Chapter 7 #2
There’s no shame in sleeping now, I told myself. There’s no one here to impress. It had been a journey to get here—and not just the flight or the ferry.
A full year of silence from my family. Of being iced out. Of breaking my own heart because I knew it was the only way to be free. My wounds were still open, but with this step, it felt like maybe—just maybe—I could allow little scars to form.
Napping outside of my sleeping hours was the worst decision I could have made. I’d long since adjusted to a more normal schedule instead of the chaos hours as an EMT, so when I woke, it felt a bit like I’d been in a coma.
I peered at my phone with one blurry eye, the brightness of the screen contrasting with the fact that it was almost pitch-black in the room, and it hurt, but I could just make out the tiny numbers. Ten past eleven.
Shit.
I’d slept for almost four hours, which was going to wreak havoc on me.
Stretching my back, I rolled and planted my feet, then rushed to the bathroom to take the world’s longest piss. The moment my bladder was empty, my stomach began to make noise, and I fought back a groan because it was late.
Was the kitchen even open?
The welcome pamphlet happily informed me that there was twenty-four-hour room service.
A small menu was at the very back with Caesar salads, bacon cheeseburgers, fries, omelets, and cheesecake.
It was maybe the weirdest fare, something I would have loved as a stoned college student, but a burger and a salad sounded fucking heavenly.
Accepting that I would be starting the new year the way I was likely going to spend it—alone—was tough, but I’d been doing good so far.
I had Gracie and Hasan’s wedding next on the agenda, so if this vacation thing didn’t work out as far as getting my butt touched, maybe one of them would have a hot, queer cousin who’d be interested in a broke-ass teacher for the night.
I used the app to order the food as I shoved that thought away. That was a future Ryan problem, not a vacation Ryan’s. I wasn’t feeling as lonely as before. Or, at least, the loneliness wasn’t as painful now that I was here.
Tucking my phone into my pocket, I started toward the back door when I heard a soft thud in the room next door.
And then another, harder thud and the sound of someone cursing softly.
My stomach twisted, and my old training kicked in as I walked to the space beside the couch and pressed my ear to the wall.
There was silence…and then there was a moan. It was soft, but it was noticeable. Then there was a vibration noise I recognized almost immediately, followed by a harder grunt. Holy fuck. The person wasn’t in danger. They were having sex. With toys in the mix.
Wrenching away, I hurried to the back door and almost brained myself on the concrete, tripping over the edge to get outside. It had been so fucking long since anyone had touched me that just the sound of a man moaning and a buzzing vibrator had my dick a little hard.
Without a soul around to see me, and the only lights the pale fairy ones along the pathway, I palmed myself until the feeling subsided. Jesus, I didn’t need to be jacking myself off to the sound of two strangers playing with vibrators as they got laid.
I had porn for that. Good porn. A pricey subscription with all the videos that catered to my tastes.
Shoving my phone into my pocket, I decided to walk the pathway to the cabana since obviously my neighbors weren’t going to be using it for a while. There was a switch to turn the overhead lights on, but I didn’t bother, instead leaning against the side of the hot tub and pulling the lid off.
The smell of chlorine was overwhelming for a moment, but the breeze quickly took it away, and I dipped my fingers in. The warm, gentle bubbles felt amazing, and if the guy and his girlfriend or wife or whatever weren’t going to use it after they were, well, finished, I would.
My back would thank me for it.
Moving past the cabana, I started a few steps toward the sand, though I didn’t venture past the walkway. I had a thing for the beach at night—I loved the way it was dark and endless, so long as that dark and endless couldn’t actually touch me.
My feet curled against the edge of the wood, toes tipping into the sand.
It was cool and soft, and a little wet from an earlier rain shower.
In the distance, the waves were a little stronger than before, and I caught a scent of briny seaweed.
Somewhere off the water, there was a splashing sound like something breaching the low waves.
I was not about to go investigate.
Instead, I turned back up toward the room and made my way, saying a small prayer that my neighbor and his partner weren’t going to be at it all night.
I held my breath as I stepped inside, fighting the urge to press my ear to the wall again.
It was blessedly silent, so I took that as the okay to turn on the lights and settle in.
The app informed me that my order was on the way, so I flicked on the TV, set a blanket on the couch, then paced in front of the low table until I heard the knock.
“Room service!”
I tried not to look too eager as I flung the door open and smiled at the tired woman standing there holding the tray. “Thank you.”
She nodded, not as apathetic as the bellhop, but not exactly thrilled to see me either. “Just sign, please.”
There was a spot for a tip, but I had a feeling people would appreciate cash better, so I used the rest of what was in my pocket—almost exactly twenty-five percent of this sale—and shoved it beside the receipt.
That earned me a slight smile as she took it back and walked in a few steps to set my tray on the table. “Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be on the phones until two.”
I nodded, though, and closed the door behind her, distracted by the smell of a freshly prepared burger. Fuck, I was starving. My appetite had been literal garbage since leaving my job and dealing with my parents, and this was the first time I felt like I could take any real joy in eating.
