Curious (mxm)

Midnight Chat

Erik's POV

Axel and I walked up to the front of our apartment complex at the exact same time. He looked disheveled, but so did I. He seemed a bit shifty, but then again, I definitely did too.

"Hey," Axel said.

I experienced immediate flashbacks to Jackson telling me about his polygamous preferences.

"Hi," I said.

Axel fumbled with his pockets. "I have a key."

"Cool."

Axel found his key and we walked up the stairs in silence. He opened the door with his key. I entered. Axel took off his shoes. I took off my jacket.

"So, uh ..." Whatever he was about to say died in his throat. "Dinner?"

"Just ate."

"Yeah, same. Um. You left me those microwavable meals, so..."

"Were they good?"

"Yeah! Yeah. They were good."

Axel's jacket came off and my eyes dropped down. "Oh, blue today? That makes your eyes look really nice."

His face went red. "Shut up."

So that was all we said to each other for the first hour of interaction. After that, Axel showered and changed and then I did the same and then we reconvened in the living room.

"I didn't realize you were going to go through with it," I said tentatively. I bundled myself in blankets on the couch to fend off Axel's stare. "Was it fun?"

"Productive is a better word."

Okay, it was time for me to be a good person. I needed to apologize. "I'm sorry," I squeezed from the depth of my throat. "I shouldn't have ditched you halfway through our roomie day."

Axel's eyes went wide. "No! No. It's okay. We were so drunk. I think I'm still a little drunk. That would explain ... yeah. It's fine, Rikkie."

"I mean the day isn't over. It's midnight and a weekend. That leaves us two hours of TV time," I offered, hoping to get out of this conversation without mentioning Jackson. "We could watch another gay movie?"

Axel flopped on the couch. "Oh, what the hell. Might as well."

I put on Love, Simon and we snuggled up, with my feet in his lap and his arms behind his head. Axel settled in and made a sinful noise of contentment, a sound that was way too sexy for this world. Great. Two seconds in and I already had a boner.

"So, gay padawan." I stretched and settled in, hoping that my blankets were bulky enough to hide my boner. "Let's hope this movie doesn't make you lose your cool."

"Hilarious considering the hard-on you're trying to cover," Axel drawled.

Goddamn.

"Fuck off."

Axel laughed and it was music to my ears. I was graced with the unfair beauty of his side-profile, all sharp jawline and thick lashes and Adam's apple. "Rikkie. We've been best friends for how many years? And you still can't control your cock around me."

Jesus, Axel saying 'cock' wasn't this hot before he announced his bisexuality.

My response died in my mouth. Once upon a time, I'd happily admit my attraction to him. Hell, even earlier today I would've had an easier time. Jackson was messing with my head. He was filling it with ideas of weirdness, like having multiple men at once.

Before I knew it, Axel's words had hung in the air long enough to create tension.

It was just the two of us. No alcohol this time, but all of the tension. All of my effort went into looking into his eyes, but it was a treat to see how dilated his pupils were. The black of his pupils turned his eyes navy blue. Darker, more focused ... sexier.