Devil's Effect

Avoiding Reality Part 1

Immediately Mike shook his head. "I will, I just... it's so easy, Ches. I know this is supposed to be fun right now and whatever, but it's so easy to be with you." He wanted to tell Chester that he wouldn't have to act like he was still in love, because he was. But Chester had already warned him about promises, and the lines they should be keeping were already invisible. Before Amir popped off his mouth Mike had to admit he'd been thinking of taking Chester back to the loft again, this time with a change of clothes. It was scary and confusing, and Mike wasn't sure that he should be saying yes, but he wanted to. Whatever that meant, he wanted to be Chester's boyfriend tonight. "If this is really okay with you, I'm all in."

Relief was steady on the heels of Mike's words, and Chester felt his anxiety lift. "It is. It's just easier. And we'll keep everything generic when he asks us about our plans for the future, because he will," he made sure to warn Mike. "But if I show up without you, it will just get messy. I'm sorry. I know we had other plans for the night, but I have to go."

Mike wasn't entirely sure why things would be messy without him there, and he didn't want to ask. "It's not a problem. I just... I hope I can go like this." He pointed to his flannel and jeans. "This is all I've got. And you know I won't fit into your clothes." He managed a smile at the thought of trying to get his body into Chester's form fitting clothing.

"It's okay, we're not going anywhere fancy. I told him I wasn't up for that. He's got a whole list of these little out of the way, hole-in-the-wall places he likes, so we're going to go to one of those. And I'm wearing this," he said, gesturing to his blue outfit Mike had dressed him in earlier. "I don't have the will to get up and put on something of my own." He took Mike's hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing his knuckles. "Thank you."

The tender, familiar gesture made Mike's heart melt. "Of course, Ches." He wanted to touch Chester's face, but Chester was holding his hand tightly and lowered it back to the bed between them before he could. "It will be so easy. I'm still so in love with you. I won't even have to pretend."

Chester smiled as a tingle of something like excitement crossed his stomach. "I love you, too. I never stopped." His shoulders relaxed a little as his head went back against the pillow and his eyes closed. "We have a few minutes before we need to leave. I know where the place is he wants to go. It's a pain to get to, but not super far away."

Mike tugged his hand free and stroked over the sleeve of his flannel that Chester was still wearing. "I hope he likes me," he said suddenly, aware that it didn't really matter if Forrest liked him or not. "He's probably going to wonder what in the hell you have on, and then he'll look at me and know it's all my fault."

Chester reached over without looking, his fingers finding Mike's leg. He rubbed him as he said, "Naw. He knows I'm being incredibly slack with the busted ankle and all. He'll like you just fine. Forrest is really easy to talk to."

Mike went to stand up, ready to get them both going, but Chester reached for his arm and stopped him. "Hang on, um, couple things first," he said as Mike settled back down next to him on the bed. "So, Forrest doesn't know Ry's living with Talinda, so if it comes up, don't say anything."

"Okay." Mike nodded his head. He thought about asking why it was a big deal, but figured that living with the boss' assistant was probably frowned upon by some company rules. "Anything else?"

Chester let out a long breath. "Well, he knows that Ryan's not living with me anymore, he just doesn't know it's with Talinda. So he's still under the impression that you and me are living at the loft together. He knows that Ry and Jay broke up. Ryan's been a little more open about things than I have." He looked down for a second, hating how that sounded. "I'm not trying to lie to him. I just haven't told him everything yet. I will." He looked over at Mike. "So if he says anything about the loft, that's what he thinks."