Corn, Cows, and the Apocalypse

Options

It was probably a bad idea to knock on Devin's door right after I had gotten myself twitter-pated over a man that, up until recently, I hadn't even considered that good of a friend, but I was a glutton for punishment. More to the point, I was lonely.

I couldn't claim anything resembling love in regards to the men I'd fraternized with in the last week, but Garrett and Priest reminded me that I was missing some necessary attentions. When Devin didn't answer, I determined that he was probably spending the remainder of the evening in Haden's room. I felt a little twinge of guilt over that thought and headed back to my room.

Strangely enough, my room was the biggest one, but since my ceiling was so slanted, I didn't have much standing room. It worked for me since I always needed a place to pile my laundry without causing a traffic jam.

When I found Devin asleep on my bed with a full tub of popcorn and a bottle of soda, I smiled and shut the door quietly behind me. The remote control to my mini DVD player was clasped in his hand, and the blue screen on the television told me all he had to do was press play.

I slipped off my shoes and crawled in beside him.

"Hey," he said when he roused, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"Movie night, huh?"

"Yeah." He leaned over and kissed me even before he could focus. "Where have you been?"

"Dropping off Priest," I said.

"That took a while," he pouted. "Did he behave?"

"Yes, he apologized for his aggression."

"They always do," he grumbled and resituated so I could rest against his shoulder. "Did you give him the necklace?"

"Yeah, he liked it. Or at least he pretended to."

"I liked it," Devin said flatly as if his opinion should be the only viable one. "Are you going back to see him soon?"

"No, supposedly he is going to try to get on the wagon, so he wants me to stay away."

"Do you believe that?" Devin frowned.

I grabbed some of the popcorn and put it on his chest so I could use him as an eating tray. His gray t-shirt was already full of grease from our previous movie nights. "No, but it sounds good in my head. I just don't want to lose anyone. It's a hard wish to fulfill, but I'll keep wishing for it."

"You know we all love you, right?"

"Yes." I smiled, thinking back to how they risked their lives to save me on the viaduct when I was in my bloodthirsty ego trance.

"You know I love you most of all, right?" He winked.

"Of course." I reached for some popcorn and he touched my hand.

"I love you just like a little sister." He looked down at my hand and caressed the back of it. "But I can be more than that to you, if you need me to be."

He looked back at me and I smiled at him. He was a picture-perfect image of warmth and kindness to me. I couldn't imagine loving him more than I did at that moment. Given the state I was in, I should have thrown myself at him like a wild banshee in heat, but I didn't. His love alone quelled my desires and satisfied my needs.

"I know, and I love you even more for it." I leaned up and kissed him chastely on the lips. He didn't look disappointed that I didn't push for more, which was good, since his puppy-dog eyes might have broken my heart. "You were going to tell me about your tournaments."

His eyes brightened. "Yes, but let's watch the movie first." He squeezed me closer and I settled into his chest to watch the movie, nibble popcorn, and ruminate on the delight of having options.