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When Dan woke up, the sun shone brightly through the window. He was tugged comfortably underneath the light duvet, which felt sweaty against his legs and stomach. He hummed in silence as he stretched his arms out; the warm sunlight kissed his naked skin, and the soft sheets underneath him hugged his arms with contempt. The bed was big; no matter how far he stretched out, he couldn’t feel the edges. Only his feet were peeking out from the duvet and touching the wooden end of the bed. That was when he opened his eyes and sat up with a start. His bed didn’t have a wooden end, and it wasn’t king sized. It didn’t have blue and green and purple star coloured covers either, and his sheets weren’t made of silk. He took in the room around him; it was medium sized, had a shelf with drawers and a closet at the end wall and a desk to his left. There was a small balcony to his right, where long curtains were blowing in the windy summer air. Looking more closely at the desk, he noticed that the white, circular desk chair was littered with clothes. A pair of black skinny jeans, a white fancy shirt and a pair of white boxer. His clothes, and his boxers. He threw himself back on the bed with a sigh, images from last night flushing through his mind. That specific chair was very clear in his memory. He had sat there, his shirt torn open and his jeans hanging on his knees, with a man on top of him. The chair had spun around rapidly as the man had grinded into him, but the lips, tracing down his collarbones, had distracted Dan from blurring out. Absentmindedly, Dan let his hand brush against his naked body as more memories came back in brighter detail. The man had had soft and pale skin, and he had smelled of strawberries. For a drunken one night stand, the sex had been sufficient. He briskly caressed his loose dick before sitting back up again.
On the rare occasions that he would go as far as to leave a bar with a stranger, he would wake up early with a sore body and sick to his stomach. The other person would always be asleep when he left, and wake up with no sign of him having been there, except perhaps for the strong smell of sex. Today, he would have to endure the shameful walk through another man’s house.
This would never have happened earlier that year. A month ago, he had gotten his dream job at a local primary school. It was low paying, but his time spent with the kids made it up for it. The only bug he had against it was the colleagues. His boss, an elderly man with a white moustache and a bald head, constantly made comments about how it was easy to mistake him for one of the kids. Another colleague, a middle-aged widow with boney hands and a smoking addiction, kept telling him how she wanted to ‘taste his sweetness’. Everyday after work, he came home to a messy flat with washing to do and a cranky bed that broke every time he sat on it.
He let out a sigh as he put on his boxers. The rest of the clothes lay still on the chair as Dan explored the desk in front of him. There were a few quirky plushies, some random little objects and a bottle of lube which he remembered being spilled out the night before. Most noticeable, however, was the Japanese figurine tucked into the corner of the desk. He had the character that matched, which emitted a smile on his face. Even in his drunken state, he had managed to flirt with someone on the same nerd level as him. He refrained from picking it up though, and instead focused on the closed door next to him.
His need to pee was becoming bigger, and the clothes on the chair would only be an obstacle. Yet the thought of walking through a stranger’s house half naked wasn’t very appealing, so he cramped into his tight jeans and let his shirt sit unbuttoned before exiting the room.
He found the bathroom with ease. It was just around the corner, and he didn’t meet a single soul on his way. In his vulnerable hurry, he almost didn’t notice the many framed album artworks on the walls and the distinct smell of something sweet coming from a room in a different direction.
The bathroom also smelled of strawberries, and after his toilet visit, he took his time to make his face look less tired. There were tons of hair products and different creams covering the sink, and he was almost tempted to try some. Even though the idea was appealing, the discourtesy of it was abominable. Just as he had showered his face with a massive amount of water, the door sprung open, and a little boy with a familiar face showed up. He was blond and had a cheeky smile.
“Thomas?” Dan exclaimed. The water was dripping down his front and he suddenly felt like covering up his chest. The boy had frozen and stood there with wide eyes holding on to the door knob. He didn’t respond either, instead he turned around and started calling down the hallway.
“Dad!” He yelled. Dan cringed internally and covered his face with his hand. No easy escape then. “Why is Mr Howell in your bathroom?”
