Bryce
Ben and I woke up and immediately got dressed. Ben went to go get coffee and breakfast and it was up to me to wake my best friend up.
Techno was asleep in a very awkward position. He was asleep on his stomach, but what made this hilariously awkward was his hips were positioned as if he were a bottom asking for a top to use him right then and there.
"Hey No," I called to him, "Wake up. Techno, get up man."
Techno just mumbled, "Five more minutes, mom."
"Noah!" I shouted, "Wake your lazy ass up before I ram my foot up it."
"Ughhh," he responded, "What the hell Bryce? My head is killing me."
Ben had come back with coffee, breakfast sandwiches and some Tylenol.
"C'mon," I helped Techno up and walked him to the table, "You'll feel better once you eat something."
As we sat down, Ben's phone started to ring. I managed to see the caller id on the screen. It was Lee. Ben picked up and answered the phone and went out onto the patio to take the call.
"Bryce," Techno said once Ben was outside, "Um, please don't be upset with me, but last night, I kinda saw…"
Oh shit, that was him. Last night as Ben and I were having sex, I could've sworn I saw someone at the corner of my eye just standing there looking. At the time, I didn't pay any mind. All that mattered at that point in time was Ben fucking me.
"Noah," I said to my friend, "If you know what's good for you. You will remember nothing and you saw nothing. Got it?"
Techno laughed nervously and responded, "Yeah, right, I didn't see anything. I was asleep like a baby."
"And you are to tell no one, either."
"Dude," he replied, "I would never betray your trust like that. Besides, I wanted to ask…"
Ben came back in, finishing his call with Lee, "Ok, see you in a bit."
After hanging up the phone, he looked at me, and immediately I knew that he had something to talk to me about.
Ben
Once Techno was fed and feeling better, he went back home, leaving Bryce and I alone to discuss the matter I've been procrastinatingly avoiding. Telling my best friend about my boyfriend.
"Bryce," I pleaded, "Is it ok if I tell Lee about us?"
"Wait," he asked, surprised, "You haven't told him?"
"No," I answered, "I didn't know if you'd be ok with other people knowing. Aside from Techno, Gavin, Shu, and my family."
Bryce looked pensively and I felt he wasn't prepared to let another in on our secret. "If you're not ok with it, I can tell Lee…"
"Just tell him," he replied, "Stop being such a martyr. I feel bad that you didn't tell him cause you thought I'd be against it. I feel like I'm the bad guy here."
I wrap my arms around Bryce's waist and kiss the back of his neck. "Don't you know," I reassure him, "We always fall for bad boys."
"Well," he said, "Bad boys or nice guys are all the same to me. Cause I don't want any of them. I only want you."
Hearing him say that put a smile on my face and I whisper in his ear, "I love you, Bryce."
Bryce smiled and said, "I know. Thanks for that."
A knock on the door sounded, indicating that Lee had arrived. I look at Bryce one last time, silently asking his permission. Bryce just smiles and motions his head for me to go and answer the door.
I open the door and there is Lee holding a bag of soda bottles.
"C'mon in Lee," I invited him in, "Want a drink?"
"Water is fine." he said.
I motion to Bryce to grab a bottle of water from the fridge.
"Oh," Lee said to Bryce, "You're here too?"
Bryce handed him the bottle, "Here you go, man."
"Thanks," said Lee as he accepted the water bottle and opened it, "You won't believe how many views we got from the videos of us last night."
Lee pulled out his phone and started thumbing through the posts.
"Wow," I said as I saw the numbers, "That's amazing."
"I know," he said, "Right?"
"Listen, Lee," I started as I readied myself to tell my best friend about my boyfriend, "There's something I need to tell you."
"Sure," Lee replied, "What is it?" He began drinking the water.
"Well," I continued, "You're my best friend and I wanted to share this with you but didn't know if I could share it."
"What is it?" he asked, "You're not dying are you?"
"No, no," I interjected, "Nothing like that. You see, Bryce and I are dating."
There was a powerful silence that was palpable filling the air. Lee was shocked that he lost the strength to hold the water bottle in his hand and it fell to the floor, spilling the contents onto the floor.
"Dude," I said, "Are you ok?"
Lee said nothing but bent down to pick up the bottle, "Yeah, sorry. Just wow. You two? How did that happen?"
"It's a long story," I headed to the linen closet to get a towel, "Let me clean this up." I knelt down to dry up the water that spilt onto the floor.
"Why didn't you tell me about this before?" Lee asked.
"Don't be mad at Ben," Bryce answered for me, "He didn't tell you because I wasn't ready to be out. He stayed quiet because he knew how uncomfortable I was with people knowing about us."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you," I said, "but I wanted you to be the first to know."
Lee was quiet for a few seconds and then he cleared his throat, "Well, congrats to you both. Sorry for the mess and all."
"It's no trouble really," I answered, "You wanna hang for a bit? Tour the place?"
Lee laughed and said, "Love to, Bestie, but I can't. I have to go run errands for my mom. Raincheck?" He grabbed his shoes and left the apartment.
"Bye," I said as he shut the door behind him.
"What's wrong with him?" Bryce asked.
"Beats me," I answered, "He normally stays to play games or watch a movie with me when he comes over."
I finished cleaning up the spill, but I can't get Lee's behavior just now. Was he angry that I kept my relationship with Bryce a secret? Does he not like Bryce?
That must be it. When Bryce was facing ridicule from the online scandal, Lee openly voiced his opinion about him then and there. If that's the case, then he just needs to know Bryce better.
Bryce
I know Lee is Ben's best friend, but there is definitely something strange about his reaction to him finally learning about our relationship that didn't seem too friendly.
When I told Techno, he was ecstatic that I was overcoming my homophobia and learning to accept Ben as my boyfriend and not my evil gay roommate. He was a bit upset about not being told about our relationship, but he understood why I kept it from him.
Lee on the other hand, acted as if we just said the apocalypse just started and he had days left to live. I know nothing ever came between Ben and Lee other than friendship, but for some reason, my instincts were on high alert. Exactly like they were when Sam was hanging around Ben.