Off the Hook

Ryan had just finished laughing at some comments Jon had made about how bland his sex life had been getting with his most recent ex.
How repetitive it was.

He reached for his glass of water and thought to himself, Even if Brendon and I broke up, he wouldn't be able to say that. I'm really good at sex.

He felt proud, and he smirked subtly as he took the straw into his mouth.

Nearly everyone else at their table of eight was chiming in about their own disappointing sex lives.

"Yeah, I feel like that always happens with sex. Like, eventually you just have to deal with it even if it gets kinda shitty. Just... Lay there," Brendon finally piped up, and he laughed.

Everyone's laughs turned into quieter, more nervous ones as all eyes paid at least a glance to Ryan.

Ryan couldn't believe Brendon had just said that, especially in front of all of their friends.

His cheeks stung and turned a light shade of pink as he forced out a chuckle. Everyone started clearing their throats and picking up food from their plates when the conversation had obviously come to a close.

Brendon's face was redder than Ryan's, and it took a good minute before he made himself look up at his boyfriend who was directly across the circular table. Ryan shot him a stone cold look which made him look back down at the table again,

Ryan was pissed. But he showed it the way he always does; by acting eerily calm.

"So Matt, I heard you were thinking about moving?" Ryan finally spoke to take the spotlight off of himself.

"Yeah! I'm not sure, but I'm just feeling the need for a change, you know?"

"Yeah, I think we can all relate to wanting some change," Ryan commented, and Jon found himself unable to contain any more laughter.

Ryan shook his head and had this soft smile on his lips that terrified Brendon.

"Could I get another water?" Ryan asked as their waitress walked by, and then proceeded to chug the rest of the liquid in his glass.

Everyone was pretty quick to come up with conversations again, but Brendon and Ryan weren't paying much attention.

Brendon started taking off his jacket and he glanced up at Ryan while he did so. Ryan smiled at him, and he pulled the collar of his shirt away from his neck because he began to break a sweat. He flashed a smile back at Ryan, full of regret.

Ryan thanked the waitress when she came back with a glass of water, and he accidentally set it on the table a bit too hard.

"Could I also get a—" Brendon started but Ryan cut him off.

"You can share this one with me," Ryan tugged his sleeve up to glance at his watch, "we need to get going in a minute, here, B."

Brendon nodded and looked to Jon pleadingly, to which Jon reacted by shaking his head and mouthing 'you're on your own, man.'

Ryan took a few sips of water before asking his friends to pass it down to Brendon who needed it a lot more than he did. Brendon closed his eyes as he swallowed the icy, refreshing water.

The guys were pretty amused, and Ryan liked it.

Ryan took out his wallet and tossed a few bills on the table; enough to pay for everyone. When he stood up, everyone thanked him and said their goodbyes. Brendon scooted his chair backwards, procrastinating. Ryan walked across the table and put his hands on Brendon's shoulders, squeezing them and making Brendon's cheeks red again.