needless to say, eddy was nervous. he hadn't seen mae in a bit and he had no idea what mood she would be in. getting in and out of his house quickly would not be easy, but it had to be at least doable. right?
after a very nervous drive, eddy pulled into his driveway and sat in it silently. the house looked mire intimidating and less like home than ever. its windows were dark and it almost looked inhabitable. the lights were all off and no noise came from the inside.
eddy got out of the car and walked to the door. his long fingers rested on the knob and he listened for any sign of life inside, but there was none. he took that as a good sign and opened the door, being met by nothing but silence.
the house look just as eddy had left it. photos of him and mae were still everywhere and he found himself staring at them, feeling as if he was looking at a stranger. he shook his head and pushed his hair out of his face. he was not there to reflect on his past.
keeping an eye out for any sign of mae, eddy walked quietly through his house to his bedroom. the door was open and there was no one in his bed, but it looked well slept in. he sighed.
as the thought of brett and their date reentered his mind, a smile spread across his face. he was excited, almost too excited. he had a few things planned and he couldn't wait to show brett the type of date he deserved. eddy wanted to spoil the hell out of him.
he found a nice outfit for their date and changed his clothes. he'd been in the house for awhile and knew he'd been pushing it if he stayed for too long, so he headed for the door right after. just as his hand touched the wood, he heard a voice.
"eddy?"
fuck.
panic shot through him and he cringed, his fingers still on the door. he almost made it.
"yeah," he turned around, defeated.
mae stood there in her pajamas, confusion clear on her face. eddy didn't know where she had come from and didn't really have time to care.
"what are you doing here?" she asked. there was no anger in her voice.
"it's my house. and you're supposed to be out of it soon, remember?" he replied lowly. mae walked towards him and looked him up and down.
"are you going on a date?"
eddy was silent. he could hear the pain in her voice. she just knew him too damn well and he was too predictable. his outfit must've been too obvious. he took a deep breath and sighed.
"yes."
mae just nodded and leaned against the wall, avoiding eye contact with him. she was close enough to touch and eddy could feel her pain.
"i'm sorry," she whispered. eddy shook his head.
"i know. but i don't really think it was all your fault," he sighed. "but i can't get into that now. i have to go."
"it's brett, isn't it? you're gay, right?"
eddy stared into mae's eyes in the near darkness. being asked that question, out loud and in person, was not something he'd been prepared to handle. was he gay? it would explain a lot, but he wasn't sure.
"yes, it's brett. i have to go. i'll be back," he said quickly, walking out the door before mae could say anything else. he went to his car without looking back and left the house.
heart pounding, eddy drove off. he was headed to the store to get brett flowers and tried to calm himself by thinking of the other boy's touch and the way he could never seem to sit properly in a chair. interacting with mae had freaked him out way more than he'd expected.
his nerves must've been obvious to the cashier, who asked him if he was okay immediately after their initial greetings. he'd nodded and managed a half smile.
it seemed to take hours for eddy to get back to brett's apartment, but he finally made it there, roses in hand. girls had always seemed to love flowers and he hoped that brett wouldn't be any different. he chewed on his lip as he knocked on the smaller man's door.
eddy was not prepared for how beautiful brett looked when he opened the door. long sleeves hugged his small arms and his muscular chest was visible under the button-up. his hair laid perfectly atop his head, framing his gorgeous face. his smile lit up the room when he saw eddy and the flowers.
"hey!" brett giggled excitedly, wrapping his arms around the taller boy's midsection and planting a soft kiss on his neck.
it was in that moment that eddy realized he had an answer to mae's question. yes, he was gay. he was so gay. there was absolutely no way he wasn't, not with the way brett's legs in those jeans made him feel. he almost laughed as he relaxed into brett's hug, long arms resting on small shoulders.
"hi, love," eddy said lowly. brett pulled away, still wearing his angelic smile.
"you brought me flowers!" he grinned as he took them, gently touching a few of the petals. eddy nodded.
"yeah, i was hoping you'd like them," he laughed. brett nodded, nearly jumping up and down with excitement.
"i love them! come on, let's find somewhere to put them before we go."
the two boys spent a couple of minutes roaming around brett's small kitchen looking for a glass big enough to hold the flowers. they finally found one and eddy helped the smaller man put them into it before sitting them on the table.
"thank you," brett blushed, wrapping his arms around eddy as they stood and looked at the flowers.
"it's no problem. let's go."
fingers intertwined, the two violinists walked to eddy's car and got in.
"so, where are we going?" brett asked as they pulled back onto the road. the mere sound of his voice made eddy smile.
"we're going to dinner, and that's all you get to know," he teased. brett rolled his eyes playfully and bumped eddy's shoulder with his own.
