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Nicholas went to a party at a gay bar, and tried not to ask himself why. He was getting bored and lonely in his new house in Beverly Hills. Getting a whole new cherry wood furniture set in the living room had only made him feel marginally better.
It had only been a week since he'd last seen Cooper, when he'd actually spent the night and slept on the couch. The next morning Nicholas had woken up around 9:00 and taken a shower. He was only wearing a red silk bathrobe when he came downstairs and saw that Cooper had cleaned the kitchen and living room.
Cooper had yawned and pulled himself up off the couch when he saw Nicholas. “Hey, Nick. Good morning. Did you sleep well?” Nicholas nodded, and found himself being ushered into the kitchen.
He sat at the table and watched while Cooper brewed a pot of coffee, adding filtered water to the reservoir and measuring out coffee grounds. It looked like he was a magician casting a spell. The Keurig coffee maker had been a birthday present from his agent, and so far it had just sat unused on the counter.
Cooper filled a mug with black coffee and sat down beside him. “I didn't know how much sugar you'd want, or even if you'd want any, so…” he shrugged and gave Nicholas one of his 1,000 watt smiles.
“Oh, uh, that's okay. This is fine, Coop.” Nicholas took a sip, and at first the bitter taste revolted him, but Nicholas was pretty good at mind over matter. He tried not to laugh at the sudden, unwelcome memory of the time the drain in Cooper’s trailer tub had clogged. Then, Nicholas had plunged the drain until congealed gobs of hair, snot, and spunk came out.
“So, do you want to go see a movie?” Cooper’s smile widened. Nicholas took a deep breath. He had gotten pretty good, he thought, at avoiding social outings or even conversations that could have pointed toward an entanglement.
God knew that the minute they stepped out together in broad daylight, outside of their required press events, just to hang out as friends, a paparazzo could take a photo of them and mislabel them as an 'item.'
“Listen Coop, I'd love to, man, but – wow, is it hot in here, or what? I already feel like I need another shower!” It occurred to Nicholas that he was kind of coming across as a douchebag. “No, it's not hot in here. I'm not hot, anyway.”
“Cooper, stop, you look great,” Nicholas said awkwardly, digging himself into a deeper hole. He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, not sure what else to say. His heart was pounding like a drum.
Cooper let him off the hook. “Hmm, okay. Well, I'm going to see that new Smile 2 movie. It looks like it'll be pretty good. Bye, then, I'll talk to you later, Nick.”
Cooper left so quickly that Nicholas didn't even have time to retort that he was probably just going to see that movie so that he could see Lukas Gage without a shirt.
Somebody dropped and broke a stack of plates on the floor, and it was somehow hilarious to Nicholas. He chortled with laughter, and felt the heat on his face stretch back to his ears.
The bartender, a blonde haired, blue eyed twink of about 22, smiled and filled his shot glass. “Okay, hon, here's shot number five,” he said, sitting it down in front of him.
Nicholas grinned sloppily and held his glass high. “Hey, how's about a round for all the guys here? Let's play a drinking game, huh? Never have I ever…” he waited for the bartender to fill up a dozen glasses and pass them around the bar. “Okay, ready? Never have I ever gone skinny dipping.”
Everyone except Nicholas took a shot. While the bartender refilled their glasses, Nicholas tried to think of what he would say next. Something that would seem - by admission of having not done it - to be even close to as wild and debauched as what these guys had done, to themselves or to each other.
By the time it was his turn again, Nicholas was fully detached from reality. He was nearly blackout drunk. “Never have I ever...funneled beer through my asshole!” He shouted gleefully.
“Nick, what the fuck?”
Cooper was suddenly touching him, pulling him up, dragging him toward the bathroom. Nicholas felt a wave of nausea roll through him, and staggered. Cooper sighed and steadied him, helping him walk into the stall and lock the door.
Then, he helped Nicholas unbutton and unzip his pants, and pull them and his briefs down his legs. Nicholas was so drunk that he had to put one hand on Cooper’s shoulder just so he could pee.
“Come on,” Cooper said. “I'm taking you home.” On the short walk to Cooper’s car at the end of the street, Nicholas had to stop and throw up, vomiting into a storm drain while Cooper rubbed his back.
“Um, not that I'm rushing you, Nick, but we really need to get out of here, before someone recognizes us.”
“Oh. Okay.” Nicholas had left his coat back at the bar, but he didn't feel like telling Cooper and getting an earful. He was an easy going guy, but even Cooper Koch had his limits.
He followed Cooper as he led him by the hand to his car, a shiny red 2025 Porsche 911 that was bound to draw some attention.
“Dude, where's your jacket?” Cooper asked. When Nicholas shrugged, Cooper took off his rainbow fleece bomber jacket and wrapped it around Nicholas’ shoulders. “It's chilly; I don't want you getting sick.”
“Th-thanks.” Nicholas opened the back door and sat down. Cooper got in the front seat, rolled the back window down, and started the car. Nicholas dozed off, waking up when Cooper gently touched his cheek. “We're here, Nick.”
He guided Nicholas up the steps and into the house, helping him to one of the new couches. There was no way he could climb two flights of stairs in his condition. “Goddammit, Nick, I guess I'm gonna have to spend the night. Again.”
“Oh please, act like you don't want to. I saw the way you were looking at my junk. Probably wished I'd let you hold it while I pissed! Hey,” Nicholas said, tapping Cooper’s nose. “You know I'm just joking, right? I owe you one, Coop. I love you, man!"
With that, Nicholas passed out, and soon enough started to snore. Cooper felt a sudden strong urge to lean down and kiss his forehead. “No Cooper,” he murmured to himself and shook his head. “Just, no.”
He wasn't tired yet, so Cooper turned on the TV and watched Friday the 13th, keeping the volume low. When the movie finished two hours later, Cooper still couldn't sleep.
Reaching back into the farthest recesses of his mind, Cooper remembered the prayer his mom used to sing to him and Payton, to help them fall asleep.
“Hashkiveinu Adonai Eloheinu l'shalom;
V'ha’amideinu malkeinu l'khayim tovim
Ul'shalom;
U'fros aleinu sukhat sh'lomekha
V'takneinu b'eitzah tovah milfane'kha
V'hoshi'einu
M'heirah l'ma'an sh'mekha…”
Cooper recited the prayer several times, but the thought of wanting to kiss Nicholas kept winding him up every time he thought he was calming down. He stood up and swung his arms around.
He dropped to the floor and did fifty push-ups before he finally felt tired. Cooper turned Nicholas on his side in case he threw up in his sleep, and then lay down on the other couch.