23. Dylan
23
DYLAN
W e all felt significantly more human by the time we loaded into the train, on the way to Paris. Shane arranged for us to stop by a hotel to shower and clean ourselves up, so that we wouldn’t be three days of festival stink on the way. He’d grumbled that we should have just stayed in the hotel the night before, but no one paid him any attention.
It didn’t matter, though, not really. We were clean and less stinky, and more than half of us were nursing a hangover. Which was surprising to me. I didn’t realize anyone had been drinking that much. Maybe that was me being an idiot, but I didn’t want to lose a second of it. Being at the festival made me feel tipsy with happiness, as it was. Not judgment, just surprise.
I followed Micah and Jason, being led to where Alex had grabbed a seat. It was already evening, and I wondered if there’d still be anything cool to see out of the window. How often did we get to go on a train, after all? It was a sleek train, with a lot of sharp lines. Maybe it would have been cooler to be on something more old-fashioned, but a train was a train.
We all filed into the seats, and I crowded in next to Brad. He immediately stood and switched sides with me, giving me the window seat without a second thought. I pulled my legs up into the seat and stared out the window. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been on a train like this…”
“No? They have some train cars at home…you might like those,” Charlie offered with a hum, like he was trying to figure out if San Francisco train cars were the same as a modern European train.
“We should stage a detective story here…you know? Like it was Mr. Bubbles in the laundry room with a broom kind of a thing…seems like what you do on a train.” I hugged my knees to my chest.
Brad snorted next to me. “It would keep things interesting. Maybe if we all grew out mustaches and wore fake furs or something.”
“Jason was getting there. Did you see what three days without shaving did to him?” Charlie laughed.
Jason grinned and shrugged. “Be jealous of my sexy, manly facial hair, man. I know it’s intimidating.”
Micah rolled his eyes. “Intimidating until you see it on your back.”
“Hey! I do not have a hairy back,” Jason gaped.
Micah caressed his chin, cooing. “Of course not, sweetie.”
I glanced at Charlie. “Does he? Kind of cool…maybe it keeps him warm.”
A smile flitted across Charlie’s face. “I don’t think so, Micah would have complained about that a long time ago if so.”
I shrugged and turned back to look out the window. Who knew how long it would be before any of us came back to Paris? I wanted to enjoy the sights, wanted to take in all the things I might miss in the years it would take. If I’d ever be back.
Unfortunately, as we began to move, all I could think about twenty minutes later was how sleepy it made me. Everyone was chatting amongst themselves, Brad roped into conversation with the frat boys. My eyelids got heavier with every moment. Curling up against the window, I stared out, letting myself be lulled into a sense of comfort. Maybe there wasn’t much to see at this time, anyway.
My eyelids fluttered open, and confusion swept over me for a moment or two. Wherever I was, I was moving. Somewhere. I blinked, and it took another moment to recognize that my friends surrounded me.
All at once, I felt eyes on me, and I looked at Brad. He looked startled for a moment and averted his gaze too quickly. Like he’d been caught staring and hadn’t meant to. Like he didn’t want me to know he was staring at me.
My lips twitched in amusement, and I yawned, unfurling myself from the ball I’d wound myself into during the nap. “Where are we?” I asked, stifling another yawn.
Part of me felt a sense of loss at having slept for who knew how long. It wasn’t everyday I got to come on some European train, and I didn’t know when or if I’d ever get to come back. Now I’d squandered it on another nap. It wasn’t good to sleep this much. Even if it was dark.
“I think we’re only about twenty minutes away,” Charlie offered with a hint of a smile. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say his gaze flickered to Brad as he said it.
Why? Did he do something while I slept?
I nodded. “Cool, cool…we’re just going to the hotel, right? Or are we going out somewhere?”
Charlie looked over at Theo.
Theo shrugged. “Nah, I think we’re just going straight to the hotel. At least most of us are, if you want to do something y’know, go for it. Why the hell does traveling make you so sleepy?” he asked rhetorically, stretching in his seat.
Charlie smiled fondly at him, even though he hadn’t said or done anything worth fond gazing.
Maybe that was just how love was, though. It was all about finding even the smallest of things cute or charming or endearing. My thoughts drifted to Brad. The way I found it cute, even when he’d crush a beer can on his head. Maybe that was just fucked up on my part, though.
The thought made me snort.
“Dude, of course I’m going to the pros. I’m awesome.” Brad said, laughing with Alex, in the middle of some conversation.
Alex scoffed. “Dude, you’re better at thinking you’re awesome than you are at football.”
Brad raised a hand to his chest like he was hurt. “You’re just jealous, my man. I get it, I have it all.”
“And the health record at the STI clinic to prove it.” Alex grinned in that charming way he had.
The way that Shane used to call infuriating, the way he called smug and annoying. One time he’d even gone on a tirade about his teeth, annoyed at each single individual tooth. Now, somehow, here they were. I’d always thought they could have used a good hate fuck to get out all the weird tension that built up, but it blew all our minds that it went so far beyond that into a full-fledged relationship. It was still fairly new, however, so I had some reservations.
Maybe some people were just better at figuring that shit out.
I couldn’t imagine anyone I could be in a relationship with, however, that I wouldn’t bring down. My thoughts clouded with Brad and the way things were so perfect between us when no one was looking, but I knew better than to dwell on it for long. We were graduating soon, and there was no way anything more was going to happen. It couldn’t, even if sometimes I ached for it. When I allowed myself to admit it.
Wrapped in my own thoughts, I hardly noticed when the train stopped and everyone got up to leave. Brad reached out a hand, offering his help. I looked at it for a moment before offering my own, letting him pull me up and lead me off the train.
We caught multiple taxis to the hotel, needing them to fit all of us. It was dark in Paris. Vaguely, I could make out the sight of the streets and the twinkling Eiffel Tower, just a brief glimpse. It was probably incredible, and I sort of wanted to just stare at it for a while.
The power of sleepiness won out in the end, however. Again. We all piled into our rooms wordlessly, grabbing keys and luggage and slipping off to where the kind concierge directed us. I wondered again how much Shane had dropped on this trip. Maybe it was something he guilted his mom into, considering how hard she was sometimes. He wouldn’t have answered me even if I asked.
I just got my stuff in the door when I kicked off my shoes. The beds looked soft and warm, and they were calling my name. Maybe I wasn’t so cut out for the travel life, not when it made me so sleepy. Well…not that I didn’t feel a similar sleepiness everywhere.
“Dylan?” I heard as I crawled into the bed, kicking off my jeans onto the floor as I did.
“Mm, sorry…sleepy,” I mumbled, curling up in the bed.
I could hear the deep chuckle from Brad, something affectionate in his voice. I could picture him shaking his head, thinking I was hopeless. The shower started, and I only had time to entertain the idea of Brad’s naked body in the shower before the power of sleep overtook me.