Page 97 of Septembers

It took Dae a second to decode what Theo had asked, then shook his head, a half-annoyed, half-fond smirk displaying one single dimple. “I really didn’t like the pretty spinach girl.”

“So she was pretty.”

“Go to sleep.”

Theo stuck his foot out onto the floor to stop the room from spinning, which was a trick his aunt taught him. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You’ve done it for me.” He turned off the light, and in the darkness, Theo could imagine he lingered for a while, watching over him until he fell asleep.

What If

Waking up was an atrocity. Buzzing from Theo’s phone kept pulling him back from the foggy sleep he’d been drifting in and out of. Half-memories from the night before weaved through the quasi-dreams that filled the space between sleep and waking.

Had he really asked Dae to undress him? He tossed around in the bed, kicking at the sheets until he tuckered himself out, then he lay there, blinking up at his ceiling.

It was fine. He’d been drunk, and from what the fuzz that now functioned as his brain could piece together, Dae hadn’t exactly been an unwilling participant. And it wasn’t like they did anything. Dae had just helped him out. And given Theo an erection in the process.

He groaned and lifted the blankets to glare at his dick, half-hard because of the morning, not his memories of Dae’s fingers softly gripping his hips.

His phone buzzed again and he threw himself into the distraction, scrolling through messages and articles. The launch had been a success. Jordan’s album was selling well, and there were a few glowing reviews, a few okay ones, and one that was negative. He squinted at the screen and read the first paragraph before realizing it was from a conservative-leaning website known for propagating antiquated bullshit. They didn’t count.

A light tap on his door made him bury his head under a pillow just before footsteps padded into the room. “I made breakfast.”

“I’m skipping today.”

“You can’t skip breakfast.”

“No, I’m skipping today.”

Dae pulled the pillow off his head and threw the blankets off him. “It’s past noon.”

Theo whined with absolutely no shame, trying to pull the blankets back without success. “It’s Saturday. Time is irrelevant.”

“Normally, I would agree.” Dae relinquished the blankets in favour of moving to the window to open the blinds. “But your dad is coming over.”

“What?” Theo shot up and instantly regretted it as the room tilted and his stomach threatened to climb out of his throat. “Wha—what?”

“You don’t remember?” Light from the window threw Dae into silhouette. “Your dad called last night when we were in the cab. He said he wanted to come by and see the apartment.”

Theo had zero recollection of agreeing to that. “See the apartment? After three years? Why now?”

Dae shrugged, his face coming into focus as he sat on the edge of the bed. The sympathy etched into his beautiful features made Theo regret asking those questions out loud. He didn’t want Dae’s sympathy—not for this.

Dae had never met Theo’s dad, and he wanted to keep it that way. “Do you…” How the fuck was he supposed to ask him to get the hell out of his own apartment? His throat was suddenly very scratchy and his chest tight, like he’d just run for his life.

“Theo?” Dae reached for him, but Theo flinched away.

“Sorry, um, do you have anything to do today?” Hot. He was so fucking hot. And clammy. “I mean, you don’t have to stick around, if you don’t want to.”

Dae studied him, his dark eyes jumping from his face, down to his chest, rising and falling too rapidly, and then finally to his shaking hands, which Theo hadn’t realized he’d twisted into his blankets.

He let them go, forcing a laugh. “I just mean, it’s not a big deal. If you have something else to do.”

Dae nodded, and the weight that had settled into Theo’s bones lifted slightly. “Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I was planning on going to the gym.”

“Okay.” Theo hadn’t meant for it to come out so relieved. He wasn’t even sure why he was so relieved, or why the thought of Dae meeting his dad was horrifying.

“Come on.” Dae offered his hand to help him out of bed, and even though it was stupid, given what he’d done the night before, Theo took it. Dae got him up, then lifted Theo’s arm to his nose, sniffing before dropping it dramatically. “Take a shower. You still smell like alcohol.”