There was a muffled sound in response that sounded quite confused. A few seconds passed and another person came into view. He was very tall and his shoulders were broad. His hair, which was dark, stuck up in all sides and he had a stubble above his lips. Last time he had seen him, he had been wearing fancy clothes and his hair had been neat, but now he was wearing glasses and stood in green pyjamas pants and a t-shirt. And the fact that there was a noticeable purple mark stretching along his neck made him smirk.
“Who’s Mr Howell?” He said before he noticed Dan, cramped over his sink with water dripping down his throat. “Oh.”
“He’s my English teacher,” Thomas said. The little boy had very blue eyes, and they were looking up at him with a very curious expression. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew him? I’m not in trouble right? I swear it wasn’t me, it was Callum, he made me do it!” He rapped on, looking rapidly between the two men.
Dan took his eyes away from the man in the doorway, and locked eyes with Thomas. “It’s alright Thomas, you’re not in trouble.” He did his best to smile at him.
“Tommy,” the man spoke suddenly, and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Do you want to go unpack your things? I’ll be there in a minute.” His voice was husky and low, which yet again brought back memories of the night before.
“But we’re having pancakes!” He exclaimed, and his dad nodded sincerely. “Will Mr Howell have pancakes with us too?”
The man’s expression changed abruptly, and he looked up at Dan with nervous eyes. “Only if you ask him nicely.”
Thomas turned around in a pirouette and locked eyes with Dan again. He looked tentative, but his eyes lit up when he spoke. “Mr Howell Mr Howell will you have pancakes with us? I swear my dad’s pancakes are really good!” He said this rather quickly, but before Dan could figure out how to articulate an appropriate answer, the little boy leant in and whispered loudly towards him. “But that’s only because I like him and he feeds me, sometimes they’re really burnt and other times they’re really fat.”
Dan laughed loudly at his, and the boy’s remark earned him a small clap in his bum from his dad. “Hey,” he said. “Don’t be so cheeky. Go unpack your things.”
He disappeared a second later and Dan was left alone with the tall stranger. Dan remembered him. Obviously, as they’d had sex the night before. But now he actually remembered him. They had started talking in the bar, and Dan had bought him a multi-coloured cocktail, because it had fitted his abstract choice of clothing and his sweet personality. He almost smiled at the memory of the man’s excited grin when he had seen the exotic colours and the pink umbrella. The time between the drinking in the bar and the pleasure in the bed was, however, a blur. And so was the name.
“How is your hangover?” The man asked, breaking the silence.
“It’s alright,” he nodded, “I don’t feel ill, but I don’t really remember much from last night either.” He shrugged.
The man giggled, and his tongue peeked out from between his teeth. Apparently, Dan had gone for adorable last night. “I do,” he said. “My neighbour probably does as well; you weren’t really quiet.”
A warm rush of blood spread in his cheeks, and he hid behind his hand once again. “Oh my god I’m so sorry about that.”
“Hey, it isn’t a bad thing,” the man said. His cheeks showed a tint of pink as well, which Dan was grateful for. There was a short silence where Dan could feel the man’s eyes on him, and he subconsciously crossed his arms over his naked chest. “Erm by the way,” the man broke the silence. “Sorry for not waking you up. I was going to before Tommy’s mother came, but you looked like you could really need the sleep.”
“Well, I guess I enjoyed sleeping in your bed,” Dan shrugged guiltily.
“Yeah well, you were really clingy, so it wasn’t like I didn’t enjoy your company,” he smirked, and Dan had to look away to hide his awkward grin.
“Anyway, erm,” Dan muttered. “I should probably get going now, I don’t wanna interrupt your family time.” He stepped forward, aiming for the space between the doorframe and the man’s lean body. However, when he stepped through the door a hand clasped flatly against his chest and stopped his movement.
“No Dan,” the man said with a pout on his face. His name rolled easily off his lips and suddenly he felt very sad he didn’t remember the other’s name. “Please stay for pancakes. For Tommy?” He pleaded. “I swear they aren’t actually as bad as he says so.”
