Covering The Bases

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"Hey, sorry I missed your call a few days ago, bro. I was riding high on the horny–mone train. You didn't leave a message or call back or nothing, so I just assumed things were Gucci."

The overnight shift at FedEx started half an hour ago. It was just Michael and Ryan loading a small truck, their other teammate, Jack, had been pulled to work the forklift for the warehouse.

"Mick, did you really just call your heat the 'horny–mone train'?" Ryan couldn't help it, he cracked up a little.

"I did, indeed!" Michael proclaimed proudly, "And guess what? I'm in love!!!"

"So, who's your crush this time?"

Mick swooned as he picked up another box. "Channel 5 news weather man, Edwardo Sanchez!"

Michael tended to have a new crush every time he got his heat. They were usually some celebrity, or occasionally, a vlogger. But, according to his own words, such relationships were preferable. A little "one-sided fling" that the other party knows nothing about. He gets the relief he needs, and no one gets hurt. Ryan tried it a few times, but it didn't work as well for him. Only recently had putting a face to the fantasy brought any satisfaction.

Ryan didn't have cable. He'd never seen the Channel 5 News as far as he could remember. He teased his friend a  little. "So, is this guy an alpha?"

"Does it matter? He did his job and then some! Damn eyebrows for days! Voice smoother than a shot of good tequila... Did you know he's a photographer? I follow him on Instagram."

Ryan let his friend talk. He'd been on this topic since the shift started. Ryan wanted to share his own news so bad, his news of having been sick, of beds having been shared, of Scott's marvelous chest fluff, of the "I love you"s exchanged... Maybe after lunch. Breakfast? Meal break. After the meal break he'd do his own bragging. Truthfully, he thought Mick could take another day off after his heat. His hormones always seemed to take longer to go back to normal.

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In the end, Ryan never did get to share his news. They'd been split after the break, and he didn't get a window that seemed appropriate to interject his own story.

Later on, his shift at the grocery store was about as normal as anyone could expect. There were an average amount of customers, and an average amount of cleaning, and an average amount of headache.

Tonight was date night, and he couldn't afford to lollygag. He headed straight home after work. He needed to go to sleep as soon as possible, so he'd be rested enough for tonight. To assuage his empty belly, a spoon of peanut butter sufficed. It was quick, it was protein, and it stopped the hunger.

Ryan had been out of peanut butter for a while, but since his paycheck dropped, he was able to get groceries again. Not that he ever got much, seeing as he had to carry everything, but he tried to keep some staples around at least. There was one serving of the broth Scott had given him left. It stretched very nicely with the addition of some frozen vegetables. His fridge still looked pretty bare, notwithstanding the half case of Gatorade.

He slipped off his pants and crawled into bed. It felt so empty. It took all of a night and a half to spoil him, it seemed. He wanted to share a bed with Scott again. He hadn't been that comfortable in a long time. Was it selfish to want something like that? There were extenuating circumstances, after all. Would it even be fair to ask for? These were the thoughts that plagued him as he forced himself to get some sleep.

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"Can I come up? I've got something for you." Scott's voice came over Ryan's phone speaker.

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