The Will of Love and Life (Peterick)

Chapter Twenty-Four

December 12, 2016

Patrick woke up when the alarm went off, and he pulled his hand from under his cheek to hit snooze. His eyes were half closed again before he noticed the pressure around his waist and the breath on his neck.

"Joe, get off of me," he mumbled, reaching over to smack his arm.

"'M sleeping," Joe muttered, hugging Patrick's waist tighter.

"Get." Smack. "Off." Patrick kicked his kneecap, making him whimper and pull away.

"Ow. Is this what you do to Pete every morning?"

"He's never all over me," Patrick said, burying his face in the pillow. "Now shut up."

Joe rolled over to the other side of the bed. "No wonder he dumped you."

Patrick was too tired to argue a response back. And he figured that admitting he was technically the one to break up with Pete wasn't the best thing to say.

The alarm went off again seven minutes later, and Patrick just pulled the covers over his head. Joe climbed over him to shut the buzzing contraption off and shook his shoulder.

"We really have to get up now," Joe said. He got out of bed and stretched his arms over his head. "Patrick!"

Patrick sighed and sat up, running his fingers through his hair. "Time?"

"Almost eight," Joe replied.

"Where's my phone?" Patrick asked.

Joe pulled Patrick's cell phone out of the pair of jeans tossed on the floor. He reached into the back pocket and pulled out Patrick's battered wallet.

"Dude, your car keys are shoved in here, too," Joe said, taking them out and setting them on the table. "Take stuff out of your pock--- what is this?"

"What?" Patrick glanced up, looking at the thin tube of lip gloss in Joe's hand. "Oh, those must be Pete's pants. That would probably explain why they didn't fit right."

Joe grabbed a suit from the closet and sighed. "I'm going to go take a shower. You better be dressed when I come back."

Patrick rolled his eyes without replying. Once he heard the water running, he called Pete. He officially broke every rule that Pete laid out. But Pete picked up on the first ring. Patrick was surprised that he was awake, and he was especially surprised that Pete was willing to talk to him.

"Hi, Trick," Pete said. He sounded exhausted.

"Hey," Patrick whispered. He was still trying to be quiet on his end so that Joe wouldn't hear. "You're up."

"Yeah." Pete yawned. "I guess I couldn't sleep last night."  The "without you" went unsaid.

"Is something wrong?"

"There's a lot that's wrong." Pete sighed. "When do you get home?"

"Tomorrow night," Patrick said. He was rubbing the edge of the bedsheet between his thumb and forefinger. "We have a lot to talk about, I guess."

"Yeah," Pete whispered. "We do."

It was silent for a few seconds before Patrick whispered, "I miss you."

"Are you just trying to make me feel guilty?"

"Maybe."

"Well, I miss you too," Pete admitted. "I don't like missing you."

"You'll have to come with me next time."

"Maybe."

"I need to tell you something," he said, abruptly enough to kick Pete's voice up to its normal tone.