Faded Embers

02

Atlas' POV:

I remember waking up briefly when the car stopped, and I was a bit confused because I never gave them my address. The driver- Miles, I think?- told me that he and the other guy, Sean, we're going to let me use their couch because I was too tired to go to the subway and they live close enough to Manhattan. I had kind of assumed that Miles and Sean were boyfriends of some kind, not that I have a problem with it.

Calin, my best friend and my roommate, is gay as hell and as a college professor who has all type of students, I have never judged someone's sexual preferences. My ex-fiancée was mildly homophobic, which was one of the reasons I ended up leaving at the altar.

I don't know why I ever proposed...

Miles and Sean lead me to their couch and I fell back asleep, my sleepless nights before my failed wedding finally catching up with me.

When I wake up, something warm and wet is rubbing against my cheek and there is a heavy warmth on my stomach. I open my eyes and see a tan pit bull dog licking my cheek and wagging its tail, and there's a grey cat settled on top of the red blanket laid over me. I sit up, making the cat open its disappointed eyes and it hops off of my lap and walks toward the kitchen.

In the kitchen, sitting at the bar, is the blond Sean who I met in the middle of the woods. He's eating a bowl of cereal and writing on a piece of paper when the cat hops on the bar, meowing indignantly at Sean.

"Go away, Toast," Sean says, trying to stop the cat from sticking its face in his bowl as it sits on his piece of paper. "Go lay down somewhere."

I get up, ignoring the dog's attempts to get my attention by scratching my leg with its paw.

Sean must see me move, because he turns around and seems surprised before he offers me a small smile. "You look better," he comments, pushing Toast away from his cereal bowl once again. "Miles went to go check on one of his clubs, but he'll be back later. You can help yourself to any food in the fridge or the pantry."

"What day is it?" I ask, my mind pretty groggy.

"Still Saturday," he responds.

The dog follows me as I enter the kitchen, making Sean roll his eyes.

"That's Bailey and this is Toast. They're both girls and food seekers, so just ignore them if they start whining or jumping on you for food," he informs me, glaring at Toast as she stares at his bowl of cereal and meows.

I open the fridge and take out a can of Coke because I'm more thirsty than hungry right now. My mind is running through all of the things I'll have to do in the next few days as a consequence of my actions.

"Do you want different clothes?" Sean asks, nodding to my crumpled tuxedo. "You don't look super comfortable."

"I'd hate to be a bother to you and your... boyfriend? Husband? Roommate?" I ask, because I don't want Sean to be offended that I'm assuming that Miles is his sugar daddy.

Miles looks young and in shape, but I can still tell that he's older than me and Sean is definitely younger than me, so they probably have a five or six year age gap. Plus, even though I'm straight, I can tell that Miles is hot as fuck and probably pretty wealthy based on their apartment, so he's definitely gay sugar daddy material.

I usually wouldn't assume sexuality, but there's a "love is love" magnet on their fridge.

Sean laughs and sets Toast on the floor before returning to his sheet of paper. "Roommates. Miles is my best friend and mentor, but you're not the first to think that we're dating."