I awoke the next morning at 8:00 AM to my phone ringing. I groaned, bleary-eyed, and yanked the phone to my ear.
"Yeah?" I whispered into the mouthpiece, and my co-worker Paul answered.
"Hey man, are you okay? We heard about your leg, that blows dude," Paul said, and I could hear the sounds of construction in the background. Shit I cursed to myself, I was late for work.
"It's fine," I said as I eased myself upright, trying to ignore the horrible pain in my leg. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."
"Are you kidding?" Paul asked, laughing, "There's no way you're coming in today. Just stay home and take it easy for the next few days. We have this under control, there's no point in hurting yourself more."
I frowned and patted Bear, who had just jumped onto my bed next to me. I winced as his tail thumped my leg and pain shot through me.
"Thanks man, I really appreciate this. I'll be back as soon as I can." I told Paul, cursing the damn door that incapacitated me.
"It's fine, you have trained us well, Sensei! It's nice to see you're actually human for a change." Paul said laughing.
Not sure how to respond to that, I mumbled something and hung up the phone. Bear lay down next to me, resting his head in my lap, and I fell back down. Almost immediately, I was asleep again.
I awoke again at 11:00, and popped some pain pills immediately. The apartment looked brighter than usual, and the sounds of the street below drifted up to my window. For a second I relaxed into my bed and enjoyed the quiet, sunny space around me.
My leg felt like an entire house was sitting on it, but I ignored it and tried to remember the last time I had slept this late.
It's been a long time, I mused to myself, and briefly wondered when my life had become so robotic. I pushed the thought from my mind and flipped open my phone.
There were a few texts from Paul and James, asking about pipes. I replied to their messages, then closed my phone and stared around my apartment. What was I going to do today? Paul was right, they had the site under control, and I had already done all I needed to do on the upcoming projects. Bear decided to sit on my lap, which is a big fucking deal when your dog weighs 80 pounds. I groaned and Bear licked my face, panting like the oaf he is.
"Okay pooch, let's get up," I sighed, and pushed Bear off me. He thumped into the kitchen, awaiting his breakfast, and I slowly eased myself up.
I dragged myself to my kitchen, opened a cabinet, and threw some dog food in Bear's bowl. I also made coffee, and put some water in Bear's water bowl. He lapped up some water eagerly, and I felt instant guilt that I hadn't fed or given him water last night.
I leaned against the counter, drinking my coffee, and watching the sunlight stream through my window. It was so warm and peaceful in my apartment, and if my leg hadn't been trying to detach itself from my body, it'd would be a damn perfect day.
Then, of course, someone had to fucking knock on my door. And I knew who it was. And my fists clenched involuntarily, and my heart started to thump quickly. What could I say to Laurie? Sorry for being an asshole yesterday? I don't understand why I'm attracted to you and I don't know how to deal with it? Will you kiss me or leave me so I don't have to decide?
I briefly considered not answering the door, but Bear was barking up a storm and Laurie had to know I was there. My leg was broken--where else would I be.
I put my coffee cup down and limped to the door, pain lacing through me with every step. I undid the latch and pulled the door open, my heart beating uncontrollably.
It was my landlord asking for rent.
For the rest of the day, I tried to find things to do and tried not to think about Laurie. I didn't think about his laugh. I didn't think about his dark head, or teasing grin. I didn't think about his fingers, and how nice they looked. I didn't think about his body, and what I didn't want to do to it. And I didn't think about his eyes at all.
I tried to read, and I tried to do work, and I even tried to take a nap, but nothing worked. Finally, around 5:00, Bear was way too restless so I decided to let him out. I felt bad for cooping him up all day long, usually I walk him in the morning, when I get back from work, and at night, but I'd been too chicken to walk him this morning.
The pain meds the hospital had given me were very strong, and I was feeling a little loopy but the pain had dulled.
I put on some basketball shorts and a soft sweatshirt. I limped over to Bear, who was literally jumping up and down, and put on his collar.
"Hey now, you have to take it easy on me until we get to the park. I'll take you off your leash there, but until then, don't break my other leg!" I told him, ruffling his fur.
I think I'll just take Bear to a big lawn, take his leash off, and sit down, I thought.
He jumped out the door in front of me, and I barely closed it before he tugged me along. I fell forward but caught myself on my good leg.
My eyes snapped to Laurie's door, which was closed thank god. I locked my door quickly and tried to heard Bear towards the stairs, but of course, he bounded over to Laurie's door, sniffing it excitedly.
"BEAR!!" I hissed, limping over to him. "COME!"
But the door opened before I could pull Bear away, and my heart sank and I looked up to see Laurie grinning at me. Those eyes were alight with amusement and I could almost feel them burning me.
"Hey there neighbor," He said, and his voice sent shivers down my spine.
I nodded gruffly and tried to pull Bear away, but he pushed past Laurie and into his apartment.
"BEAR!" I called sharply, shocked that he had just pranced into Laurie's apartment.
Laurie laughed and walked in after Bear, and I had no choice but to follow him.
I stepped into Laurie's apartment and stopped, just staring around me.
There was sheet music EVERYWHERE. Taped to the walls, on the chairs, on the kitchen table, and surrounding the piano that was in the center of the room. It looked like a hurricane had hit, and I watched as Bear ran around the room, sniffing everything, and especially sniffing Laurie, and was bending down to play with him.
My eyes went back to the piano, and something clicked. Then I looked around again, and on the bookcase next to me, saw a plaque that said "Lawrence Deviviller, Piano, Philharmonic Symphony". I looked up at Laurie, again, slightly amazed. He played piano for the Philharmonic Symphony? The Philharmonic was one of the most prestigious symphonies in America, and one of the best in the world. Had it been Laurie playing the piano, and had I been telling one of the best pianists in America to stop playing? I cursed to myself, and wanted to walk away. How is it possible that I have been this rude to Laurie? Why can't I just be normal??
Bear was now trying to tackle Laurie in adoration, and Laurie was laughing and scratching his ears. Laurie's hair was in a small ponytail, and his lean frame looked great as usual in a grey sweater and black pants. He looked like the professional that he was.
"Bear." I said, and Bear immediately dropped off Laurie and came over to me. I stepped further into the apartment, and closed the door behind me, letting Laurie's eyes meet mine, and I held his gaze for once. Laurie grinned, like he knew all about the war that was going on in my heart, but as our eyes met, the confusion that I felt melted away and was replaced by a burning desire to know Laurie both mentally and physically. Maybe that feeling, which I'd never really felt before, was actually all that mattered. Maybe this was never going to make sense to me, but maybe that wasn't nearly as important as what was happening.
Laurie broke the gaze and walked over to the kitchen. He stood and poured himself a glass of water, and I watched how his black pants gently hugged his ass and I could feel myself getting hard.
