[FBL] Friendship. To Benefits. To Love.

Chapter 23

A few months later, things are pretty much the same. The holidays passed in a blur, for New. Christmas was spent with Gun and their families getting terriblydrunk with his friends at home.

He barely remembers New Year's Eve. He spent it with Mek and Arm and some family members and friends in clubs. He remembers camera flashes from people taking pictures and a dozen beers with Arm. They drank tequila at midnight and it's really foggy from there.

He knows that he found Arm making out with Alice outside beside the trashcans and he went inside to get totally wasted after that. He remembers some girl giving him colorful drinks that she didn't want and some guy kissing him, but New pushed him away.

They passed quickly and soon enough, they're all back in university.

Tay and he didn't define their relationship. They still clung to each other and spent some quality time together, which mostly consists of sex, but they were taking this thing they had really slowly aside from that.

New made it quite clear that he'd been hurt in the past and that he did a lot of stupid stuff before Tay. He told him that he didn't trust himself to be in a relationship when he would be the one to fuck it up.

Tay would just nod and keep quiet after those words and his expression was unreadable.

New was confused, but he didn't think better of it. After a few months doing this with him, New saw that he didn't like the idea of a relationship with Tay, which is weird because Tay was what he wanted for so long.

Tay looked like he didn't want a relationship either, because after being with New, he was still dating Mild and it didn't look like he was going to break up with her anytime soon.

New was never the cheater type, but he couldn't give up on Tay so easily and to feel sorry for Mild. He'll push him out when he's ready, but now he's not.

He loves the way Tay's hands feel on his body even after they both come down from their high. They roam his body all over again as those lips and teeth leave more marks on New's skin than he thought they would. He loves his scent and his soft hair clinging to his forehead from the sweat, his effortless laugh and the warm quiet fire in his crinkling eyes.

He's doing his best to shield himself in the best way he can so he doesn't fall for him. If he does, there will be so much pain and he doesn't think he'll manage to survive without scars. He might be acting like a savage cat sometimes, not trusting anyone, but he's scarred of being hurt all over again.

Gun and Off didn't make up after that night at Kemi's. Gun refused to listen to either Off or New and Off eventually got tired of trying. It was useless, he was sure of it.

New met Off on university a few times and they had coffee together. They talked about Gun and Off told New, all choked up, that Gun would never understand why he couldn't come out yet.

It was hard for New. While Gun was his best mate for years, but Off was really close to sharing the spot with him. He didn't know what to do about it.

Mek was still after his ex, he couldn't let go even after things she did to him. New knew that she was a bad person, but if Mek thought there was hope, he had to be there for his friend.

Arm, the one with most brains of them all still has none of that when it comes to Alice. After New Year's Eve, they only saw each other once and basically made out again, but they didn't talk about anything. It was quite frustrating.

New knew that Arm was head over heels over this girl and when he met her and teased her about Arm, she blushed like a tomato. It was adorable and New knew that they both felt the same, but they didn't do anything about it.

Yeah, nothing much changed. Still the same people, still the same shit and no idea in his head how to help solve it. He's going to end up with a serious brain damage if he doesn't, though.

Tay looked over at his girlfriend who was sitting on the sofa looking at him furiously and waiting for an answer to her question. Or twenty, Tay thought. She was good looking, he has to admit.

But the curls and the curves just don't do it for him anymore. He wants hazel eyes that aren't rounded and with expensive and useless makeup. He wants lips that taste like chocolates and instead of cherry lip gloss, a firm male body beneath his hands. He is so over with this shit.

That's why says: "Yeah, Mild. There's someone else."

"What the fuck, Tay?! How long have you been cheating on me? Who is she?" Mild squeaks out and Tay turns around to look out the window, because he can't stand to look at her stupid face anymore.

"It's none of your business." He says with complete coldness in his voice. He hears her yelp and gather her things. She's leaving, Tay thinks to himself, that's good. She stops suddenly and Tay turns around.

"Tay." She moans and runs to him curling her arms around his waist and leaning her head onto his chest. "I'm sorry for screaming, okay?" She sniffs and Tay rolls his eyes.

"You have the right to, Mild. I cheated on you."

"No, no, no." She rushes. "I don't care, I forgive you."

Tay kind of expected this to happen. "I don't want you to forgive me." He says.

"Tay, please. I love you, don't do this." She insists, but Tay knows it's fake. He pushes her away and she looks surprised, but her expression turns angry again.

"You love my money. You love the way I treat you just how you like it and I buy you things to keep you happy and I never ask for anything in return." Tay growls. "That's what you love about me."

Mild looks stunned for a moment, but she grimaces and then laughs darkly, wiping her faked tears away. "Busted, ha?" She looks at him. "Yes, Tay. That's all this relationship was to me, but it could've been so much more."

She raises her hand to touch his face, but he dodges it, going to sit on the sofa. "But, no." She drawls. "You never showed interest in me, no matter how hard I tried, so I took advantage of you." Mild confesses.

"Why not? Everyone else would do it." She comes to stand behind Tay and bends down to whisper into his ear. "I hope she's worth the trouble you're gonna get in for this, babe."

"More than worth it." Tay says softly with a smirk on his mouth.

Mild grabs her belongings and snaps at him. "Fuck you both, Tay! Fuck you straight to hell!" And she's out the door.

Tay leans forward and puts his head in his hands. Yeah, he's going to get in trouble. His dad's always telling him that his son needs a respective woman in his life and he adored Mild.

He sighs to himself. And then he groans.

Shit. New.

This was all because of him. Tay becoming himself once more and becoming a completely new person at the same time, it was all him.

Even if he didn't want Tay for a long-shot relationship. It hurt him, the way New literally stumbled into his life and became the most important part of it. It pained him even more that he fought this feeling so much and he still ended up in love with New.

He laughed softly.

"What am I going to do about you, New?" He said to an empty condo.

New made it pretty clear that he would never love anyone, ever again.

Tay was no exception.

He got up and took his phone, dialing Off's number. He needed his boys tonight. As Off picked up he simply said: "Bring booze and the boys."

Off laughed and promised to do it.