70 Themes Same-sex Romance Challenge: 51-55

51. Gone

  Something woke me up out of my dreams in an instant. I didn't know what it was, but it felt urgent, like something in my head was telling me to go somewhere. I would have gotten out of bed and gotten dressed, but I remembered that Archie fell asleep by my side last night – he wasn't here now.
  "Archie?" I murmured. "Archie?" I sat up, staring around my bed and the cabin. Where was my little Archie? I rapped my fist on the wooden frame above me. "Archie? Are you up there?" I climbed out of my bed and up the ladder to his bunk, but he wasn't there. "Archie..." No, no, I couldn't lose him. He was the only person I loved.
  Not bothering to get dressed, I opened the door to the cabin, looking down the corridor. I decided to run the length of the corridor, getting to the very end where it led to the kitchen. I swung open the doors, picturing all the staff preparing the breakfast, with Archie at the worktop.
  Nobody was here. I ran into the kitchen and moved through the area: I couldn't find a single person. Was I the only person on the ship? That was impossible. After searching the entire kitchen, I got back into the corridor, murmuring Archie's name. My eyes slid over to the stairs leading up to the deck. It was the only other place he knew.
  I flew up the stairs and entered onto an empty deck. The early morning breeze was the only presence I could feel. My rapid heartbeats pumped through my chest, and the sweat began to form on my forehead. "Archie?" I tried one more time.
  A scream erupted from what sounded like the other side of the ship. "Archie!" I immediately shouted. I sped across the deck, and collided into the railing. Where was he? I looked up at the sky, I looked ahead of me, I looked down...and I found him in the ocean. "Archie!"
  "Evan!" He screamed. His body was sinking further and further down. "No!"
  "Archie!" I watched him be pulled below the surface in the space of seconds.
  My body jolted in my bed, shaking me out of the dream. Oh good God, it hadn't happened. Archie was safe. My little angel was still in this world. He was sleeping by my side right...here. I found myself alone in my bunk. I was sure Archie was next to me before I fell asleep!
  "Archie?" I murmured. The cabin was near silent. "Archie?" My heart started to beat quicker as I got straight out of my bed, and went up the ladder. He had to be in his bed, he wouldn't go anywhere else! I was relieved to see him, fast asleep and all tucked up in his bed. I heaved a deep sigh.
  Without another thought, I crawled over his legs and threw off the sheet. I got under it and lay down as close as I could to him, shutting my eyes to go back to sleep. I wasn't letting him go now, until the moment I would open my eyes again when I could properly keep him in my sights.
  I felt Archie's body stir, and seconds later, I heard an 'Mmmmmm' from him. "Evan? Is that you?" I wrapped my arms around his waist, and leant forward to kiss his cheek. "What are you doing up here?"
  "I never want you to leave my side," I whispered into his ear. "I don't want you to go, I always want to know where you are, I don't want to wake up and find you're...not here."
  "...I-I'm not going anywhere, Evan, I..." He replied sleepily. "I'll go wherever you're going, I'll stay wherever you're...staying."
  "Sorry I woke you. Let's go to sleep."
  "O-Oh, alright, Evan...goodnight."
  I cuddled up to him, breathing to calm myself down. Everything was alright now. Archie was here by my side, where I could see him, hear him and feel him. Exactly how it should be.

