Chapter 29 - Good morning, Richard
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Apr. 24th, 2020:
I woke up feeling someone's skin under my fingers as I turned. A bright light attacked my closed eyelids. The moment I realized I was awake, I regretted it immensely and chose to go back to sleep. Then I became aware of something unexpected... I was holding someone's shoulder. I felt a light dusting of hair and relaxed muscle underneath.
I remembered pieces of the night before, and I opened my eyes with fear.
This is definitely someone's bare back. I looked up and recognized Matt's dark hair, wavy and messy, lying on the pillow next to me. Patches stuck to his head with dried sweat. He was lying on his stomach, and his head turned away from me. I looked down, and he was butt naked, covered with a blanket. The one that covered me as well. I sat, and the sudden change of altitude created such vertigo and a burst of pain I screamed. Not a good idea! Just the sheer noise of my own scream made me grab my head in despair.
Matt kept sleeping, and I realized I was naked as well.
NO!!!
If there was even a slight chance of some kind of deity above, I needed to remember how to pray to it. I begged it and hoped I didn't just sleep with Nate's best friend!
I sat on the bed, head in my palms, trying to remember what the fuck happened yesterday.
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"Good morning Richard."
That deep, hurt voice. I must still be drunk and having hallucinations. Please, please don't let Nate be seeing me now.
I sat frozen. I was shaking and worried.
Matt started to move next to me.
"Fuck! My head!"
Fuck! Fuck! Noo! I screamed internally.
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I looked up, and my eyes were drawn to Nates. He was standing at the opened door, looking at me silently. Hurt was palpable in his features.
"Nathaniel?"
"When you will be able to, come to the kitchen. Both of you."
Then he left.
What happened???
What the hell did we do? Where is Bran? How the fuck did Nate come here? Why now? Fuck!!!
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"Matt!" I hissed as I shook him.
"Stop it damn it! I am dying here!"
"Fuck! Wake up, Matt!"
He sat holding his head.
"Damn!" I would've mocked him big time if I weren't so anxious about Nate right now. Seeing the state of his chest... They are definitely sleeping together.
I stared at him, worried. "Did we fuck?"
Matt looked at me, confused at first, and then he realized I was naked. He looked at himself.
"Fuck... no... I don't think so. I was so wasted I don't think I would be able to fuck you."
"Man, if we would fuck, you would be the one taking it. Is your ass sore? Seriously! Nate is downstairs. I am freaking out big time!!"
"Nate is here?!"
"Yeah, he just stood there! Told me that both of us need to come down when we are ready."
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Matt looked again at the state we were in. Probably also freaked out. He feverishly started moving around, hissing in pain as he looked for signs of sex on the bed, his body, and mine. Then he seriously looked at me.
"When you fuck, do you do it rough?"
"What the fuck, man?"
"Answer, princess."
"Depends on who I am fucking, but yeah. I am usually not Tom's level rough, but I can get to that sometimes. Why?"
"Then we haven't fucked."
"You sure? Why are we naked?"
"I don't know. The last thing I remember is filling my glass in the bathroom, cussing Bran for poisoning you."
I chuckled. "I know. That's about the same with me. So where are our clothes?"
"Not sure. Is Nate really here?"
"If that wasn't a hallucination, he is."
"Maybe you just dreamed it?"
"Slight chance, man!"
I put my face into my palms in desperation. "I wouldn't do that to him! I can't imagine sleeping with you!"
"I am telling you, man, fuck!" he was standing up. "I am not drinking ever again with Bran! That guy is a menace!"
He was halfway to the closet breathing through hungover.
"If we would fuck you would have marks on you. And me too. I could rip my head off to stop this, but no other part of me hurts. So no, we haven't fucked. Trust me!"
"Damn, you really are perfect for Tom!"
"Please, be so kind as to tell him that."
"First, I need to find a way to persuade Nate that I haven't fucked his best friend a few days after I left him. You should have seen him. It was breaking my heart seeing him like that."
"Man... here." He tossed me some clothes. "Nate looks like shit since you left."
"What am I going to tell him?"
"Leave the "us fucking each other" part to me. You just focus on apologizing for breaking that man's soul."
"I don't think I can face him."
"You can. I would do pretty much anything for Thomas to be here."
"Do you care for him so much?"
"I don't know, man. It's fucking hard. Let's now deal with Nate. What are you going to tell him?"
"I don't know... I still haven't changed my mind. I think loving me will hurt him in the end."
"Still, you could give him a chance to decide for himself. I would do anything for that."
I looked with pity at this big man. He found the worst possible man to turn gay for.
Still, I admired his resilience. Honestly, from all the guys I've ever seen be in love with Tom, this one has the biggest potential despite being bi.
I told him that.
"I am not bi. Damn it!"
"Still? Fuck! Man, I thought we sorted it out yesterday! You are breaking your own legs running like this."
"That's one weird idiom."
"It's one my hungover and worried brain could come up with."
"Right. Now let's focus on getting down to Nate. Ready?"
"No!"
"Man, I will drag you down by the hair!"
"Fuck you!"
"You wish! Now move!"
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I looked in the mirror. Fuck! I looked messed up.
"I need to brush my teeth at least, man. I can still taste the puke in my mouth."
"Yeah, good idea."
We used most of Bran's mouthwash as neither of us had a toothbrush here, and we talked a bit about yesterday and what we remembered. Matt kept talking about Tom, and I couldn't stop thinking about Nate waiting down there. We were lost. The both of us. I really liked this guy by now, and I will help him as much as possible to get Tom or to get over him... let's be honest, it's Tom...
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Damn it! My head was spinning. Little splinters dug into my grey matter with each step, but I would gladly endure all that pain if I hadn't needed to worry about talking with Nathaniel right now.
We came down, and there he stood. He held a glass of water and put it down as he saw us come down. His pale green eyes had red rings around them, and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. He had a beard growing as if he had shaved two or three weeks ago. And the things he wore were... mine. I couldn't stop the corners of my mouth from rising in reflex seeing him. All I wanted at that moment was to run to him and hold him so close our bodies would merge together.
I've missed him so much that I thought part of me died from that pain.