Tail Spin

Sleeping Over

Christian stumbled down the street with his palm covering where he was bitten. He whined in pain when he took a seat on a bus bench. "I may not remember much, but it's obvious what happened."

"Christian?" Looking to the side, he sees his ex standing before him.

"J-Jason." Christian stuttered. "What are you doing here?"

"I live a block away. The question is, what are you doing here?" A smile formed on his face. "Wait. You must be here to apologize. I knew you missed me."

Christian scoffed. "In your dreams." He said. "For your information, I was just." He stopped himself from telling Jason what just happened, knowing how he and his family would react.

"You were just." Jason repeated.

"I was just going for a walk, and happened to stumble into your neighborhood. Sorry to disappoint you, but I wasn't looking for you."

"Sure, whatever you say." Jason didn't sound convinced.

Christian scoffed again. "Yeah. Yeah. Now, if you'll excuse me." When he stood up, he got dizzy.

"Watch it." Jason caught Christian before he could face-plant on the sidewalk. "Are you drunk?"

Christian gave him a dirty look. "Does it look like I'm drunk?"

"You're stumbling like a drunk." Christian pushed him feebly. "That's it. You're coming with me."

"Let me go." Christian is struggling as Jason drags him to his place. "I'm fine." His head got dizzy again. "You got any Gatorade left?"

They made their way to Jason's three bedroom, two-bath condo. "Sit." Jason said sternly as he seated Christian on his brown leather sectional located in the living room before heading to the kitchen to retrieve the sports drink from a stainless steel fridge. "Here." Jason said as he handed it over. Christian accepted it and began chugging. "Geez, Christian. Slow down." When Christian finished, he burped loudly. "Christian."

"What?"

"You know I hate it when you belch like that."

"Sorry my burps are so unattractive." Christian spoke before taking another drink of Gatorade.

Jason frowned as he walked up the stairs before returning with a blanket in his arms. "Use this." He tossed it towards him.

"What do you want me to use this for?" Christian asked.

"To cover yourself while you rest, Dummy."

Christian narrowed his eyes at Jason. "I already told you that I am not drunk."

"Quit your whining and just go to sleep." Jason snapped. "And no sneaking into my bed. Got it?"

"As if I could sneak into your room. You never sleep, so I'm the one who should be saying not to sneak up on me." He's making himself comfortable. "Now, I'll be out of your hair first thing in the morning, so goodnight."

Jason made his way over to the light switch by the stairway. "Night." He muttered before making the room dark and headed to his bedroom.

When he was sure that Jason was out of sight, Christian sighed in relief. "Thank God he didn't find out." He whispered to himself. "I'm only staying over for safety purposes. I just hope Graham doesn't cause trouble at the coffee shop." He rubbed where his injury is. "I should take a look at it."

He got up and trudged upstairs to one of the bathrooms. Shutting the door, he removed his shirt and sucked in some air. Two puncture wounds with dried blood are visible on his collarbone where a bruise is already forming. Grabbing a couple tissues, Christian drenched them with water from the sink to wipe the blood clean. After throwing the tissues in the toilet and flushing them, Christian reached for one of the first aid kits underneath the sink and grabbed an alcohol wipe and an oversized bandaid. After treating his wound, he put his shirt back on and headed back to rest on the couch.

When he was snoring in the middle of the night, Jason was watching him like a hawk. "Christian." He mumbled longingly before caressing his face. He was about to lean in to steal a kiss when Christian turned to his side to face the backside of the couch. Exhaling, Jason opted to watch from the matching recliner.

When morning came, Christian woke to the smell of coffee brewing and breakfast being cooked.

"What time is it?" He patted his hand until he found his cell phone on the floor by the couch. "7:30." He muttered tiredly before snapping his eyes awake. "Holy crap!"

Jason exited the kitchen with a mug in his hands. "Good morning to you too." He said as Christian scrambled around the place.

"I'm running late! Where's my shoes?! Where's my, oh. I'm already wearing them." He chuckled.

Jason smiled at the scene. "You never change." Christian rushed past him, thanked him for letting him stay over before running out of the condo. When it grew silent, Jason stared at the couch with the blanket tossed around. "Yup. Same old Christian." He stated before taking a sip of coffee.