Chapter 7 #2
To my surprise, Jas wipes the spit and blood off his face and smears it roughly across Ant’s own face before slapping him on the cheek a couple times.
He leans down with a sinister smile and says something to him that I can’t hear over the raucous crowd around me.
All I know is Ant’s expression transforms from furious to stunned, before wrenching his arms free and shoving Jasper off him.
He shoves his way through the crowd, and I speed up to catch up with him. He doesn’t bother going through the house, opting for the gate instead.
“Wait up, bro. What the fuck was that about?” I say, grabbing his shoulder to stop him.
“None of your fucking business,” he spits before shrugging out of my grip and stalking off to his car.
Fuck all this shit. I don’t have enough patience to even attempt to decode his bullshit, there’s enough on my plate already with Teddy. I shoot a quick text to Ben telling him he might want to check on his boy. It’s nearly eleven now, and I’m ready to get the fuck out of here.
My skin is itchy and hot, so I take my shirt off, tuck it into my back pocket, and light a cigarette before heading back inside to find Teddy.
I feel like a grumpy old man, but I worked all day and I have to get up and do it all over again tomorrow. Not to mention I’m running on barely any sleep.
I cross the threshold into the house and take a look around. There are way more people here than when we first arrived. I recognize most of them, though, since it’s usually the same crowd at these parties.
I turn to my right to ask someone if they’ve seen Teddy anywhere when my eyes catch on a guy who, from behind, looks a lot like Travis. And then I see it—blond curls peeking over his shoulder from where Teddy’s face is buried in his neck.
My face heats up, right before deciding I definitely shouldn’t be watching him like this. But then I notice Travis’ arm pumping back and forth like he’s—
What the fuck? There’s no fucking way T is letting this dude jack him off in the middle of a fucking party. The heat in my cheeks turns into a complete inferno as I take a step forward and hear Teddy making sounds I never thought I’d hear come from his mouth. Little soft ones.
In that moment, I need to decide whether to walk away or put an end to this shit.
T’s probably fucking wasted right now and he’ll regret this in the morning.
I just know it. He’ll spend all week internally beating himself up about it until he has a chance to get wasted again and start all over again.
Simple decision for me since I couldn’t give a fuck less about Travis . All I’m concerned with is Teddy, and something about this doesn’t feel right.
I continue my path toward them and grab the dude by the shoulder, wrenching him back. “T, we’re going home. Now.”
“What the fuck!” he shouts at me while tucking himself back into his shorts.
I glance at Travis and see his jaw twitching and his brow in a hard line.
“Who are you?” he asks, to which I chuckle because how come every guy who hooks up with T acts like they don’t know who the fuck I am? And I almost want to thank this guy for giving me a laugh tonight, but instead, I grab Teddy’s arm and drag him away. Literally drag since he’s resisting.
When we get out of the house, he rips his arm from mine, visibly fuming.
Whatever. I head toward the bush we hid our boards in and pluck them out.
I turn around to hand his to him, but his feet are still planted firmly in front of the house, arms crossed in front of his chest. He looks truly livid and for a split second, I consider the fact that I might have made a mistake, but just as quickly, I brush it off.
Because if this Travis guy is worth his salt, this won’t deter him from being with T, and if it does, then so fucking be it.
“You need to tell me why you just did that. Right now,” he fumes. “I was finally getting some, and you came in and fucking ruined it!”
“While you were in there letting that dude jack you off in front of every person in that fucking house, Ant was out back getting his ass beat by Jasper,” I say snidely. “That’s not really the issue, though. The problem is I’m not going to let you do that shit in front of all those people.”
“What shit?” he interrupts. “Gay shit? Is that the problem? Because it seems like it is. I don’t think you’d care if Ant was in there getting sucked off.”
I rear back, momentarily floored by his comment.
“Don’t look so fucking surprised. I can tell how disgusted you are by me. By what I am. It was written all over your face last night.”