"alright, fine," he scoffed, still grinning. his smile hadn't faded since the moment eddy opened his front door.
brett stared out the window as the ride went on, trying to figure out where they were going. but he truly had no idea. eddy had stumped him and was proud of himself for it, wearing a cheeky grin as he watched the other boy's confusion increase. brett only knew that they'd reached their location when eddy pulled into the parking lot.
"eddy, i've never been here. what is this?" he frowned, looking around. eddy laughed.
"it's a restaurant, silly. you'll like it."
the taller boy grabbed brett's hand as they walked inside, not hesitating to make their relationship obvious. even though it remained nameless, they had something special and both of them were eager to show it to the world.
the inside of the restaurant was absolutely beautiful. lights hung from the ceiling and the artwork on the walls took brett's breath away. the windows were huge and glass and showcased a view of the ocean, which brett hadn't seen in too long. there were leather sofas for people to sit on while they waited for a seat, but eddy had arranged for that to be avoided.
brett didn't say a word as eddy spoke to a few employees about reservations. he looked around in wonder and clung to the taller boy's hand as they were led to their table, which sat adjacent to a very large window. empty wine glasses sat atop the white tablecloth and brett looked around at everyone and everything around him. every person in the place was beautiful and nicely dressed. the waiter took their drink orders and disappeared, leaving them alone. brett stared at eddy in awe, biting his lip.
"this is really nice, eddy. i'm.. you have no idea," brett chuckled nervously. eddy smiled at him from across the table.
"i figured it was time i showed you how you deserve to be treated," he shrugged. the smaller man's cheeks reddened and he giggled, kicking eddy's leg playfully.
"i'm so glad we met."
they talked for a few moments before the waiter returned, filling their wine glasses. eddy made a mental note to himself to arrange a way home for them before getting too drunk. he decided to text the only other person in his phone besides brett that could do anything about it.
eddy: hey, this is awkward, but i need a favor.
jamie: hey! what's up?
eddy: if i pay for you to get an uber here, can you drive brett and i back to his house in my car? may or may not have forgotten to make arrangements and ordered wine.
jamie: as if you even had to ask. just text me when to be ready. stay safe!!
it was almost too simple. eddy put his phone away (which brett hadn't even noticed him being on) and grabbed brett's hand, which rested on the table.
"hey," he said softly. brett squeezed the taller boy's fingers.
"yes?"
"you look absolutely amazing. i don't think i've told you. you're honestly breathtaking, i don't know how you do it."
to say that brett blushed would be an understatement. his entire body seemed to turn red and he avoided eye contact with eddy, giggling nervously. no one ever really complimented brett, especially not like that. it also didn't help that eddy was extremely attractive and had been nothing but a godsend since the second they'd met.
before brett could stammer a reply, their server returned to take their orders and supply them with more wine. it took the smaller man nearly five minutes to get the words out to order his food, something that made eddy smile way too hard. brett was just so flustered and it was too god damn cute for eddy's heart to handle.
after they'd ordered and the food arrived, eddy was surprised to see how much brett ate. not that he was going to judge him for it, of course, it just wasn't what he'd expected. he was also very surprised by how much brett talked.
"...anyways, he took me to this club. so gross, i hated it. i'm always telling him, you know, i don't like that shit. but he does it anyways. gets me drunk. next thing i know, i'm waking up in his bed with a bunch of texts from some stranger. i was like, oh god, what's he done.. but i didn't even kiss the guy. we just danced, and i really can't dance," he laughed, finishing his story about when jamie had taken him out a little while before he and eddy had met. eddy took in every word, analyzing the ups and downs of brett's gorgeous voice. every syllable was a new note in the symphony of his story, music like none eddy had ever heard before. it was amazing. he could listen to brett talk for hours about any topic and absolutely love it.
"you didn't kiss him? you spent all that time together without kissing?" eddy asked, voice lined with disbelief and words slurring together. he was more than a bit drunk, but it was just wine drunk. it would've been very different if not.
"i didn't want to kiss him. i don't kiss people i don't want to kiss," brett shook his head, taking the last bite of his food. eddy bit his lip.
"did you want to kiss me?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. brett smiled and nodded.
"yes. i did. i do," he answered. eddy stood up.
"good," he smiled. "you ready?"
brett took eddy's hand and they walked through the restaurant. the taller boy paid for their food and they walked outside. brett stared up at the stars and tugged on eddy's sleeve excitedly, pointing up at them.
"eddy, look! and look at the moon!" he urged, gazing at the sky in awe. the same look of admiration was mirrored in eddy's eyes as he looked at the boy next to him.
"they look beautiful, my love," eddy agreed, snaking his arms around brett's waist and kissing his cheek. brett giggled.