52. Boyfriend

  "Freddie? Freddie?" I tried to get his attention; he was off somewhere behind me at another part of the bar, probably closing in on someone way more beautiful than me. "Freddie, what are you looking at?"
  He faced me again, resting his arms on the back of his chair. "N-No one, I-I just thought I saw someone I knew."
  "I'm going to go get a drink," I put my hands on the table as I got up. "I'll be right back."
  "Alright, beautiful," Yeah, you could show me that gorgeous smile all you want, you were still paying attention to someone else.
  Okay, okay, Josh, calm down, I tried to tell myself while I was waiting at the bar counter. Don't freak out just because he's looking at someone else. He's allowed to look: I should know him by now, he takes an interest in almost every new person he sees around him. And he's a handsome young man with a lot going for him, he has every right to take a look...so long as he doesn't touch, or flirt, or give them an idea. He wasn't going to do anything; he'd probably never see the person again. They'd go, and I'd stay, so he'd have to pay attention to me. Because I'm his boyfriend, and I should be the only one he loves.
  I couldn't tell you how happy I was that I had him. Freddie Perry chose me, me! A young, dumb American stuck in a low-pay job who had no future for himself. But I got him: the strange, deeply passionate, deeply romantic vampire disguised as a really attractive young man. I was the luckiest guy; I wasn't gonna find another person like this for the rest of my life. Look at him, the supernatural wonder, paired with me, the average Joe. It was almost like he didn't deserve me.
  I glanced over for a minute and saw a woman was now standing at our table; she was pretty cute, with not too much make-up on and in a glittery dress. Freddie was working the magic: smiling, talking, eyeing her up. I'm sure this was a really nice meeting, but I'm afraid I had to go in and end it by reminding him that I was still here.
  After I had paid for my drink, I marched back to the table. I saw Freddie's eyes move over to me, and I could hear him say: "Oh, here he comes now..." I put my drink on the table, but I didn't sit down just yet.
  "Josh, I'd like to introduce you to an old friend of mine, Lisa," Freddie gestured a hand to this woman, but I didn't care. "Lisa, this is Josh –" I went straight for him and kissed him on his open mouth. When I thought it had lasted long enough, I let go and wiped my mouth, sitting down in my chair. "...My lovely boyfriend."
  "Hi, Josh," She shyly waved at me.
  "How do you know Lisa, then?" I asked Freddie.
  "I just said, Lisa is an old friend," He replied.
  "Freddie was just telling me how lucky he is to have a boyfriend like you," She said.
  I wasn't expecting that. Why was he bringing me up during all his flirting? "...Really?"
  "You should have heard him! Fawning over your accent and your dress sense and how sweet you are..."
  "S-Sweet?" I looked at him, and he nodded. I didn't want to appear so shocked, like I never knew that Freddie found me sweet, so I faked a smile and ruffled my hair. "Oh, uh...He never fawns over me to my face, then."
  "Don't lie, you!" Freddie laughed.
  "I'm glad you're happy with someone new," Lisa gave Freddie a warm smile.
  "Thank you, Lisa."
  "Well, I'd, um..." She shrugged and pointed a thumb behind her. "I'd better get back to my husband."
  "And I'd better get back to my boyfriend over here," He nodded to her. "It was nice seeing you again."
  "Yes, you too. Bye, Josh. Bye, Freddie." She swiftly left us alone. I stared at him, even when he looked back at me. He responded with this cocky expression as he sat back in his chair.
  "W-Who was that, then?" I found myself asking for no reason.
  "Oh my goodness, Josh, she really is just an old friend!" He exclaimed. "And I really was telling her how lucky I am to have you. So stop panicking and have your drink."
  I narrowed my eyes at him for a few seconds, before I let the smile spread across my face.

