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“I am… way too drunk t’ make tha’ jump,” Reggie said.
Luke pulled his gaze from the fire escape ladder to look over at Reggie. Turning his head made his whole body sway, and he went with the motion until the world stilled. “I will make that jump,” he said carefully, slapping himself in the chest with his open palm. “I jus’ need you t’ give me a boos’.”
They were standing at the back of their apartment building in Los Feliz at o’dark early in the morning. The air was cooler than it’d been during the day—LA was fucking hot in June—but Luke’s body was still covered in a sheen of sweat. The alcohol he’d drunk probably had something to do with that.
They’d moved in just yesterday after graduating college. It was their first adult apartment, and tonight was their first night out celebrating the fact they’d finally all gotten their shit together and were starting their career as musicians.
Reggie squinted at him before looking around the alley. “Where’re Alex and Bobby?”
Okay, so maybe losing two of their band members-slash-roommates didn’t really mesh with the whole "got their shit together" thing, but they were all adults! And the group of lesbians who’d adopted him and Reggie at the bar and then taken the two of them club hopping had been very generous with their drinks and way too much fun on the dance floor. Sure, they’d thought he and Reggie were a couple and wanted to introduce the “baby gays” to Los Angeles, but hey, he was pansexual and Reggie was probably bi? So, not too far off? And he loved Reggie! They could’ve been a couple.
Luke realized he had no idea what Reggie had asked him. “Wha?”
“Bobby and Alex?” Reggie repeated. He made a slow circle with his body, looking up and then down the alley. “They’re not here. And now I’m dizzy.” He put his hands on his head.
“They’re in the apartment,” Luke said. He didn’t know if they really were, but it was reasonable they’d come back, right? Alex had the address in his fanny pack for sure. That was a very Alex thing to have done. And Bobby always knew where he was. Bobby was totally competent.
Reggie slowly lowered his hands, like he was testing for dizziness. He squeezed one eye closed and then the other, apparently deciding he was okay. “Can we tex’ them if they’re there? They could jus’ let us in.”
That was a pretty good idea, actually. Luke went to pull out his phone. His hand smacked his ass. There was no phone in his back pocket. “I don’ have my phone.”
“Did one of those women take it?” Reggie was searching in the right pocket of his jacket with his left hand and it made him turn in a circle again. He stopped. “Dizzy!”
There was no point in worrying about their phones now. Luke looked up at the fire escape ladder again. It was probably a good eight feet off the ground and he was only five-eight. But he was fit as fuck and could do at least fifteen pullups until he got tired. “Get down on all fours,” he said to Reggie. “I’ll jump off your back.”
“Why can’t I jump off your back?” Reggie asked.
Reggie was almost as fit as he was, and was also lighter. “Fair point.” Luke got down on all fours. “Jump off my back and grab the ladder.”
Reggie blinked at him. “Should I take off my shoes?”
“No,” Luke said, then: “Yes! This is m’ favourite shirt.”
Reggie kicked off his Vans. “Imma go.” He started running.
Luke braced himself, but couldn’t help the loud "oof!" as Reggie’s foot landed squarely on his back. Reggie launched himself upwards and just managed to grab the base of the ladder. His weight pulled it down with a horrendous creaking sound, loud enough to send a cat running.
Luke got up and grabbed Reggie’s belt loops, pulling him down. Reggie grunted but held onto the ladder until it was low enough for them to climb up. He dropped to the ground.
“Awesome!” Luke went to high five him. They missed. They tried again and missed again. “We’ll do that tomorrow.”
Reggie nodded. “High five tomorrow! Oh, shoes!” He pulled his Vans back on.
Luke and Reggie started climbing. They got to the first landing and paused long enough to pull up the ladder. “We are very respinsonable,” Reggie said. “Reposnible? Wha’ the fuck izzat word?”
“We’re good guys.” Luke helped him out. He took a breath, then another as the copious amount of alcohol he’d drunk shifted unpleasantly in his stomach. “We should ge’ inside.”
Reggie stared up at the building and Luke followed his gaze. The building looked a million feet high. “Wha’ floor are we on?”
Luke opened his mouth to answer, then shut it again. What floor did they live on? He licked his lips. “Four?”
Reggie’s eyes lit up. “Four!” he said happily. “Four izza bes’ number!” He went up the stairs.
Luke followed, feeling more confident about their floor number with every step. Reggie was so excited with the number four, it had to be the right one.
They stopped at the fourth floor, then surveyed the two windows on each end of the fire escape. “Lef’,” Reggie said, just as Luke said: “Righ’.”
