Chapter 46 Mat
Mat
It is that bad though. It doesn’t sound all that bad. It’s only three months, and we’ve booked our first two flights already. We know we won’t go more than twelve days without seeing Trouble, no matter what, but still, it’s fucking bad.
Watching him pack and dropping him off at the airport is horrendous.
The past six weeks have been a whirlwind.
He’s spent almost every night at our place.
We’ve had the best time. We've been with him almost every second we haven’t been at work.
We’ve eaten out and we’ve cooked together.
We’ve hung out with Luke, Jessie, Gould, and Gould's long-suffering roommate, Wyn. The seven of us have really hit it off.
When the three of us are together, we stay up all hours.
And yeah, sure, we’ve fucked until all three of our asses are totally shredded, but we’ve also talked.
We’ve talked complete shit, and we’ve laughed until we couldn’t breathe.
We’ve talked about real things too. Will and I have talked and talked until we got to the point where we felt sure we’d caught Trouble up on the past two decades of our lives at least. He talked too.
More than once. More than twice. More than three times, he said, “I’ve never told anyone that before. ”
He gave up his apartment a couple of weeks back with the intention of getting a new place closer to ours when he gets back.
He stored most of his stuff at Jessie and Luke’s place as they have a garage.
Officially, we’ve agreed to take things slow between us.
We’re all aware this thing between us is big and new, and the distance will test us, so it seems like the sensible thing to do.
Between you and me, I think that plan is a crock of shit. I’m not down with it, and I’m on a quest to make it my personal mission to change it.
The airport is busy, as usual. Expansive panels of glass and a general sense of chaos are the day’s order.
People are milling around, going about their day, checking baggage, and anxiously reading announcement boards.
None of them seem to have a clue that we’re dropping our favorite person here with the full understanding that a large metal tube with wings will take him away from us.
I feel vastly, wildly out of control of my emotions.
Things that should feel tight feel loose and things that should feel loose feel way, way too tight.
I want to cause a terrible scene. The biggest, most pathetic scene any man has ever caused at an airport.
I know he’s going to miss us, but there’s a shimmer of excitement all over and around Trouble that’s impossible to miss.
Will’s right. This is his dream. It’s a big deal.
I don’t want to ruin it for him, but in truth, that’s not why I don’t cause a scene.
I know myself, and despite all that, I’d probably still have a gargantuan loss of shit if it weren’t for the fact that Will hasn’t let go of my hand the whole time we’ve been here.
“There are three,” he murmurs when he sees me falter. “There are three of us now. You’re not doing this alone.”
Trouble’s bags are checked. The rest of the performers and crew have already gone through security.
Trouble is wearing blue jeans and one of those mesh tops with an intricate design that almost makes it look like his skin is covered in tattoos.
His hair is tied back in a low ponytail and a few pieces have escaped around his face, making him look softer and sweeter than usual.
“We’re going to call you every minute,” I say, and I mean it.
“Yeah, we will,” agrees Will.
“Seriously, you’re going to start thinking about calling 911 to report us for stalking. You’re probably going to be tempted to file a restraining order against us at some point.”
“Try me,” says Trouble, and Will chuckles even though it isn’t that funny.
Trouble leans up onto his toes and kisses Will and then me.
“I love you,” I say.
“And you,” says Trouble.
“And you,” echoes Will.
And with that, he’s off.