53. Piano

  I never thought I'd be able to play the piano again; I guess the perks of having a rock star boyfriend was that he had band members who owned pianos in their flats – the band member didn't even play the piano in the band!
  Kash wanted to spend the night with Pete, and naturally, I was invited along. My heart skipped a beat as it always did when I saw a piano, and Pete was kind enough to let me have a play on it. The wonderful sensation of performing music returned to me after so long. However, I couldn't remember any pieces well enough to be confident in playing them, so I ended up making the music up as I went along; whatever would come out of my fingers. Pete had left me and Kash alone in the living room, while he took a call in his bedroom. Kash was off by the window, smoking his cigarette out into the night air. I couldn't tell if he was listening to me, but I wasn't focusing on him anyway. I was just doing my own thing, enjoying myself on the piano. I did notice him come over out of the corner of my eye a few minutes later.
  "Hey, that was nice," He told me, and I stopped playing. "What was that?"
  "Oh, I was just...messing around a bit."
  "Did you make it up on the spot?"
  "Yes."
  He gave me an impressed nod. "It was really nice; can I use it?"
  "For a song?"
  "Yeah, I really like it."
  "Would you like me to teach it to you?" I offered.
  "Sure." Oh: I was expecting him to say 'no', with his insecurity of not being able to play the piano. He must have been feeling determined tonight.
  "It's not too hard, I don't think," I shifted to the left to let Kash perch on the edge of the stool. I tried to ignore the scent of cigarette smoke all over him. "Okay, so you start with these notes here." I put his hands an octave above where I was playing earlier. "The G and the D, here. And then you do an arpeggio chord here." I showed him.
  "Right, uh, what notes are they in that chord?"
  "Oh, they're A, D and F-sharp."
  "Like this." He pressed down the keys with both hands.
  "Good, you've got the first two thirds of the first beat," I grinned.
  "Okay, so teach me more," He replied urgently.
  "Right, so..." Oh dear, I hadn't taught anyone to play the piano in a while. Where do I start: everybody learns differently. Hmmm, what was the easiest way? "How about I teach you the right hand first?"
  "Great."
  "So that's...it's-it's this." I played the phrase by itself. "Can you do that?" Kash was able to copy the first notes, which were very similar, but played a different last note. "Oh no. You go down there." I played it for him again, and Kash copied me correctly. "There you go. Then I just sort of repeated that phrase, and...improvised around that."
  "What's the left hand, then?" He asked.
  "Well, that's generally simple: you play those notes that I taught you before, then you get to the D on the second beat, you play these two notes and then these." I played them. "So altogether, you'll have..." I demonstrated the left hand for him. "Alright?"
  "Okay..." He focused on the keys, and played with his left hand slowly. While I listened, Pete arrived back to us.
  "Oh God, you're not letting him play the piano, are you?" He smirked.
  "Shut up, you," Kash smiled at the keys.
  "I'm teaching him something I was just playing then," I explained. "He wants to use it for a song."
  "Let's hear it."
  "I haven't even learnt it yet," Kash retorted.
  "I was talking to Freddie." I performed the section I was now teaching and not improvising. Pete gave Kash a puzzled look. "It's a bit jazzy for you, isn't it?"
  "I liked how it sounded," He gave an irritable shrug. "Maybe we can have a song with a different style to it for a change?"
  "Sure, whatever." He went to the fridge to get some food, and I was brought back to Kash trying to play the two parts together. He kept making mistakes, probably because he was trying to play at the speed he had heard before, and not the slower speed I had taught him the notes with. I could see the frustration in his eyes as he tried and tried again.
  "Kash, baby," I gently reached out a hand to stop him from playing. "I-I think you're trying to play it too fast. Why don't you practise the separate hands, then bring them together slowly?"
  "Ugh, I'm forgetting it already," He lifted his hands off the keys and slouched back from the piano. I had to smile a little; he hated being a slow learner, probably because he was so impatient.
  "Don't worry about it, babe," I kissed his cheek. "You don't have to learn it perfectly right now. Here, why don't I write it down for you? And you can take it and learn it whenever you're around a piano." After a second, Kash gave me a nod. "Alright. Pete, have you got any spare manuscript paper?"
  "Yeah, I'll go get some."
  "Could I have a pencil too, please? Thank you!" I called as he went into the bedroom. I looked at Kash's dejected face, his head lowered down to the keys, so I gave him another kiss to cheer him up. These musicians and their insecurities.

54. Shower

  And when I'm just getting used to this country being so cold, there comes a day like this where it's so hot, I might as well be back at home in California. It wasn't only the day that was hot, either; it was still pretty hot tonight too – I'd never experienced a hot night in England yet. So as soon as the sun set (which was later, because it was Summer), Freddie came round and stayed in the apartment with me; I just wanted to stay in and chill tonight, even though the weather was actually okay for once outside.
  "You know, you should wear your shirt off a lot more frequently," Freddie commented to me as I came back from putting my dishes away.
  I put my hands on my hips. "Well, it's only off because I'm hot – I mean hot as in the temperature..."
  "And hot as in...heart-stoppingly gorgeous." I ruffled my hair with my hand and moved it down to scratch my neck nonchalantly. But as my arm was up, I got the smell of my armpit.
  "I need a shower," I put my arm down. I looked at Freddie on the couch, wondering what he could do while I was gone. "Um, Freddie? You just...stay here, stick the TV on and keep chilling out, okay?"
  "Can't I come and watch?" He asked.
  "No, you can't," I answered. "I need my privacy."
  "Now Josh, there's nothing of you that I haven't seen before."
  "I know, I just like to shower in my own privacy. I won't be long." As I started to leave, I heard Freddie stand up; I turned around to find him right in front of me. "No, no! Stay there! You can't come with me. Go on." Keeping his eyes on me, he stepped back to the couch. "Sit down. Right there." He sat himself down. "Now stay." He stared at me, like a loyal dog waiting for his master. It made me laugh a little. "Stay. Good Freddie."
  I took my jeans and underwear off in the bathroom, and put my bath-towel on the edge of the sink; God, it felt good to be wearing no clothes. I gave a stretch and leant into the shower to press the 'Power' button, without the water hitting me – it always turned itself on with really hot water, and I didn't need that tonight.
  I was about to press the button when I suddenly felt two hands on my shoulders. I jolted my body and turned around. Of course it was Freddie, totally naked, grinning and staring at me eagerly. He was so close to me, I tried to move back, but stumbled into the shower instead, my shoulder hitting the pack on the wall. The water poured over me, drowning me in more heat.
  "Damn it, Freddie, I told you not to come in here!" I shouted. He brought himself into the shower cubicle, reaching behind me to turn the temperature dial down. My eyes noticed the puddle forming around the mat. "Look, you're getting water all over the floor!" He turned his body round and closed the sliding doors, trapping us in this tiny cubicle.
  "Do you even, like, need to have showers?" I asked him.
  "No, no; I'm always clean."
  "What about your hair?"
  "My hair stays the way it does, no matter what happens to it."
  "It doesn't get greasy or anything?"
  "No, it stays in the same condition."
  "What if you like...get stuff stuck in it?"
  "Well, I guess I'd have to wash it then. But for now, let's wash you."
  Freddie got the soap from the shelf, lathered it up in his hands and started to rub all over my body. Mmmm, this felt so good; it was like a full body wash and massage at the same time! I kinda got a little turned on by it after a while; he was really rubbing hard, making sure the soap was soaking into my skin. I ended up holding my legs together, turning my knees in to stop my body from doing anything.
  "Open your legs, I need to get all of you." I sighed as I parted them, and he slipped his hands down my legs. He paused for a moment. "Are you getting a bit hot down there, Josh?"
  "Only because of the shower," I retorted. "H-hot as in the temperature."
  "And hot as in...being really turned on right now." I looked at him, giving me a seductive smile. His hands plunged between my legs, and I threw my head back; the cold water couldn't help me cool down now.