They looked at each other. “Where do we live?” Reggie asked.
“The righ’.” Luke pointed at the right window. He totally remembered going left down the hallway when they all exited their apartment that evening. That would mean they lived on the right. He was sure.
“Okay,” Reggie said. The window was half open in deference to the summer heat, and he immediately lifted it up. It creaked.
“Shhh!” Luke admonished him.
Reggie frowned at him. “It’s our apartment!”
“You wanna wake Bobby an’ Alex?” Luke frowned back.
Reggie’s frown deepened, but he lifted the window slower. Finally, it was just wide enough for them to get inside. Reggie went first, his slimmer body slipping through like a fish through water. There was a thump, on the other side and Reggie groaned.
Luke stuck his head through, concerned. “Reggie?”
Reggie held up his thumb. “I’m okay.”
“Kay.” Luke pushed himself all the way through. He landed on Reggie.
“Fuck!” Reggie hissed. “Why’re you so fucking heavy?”
“Shhh!” Luke said again. He rolled off Reggie and onto the tile floor. They were in the kitchen. Huh.
No lights were on, but there was enough ambient light from the street and the moon to make it possible to get around without turning anything on. Which was good, because Bobby would kill them dead if they woke him up.
Reggie sat up and leaned against the wall. “Gonna be sick.”
“Do not puke here!” Luke helped Reggie to his feet and pushed him in the direction of the hallway. “Bathroom’s that way!”
Reggie loped off and Luke followed, arriving just in time to see him crouched over the toilet, retching miserably. He didn’t really have long hair, but Luke held his bangs back anyway until Reggie stopped heaving. He sagged against the tub. “I don’ feel too good.”
“Tequila izza Devil’s drink,” Luke said sympathetically. Then the smell of Reggie’s vomit hit his nostrils and he was throwing up in the toilet too. “You didn’t hold my hair back,” Luke said miserably once he’d finished.
“Your hair’s short,” Reggie reminded him. He’d managed to slide along the tub until he was mostly on his back. “Why’re bras hanging from the shower rod?”
Luke looked up and immediately regretted it. He retched again, only bringing up bile. This time Reggie rubbed his back. “I need t’ lie down,” Luke said miserably, wincing with the loud noise of the toilet flushing.
Reggie nodded and they both staggered to their feet. “Oh, toothpaste!” Reggie turned on the tap and put some toothpaste on his finger, running it around his mouth. He rinsed and spit, before cranking the water open and drinking right from the flow.
“We have toothbrushes,” Luke muttered. His eyebrows drew down. “Why’re there only two?”
Reggie eyed the two solitary toothbrushes. “Maybe those’re Bobby and Alex’s. Use your finger.”
Alex would murder him if he used his toothbrush. Luke did what Reggie had done. The mint taste in his mouth helped settle his stomach and he felt a bit better. Now he was just suffering from the exhaustion of the truly drunk. He cupped some water and drank, then did it again.
Reggie left the bathroom, gait unsteady. Luke followed, trying hard to keep his feet under him. They both used the wall for balance. Reggie stopped suddenly and Luke banged into his back.
Reggie counted the doors in the hallway. “One… two… “ He did it again. “One… Two… Aren’t there four bedrooms in our apartment?”
Luke was pretty sure they’d rented a four-bedroom? There were four of them, after all. But then again, they’d all been in two-people dorm rooms at UCLA. Had they decided to share rooms again? He wanted Alex for his roommate. “I need to lie down,” Luke said.
“What room should I open?” Reggie whispered.
Luke looked at the two identical doors. “Which one is Alex’s?”
Reggie swallowed. “Bobby will kill us.”
Reggie was right. If they woke Bobby up, they’d be so dead no one would find their bodies. “Let’s sleep on the couch.”
“Good idea.”
He and Reggie crept into the living room and Luke collapsed onto the couch. It was incredibly comfortable and smelled pleasantly of flowers. “C’mon,” Luke gestured towards Reggie. “Sleep.”
Reggie also collapsed onto the couch and Luke pulled him into little spoon position, which, as long as they didn’t move, gave them both just enough space to sleep. Reggie sat up. “I got on too many clothes.”
“Oh, yeah.” Luke got up and kicked off his shoes. He shucked his jeans and his T-shirt, feeling instantly more comfortable without all the clothing. Reggie did the same and sighed in relief.
Luke found a blanket at the end of the couch. He lay back down, Reggie pressed against him. He managed to get the blanket over them both. “This smells nice,” Reggie said.
