Chapter 20 #2
He could stay like this forever, he decided.
Life outside the apartment could keep going, for all he cared, and he would stay here with Bash.
They would cook together, have sex, and cuddle on the couch.
He would learn what sort of movies Bash liked and share the movies he liked.
They would read books with their coffee, watch sports documentaries, and have more sex. They would be…a couple.
“You should spend the night,” Bash said sleepily.
Adonis didn’t answer for a moment, twining his fingers through Bash’s. “Okay,” he said after a long, breathless wait. “I’d like that.”
He could think of nothing he wanted more right now.
They remained like that on the couch for a long time, saying nothing, just holding each other.
Finally, Bash murmured something about showers and helped Adonis off the couch.
He led Adonis to the bathroom, where they undressed and both squeezed into the shower.
The water was hot, but the shower was so small that only one of them could be under the water at a time.
Bash insisted Adonis take most of the water, saying he didn’t mind being cold.
He washed Adonis’s body, then his own, and then they both rinsed.
Bash handed him a fresh towel. When they were both dry, Bash hunted in his bathroom drawers until he found a fresh toothbrush, which he handed to Adonis.
“Yours,” he said simply, and then went to the bedroom. He came back a few minutes later with folded sweatpants and a T-shirt. “They’ll be a little big, but you can wear them,” he offered.
Adonis gladly dressed in Bash’s clothes. They were big, but they were cozy and comfortable.
“Perfect,” he said.
“I agree,” Bash said, looking at Adonis. “You are perfect.”
Adonis blushed. They went to Bash’s bed, where Bash turned back the heavy quilt and climbed in. Adonis climbed in next, settling comfortably beside Bash’s body. There was a TV on the wall facing the bed, and Bash reached for the remote.
“I like to fall asleep to nature documentaries,” he said with a hint of embarrassment.
“That’s adorable,” Adonis said sleepily, resting his head on Bash’s chest. “I love that.”
“It won’t distract you?”
“No.”
Bash was on the third episode of a documentary about the oceans, and as the narrator’s cozy British accent began to explain the ins and outs of tide pools, Bash played absently with Adonis’s hair, and Adonis drifted off to sleep.
——
It was 6:00 a.m. when Adonis woke up, wrapped in Bash’s arms. He didn’t want to get up, but he knew he needed to.
Soon, he’d meet his mother at his apartment, and they would drive to Boston Logan International Airport.
From there, they had a flight to Heathrow, then to Milano.
And then it would be time for the Olympics to begin.
He gently wriggled out of Bash’s arms. Bash stretched and grasped Adonis’s pillow, but didn’t wake up.
Adonis shoved his feet into his shoes, but didn’t change out of Bash’s T-shirt and sweatpants.
He raised Bash’s closet for a Bellford Ravens Hockey sweatshirt, which he pulled on over his head.
He would take it to Italy with him, he decided, implications of that action be damned.
Bash was still asleep when Adonis was finished getting ready. He returned to the bed and bent over it, kissing Bash on the forehead.
Bash’s eyes slowly opened.
“Are you sneaking out?” he whispered sleepily.
“I have to meet my mother to go to the airport,” Adonis said.
“I can drive you.”
Adonis brushed Bash’s hair back from his forehead. “You should sleep. Anamária would freak out if I didn’t ride with her to the airport. I’m sure there’s plenty she wants to go over before we leave.” He kissed Bash on the lips. “Thank you for last night. I—I’m glad I spent the night.”
“So am I,” Bash whispered. He stretched mightily and pulled Adonis in for another kiss. “Keep me updated on your flights. When you board and land and all that.”
“I will,” Adonis promised. He lingered at the door of Bash’s bedroom for a moment, not wanting to leave.
“My sweatshirt looks good on you,” Bash said with a yawn, miming taking a photo of Adonis with his fingers.
“I like wearing it,” Adonis said. He blew Bash one last kiss, then peeled himself away from the door.
“See you later, Adonis,” Bash said.
“See you later.”
Adonis walked quietly out of the apartment and shut the door behind him. He had made it a quarter mile through the cold morning, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of Bash’s sweatpants, before the flood of emotions hit him.
They had broken several rules last night. Last night was undeniably a date. And he had spent the night, something they’d promised they wouldn’t do.
However, he couldn’t find it in himself to be mad about any of this.
Instead, he was happy. Happier than he’d been in a very long time.
There was a spring in his step as he approached his apartment, and even the fact that he had a long travel day ahead of him with Anamária didn’t dull his happiness.