I Do

Chapter 34 - Pink

Beth’s Point of View 

The following morning I wake up tucked in on my sofa, the blanket that Bryan had brought over draping over my snoring form. I sit up a little, wiping at the corners of my mouth and hoping I did not drool. I didn’t thankfully, but that’s probably because I forgot to put my retainer in before I fell asleep. Which I never do. 

Struggling to dig myself out of the divot my body created in the cushion, my eyes search my apartment. I wonder if Bryan left after I fell asleep; the terrible person I am, leaving him to watch The Family Stone all by himself. In August. 

I’m strange like that, this isn’t news. 

After a couple seconds of searching my eyes find Bryan’s frame slumped on the floor beneath the couch. His mouth is open as he sleeps, his eyelids shut let his lashes arc downward against his cheekbone. When his eyes are closed it is apparent how very long they are, and I’m tempted to run my finger on his face to touch them but that would probably wake him up and I wouldn’t want that. 

I throw the blanket off of me, too warm in the sunlight entering my living room for a blanket. My mind debates whether or not to wake Bryan; why did he sleep here in the first place? 

In the end I poke his face with my bare foot, trying to wake him without too much effort on my part. He begins to stir, swatting the cause of the disturbance, in this case my foot, away from his face. His formerly serene face scrunches in intrusion, and I giggle, curling my legs to my chest quickly. 

His eyes crack open, the pearly white to his eyes catching me by surprise. I startle back a little, but keep an innocent quality to my face as his sleep begins to wear off. “Hey.” he says, rubbing his face with his palm. “How long have you been up?”

“A couple minutes.” I respond. “I didn’t realize where I was, or that you were still here.” At this he raises his upper half, tinging a shade of red. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I, uh, I crashed here. My apartment was too far.” he smirks, making light of the situation. The Old Beth, pre-incident, probably would have freaked out by now that there is a living breathing boy in my apartment. But the New Beth, the one about to start college and has somehow earned the friendship of the best gay man I’ve ever met, isn’t at all. I ignore my cheeks desire to match his, blushing scarlet, and respond by poking his face with my foot once again. 

“It doesn’t bother me. This way I don’t have to go all the way across the hall to find out if you want to hang out today.”

He rests his head on his arm, propped on his knee, and fluffs his hair. “Yeah, I do. What do you have in mind?”

My stomach lets out a loud rumble in response, which I suppose was my best answer. Bryan stands from the floor, clutching the blanket around his shoulders. He extends his hand to me to assist in helping me up. 

“I’m guessing either you’re hungry, or you’ve got some monster ready to eat your insides. Either way I say we get some breakfast. I know the perfect place.” I agree by nodding my head, however when I glance around my living room I notice what a mess we truly created. There are jelly beans on the carpet and there is popcorn on the coffee table, and the movies that we had planned on watching before I conked out sit scattered on the arm of the couch and floor.