Page 54 of Fall of Us
We finished out the day packing, eating amazing pizza, and drinking tequila until we couldn’t see straight enough to pack anymore.
That night we fell into bed, and I wasn’t so nervous for the next day anymore. The day had been more than perfect and exactly what I needed.
Chapter 33
Andrew
Someone was pounding on the door.
Shit.
I shot up in bed and looked over at Brandon, who was curled up on the other side with a pillow over his head. When the knocking came again, he only curled up more. Since he wasn’t moving, that left me to get up to answer it. It was fine. This was still my place for a few more days.
The floor was cold beneath my feet as I crossed the room and checked the peephole. Nathan and Chase were there, dressed like they were ready to work. I closed my eyes for a moment and then checked the time on the microwave.
Of course, it was almost eleven. We’d stayed up way too late last night and drank too much. It had been worth it to let loose a bit. Now we’d have to pay the consequences and try to move while hungover.
“Open up assholes.”
FuckingChase.
I opened the door just as Brandon finally crawled out from under the pillow.
“Were you guys still sleeping?”
Brandon didn’t answer, just flopped back on the bed and threw the pillow back over his head.
Nathan laughed, pushing inside the apartment and setting a six-pack of beer on the counter. He was always looking to party, even when work was involved.
“Still hungover,” I answered.
“You were having a good time without us?” Nathan asked as he went over to the stack of boxes that we stacked haphazardly in the corner. They hadn’t fallen over, but someone had stacked them precariously. We’d obviously tried to do that after the tequila had come into the picture.
Brandon sat up in bed again, throwing the pillow at Nathan. He hit the boxes, causing them to tumble. Thankfully, it appeared that they were empty boxes we’d preassembled.
“We don’t always have to invite you.” A frown marred his face as he slid from the bed and found his t-shirt that must have come off at some point last night. He yanked it over his head and walked to the kitchen. He opened a cupboard to grab a glass and then groaned when he realized we’d packed them all the day before. “I need something to drink. My head is killing me.”
Nathan motioned to the six-pack on the counter, and I shoved him. “Not more alcohol, you dick. Brandon, just go unpack a couple of the cups and we’ll leave them out until the last minute.”
Brandon nodded and went to the boxes, cursing again. “I didn’t label anything.”
Chase laughed this time. We were quite the pair this morning, though I seemed to be faring better than Brandon was.
Instead of letting my boyfriend continue to suffer, I helped him open a few of the boxes until we found one with cups. He pulled out four and took them back to the kitchen. Once he had a glass of water, he filled it and chugged it back quickly. A little dribble of water trailed down his chin and neck, soaking into the collar of his shirt. I couldn’t take my eyes off the trail of liquid, and my body heated as I longed to trace it with my tongue. Maybe not with our friends present.
“Since we sort of crashed your morning, do you guys need a little more time before we get started?” Chase asked.
Brandon’s stomach grumbling was the only response.
I opened the fridge, thankful to find we hadn’t devoured the entire pizza last night. There were four slices left, and I was okay with having leftovers. I held up the box for Brandon to see and he gave me a thumbs up. I took out the slices, placed them on a paper towel in the microwave, and zapped them for a minute.
Brandon took his warmed food and dug in. He looked a little more alert with each bite he took.
“You feeling better yet?” I asked as he finished his last bite.
“Much.” His grin made me want to lean in and kiss him, but I was more than aware that Nathan and Chase were watching us. We hadn’t talked more about telling our friends since the blow-up about Rebecca and now didn’t seem like the right time.
It wasn’t much longer after that when Daniel showed up with Shawn not too far behind him. The two stood on opposite sides of the room, but we got right to work. The only people we were missing were Aiden and Joe. Aiden said he had a project for a class he needed to work on and Joe was being mysterious as fuck. It wasn’t like him to dip out on things like this.