My stomach rumbled, and I rubbed my hands together, reaching for the tray.
BAM! CRASH!
“Motherfuck!”
Ignore it, I told myself. This is your vacation. You are not a hero. You’re just a man, and it was probably a sex accident, which you do not need to be part of. Tune it out, Ryan.
Walk away.
Except now I could hear a soft whimpering cry and another thud against the wall.
It took five seconds, and I cracked, walking over to the wall panel and pulling it open. I hesitated, curled my fingers into a fist, and knocked. “Hello?”
There was a heavy silence, then a ragged voice. “Yes?”
“Are you okay over there?”
“I don’t…I’m…” Another beat of silence. “I think I might need help.”
Fuck. Fuck. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s complicated.”
Well. That was a weird answer. “Um…we have a shared door. It might be locked on your side though. You want me to come over if I can?”
“God,” the guy groaned, and there was a smaller thud like he’d knocked his head on the wall. “Yeah, I guess. Shit, this is humiliating.” I was pretty sure I wasn’t meant to hear that last part, and it made me smile a bit.
Something about his voice was oddly familiar, though having worked as an EMT for as long as I did, I’d come to realize that a lot of people sounded like a lot of other people, so I quit making assumptions a long time ago.
Reaching for the dead bolt, I flicked it, and the door shook as it disengaged. When I turned the knob, it groaned…and then it opened.
Well, shit.
That was creepy. If I were some sort of mass murderer, I could have walked over and killed both him and his partner in their bed.
Luckily for them, I wasn’t.
I pushed in all the way, startled by how dark it was.
All the lights were off save for the one in his bathroom, so I searched the shadows and eventually saw him a few feet away, lying in a heap beside the wall.
His back was up against the same little table I had in my room, and he looked like he was only just keeping himself upright.
As my eyes adjusted, I could also see he was wearing the very pristine white hotel robe, and his legs were pale as they stuck out. I could also make out a mess of black hair that was falling loose from a hair tie.
“Hi,” I said, taking a few steps closer. “I’m Ryan.”
The guy wheezed a laugh. “Hey, Ryan. What a shitty way to meet.”
Something about his voice struck me hard. It was difficult to make out the nuance of it because it was raspy and soft, but I swore I’d heard it before. “It’s no big deal. I used to do this a lot.”
“Slip into strangers’ hotel rooms and help them off the floor?” he asked.
I laughed as I got close enough to kneel down. “You’d be surprised at some of the shit I dealt with. One time, I had to rescue this old man—I’m talking, like, damn near ninety. He mistook a Christmas ornament for a dildo, and, well…yeah.”
“Oh my god,” the guy said, his voice barely a wheeze. He used his hands to attempt to turn over, but he wasn’t successful. “You had to pull it out?”
I laughed again. “Oh my god, no. I just had to get him comfortably on a stretcher so we could transport him to the hospital.”
The guy went very, very silent. Then, “Are you an EMT?”
“I was one, but I quit a year ago.”
“That is disgustingly ironic…Ryan. Your name is Ryan?”
The way he said my name was…but no. There wasn’t a chance in hell. This was more likely to be some kind of fever dream. “It is. Now, how can I help you up?”
“Well, Ryan,” the guy said. He turned his head toward me, but I couldn’t see much more than basic features. “I have this thing with my legs where every now and again, they just kind of quit working. Especially if I get worked up or stressed.”
Worked up. He’d definitely been worked up before. I glanced around quickly but realized that he was alone in this room. His partner must have gone for a drink or something.
“If you can just lift me to my feet and support me to the bed, I think that’ll do it.”
“Easy enough.” It had been a while since I’d maintained my upper-body strength, but I hadn’t lost all of it.
I managed to scoot behind him and get my arms under the robe.
As I lifted him, his legs gave out, but his feet eventually caught on the ground and flattened enough to take some of his weight.
And then, of course, his robe fell open.
He was completely naked. It was still dark, but I caught a glimpse of his tattooed chest and then a shadowy, long, gorgeous dick before he scrambled to close it.
“Shit, sorry.”
“Trust me, I’ve seen naked people before,” I murmured. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
He stiffened, then cleared his throat and pointed to the bedroom. “If you don’t mind?”
I stayed behind him, keeping most of his weight as his feet dragged across the floor, though the longer he moved, the stronger he seemed to get. His steps became more sure, and by the time he got to the bed, he was holding his own.
The bedroom was even darker, and now, he was nothing more than a shadow.
“Can I get the light?”
“Yeah,” he said. Something in his tone sounded…strange. Maybe he was the mass murderer who’d try to take advantage of the shoddy door protection. “If you don’t mind?”
I didn’t. I wanted to see him. I needed to confirm in my head that the universe wasn’t completely fucking with me, so I walked to the wall and flipped on the light.
And then I damn near passed out, because yeah.
It was fucking with me.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, with his legs spread and his robe almost showing me his dick again, was Atlas.