Dan waited for a minute. The guy’s hand as still resting against his naked chest. It was warm and he had long fingers. He closed his eyes and bit his lips. “Okay.”
A big smile erupted on his face, and after Dan had buttoned his shirt, he began leading him towards the sweet smell he had sensed earlier.
“By the way,” he said, turning around and welcoming Dan into the kitchen. “Name’s Phil. Thought you ought to know.”
“I-” Dan gulped. “Yeah I’d forgotten that. Sorry.”
But Phil just smiled and winked at him, allowing him to sit down at a circular table in the middle of the kitchen. Not a minute later, Thomas came running in and sat down next to Dan. Last time Dan had seen him, it had been a tough period five Friday afternoon, and Thomas had been picked up by his mother, a busy-looking lady with short hair and red lipstick.
“So how come I haven’t seen your face at the school before?” Dan asked Phil timidly.
“I work in the TV industry,” Phil said and chucked a pancake on Dan’s plate. “My working hours aren’t very continuous, and so I usually leave Lizzie to do the school stuff…” He trailed off and shrugged. His cheeks were tinted pink and he looked at Tommy with a sad expression.
“Oh alright,” Dan said. “I’m pretty sure I would have remembered your face.”
“Is it that odd?” Phil laughed. He had sat down now too, and was pouring an unhealthy amount of sugar onto his pancake.
“Not in a bad way,” Dan smiled. “And it’s a small school.”
Phil took a big bite of his pancake, yet continued talking. “Yeah well,” he champed, “you might have to see it more often the next week. Tommy’s mum is going on holiday, so I have him for the entire week.” Phil looked down at Thomas with a smile, but the little boy was too engulfed in his food to look back up.
“I guess I’ll look forward to that then,” Dan said. He hadn’t yet decided if that was an honest truth, or a lie to cover up the awkwardness that was soon to come upon him if Phil visited the school every day. Phil seemed happy about the remark though, and eagerly placed a new pancake on his plate.
“Dad,” Thomas quirked up suddenly. “Can we play Mario Kart?”
Phil looked up from his plate. His eyes ran over Dan’s still expression before settling on his son. “Of course, go set up the game.”
He gave Dan a smile as the little boy ran off to another place in the house.
“You know I better get going as well,” Dan said and stood up.
“Oh,” Phil said. He looked disappointed. “Are you sure? Mario Kart is kind of fun when you first start getting into it…”
“Yeah yeah,” Dan interrupted, “it’s not that, but I really do need to leave.” He gave a sideways smile. “Got some homework marking to do you know.”
Phil smiled, but his eyes gave a tearing stare that made Dan want to hide his face. “Okay, I’ll follow you to the door.”
Minutes later and Dan was standing awkwardly in front of the door. Phil had stayed there as he had put on his shoes, which he had insisted was the politest way to bid a guest farewell.
“It was nice to meet you Phil,” Dan said on his way out. Phil stood leaning up against the doorframe, exactly like he had done in the bathroom. His lean figure was almost impossible not to notice, and his neck stretched out proudly, putting the purple mark on exhibition for everyone to see. Dan tried expertly to dart his attention away from his body, but instead landed himself transfixed on his eyes. They were almost the same colour as his son’s, yet a little darker and a bit more radiant. The shape along with his small cheeks made them look much more profound. Dan gulped and looked away.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Dan,” Phil smirked. “Also before you go,” he said hastily and started looking for something in a pocket of a jacket hanging next to him. “Now that Lizzy isn’t at home, the school doesn’t actually have anyone to contact if something happens to Thomas,” he shrugged. “So here, have this.”
Phil stretched out his hand and gave him a little blue business card. Written on it was an email address and a phone number. “Just in case.”
“Yeah,” Dan smiled. “Just in case.”
When he left the building he couldn’t help but grin. His plans for the rest of the day consisted of a nice, long bath, and possibly spending five hours staring at the little phone number, waiting for it to call itself.