55. Naked

  Another night had passed, and it was time to go to bed with Thomas. Though my double bed was more appropriate for us, I did prefer sleeping in his single bed; it was much more intimate. But there was nothing stopping me from moving over to his side and cuddling up to him, I guess.
  When I was done cleaning my teeth, I came back into my room, where Thomas was unpacking his things from his bag. I discreetly stripped off my boxer shorts as I kept walking, which turned out easier than I thought. I pulled the duvet back on my bed, and then I heard a panicked yell from Thomas: "Aaaah, Hugh!"
  I turned around to see what was wrong. "What? What is it?"
  "You're...You're –" His eyes were on my lower half.
  "Oh, don't tell me you're scared of me naked, are you?" I gave him a smile, sauntering over to him. "It'd be a bit of a disappointment if you were." I put my arms round his waist, making him look back up to my face. However I shifted my eyes down to his lower half, giving him the hint.
  "If you think I'm getting naked too, you've got another thing coming," He walked away from me.
  "Oh, come on, Thomas!" I followed him.
  "No, there's no reason to!"
  "We can make a reason to," I traced my hand to the top of his underwear.
  "We're not doing it in your house, where your parents and younger brother can hear us."
  "We did it in your house..." I answered back.
  "Yes, in my bedroom on the top floor, where my dad and younger sisters couldn't hear us."
  Well, we didn't know that; he wasn't the quietest between us that night. "We can try and do it quietly..." I suggested.
  "Hugh, we're not having sex!" Thomas raised his voice. We then heard a knock on my door; we stared at each other, praying whoever it was hadn't listened to us.
  "Hugh?" Mum's voice came from outside. "Thomas?"
  "H-Hello?" I saw the doorknob turn. "No, no, don't come in!" I yelled.
  "Oh, alright! There's some clean towels on top of the cupboard in the bathroom, if either of you want a shower tomorrow morning."
  "Thanks, Mum!" I called back.
  "Thank you!" Thomas called too. We listened closely for her feet to go down the stairs, before we could breathe again. "Well, now your mum knows what we're not doing tonight."
  My answer was wrapping my arms around him again, and kissing the inside of his neck. He couldn't walk away this time for I was holding him tight, our chests touching and now our lips touching too. He couldn't leave now; hate to sound arrogant, but he could never resist my kisses. Once our tongues were brought into the action, I took the chance to get Thomas' boxer shorts off him.
  "Hmmmm, I don't think so," He said to me after letting go of my lips. He moved my hands off his waist, and I pouted to the floor. "But you know..." He lifted my chin up. "Kisses are just fine."
  And so we kissed again in silence, my body pressed against his. I didn't need to worry though. I'd get him out of that underwear before the night was through.