The Price of Popularity (BoyxBoy)

{9}

Asher woke up alone in bed the next morning. He rolled around on the brightly coloured sheets that seemed to engulf him, stretching his arm out beside him to feel for Danny but all that he found were warm, empty sheets. Danny must have just gotten up. He lifted his head to look around Danny’s room but his boyfriend was nowhere to be seen. The bright orange curtain against the window was still shut tightly, no direct sunlight was entering the room but the glow of orange bathed every item in its light.

He stumbled from the room with sleepy eyes and heavy feet which stomped unintentionally against the hard wood floors. He walked down the old staircase and into the hallway, following the quiet sounds of people talking. He turned the corner and smiled as he saw the state of the kitchen. He knew that Danny must have been helping his father make breakfast as the entire kitchen seemed to be a mess. The tops of the benches had been painted with flour and milk and little pieces of egg shells. Unwashed utensils lay against the countertop next to empty bowls.

‘Good Morning Asher,’ Mr Clark smiled over at him from the stovetop where he was cooking pancakes.

‘Good morning,’ Asher smiled. He took a seat at one of the bench seats, his elbows resting against the counter top. ‘I see that Danny has been helping you cook,’ he observed, nodding towards the mess.

Mr Clark smiled, ‘God do I love that boy, but he sure does know how to make a mess.’

‘Speaking of my boyfriend, where is he?’ Asher asked as he looked around the kitchen, eyes searching for Danny.

‘He’s letting Buddy in from outside,’ he explained.

The hard tap of paws echoed around them and Asher looked towards the doorway, smiling when Buddy rounded the corner too fast, his paws scrambling to keep him upright for a few seconds. Once the dog was firmly steady on the ground he was off again, running to Asher. He leant down and smoothed the fur on the dogs head, ‘Where’s Danny, aye?’ he asked Buddy.

‘I’m here,’ Danny laughed. Asher hadn’t noticed that his boyfriend had been standing in the doorway.

Asher smiled at Danny but memories from the night before came to the forefront of his mind and he knew that Danny would want to know now what had happened. He wasn’t sure what to tell him when he asked.

Danny didn’t ask any questions just then. He walked over to Asher and pressed a gentle kiss against his lips. ‘Dad and I make pancakes,’ he smiled proudly.

‘Uh, I think I made pancakes and you made a mess,’ Mr Clark smirked.

Danny rolled his eyes playfully and plonked down on the bench seat next to Asher. Asher leant down and continued to pet Buddy until the pancakes were ready.

Mr Clark carried the finished product over to the table and they joined him, Asher taking his place next to Danny.

‘How was the party last night?’ Danny’s father asked as they ate.

Danny looked over at Asher with a concerned look. Asher smiled at Mr Clark, ‘It was fine.’

‘Just fine?’ He asked. ‘Danny always says how fun Damien’s parties are. That kid is really great, isn’t he?’   

Asher resisted the sudden urge to roll his eyes, reminding himself that Damien was no threat to his relationship. He wanted to say that Damien seemed like a manipulative person who was just a little too interested in Danny but his conscience told him that was a bad idea. He kept the distaste from his voice, ‘Yeah, he seemed really nice.’

There was a pregnant silence. Perhaps Asher’s tone wasn’t as even as he had aimed for and a bit of his resentfulness shone through in the words.