I want to say a quick thanks for all the response I got on the first chapter and sorry for the long delay in between these chapters. It's a story that's been in my head for a while and I just wanted to get some of it out of my brain and into the world. I started writing it all out of order and have been very slow in getting the pieces all connected how I want them. I'm hoping there won't be quite as much downtime between chapters from here on out...
***
Over the next week, Ryan was becoming more and more concerned that he had made a terrible mistake having Nick move in. He loved his little brother and had genuinely been looking forward to spending more time with him, but Ryan couldn't help but notice how miserable Nick seemed. Nick spent most of his time at the house shut up in his room and he avoided Jason at all costs. And Jason was no better. He tiptoed around the house whenever he knew Nick was there.
By Thursday morning, Ryan decided he needed to do something to relieve the tension. He sat at the kitchen table watching Nick silently pack his backpack for school. Jason was sitting on the other side of the table reading the newspaper. Jason never read the newspaper beyond the comics, but Nick was standing at the counter shoving his books and lunch into his bag and so Jason was making a valiant effort to care about the sports section he held in front of him.
Ryan sighed. "So Nick, you're on spring break next week, yeah?"
Nick was startled by the sound of Ryan's voice. He had grown quite accustomed to the usual silence throughout the house while he was there. "Oh, uh, yeah. I was thinking I'll probably go spend it with Mom and Dad."
"Really?" Ryan knew how excited Nick had been to be getting away from their parents a few months early, their mom especially. She meant well, but overbearing was a gross understatement and it ate Ryan up to see how much it hurt Nick that he couldn't come out to her. Years of not-so-subtle comments about Jason made it fairly clear that having a gay son was not something she would be okay with.
"I mean, everyone's out of town so I might as well. I don't really have a whole lot to do here," Nick said, zipping up his bag and swinging it over his shoulder.
"If that's what you want. Just don't leave before Saturday night. I'm sticking to my word on that house-warming party."
Jason glanced up from his paper to shoot Ryan a look at the news that they would be throwing a party in less than 72 hours. Nick looked warily between his two roommates, very much hoping to not get in the middle of something between the two of them.
Nick checked his phone and, despite his usual neuroses regarding punctuality, almost let out a sigh of relief when he saw that he was running late for school. "Sure, whatever. Sounds good," he called hastily while fleeing the house. He hopped on his bike and started pedaling off.
"So we're having a party," Jason stated skeptically, eyeing Ryan while pushing a spoonful of milk and cheerios into his mouth.
"You gotta problem with it, party boy?" Ryan responded with a smirk.
"No, it's just a little last minute, don't you think?"
Ryan shrugged. "You've met our friends. Free booze can change any plans they may already have."
Jason gave a sidelong nod. "Fair enough."
"Anyway, what are you doing up right now? It's like the middle of the night for you."
While Ryan had a pretty normal 9-to-5 office job he was using to try to break into sports writing, Jason was slightly less high-achieving. He worked as a waiter on a schedule he had specifically designed to be able to stay in bed until at least noon on any given day. Being alive to the world at eight in the morning was a rarity to say the least.
It was Jason's turn to shrug. "Couldn't sleep. Thought I'd go for a run in a bit."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's nothing. I've just been keeping weirder hours than usual." Jason picked up his now empty bowl of cereal and brought it to the sink.
Jason hated lying to Ryan. He always had the distinct feeling that Ryan could see right through him but understood Jason's reasons for lying so played along with it anyway. It felt like lying just called more attention to whatever he was lying about, but neither would actually talk about it.
The truth was Jason could sleep. He just didn't want to since every time he did, Nick was there. Over the course of the last week, Jason's dreams had become more and more Nick-centric. Nick curled up in Jason's lap watching a movie together. Nick shirtless and sweaty hefting moving boxes into the house. Nick in his underwear bent over the kitchen table working on his homework. Nick naked with his lips wrapped around Jason's cock. Nick on all fours writhing beneath Jason, moaning his name...
It was that last dream that had woken Jason up this particular morning sweaty, sticky, and in need of a new set of sheets.
Despite it being 7:30, Jason had gotten up and hopped into a quick, cold shower. When he was done, he threw on some sweats and a t-shirt, stripped the sheets, and headed downstairs from his loft bedroom to go start a load of laundry. He considered himself lucky that he didn't run into Ryan- or worse, Nick- on his way to the basement. He was acutely aware of how easily either would have been able to tell that Jason had had a wet dream by the distinct smell of his sheets and the very fact that he was up and washing them so early in the morning.
