AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oliver winked. “That I am. Lucky for you, innit love?”
Laughing again, Lucas reached over boldly, curling his hand around the back of Oliver’s neck and pulled him close. “You’ve got a clever mouth, Ollie. You clever in other ways?”
“Well…I’ve never had any complaints,” Oliver said, a little breathless as their noses brushed together. “You want to find out?”
Lucas did, apparently, but it lasted all of fifteen seconds before a hand was on Oliver’s arm, tugging him away from the kiss. Growling in the back of his throat, Oliver turned his head, his eyes going wide when he saw a somewhat panicked expression on the face of the barista from earlier.
“Er. Gabe?”
He frowned. “You know my name?”
Blinking, Oliver released his hold on Lucas, though didn’t move back far. “Saw it on your name badge at the café earlier. Is something wrong?”
Gabe stared at him, then he cleared his throat. “I…well…your sibling’s Leo, right? Because he’s kind of…he sort of…might be in trouble.”
It was like being doused in ice water, the way his sibling’s name could yank him from his post-kiss euphoria. He didn’t even look back at Lucas as he threw himself from the bar stool. “What’s he done?”
Gabe threaded his arm through Oliver’s as he dragged him back down the dark corridor where the bathrooms were. “I just saw him snort something. I have no idea what it was, but we should get him out of here. He’s vomiting all over and really belligerent.”
Oliver froze just outside the stall to the lady’s bathroom. “You’re here with him?”
“No,” Gabe said, shaking his head. “I got invited out with some of our friends from the club. The one he’s part of…”
“The queer ones?” Oliver demanded. He knew them and mostly liked them, but not all of them had Leo’s best interests in mind.
Gabe nodded. “It was a small group of us tonight, and I noticed someone following him to the bathrooms. I came in just as he was doing the line.” He pushed open the door and Leo was there, slumped in an open stall, vomit on the side of the toilet and down the front of his shirt. His eyes were half-lidded and his mouth was curving silently around what Oliver assumed were colorful swears.
“Damn it,” Oliver mumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Leo, what the bloody fucking hell have you done.”
“Sod off,” Leo said, or Oliver assumed he said as his tongue seemed too thick to move properly. “Lemme ‘lone.”
Oliver felt a combination of rage and exhaustion, and he lowered his head, letting out a long, resigned sigh. “How long has he been in here?”
“Seven, maybe eight minutes,” Gabe said. He reached up, giving his tight curls a ruffle. “Is he usually like this? This is the first time I agreed to go out with this group. I didn’t know they were into this sort of thing.”
Oliver gave him a small grin, shaking his head. “Well, if anyone can make you regret every single one of your life’s choices, it’s Leo.” He knelt down after that, grimacing as he pushed two fingers against Leo’s sticky pulse point. It was rapid, but not fast enough for concern. “What did you take, you stupid shit?”
“Nothing,” Leo groaned. “S’nothing, was nothing, I…” He heaved again, and Oliver hopped back just in time to avoid the splatter.
“Buggering fuck,” he cursed. “We have to get him out of here before the staff finds him. Any chance you can help me get him outside?”
“Yeah. Actually, I live like a block away if you want to come over to my apartment?” Gabe was tugging on the sleeve of his shirt, his eyes wide and worried. “I mean, as long as you don’t think he’s going to die or something.”
“Doubt it. He’s probably going to puke it out, sleep it off, then hate everything for the next few days,” Oliver said tiredly. “You have roommates?”
Gabe shook his head. “It’s actually my aunt’s place, but she’s off in Israel for the next thirteen months.”
“Good, because this might get worse before it gets better. I’ll replace anything he ruins though, I promise.”
Gabe gave him a slightly dubious look before coming over and grabbing one of Leo’s arms. Oliver took the other, and together they managed to get him on his feet, easing him toward the door. With his foot, Gabe propped it open while Oliver eased them into the hall, and the three of them made it down to the far exit.
It led straight to the alley, and when the night air hit them, Leo heaved again. Gabe and Oliver dropped him unceremoniously, and he hit the pavement with a smack as his stomach unleashed another torrent of crappy bar-bought drinks. Oliver grimaced at the splattering sound, but eased Leo up once the puking stopped.
“This is pretty disgusting,” Gabe said.
Oliver pulled a face, guilt rushing through him. “I know. I really am sorry.”
“Does he do this a lot?” Gabe asked softly as they eased the younger one back to his feet.
