the steps approached him. The thumps of Matt's steps drew closer, he swore he could feel him standing over him.
Casey tensed up slightly when he felt something touch his back, only to feel a blanket cover his body. Matt's steps inched away, leaving Casey back to his thoughts. After a short while, he no longer heard anything at all. When he felt he had pretended to sleep long enough he opened his eyes and sat up off the couch slowly. The scattered clothes were gone, and a neatly folded stack of clothes that were not his sat on the coffee table. He looked at them for a moment before he reached out and separated the shirt and boxers from the pants. He recognized the pants, these were his, now clean from the spilled coffee and smelling of Matt's laundry soap. The shirt and undergarment were not his. He was going to wear them regardless, they were purposefully stacked after all.
He put on the red, soft boxers. Zipped up his jeans then unfolded the t-shirt left for him to wear. It was a black shirt, with bold letters that read: METALLICA. He smirked. Matt knows he doesn't really listen to metal music. Just as he finished dressing, Matt could be heard walking down the hallway.
Casey froze. He was out of the lustful trance from the night before, he wasn't even sure how to greet Matt. Should he hug him? Give him a kiss? Say "Thanks for cumming in my mouth last night,"? Before he could decide, Matt emerged from the hallway. He dressed in worn black jeans and a red checkered flannel with a black shirt peeking out underneath, both covered by his brown leather jacket. He was holding an extra pair of socks in one hand.
Casey just stood awkwardly a few steps from that couch. He tried to relax his shoulders and take a breath, smiling a bit looking at Matt, whose expression was hard to read. They both just stood now, looking at each other up and down.
"Here's some socks, I put the rest of your clothes in the wash," he said, holding out the folded ball of socks toward Casey.
"O-oh thanks," his response falling out of his mouth a tad bit too quickly, before leading to a quiet that made him terribly uncomfortable. He clenched the socks and sat down and began putting them on. His eyes darted quickly back to Matt's face, as if trying to catch a glimpse of what he should feel himself. Matt was slightly standing to the side now, turning away shifting his weight side to side. He then turned and met eyes with Casey, who just fitted the second sock on and was standing up from the couch again. He cleared his throat lightly,
"Hey man," his tone softer than usual, his words almost coming out as a question. Casey was standing, his shoulders slouched slightly. Not a good start.
"I don't know-- if... you and I," He was choosing the words carefully, yet it felt like he didn't know what the message was.
"I'm sorry." He said finally. Casey looked at him. He felt scared and a strange sense of hurt hearing Matt.
"I don't know-- what I was doing last night, I didn't mean to make you--" his voice quivered slightly as though he might start to cry. Casey stepped forward, his arms held open for a hug.
"I didn't--" he was cut off by Casey's embrace. Matt hugged him tightly.
"I made you suck my dick, Casey." Matt finally said, not so his tone stating it matter a factly.
"I wanted to," Casey said now, trying to reassure his friend. Matt released his embrace and leaned back in order to meet Casey's eyes. Casey could see something stirring in his eyes. "It's alright, you didn't hurt me," he assured Matt, trying to read what could be on his mind.
That seemed to ease him, as he stepped back and straightened himself out slightly, combing his fingers through his hair. Casey hadn't really seen this side of Matt, he hadn't seen Matt from last night before either. He seemed to gather himself, and relax with a deep breath.
"I was thinking we could go out to eat, and talk about this... thing going on," he said "-unless you're feeling like just going home."
"Nah, I mean yeah, let's go get something," Casey chirped.
They decided to take separate cars, so that they could part ways after breakfast.
After a short car ride to the nearby chain-diner, Casey met back up with Matt at the front. They walked in and were seated in a window booth. The smells of coffee and breakfast foods reminded him that he hadn't eaten since around lunch the day before. He opened the sticky menu and skimmed through to see what caught his eye first. Matt followed his lead and grabbed his own menu.
"So, what are you feeling?" Matt finally said, setting the menu on the table. Casey could tell he didn't mean what he wanted to eat.
"I'm more interested in what you are feeling," "You don't seem to be yourself," he said. Matt clasped his hands together, looking at him.
"I-- Is this something you want? Us, being a thing?" Matt said, sounding unsure even himself.
It felt strange, feeling like the confident one today. Like they had swapped dynamics entirely.
"Yes, Matt." Casey said, trying his best to sound sure of himself. "I would love for us to be a thing," Matt's composure seemed to relax, but his face was somewhat serious. He spoke in a low tone, almost worried someone might be listening.
"Okay, then it's settled. We both want to see how this goes," he looked around subtly "but I'd like for this to be on the down-low, for now." He needed time to figure this new chapter out.
They spoke for a while after, trying to push past the new feelings for eachother. Trying to capture the same feeling of friends that they had before. But it felt different. After breakfast, and settling on a hug goodbye, they parted ways.
Casey felt his thoughts were eased. He was more concerned for Matt, who must have been wrestling with his own thoughts on everything. But he felt good with their conclusion. There was something between them, and exploring it more was on the table.
Upon returning home, Casey now found himself all alone. He stood just behind his front door, looking into the empty place. The quiet never really bothered him, he was content on his own. Or at least he thought he was. Now he felt that he was in love, and wanted to have Matt with him here, or be there with Matt.