Luke sniffed the blanket, enjoying the light scent. “Like flowers.”
“I don’t think it’s Bobby’s.” Reggie yawned.
“Alex sometimes smells like flowers,” Luke said sleepily. He closed his eyes.
A shadow passed over Reggie’s eyes.
He squeezed his eyes tighter shut, then opened them, immediately squinting against the bright light of morning.
There were two women standing at the end of the couch, both wearing what looked like pajamas and both staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. The one with a messy bun in her curly hair was partially hidden behind the one with long braids, who was holding a wicked-looking cooking knife.
They were both so beautiful Reggie forgot to breathe. He sucked in a lungful of air as his body reminded him oxygen was important. “Luke,” he wheezed, elbowing Luke in the chest. “Luke!”
“Shut up, Reggie,” Luke mumbled. “I’m sleeping.”
“Luke, I think we died,” Reggie whispered.
Reggie felt Luke shift on the couch. “What?”
“Look!” Reggie was still whispering. “Angels!”
“What the fuck are you doing in our apartment?” The angel with braids yelled.
The noise was as painful as it was surprising. Reggie yelped and fell off the couch, landing on his back on the floor. “Ow,” he moaned. “I think the angel is trying to kill us.”
Luke sat up. “I thought we were already dead?” He immediately bent over with his head in his hands. “I can’t be dead. My head hurts too much.”
“We’re not angels,” the angel without the knife said. She was still hiding behind her knife-wielding friend but looked a bit less frightened.
“We’re the people who live in this apartment,” the angel with the knife said. “And I’m asking you again. What the fuck are you doing here?”
Reggie’s head was pounding and his stomach was definitely unhappy with his fall off the couch. He covered his eyes with his forearm. “It’s okay if you want to kill me, sweet angel,” he said. “Death at your hands would be preferable to this painful life.”
“Oh my God, Reggie,” Luke muttered.
The knife-holding angel pulled Reggie’s arm away from his eyes. She was kneeling beside him. “I’m not going to kill you.”
Reggie’s gaze took in the rich brown and the exquisite shape of her eyes. He visually traced the edges of her cheekbones and her gorgeous lips. “I really have died and gone to heaven.” He sighed happily. Then his stomach lurched and he was on his feet, bolting for the bathroom. He reached the toilet just in time.
The brown-eyed angel followed him inside, her knife held at a slightly less violent angle. “I think you’re too hungover to be dangerous.”
Reggie nodded before upchucking again. He gratefully took the wad of toilet paper she handed him and wiped his mouth before throwing it in the toilet. She flushed it and he sagged back against the tub, almost exactly like he’d done the night before. The bras were still hanging from the shower rod, only now they made more sense. “This isn’t our apartment.”
“No shit, Sherlock.” The angel crossed her arms, knife still in her grip. “How’d you even get in?”
“We went up the fire escape?” Reggie pulled himself into more of a sitting position and rubbed his temples. His head was absolutely pounding.
She opened the cabinet and then handed him a cup and two small pills. He eyed it suspiciously and she rolled her eyes. “It’s water, vitamin B and an Advil. If I’d wanted you dead, I would’ve smothered you both while you were sleeping.”
That was strangely reassuring. Reggie took the pill and the water, drinking slowly so as to not throw up again. “Thank you, beautiful angel.”
“I’m not an angel,” she said, but her gorgeous lips curled up.
“You’re as beautiful as one.” He smiled back at her.
“I should tell you flattery will get you nowhere, but it’s kind of working?” She grinned, but then she frowned again. “Where the hell do you guys live, anyway?”
“I honestly don’t know,” Reggie admitted. “We moved into our new place yesterday—or maybe it was the day before?—and I don’t really remember the address.”
Her eyes widened. “Seriously? So you just… snuck into our apartment instead?”
Reggie’s cheeks heated. “We kind of thought it was ours?”
“God give me strength.” She closed her eyes for a moment as if collecting herself, then looked at him. “Do you have a phone somewhere in your underwear?”
“What…?” Reggie looked down at himself. He was wearing nothing but the red boxer-briefs he’d been sleeping in. His face flamed. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, I don’t mind the view.” She smirked. “But maybe we can find you some clothes… and your actual apartment.” She gave him her hand.
Reggie took it and let her help him to his feet. Her touch sent sparks of awareness racing through him and he pulled his hand away. Angel or not, she wouldn’t want the guy who broke into her apartment to be hitting on her. Especially not his in underwear.
