Brad slammed down the shot glass and poured another, vaguely
aware that
the tequila bottle was 1/3 gone. "Come in!" He yelled
as there was a sudden
knock on the door. In a motion he slammed the shot and put the
bottle and
glass in the cabinet. As he turned to the door, he smiled at the
clock, checking
his hair. It was already 6pm; he'd called Colin and started
drinking at 4.
"Brad..." Colin came into the condo with a concerned
look on his face as
Brad stumbled out of the kitchen and flopped onto the couch.
"I brought
some cookie dough ice cream if you want it."
"Nah, I'm not hungry." Brad smiled gently as Col went
to the kitchen and put it
in the freezer.
"Have you been drinking?" Colin asked, coming back into
the living room with
the bottle and glass in hand.
"Nope." Brad smirked.
"Brad," Colin shook his head and put the glass and
bottle on the coffee table,
"The eating I can handle, even a little drinking. But when
you start lying about
it..."
"Okay, so I had a little tequila...it's not like I drank the
whole bottle." Brad
rolled his eyes.
"You can't hold your liquor Brad...I remember every single
time we got wasted
together...I had half a bottle, you had a quarter and we were
shit faced!" Colin
poured another shot. "But since you've already drank half
the bottle, why don't
you go on ahead and finish it."
"Col..." Brad slurred the nickname, "I...I'm...not
drunk."
"Oh," Colin laughed, "Yes you are..."
"IfIsodrunk..." Brad's words began to slur together,
"Why...whyamIawake?"
Colin shook his head, "One more shot for the night."
Brad rolled his eyes, "You...okay." He took the small
glass and gripped it
tightly, then pressed it to his mouth and swallowed it. He
recalled feeling
fuzzy and warm, then passed out.
Colin sighed and gathered the man, then managed to get him to his
feet and
somehow struggled him to the bedroom. Heaving another sigh, he
let Brad fall
to the bed, then he fell beside his friend and watched him sleep
it off.
* * *
* *
Brad felt his head pounding and was vaguely aware of being in his
bed.
Carefully turning onto his other side he looked at his clock. The
bleary
numbers proudly proclaimed that it was 12:14am. Groaning, he
rolled to
the other side and stretched, then hit something.
"Stop it." Colin grumbled as Brad groped his face
trying to figure out who it was.
"Col?" Brad slowly turned to face the man.
"Morning..."
"No." Colin sat up, "Just after midnight."
With a grin, he yelled, "How's your head?"
Brad moaned, "Owww...it hurts now thanks to you."
"Ah, the beautiful hangover..." Colin remarked
sarcastically. "But I suppose that's
what you get for drinking almost half a bottle of tequila."
"I was drinking tequila?" Brad groaned, narrowing his
eyes to slits.
"Oh yeah." Colin nodded, "Then you passed
out."
"Did I? I mean...we...did...you know?" Brad began to
freak out, hoping his
dazed dream of sleeping with his friend had not come true, for
Ryan's sake.
"Did we sleep together?" Colin made a disappointed
face.
"I mean...oh god..." Brad put his face in his pillow,
then came back up, "I
always wanted to...but...I mean, Ryan and all..." his words
were disjointed
and not making much sense, but Colin pieced them together as only
he could.
"We didn't have sex." Colin shook his head, "But
thanks for thinking of me."
Brad blushed deep red, "I...was...I've been thinking a lot
about before we went
to Arizona."
"The threesome." Colin nodded; it had been weighing
heavily on his mind too.
"Yeah." Brad's hands trembled as he sat up slowly.
"I...I want you to know
something."
"You can tell me anything." Colin took one of Brad's
trembling hands between
his, "You know that."
"I know." Brad looked down at his hand between Colin's.
"I...I want to try it again."
"No Brad, you don't know what you're saying...you're still
knee-deep in hangover
territory." Colin shook his head.
"I know what I'm saying Colin." Brad drew closer,
"I don't want it all yet..." He
sighed slightly and swallowed, then finished, "I want
you."
Colin was stunned; "You know how I feel about you Brad...I
am attracted to you."
"I don't just want you for sex." Brad was only inches
away from his friend's face,
his eyes lowering to almost closed slits. "I want all of
you."
"I...I..." Colin stammered, then sighed into Brad's
mouth as he kissed him.
"I love you." Brad whispered as they pulled away.
Colin fled, standing and walking to the window. "You know I
can't Brad!" He
was suddenly angered by the advances. "I've...I've got my
wife and Ryan...I...
I just can't!"
"I know...I was just thinking that maybe there was some room
for me in there."
Brad looked down at his hands, embarrassed.
"Brad, I wish it worked that way." Colin couldn't bring
himself to look at Brad.
"I'm sorry...I...I guess I shouldn't have said
anything." Brad could feel the painful
tears welling up to fall again.
"Brad...I..." Colin turned to the man and sighed. He
knew deep down what he
wanted...Brad. "I have to think about this."
"No you don't." Brad sighed, "Just...go back to
Ryan like this never happened.
You don't need my baggage."
"Just lay on the guilt trip, Brad...that only makes it
easier." Colin threw his arms
up. "I love you, okay? I want your mind, your body...but I
*DO* still love Ryan...
very deeply. I don't want to lose him, but I want you. Do you
know how hard that is?"
"Yes, I do." Brad replied meekly. "Every day I was
in love with Greg and wishing
that all of us, you and Greg and Ryan and me, could just go live
on a desert
island forever."
Colin lowered his eyes, "Brad...I...I had no idea..."
Brad continued, "On that island we could love each other and
have sex with each
other and just be one happy group. Does that sound insane?"
"A little." Colin shrugged, "But it sounds like a
good plan.
"Yeah." Brad shrugged, "Perfect."
"Look." Colin headed for the door. "I'll come back
over tomorrow, that's a
whole day...it's midnight, remember."
Brad nodded, "Yeah, I should be sober by then and all this
will feel like a dream."
Colin smirked, then returned to Brad's side and gave him a gentle
kiss. "I'm sure
something can be worked out." And with that, was gone.
*****
END
*****