Playing Rough

Chapter XXIII

Chapter XXIII ─ Kindling Fires

[ M I C H A E L   G R I F F I N ]

When I looked at the new Bryan Clay, I could never imagine someone as stereotypically masculine as him to be that big of a slut for snuggles. Not with his bulging muscles, his stoic and cold demeanor, and his nonchalant attitude - essentially the polar opposite of what he'd once been.

Boy, could I not have been more wrong about having those views once upon a time. The last few days have changed all my views on my former best friend and potentially my future love interest.

It was already Saturday and Bryan's attempt at reaching mental nirvana had been surprisingly pleasant. He gets enough sleep, he eats well—momma Griffin made sure of that—and he's overall happier by having someone around at all times. Bryan had been deprived of essential tender love and care for so long and I was glad I could provide him even an ounce of safety he never truly had.

We'd long abandoned the trusty 'ole air mattress, that had begun deflating more and more each night and spent the nights in my comfortable bed, waiting for the morning to come. Safe to say, that entire week, I'd gotten some of the best sleep in my life and the only person responsible for that was Bryan Clay.

He was like an entirely different frontier of drugs, singlehandedly dismantling the entire melatonin industry, and fuck was I addicted.

It got progressively more difficult to contain my urges spending so much time up close and personal with Bryan, I'd have to bite my lips so hard that they'd bruise just to resist popping an awkward boner, not that I think he'd mind me doing that. It just felt too soon and I didn't want that inkling feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was pushing him and taking advantage of him.

If Bryan wanted something from me, he'd have to come and take it, literally.

My mind went straight down the gutter when he was around and it was honestly painful, sometimes I had to wonder, was he resisting just as hard as I was? Bryan was extremely reserved and rarely showed any emotion except for disapproving scowls, or maybe that was just his resting face, it's a mystery I hadn't uncovered just yet. Needless to say, I wouldn't be surprised if I found out that Bryan tried to resist taking advantage of the situation as much as I was.

Knowing Bryan, he'd likely still felt guilty about staying in my house, eating at my house, sharing my bed, the little things made his skin crawl with guilt and I couldn't do anything about it, he was just wired that way. The wires had been tangled so incredibly hard, that untangling them wouldn't be a feat I'd be able to do by myself. Wether Bryan or I liked it or not, professional help was necessary in this case, we were talking about years of neglect, psychological damage, and anxiety, that couldn't just be glossed over and forgotten.