Blinding sunlight woke me from my dreams, the bright light hurting my corneas, even though my eyes were closed. Flipping myself over, I buried my face into the pillow, shying away from the unwelcome radiance of the sun. I groaned into the soft cushion, still feeling like I wanted to go back to sleep.
Fidgeting slightly, I tried getting myself into a more comfortable position, only to feel the soft sheets against my bare skin. I stopped, wondering why that was the case, seeing that I never slept in the nude. In my muddled state, it took me a moment to register the reason as to why I was naked, part of me still just wanting to get another hour's sleep before dealing with any of this.
The events of the previous night soon came to me. The party with Evan, his drunken state and then the amazing sex that followed. Wondering if he was still around, I moved my hand over to his side, only to find the bed empty. With my face still buried in the pillow, I sighed, knowing that Evan had probably left earlier this morning when he had woken up to find us in the same bed, naked no less. It didn't take a scientist to know what had happened the previous night if Evan couldn't remember what happened that is.
There was nothing unusual for a straight guy to freak out and run. Although I would have liked to wake up next to him, I understood his position and I wasn't about to blame him for disappearing in the night. Hell, perhaps this was best anyway. I could give him his space without pressuring him into talking about it if he at all even wanted to talk about it.
I spent the next few minutes, just basking in the glow of knowing that I had spent a single night with Evan. Judging by his absence I was pretty sure that it wasn't going to be happening again. At least I knew what it was like, even if it was for just one night.
Then it hit me. Wait, I was woken up by sunlight? My room was in the basement and the only window was a small one just above my bed. Not only that but a small curtain blocked out most, if not all, light coming through. There was no way I could have been woken up by the sun.
I quickly brought my head up, looking around me, wondering why I wasn't in my room. Taking in the neat bedroom, I realized the space looking familiar but definitely not my own. I was still in Evan's room, almost scolding myself for being so stupid thinking that I had been home. No, I had come here last night and I never left.
I couldn't linger on my idiocy, though, looking around for any signs of Evan. I knew then that Evan couldn't possibly have gone home because, newsflash, I was in his home. My eyes darted to the en-suite bathroom, seeing the door open and the light off. So, he wasn't in the bathroom.
Jumping out of bed, I surveyed the room more closely. All the clothes that we had thrown onto the floor were nowhere in sight, my own clothes neatly placed on top of his dresser. I went over, pulling on the articles of clothing. I couldn't find my underwear, so I had decided to go commando. I wasn't about to ask Evan about it now was I?
Once dressed, I walked into the bathroom and straightened myself out a little. Without a toothbrush, I made do by rinsing my mouth with the bottle of Listerine that sat on the counter. Wetting my hair enough that it wasn't sticking out in odd places, I exited the bedroom.
I didn't actually know if Evan was home. I mean, he couldn't run home, but that didn't mean he couldn't run somewhere, right? I looked down the stairs, listening for any sound that would indicate another human presence in the house, but everything was quiet.
I could very well sneak out, avoiding Evan on the chance that he was at home, but I knew I couldn't do that. I had done this willingly, he might not have. The least I could do was face my problems head on, right? After all, he was the one that stood on the losing end of this whole deal.
So, I tip toed my way downstairs, all the while keeping my ears peeled for the slightest sound that would indicate someone. I walked towards the living room, not hearing the TV on so I was pretty sure it was empty, but it never hurt to check. I looked in and sure enough, it was devoid of life.
Cutting through the silence, the sound of a chair dragging across the parquet floor rang out, causing me to jump a little. I cursed myself for getting startled, before following the direction of the sound which led towards the kitchen.
I poked my head in, seeing none other than Evan, carrying a bowl to the sink. I assumed he was just in the dining hall, finishing his breakfast. After placing the bowl into the sink, he stood there, arms resting against the countertop, as if deep in thought. Judging by the way he hadn't even acknowledged my presence, I figured he didn't know I was there.
"Hey," I said softly, so as to not startle him. He didn't jump, but I could definitely see his body tense up. Okay, so maybe he was regretting it more than I thought. Perhaps it's best that I don't broach the topic of last night, I thought to myself. "I'm just gonna be heading off."
"Oh...uh...okay. Just give me a moment and I'll drop you off," he muttered.
"Oh, you don't have to do that," I said, less because I didn't want to intrude and more because I'd rather not share an awkward car ride with him. "I can make it back home on my own."
"It's okay," he said, walking off in the direction of his bedroom to, I assume, get his car keys. As soon as he disappeared, I slumped my shoulders, letting out a sigh. Maybe sleeping with him wasn't the best of ideas. I should have put aside my wants and look at this from Evan's point of view. That way, I wouldn't have screwed up whatever friendship that I had cultivated with him. Of course, everything seems way more obvious in retrospect.
Soon, Evan returned, dangling a set of keys in his hand. While it seemed like Evan was behaving like nothing was wrong, I knew what had happened was bothering him because he couldn't hold my eyes for more than a second before diverting his gaze.
I followed Evan as we made our way to the garage before getting into his beat-up Honda. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining because a ride was better than no ride, but the problem with him taking that specific car was the extra time it took for him just to get it started. Imagine, both of us sitting in the car, the engine sputtering as it struggled to turn on. I could feel Evan wanting to apologize for his car but he kept quiet regardless, still feeling the tension between us.
After a couple minutes, Evan finally managed to get his car running, making our way back to my house. I tried not to think about Evan, focusing on the road ahead, emptying my mind of everything except getting home. Evan seemed to have the same idea, not uttering a single word during the ride. Heck, he didn't even turn on the radio. Just plain awkward silence.
When we were finally pulling up the familiar street where my house was located, I almost sighed in relief. Stopping in the driveway, I just wanted to get out and run to the safety of my home. Of course, that would have been rude so I muttered, "Thanks for the ride."
My hand was on the door handle when Evan spoke. "Wait," he said, making me stop. I really hope he didn't want to talk about last night, because, after that horrible car ride, I wanted nothing more than to pretend that whatever happened hadn't, and I was pretty certain that Evan was feeling the same way. "We need to talk," he said. Fuck, not the words I wanted to hear.
"About?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"Last night?" he said as if he was unsure himself.
I just needed to man up and face this problem head on. "Look, you were drunk last night and I should have known better than to have slept with you. If you're worried about me saying something, you don't have to be. I know that whatever happened last night was a one-time thing and it won't happen again," I said, laying it all out there.
"Right," Evan replied simply. Not going to lie, a part of me hoped he would have said he didn't regret what transpired, but that was a little too cliché for my life, wasn't it? It was best this way anyway. I didn't even know if the fragile friendship we had would survive this.
"Don't worry about it," I said, giving him a small smile before I exited the car and headed straight for my door, not even turning around once to look at Evan one last time. As I closed my front door, I leaned against it, eventually hearing the rumble of his car engine fade as he took off. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose to contain my aggravation at myself.
"Bradley James Pearson," I heard, knocking me from my thoughts. I winced at the use of my full name, knowing I was in a shit load of trouble if she had pulled that out.
"Yeah, Mom?" I replied.
My mother came around the hallway, hands on her hips and a frown on her face. In her robe and bed slippers, you might have thought that she would have appeared less intimidating, but her body language made me want to cower. "Where have you been?"