He’s starting to piss me off now. My fists clench at my side of their own accord.
“Number one, I obviously don’t give a fuck what Ant does, which is why I’m standing here right now.
And number two, just because I’m not gay, doesn’t mean I’m disgusted by you.
If I was, once again, I wouldn’t be standing here right now.
Get your head out of your ass, you’ll thank me tomorrow. ”
He just stares at me with calm derision. “If only you fucking knew,” he mumbles, “you’d ditch me in a heartbeat.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask, stepping up close to him.
“Be direct.” I look him up and down, his back is straight and he’s trying to stand his ground.
“From where I’m standing, it seems like you’re just talking shit, and you know how I feel about that.
Say what you mean,” I egg him on, hoping he’ll explode.
He shakes his head and shoves my chest. “Just forget about it. Let’s go.”
“Oh! Now you wanna go? Nah. Let’s talk about it.
Because I just helped you out in there, and here you are trying to give me a hard time.
” I back him up until he’s pressed against someone’s car.
In the light coming from the streetlamps, I can see him more clearly now—his cheeks are bright red, and his eyes are glued to the right, refusing to meet mine.
He takes a deep breath, steeling himself.
“You know what, Liam. I don’t need you to babysit me.
If I want to let someone give me a drunken orgasm in the middle of a party, then I should be able to do that.
Where do you get off trying to be my dad?
You’re my best friend, and that’s all you’ll ever be… ” he says, voice trailing off.
I lift my arms to either side of his head, caging him in. His breath falters, mouth opening slightly as he meets my stern gaze.
“I don’t understand why you’re still struggling to grasp this.
Here’s the thing, T. There’s only two people in this world that I give a fuck about, and you’re one of them.
You know that and you know me. Better than anyone.
So, I’ll do whatever the fuck I want when it comes to you. Just accept it and move on.”
“W-well, you really should stop. I-it hurts,” he rasps. And the grimace on his face makes it look like he’s in physical pain. My brows furrow as he continues, “That kind of thing gives someone like m-me the w-wrong idea.”
Someone like him? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?
“God, I’m such a fucking idiot,” he says, covering his face with his hands.
I’ve never been more confused in my life as I reach up and pull his hands from his face.
“T. Look at me,” I demand. I try to tip his chin upward, and when I finally manage to, I see his seafoam green eyes are glassy with unshed tears.
Heat rushes through my body as I feel the urge to console him, but I don’t even know what for.
I cup his soft cheek. “Hey, hey, hey. What’s the matter?”
His mouth sets into a hard line. “Why do you touch me like this? I’ve never seen you touch any of the other guys like this.
” He tries to pull free from my hold. “You have to stop. I can’t take it anymore.
” The words barely escape his lips as a single tear glides down his cheek, coming to a stop on my finger.
I pause and seriously contemplate what he said but come up short for an explanation. It’s always felt natural for me to be this way with him. Like a caretaker. Like he could look to me for guidance or comfort. “It’s always been this way with us,” I say, confusion riddling my tone.
He scoffs. “Well, I hate to break it to you Liam, but I’m gay . I’m attracted to men. And you act like a fucking boyfriend to me, so it’s hard for me to distinguish the difference with you. Just stop.”
I step back, my hands lifting to pull at my hair.
“No. That doesn’t make any fucking sense.
Friends can be close like this, I’ve seen it.
You were the exact same way with Ben, and we’re way closer than you guys ever were.
So, try again,” I say, chest heaving. “Actually, don’t.
Why are you pulling this shit right now?
It doesn’t make any sense. It fucking feels like you’re trying to split us apart.
Shit’s just been adding up lately—you’re constantly trying to push me away and it’s just not the same anymore.
How about you tell me what the fuck’s going on because this…
whatever this is fucking hurts .” I swiftly turn around and scrub my face with my hands.
How did we get here? The biggest downfall of our friendship is that it makes me feel way too fucking much.