DON'T BREAK THE RULES

Chapter 23 - My Bad

Jamie had been staring at the fridge for hours.

He had been stuck within his thoughts ever since he had woken up, stared into space and thought about last night with Joe. The kiss had been short and once both of them had pulled away, the awkwardness lead them to rush to their rooms without another word. He wondered how Joe had slept, since he had not slept at all, not even a wink.

The whole night he had been observing every line on the ceiling, examining the pattern and which parts he should clean. Part of the night was attempting to stop himself from touching lips, still feeling a tingling sensation from when Joe had softly connected their lips together.

His lips had been soothing, as if time had stopped for a short period of time and it was the both of them against the world. He had been unable to stop his entire body from falling into a trancing heat and even when they had pulled apart, he had to refrain himself from leaning towards Joe and deepening it.

Joe had been drunk after all.

Jamie leaned forward and slammed his forehead against the fridge door, feeling his palms moisten by just the thought of seeing Joe this morning. He wanted to repress all the tingling sensation he felt, as if Joe's palm were imprinted on his skin. There was never a moment in his mind where he had even thought of ever being with Joe or had he been attracted to him.

So then why couldn't he—

"Hey..."

His ears instantly perked when he heard Joe's quiet tone; he had been deep in his thoughts that he had not heard his footsteps, and Jamie immediately straightened his spine. When he turned, Joe was reaching for a water bottle in one of the cabinets and was searching for any medicine to help with his headache that had been pounding every since he had awakened. Not only did he feel groggy, but he could vomit at any moment and all he wanted to do was return to bed.

Until he realized that Jamie had not responded and instead simply stared at him.

His lips tightened, finally reaching for the bottle of Tylenol before finally adding, "Are you alright?"

Jamie cleared his throat, slowly nodding his head. Although he did not want to do this, the situation had to be cleared between the both of them. He awkwardly scratched the side of his face and mentioned, "We should...talk."

Instantly, Joe's entire face became red and he lowered his gaze, chuckling uneasily. "Yea, about that..." After a few giggles and chugging his water since he felt his throat run dry from the nervousness, he added, "That shouldn't have happened."

There was a few seconds of silence, Joe feeling even more stressed when Jamie did not respond again and without even glancing once towards him, Joe explained, "I was pretty drunk and it was in the moment. I didn't mean to do that. I mean, of course I find you really attractive Jami—Master Jamie," his voice was quivering as he scratched the side of his face and he needed to forcefully clear his throat before he could continue. "I took advantage of the moment and I apologize. Besides, with Connor back in the picture, I rather we keep this to ourselves and act like it never happened."

It was only a few seconds after he was done that he raised his head and his breathing halted when he saw Jamie's face.

Jamie was staring into space, his grip tightened on the fridge handle as his nails were attempting to dig inside the metal. His face was entirely emotionless, unreadable, and Joe felt his tongue run dry, no words escaping his lips. There was an odd feeling that surrounded Jamie, one that he was unable to understand, and it continued for about a minute before Jamie lifted his head.

He smiled and said, "Yea, my bad."

Without another word, he stepped around Joe and headed for his bedroom without even closing the fridge door or returning his glass in the cabinet.