"you're beautiful, eddy," he said softly, leaning his head on the other boy's shoulder. eddy felt tears sting his eyes and he just laughed, shaking his head. he'd never felt so lucky.
the two of them stood on the sidewalk for a long time, staring up at the sky. it was getting late whenever eddy's phone buzzed with a text.
jamie: are u nerds done yet?
eddy read the message and laughed, showing it to brett and explaining the situation with the uber. brett thought it was hilarious and his wine drunkenness made it even funnier. he giggled until he snorted and laughed so hard he fell into eddy, barely able to breathe.
"brett," eddy laughed as he led the other boy to the car, using his phone to arrange for jamie to be picked up and brought there.
"hmm?" brett asked inbetween fits of giggles. eddy was laughing too hard to respond. they climbed into the backseat of his car and shut the doors, knowing that it was probably better to decrease the publicity of their uncontrolled laughter.
as their closeness increased, the laughter faded. they sat with their outer thighs pressing together in the backseat. brett laid his head on eddy's shoulder and intertwined their fingers, sighing contentedly. it wasn't long before eddy lifted his hand and ran his fingers through brett's hair and down his face. their mouths were aching and eddy used his hand to pull brett closer and kiss him ever so gently.
the taller boy's warm lips felt like heaven against brett's, and he proceeded to melt into eddy's feather light touch. they could still taste the alcohol on each other's lips. brett put his hands on eddy's chest and pulled him closer, almost on top of him. they kissed for a long time, slow and full of passion, before pulling away.
"i love you."
the words came out of brett's mouth before he even had time to process them. he put his hand over his face and pulled away from eddy's warm embrace, cheeks burning with embarrassment. apologies being spewing out of him at a rapid rate before eddy even said anything.
"fuck, eddy, i'm so sorry, i didn't mean to—"
"i love you, too."
the response from eddy was slow and simple. the words felt so heavy, as did their bodies, and they knew that they'd have to talk about it sooner or later. but they preferred later.
"you do?" brett whispered, settling back into eddy's hug and leaning into the warm kisses being planted on his neck.
"yes."
relief washed over brett and he exhaled shakily, wrapping his arms around eddy's neck as his lips continued to move along the shorter boy's skin. he finally raised his head to kiss brett's lips again and they stayed like that for what felt like hours, but was really only about ten minutes. eddy ended up on top of brett in the backseat of the car, their bodies impossibly entangled in each other. eddy's hands were under brett's shirt when his phone rang, startling both of them.
"hello?" he answered, voice raspy and low. brett stared up at him, his drunken brain completely mystified by the beautiful sound of eddy's voice.
"hey, love, i'm here. where are you parked?" jamie's voice came through the phone. brett perked up as soon as he heard it.
eddy explained where they were and jamie quickly found the car, climbing into the driver's seat. the keys laid in the floorboard and he grabbed them, shaking his head.
"hey, lovelies. you two look like you've been having fun," the man chuckled, looking at the two boys' swollen lips and dazed expressions. brett giggled and sat up, climbing into eddy's lap.
"we have been," he nodded, resting his head on the taller boy's shoulder. jamie rolled his eyes playfully.
"that's great, baby. put on your seatbelts so i can get you losers home," he teased. the two in the backseat nodded and managed to get buckled up, still sitting abnormally close to each other.
the drive home was silent except for the sound of brett giggling and eddy laughing and shushing him. jamie smiled the whole way, relishing brett's happiness and the fact that he was finally getting the love and attention he deserved from someone who deserved it back. he glanced in the mirror every few minutes to see the two of them either kissing or whispering in each other's ears. they were like two high school kids who were both in their first relationship and didn't know how to not be all over each other yet.
when they made it back to brett's apartment, jamie turned off the car and turned around. neither of the boys in the backseat had noticed that they'd stopped and remained lost in each other. eddy was holding brett extremely close and had his eyes shut, rubbing the smaller boy's back gently. brett's entire face was buried in eddy's neck and his arms were wrapped tightly around his waist.
"hey, lovebirds, it's time to get out of the car," jamie chuckled. both of them looked startled and annoyed when they had to pull away, but their smiles returned when their hands found each other during the walk to the front door.
"thank you," eddy said to jamie as he walked them inside. jamie nodded.
"it's no problem. do you need me to stay the night?" he asked. eddy shook his head.
"no, you don't have to do that. we're good," he grinned. jamie nodded again and hugged both of them tightly before saying his goodbyes. eddy paid for an uber to take him home.
as soon as the door to brett's apartment closed, he wrapped himself around eddy and refused to let go. neither of them said anything as they walked to the bedroom; they didn't have to. they climbed into brett's bed and re-entangled themselves in each other, sighing contentedly. their drunken kisses became increasingly spaced out as sleepiness took over their brains, pulling them farther apart and yet impossibly closer. they laid there until they fell asleep, arms slung lazily across each other's bodies.