It was just his luck to meet the girl of his dreams when he was such a complete mess. He was so embarrassed he kind of wished she had smothered him in his sleep.
“I’m never drinking tequila again,” he muttered. He followed her out of the bathroom.
Luke’s head was fucking aching. “I’m never drinking tequila again,” he moaned.
“Tequila is the devil’s drink,” the young woman said. He felt the couch dip as she sat down beside him. “What’s your name?”
“Luke.” He cracked his eyes open to look at her, then stared. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. “Reggie was right. You are an angel.”
The girl laughed, showing a delightful gap between her front teeth. Her brown eyes sparkled. “Not an angel, sorry. My name’s Julie, and the other woman is my best friend Flynn.”
“The one with the knife?”
Julie nodded, still smiling. He couldn’t help but smile back. She reminded him of music. His heart was certainly beating like the rhythm of a song.
Julie waved her hand dismissively. “She’s harmless. Well, mostly harmless? I don’t think she’d stab your friend.”
“Reggie,” Luke said. “His name’s Reggie. And he’s more like my brother than my friend.”
Julie perked up with his words. “I thought you guys were dating!”
Luke frowned, puzzled. “Why does everyone think we’re dating?”
“Maybe because of the way you were wrapped around each other? And only in your underwear?” Julie suggested.
He was only in his underwear. Luke’s face went hot and he leaned forward to grab the first pair of pants his hands contacted on the floor. Julie stood to escape his flailing as he tried to pull them on as quickly as possible. But he’d grabbed Reggie’s jeans, which were tighter than his own. Luke fell back on the couch, Reggie’s pants stuck around his thighs.
Julie was laughing so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes. “I don’t think those are your pants.”
“Reggie’s thinner than me, okay?” Luke whined. He managed to kick off Reggie’s pants, but then he had to lie still and take deep breaths as the room spun.
His jeans landed squarely on his chest. “Those are yours?”
“Thank you,” Luke croaked and pulled them on. He felt better once he was more covered, even though for sure the damage had already been done.
“Don’t worry about it,” Julie said as if reading his mind. “I have a younger brother. I’m not shocked by men’s underwear.”
“That’s lucky.” Luke sat up. She was still grinning at him and, despite his embarrassment, he had to smile back. “You know you’re wearing pajamas.”
She looked down at the oversized T-shirt with a picture of Dwayne Johnson, and the sleep shorts she was wearing, then grinned. “You did break in while I was sleeping.”
He winced at the reminder. “I’m really sorry we did that.”
Julie shrugged. “You guys didn’t do any harm, and it’s a good lesson for us to keep the kitchen window locked.”
“Oh yeah,” Luke agreed readily. “You should totally do that. Anyone could come in.”
“Apparently.” Julie smirked. “Why are you here, anyway?”
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. “We thought it was our apartment? We just moved in and I guess we forgot which apartment is ours?”
Julie guffawed, holding onto her sides. “Oh my God! You forgot where you live?”
“It’s just temporary! We’ll be fine once we talk to Alex and Bobby!”
“Your other roommates?” Julie guessed. Her gleeful expression faded. “Oh jeez, I bet they’re worried.”
The blood drained from Luke’s face. Bobby and Alex would have no idea where they were. “Oh, shit.”
Flynn came back into the room, trailed by an extremely pale and nearly-naked Reggie. “Oh good, my pants!” He snatched the black jeans off the armrest and pulled them on.
“Reggie!” Luke grabbed his arm, “Bobby and Alex don’t know where we are!”
Reggie’s pale face went even paler. “Oh, shit.”
“Who are Bobby and Alex?” Flynn asked.
“Roommates,” Julie explained.
Flynn nodded. “You guys need to find your phones.”
“We looked for them last night,” Luke said. “I have no idea where—”
Something rang deep inside Reggie’s jacket. Luke and Reggie looked at each other and then dove for it. Both their phones were there, safely zipped into the inner pocket.
Luke found his phone. There were twenty-seven missed texts and nineteen missed calls.
Reggie pulled out his phone and accepted the call. “Hello?”
“Where the FUCK have you been?” Bobby bellowed.
“I can’t fucking believe it!” Bobby ranted.
Luke and Reggie were standing in Julie and Flynn’s living room, eyes downcast as Bobby yelled and Alex looked disapprovingly at them.
“We were really drunk?” Luke started.
“I literally went to the washroom for five minutes! and you guys disappeared!”
