Devil's Effect

LAS 2

Ryan stood outside the hotel room door. He'd already been staring at it for the last ten minutes. He just wants some company. This doesn't mean anything. I know that. He knows that. We had a good time yesterday at lunch, and even at the grocery store, and tonight won't be any different. I know we'll have a good time. We've always enjoyed each other. The thought brought a smile to Ryan's face, but only for a second. Just not enough for us to stay together.

Ryan shoved that away. He knew tonight wasn't about that. He couldn't let those sorts of feelings up to the surface. What he and Jason had was in the past, because Jason had put it there, and Ryan kept that in mind as he knocked on the door. He tugged at the front of his black leather jacket as he waited, a hand quickly running through his hair one last time.

Jason put his glass on the small table and headed for the door. He'd just gotten started, which meant either Ryan had gotten to him in record time, or the room service was exceptionally slow. Either way, he'd only had a few sips of his wine when he let Ryan in. "Come on in," he said, waving a hand toward the room. "I just opened my wine." He closed the door behind Ryan and turned to secretly admire him. He's always looked good in leather.

Ryan had to laugh. "You and the wine," he said as he headed into the room. There was a king sized bed, covered in a dark green blanket with tan criss-cross patterns running through it. White pillows lined the headboard, and Jason had pulled the curtains closed, leaving the room dimly lit by the lamps that were scattered around. The television was off, but soft music was playing from somewhere. "Did you end up with a crappy view?" he asked, as he pulled his jacket off, tossing it over one of the high-backed chairs by the window, before he peeked around the curtain.

"I just haven't looked out yet." Jason walked over to the window and pulled the curtain back a little more. They could see the tops of buildings and the hotel pool down below. "Yeah, not the best. That's what happens when you just walk in and ask for a room. You get whatever they have." He turned away from the window and retrieved his wine glass. "I know wine isn't your thing. I had room service bring up some rum, if you wanted a drink." When Ryan turned away from the window he nodded toward the small bar over the mini-fridge. There was a bucket of ice and four mini bottles of rum waiting.

"Thanks," Ryan answered. He went to head that way, but stopped at the chair where his jacket was. He picked it up and pulled a Nestle's Crunch candy bar out of the pocket. "Here," he said, stepping around the twin chairs to get to the bed. He held it out. "I was in the gas station when I got your text. I figured, you know, you might wake up in the middle of the night and want some comfort food. Or something to go with your wine. I know they're your favorite."

Jason reached out and took the candy bar and flashed Ryan a small smile. "They are. Thanks, Ry. I feel like eating it now." He looked toward Ryan's jacket. "Did you get yourself anything?" He didn't want to eat alone.

"Um, no," Ryan answered, looking between Jason and back towards his jacket. "It's okay, go ahead and eat it. I brought it for you." He sent Jason his best smile before he turned and wandered over to the mini bar station. He hadn't missed that Jason was already in pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt, his feet pulled up on the bed as he sat cross-legged. It was a more comforting sight than what he could have walked into. Thoughts of Jason pacing the room or already being tipsy from too much wine had crossed Ryan's mind all the way across town.

He plucked one of the rum bottles from the bucket and looked at it before grabbing a cup and adding a bit of ice. "Well, guess there's no point in waiting. What happened? Did you see Mike?" he asked, the rum flowing into the glass cup with the hotel's logo on it.

Jason tipped his glass back and took a longer drink than he usually would have before he looked at Ryan. "Yeah. It's over." He heard the clink of ice against the side of the glass as Ryan jiggled his rum a little. "I wanted to go back to Seattle tonight, but I missed the last flight." He frowned and set down his glass so he could open the candy bar. "I didn't think he'd be back so late, but that's how it went. At least he didn't try to hide it. I'm not stupid. I told him that, Ry." He took an aggressive bite of the chocolate.