It had been several hours since the power went out in their house. Luke and Ryan were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace in a fit a of laughter with blankets wrapped around each of their shoulders. The firelight danced on the walls around them as the heat warmed the room.
It was the middle of winter in New England. Both Luke and Ryan had grown up in the area, so they were as used to the cold as anyone could ever really get. It was around 5° F outside and the whole world seemed covered in snow. They had woken up earlier in the day to an icy scene that had appeared overnight. The news had been blaring for days that a storm was rolling in and people should expect to hunker down.
Luke had bought his house just a couple years prior and took pride in rehabbing it into a beautiful home. He had finished engineering school and quickly found a job in the area, earning a salary that let him buy a house quite young. It was nothing remarkable, just a little two bedroom. He would likely never be able to afford living in Boston, but he found a nice little fixer upper a ways out of town that was still convenient for him to commute to work in the suburbs or into the city when he needed.
Ryan had moved in about 5 months ago. He was still working on his Master's degree in business in Boston. He had grown up on the rich side of the tracks, but his parents had let him know that when he turned 24 last year they were going to stop paying his rent and living expenses. He had to get a job as a bartender and found he couldn't afford big city living.
It was a massive convenience when he ran into Luke several months ago at the gym just days after his parents cut him off.
"Hey man. How's it going?" Luke had asked simply. They had been best friends for years but since they both had become very busy, they hadn't run into each other or had much time to hang out or catch up.
"Oh it's ok. Ya know..." Ryan seemed a bit spacey and dejected.
"What's up?" Luke asked, noticing Ryan's sunken body language.
"Just having kind of a rough time. Work has been a bit rough. I might have to move. I just can't afford an apartment in town for myself." Ryan had rented a nice apartment near the water for the last couple years of undergrad at Boston University while he was still on his parents' dime. He was still trying to pay for it on his own but he was finding the expense was outrageous.
"Yeah, that's why I bought outside the city. You know, you could always come live with me? I've got the extra bedroom. I'll be a reasonable landlord and won't charge you up the ass?"
"Wait. Seriously?" Ryan looked up from his weights straight at Luke as if the latter had just offered him a kidney.
"Yeah." Luke sounded nonchalant. It was hard to tell if he was being serious. "Of course. I mean, you'd have to put up with me. My girlfriend stays over every once in
a while but she's not bad.'
"Seriously?" Ryan was still incredulous. The offer meant so much more than just a cheaper place to stay.
"Yeah. And you'd really have your own space, you could bring anybody home. Girls or guys. It'd be your space too."
Luke had known that Ryan was bisexual since they were teenagers, probably even before Ryan came out to his friends and family. It had never ruffled their friendship in any way.
"Ok I have two questions." Ryan had set his weight down and looked like he was in business negotiations. "How much would you charge me?"
"I don't know. We'll work something out that's reasonable for both of us. I'm not gonna dick you over." Luke didn't like talking about money. He was genuinely happy he'd be able to help out his friend who had helped him out for years.
"Alright, fine. But I'm going to pay you rent. You've got a mortgage now you've got to pay off. I'm no freeloader. Not anymore." He took a sip from his water bottle. "Next question: when can I move in?"
A week later, Ryan rolled up with his mattress on his SUV, which was loaded to the brink inside with his possessions.
Luke had grown up lower middle class. He was the only child of a single mom who worked herself ragged to provide a house for her kid growing up near an expensive city. When Ryan's family moved into town, they became best friends quickly and nearly inseparable. When Luke's mom was working, he could almost always be found at Ryan's house where they always had a plate at the dinner table for him.
It was at Ryan's house one afternoon in high school, playing videogames after soccer practice and eating junk food that Ryan told his best friend that he was bisexual.
Luke had paused their game and took a long look at Ryan. Ryan wouldn't return the stare, afraid of what it could have meant.
"Dude," Luke said, "I know. You're the least secretive person ever. You watch the girl's team doing their stretching, AND you watch the guys team doing their stretching. Not too tough to figure out."
He was grinning and laughing and unpaused their game.
Ryan was relieved and elated and hopeful. He felt like he could fully be himself after that.
Several months on from moving in, they had a pretty routine life between work and school. Luke's girlfriend, Britney, came over a couple nights each week and stayed the night. The walls were insulated but Ryan could still hear them when they had sex. Sometimes it went on for an hour or so and even noise-cancelling headphones didn't cover the pounding and the moans. It was a good thing they didn't share walls with any neighbors.
Luke had done an amazing job fixing up the house. He installed a second bathroom with a full shower. Reconfigured the kitchen to add more storage. He moved a ping pong table into the bonus room to enjoy during winter. The non-functioning fireplace was turned into a gas fireplace, which was currently their saving grace.
When the power went out earlier in the day, they quickly felt the temperature inside diminish. The central heating was electrical based. They moved into the living room and flicked on the fireplace. It took awhile, but the heat gradually filled the room, keeping them modestly warm.
They'd spent the day goofing around, reading, playing cards, betting each other who could do more push-ups. Dumb things to pass the time. A message from the power company let them know it would still likely be out until tomorrow.
Britney had texted the night before letting Luke know she wasn't coming over because of the storm. She was usually there over the weekend, but it was supposed to be bad enough she didn't want to drive.
The day passed into the evening and into the dark. Ryan was able to make dinner on the gas range in the kitchen thankfully so they sat around in front of the fire.
"Like very high-class, indoor camping," Luke said as he bit into the burger Ryan had made.
"Mmm. But no ticks," Ryan choked out with his mouth full of food. "Thankfully."
After eating, they put the dishes in the dishwasher but of course it wouldn't be run.
