Page 8 of The Virgin
With the items in hand, he knocked on the bathroom door then opened it a crack to thrust the clothing through to Jonah. “The pants will be too big, but they have a drawstring. Do you want something else to eat, or will water and an aspirin be fine?”
Jonah took the clothes from Spencer. “Just water will be fine, thanks.”
“Okay, I’ll be in my room when you’re done in here.” Spencer pulled the door shut and after retrieving water and aspirin from the kitchen, he climbed into bed. He pulled the covers up over his waist and propped himself up against some pillows. He’d just found the movie when Jonah came into the room in Spencer’s oversized clothing, looking sheepish.
Jonah dressed in his clothes was the best thing Spencer had ever seen. He liked the sight of Jonah in his shirt and his pants that were too big, even with the drawstring pulled tight.
“I never realized how much bigger you are than I am.” Jonah threw the covers back and climbed in. He mirrored Spencer’s position, propped against a similar stack of pillows. It wasn’t anything they hadn’t done before. They’d spent many nights watching movies together, but tonight the small distance between them bothered Spencer.
He didn’t quite know how to bridge the gap, though. The movie started and Jonah, rather than falling asleep almost right away, seemed restless and unsettled.
“Are you okay?” Spencer asked. “Can I do anything?”
“It’s been a weird night. I should be tired, but maybe I’m still tipsy. I don’t know.”
Spencer lifted his arm, wrapped it around Jonah, and gently urged him closer. “Come here.”
“What are you doing?” Jonah squeaked, but ended up laughing and curling up into Spencer’s side without protest.
“You need a fucking hug, Jonah.” He let his arm settle protectively on his friend.
“I need a lot of things,” Jonah said through a yawn.
The feeling of Jonah going limp against his side, dropping off to sleep almost immediately, was a kick in the pants. Spencer had long ago put Jonah firmly in the friends-only category. They’d met at a time in Spencer’s life when everything was changing. He’d just inherited the house and was dealing with the loss that prompted it. He’d switched from teaching other subjects to taking over the shop classes. One of his old friends had gotten married and moved halfway across the country, and although promises were made to keep in touch, life happened and they didn’t.
Spencer wasn’t used to seeing Jonah out of sorts like he’d been earlier, and it unsettled something in him that was only calming down now that Jonah was tucked against him, safe and sleeping. The hickey that poked out of the collar of the shirt was unsightly and looking at it made Spencer scowl, so he turned his attention instead to the line of Jonah’s body and the perfect way he molded to Spencer’s side.
A soft snore had Spencer smiling and he turned the movie down so it wouldn’t disturb Jonah. Not that there was any real concern about that. Jonah slept like the dead after a few drinks. Nothing short of a bomb going off would wake him up.
Spencer made it halfway through the movie before he turned it off to go to sleep. Jonah mumbled something in his sleep but seemed largely undisturbed. He’d attached himself to Spencer, though, and he ended up being Jonah’s big spoon. He reluctantly moved his hips back to put some distance between his dick and Jonah’s ass.
He woke the next morning with Jonah draped over his chest. His mouth hung open slightly, and he snored deep and loud. Spencer nearly laughed at his friend, but a jolt of warmth in his heart had him combing his fingers through Jonah’s hair. He brushed the strands off his friend’s face and still Jonah didn’t stir.
Spencer had a feeling that the minute Jonah woke up, the spell would be broken and he’d pull away. Everything would go back to the status quo and that was fine. It was. But how long would it be before Jonah did something else out of desperation? What if he got himself hurt? Not just physically, but emotionally he was already battered.
Seeing Jonah in pain, so sad and ruined, had twisted something in Spencer, and he wanted to protect his friend in any way he could. He knew Jonah was a grown man and didn’t need protecting. He was a twenty-seven-year-old who had a career and a whole life around him that he navigated fine on his own. He was well-liked at the school and most of the time he seemed at least content with his life.
But how much of that was actually true? Spencer couldn’t help but worry about Jonah. It was unlike his friend to be so out of sorts.
Next to him, Jonah stirred, then stiffened. Spencer clutched him close, pinning him in place with an arm around Jonah’s shoulders.
“It’s fine, Jonah.”
Jonah groaned. “It’s not fine.” He made another sound, something close to a whimper.
“Headache?”
“Mmhm.”
“Wait here.” Spencer slid out of bed and grabbed more water and aspirin for Jonah. Most of the time, if they’d gone out drinking, they went to the diner owned by Jonah’s dad for breakfast, but something told Spencer that Jonah wouldn’t want to be around his family that morning. Instead, he dropped a couple waffles in the toaster and popped a coffee pod into his machine.
When Spencer returned to Jonah a few minutes later with a plate of waffles slathered in syrup and a fresh coffee, Jonah was sprawled out in the bed like a starfish. One arm was draped over his face, shielding his eyes from the light.
Carefully, Spencer set breakfast down on the nightstand. “Are you alive?” he asked his immobile friend.
“That depends.”
“On?”