“It was way more than five minutes,” Reggie said. “Because those women wouldn’t’ve—”
“The line was really long, okay?” Bobby snapped. “And I told you to stay put!”
“What women?” Julie whispered.
Luke didn’t know what was more embarrassing: getting dressed down like this, or the fact Julie and Flynn were still there, amused by the drama. “A group of very out lesbians who adopted us,” Luke explained quietly.
“You left with a group of people you didn’t know?” Alex demanded, aghast. “What about stranger danger?”
“Stranger danger?” Reggie repeated, “what?”
Luke rolled his eyes. “We’re twenty-one years old!”
“The point is, you left!” Bobby yelled. “And we didn’t know where you were!”
“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “Like, I was talking with Willie for one minute and—”
“Oh! Was Willie the cute guy at the bar?” Reggie’s eyes lit in excitement. “Did you get his number?”
Alex flushed. “Yes, I did.”
“Awesome!” Reggie high fived him, and Julie did too.
“Well done, Alex!” Julie said, eyes brimming with laughter. Luke frowned at her. She was enjoying this far too much.
“The point is, you left!” Bobby repeated. “Do you know how bad it was to walk out of that bathroom and the both of you were just gone?”
“Totally not cool, guys,” Flynn agreed. She took a sip of her coffee.
“Thank you!” Bobby said to her. “Because no! It wasn’t cool!”
“They gave us tequila shots?” Reggie tried to explain, “and you know how tequila—”
“Tequila is not an excuse for leaving your friends,” Flynn said.
“Thank you!” Bobby said again. “Tequila is not an excuse!”
“We’re sorry, okay?” Luke said. They’d already apologized a couple of times, but Bobby was on a roll. Luke loved the guy, but fuck he had a bad temper.
“Yeah, we’re really sorry,” Reggie said, sounding a bit more remorseful than Luke was now feeling.
“We were really scared,” Alex said. “We didn’t actually sleep last night because we didn’t know where you were.”
Bobby crossed his arms. “The cops wouldn’t let us report you missing until you’d been gone for twenty-four hours.”
Luke blinked. He looked at Reggie, whose face showed the same shock. “You called the cops?”
“You guys disappeared!” Bobby threw up his hands. “And you weren’t answering your phones! What did you think we were going to do—oof!”
Reggie threw himself into Bobby’s arms. “I’m so sorry!” he cried, “we were drunk and stupid and… and really drunk but we shouldn’t’ve left. I’m sorry!”
Bobby hugged Reggie back. “I was really worried,” he said, softer this time.
“I’m sorry too,” Luke said.
Alex went to him and hugged him. “You’re a dumbass.”
Luke laughed against his shoulder. “Probably.”
“Definitely,” Julie said, then grinned, unrepentant when Luke scowled at her. “Hey, you did break into our apartment!”
Bobby let go of Reggie with one last thump on his back, then pulled Luke into his embrace while Alex hugged Reggie. “Don’t do that again,” Bobby muttered.
“I won’t, I promise,” Luke said, meaning it.
Julie sighed contentedly. “This is nice,”
“Isn’t it?” Flynn agreed. “It’s nice to see boys solving their own problems.”
Alex laughed. “I’m really sorry my friends broke into your place.”
“Seriously, though,” Bobby said. “It must’ve been really scary waking up to these two idiots crashed out in your living room.”
“It wasn’t great. But Flynn had a knife,” Julie said while Flynn nodded.
“I really do feel bad for what we did,” Luke said. Julie and Flynn had really been cool about waking up to find them on their couch, but Luke knew how terrifying that really would’ve been. “Can we make it up to you? Like, maybe clean your place, or buy you grocer—”
“Dinner’s a great idea!” Julie interrupted him, eyes twinkling. “You can definitely take me out to dinner.”
Luke swallowed, his heart pounding. Julie liked him! She wanted to spend time with him! She wanted him to take her on a date! “I could do that.”
Flynn met Reggie’s gaze. “Yeah, that would work.” She took another sip of her coffee, never breaking eye contact.
“You’d… like to go out to dinner? With me?” Reggie breathed.
Flynn’s smile turned into something sexy enough that Reggie’s cheeks pinked. “It’d be fun."
Bobby’s jaw dropped. “Did you two idiots seriously just get dates out of breaking into someone’s house?”
“I think they did,” Alex said.
Luke’s pulse thudded as he gazed at Julie. He could hardly wait to spend more time with her. He wanted to learn everything about her. He wanted to take her on that dinner date, and make sure the evening ended with a kiss. “I guess we found the right apartment after all.”
END