While the Sun Shines

30.

When Nick woke up in the morning, he no longer felt like his bloodstream was 99% Sambuca, but it was definitely still hovering around the 50% point. Frankly, it was a good thing. The drunk stupor Nick had been in last night kept him calm enough to fall asleep, and it also kept him from flinging himself out of his bedroom window now. 

Nick knew Blake was already awake and in the living room. He'd smelled bacon when he snuck to the bathroom, after procrastinating on getting out of bed until his bladder was about to burst. For a while, the plan was to play dead until Blake left the apartment because he'd be late for school if he waited around longer. But as the clock kept ticking, past the time their first class started, Blake still showed no signs of leaving. It seemed he was specifically waiting for Nick in the living room, or he didn't have class this morning. Either way, Blake was staying put.  

All Nick could think about was that Blake couldn't be serious. There was no way he literally wanted Nick to repeat what he'd said last night. It must've been a sarcastic brush-off—a 'yeah right, tell me that again when you're sober' because he knew Nick would never repeat his words soberly. Or worse: it was a set-up with a hidden camera and Nick would be the unwilling star of a TikTok video later. No matter what it was, it wasn't a genuine offer to... to whatever it meant to call each other cute. And if it was serious, well, that thought caused not waves but tsunamis of nerves. 

Nick paced his bedroom, glancing at the clock every ten seconds until he could no longer take it. Blake clearly wasn't going anywhere, and Nick had stupidly left his laptop on the salon table. If he wanted to get any work done today, he couldn't keep avoiding the living room. Blake hadn't meant it anyway. He probably wouldn't even mention last night. He'd say good morning, tease him about being late, and ask if he wanted bacon for breakfast. It was all just a joke. 

Nick didn't believe a single thing he told himself—last night did not feel like a joke—but it was the only way he could find the courage to walk into the hall, and, after a few deep breaths, open the living room door. Due to the nerves, every movement Nick made was a bit rougher than he intended, and he made an accidental dramatic entrance by throwing the door open way too hard. 

Blake sat on the couch with a steaming cup in his hands. His eyes shot up to Nick while Nick scrambled to grab the doorknob in time to stop the door from slamming into the wall. 

Nick cringed at his entrance and contemplated running out again. 

Blake took a sip of his hot beverage. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he said. 

"Uh, morning," Nick muttered back. 

There was a moment of silence in which Blake took another sip of his drink, and Nick planned on crossing the room to grab his laptop and flee with the excuse of having to go to class. That plan required walking to the salon table right in front of Blake, however. Blake's eyes followed Nick as he came closer. He only raised an amused brow and didn't say anything as Nick snatched his laptop from the table, but once it was clear Nick planned on dashing out of the room again, he said, "wait a second." 

Nick flinched. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, then turned around to face Blake. "Yeah?" 

Blake had placed his cup on the salon table and looked up at Nick expectantly with his hands folded in his lap. "Don't you have anything to say to me?"

Please, don't do this to me and I don't know what you're talking about came to mind as responses. 

"Sambuca hits hard," blurted out of Nick's mouth instead. 

Blake stared at him. 

"A-and I'm not entirely sober yet." 

"You seem sober enough to me." Blake smiled and tilted his head to the side. "You want me to go first? Okay. I think you're cute."