Strangers in the night

A/N: Well, here’s the tenth chapter of SitN! XD I hope the wait hasn’t been too hard on all of you. X3

As of this update, I’ve decided to update my stories in cycles. Meaning, after I post this, the next story to update will be Cat Scratch Fever, and the next update after that will be Love and Life, Reborn, then the cycle starts over with SitN.

I can’t give you guys exact dates of when the updates will be, but it should give you some idea of what to expect. =3

Anyway, thanks to all 2200+ of you that have read the story! =D

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 Chapter Ten

Even as Jamie went into the elevator, the heat that had risen to his face refused to go away. As he tried to think of anything besides what he had just seen, there was only one thing his brain wanted to think about:

‘I saw Travis naked, I saw Travis naked, I saw Travis naked...’ And his body liked what it saw.

Scowling as the elevator dinged, he forced himself to think of something, anything to kill the ridiculous urge to go back home and tear off Travis’ clothes. He even resorted to imagining Valerie in the nude.

‘Okay, ew.’

It did the trick, Jamie almost regretting having to envision someone who was practically his sister in nothing but her birthday suit, but he was seconds from standing in front of her door and he didn’t want to have a partial hard-on. Desperate times called for desperate measures, after all. He didn’t even want to think about the teasing he would have gotten from either of his friends if they saw that he was having trouble walking upright.

Finally reaching his destination, Jamie hesitated in front of the wooden barrier between him and the whirlwind of female hormones that was Valerie. As much as he dreaded the thought of losing his friends because of his choices in the past, he couldn’t just run away. He had no doubt that Valerie would follow through on her threat to go around the building asking for him. He couldn’t trust Travis to lie and tell her he didn’t live with the brunet, the taller man being far too honest.

Jamie swallowed thickly as he knocked on the door. If he could tell his deepest secret to Travis, someone who was practically a stranger, then he could tell his friends.

At least, he hoped he could. Without losing them, anyway.

The door opened, Evan looking down at Jamie with a small half-smile gracing full lips that Jamie remembered all too well. There was a time, long ago, when the raven thought he had a crush on the aspiring artist and writer, but the dream died when he found out Evan was straight as an arrow and loved Valerie since the fifth grade. Then Baron came and all his hopes of finding love the way they had turned to dust altogether.

“Hey,” said Evan, “I’m surprised you came so soon.” He moved to let Jamie in.

“Yes, well,” said the raven, “I figured I had better get this over with.” He gave Evan a small smile to indicate that he was only kidding as he walked past the artist. Numerous cardboard boxes met him, the living room walls nearly covered with them. The apartment was similar to the one he shared with Travis, the noises from behind telling him that Valerie was up to something in the kitchen. “Ev, honey,” he heard her say, “where’d I put the teapot?”

“Didn’t you put it with the rest of the kitchen stuff?” Evan went to help his girlfriend hunt for the elusive teapot as Jamie went to sit on the couch in the living room, not needing any invitation from either one of his friends. He sank into the comfortable couch with an imperceptible groan, taking in his surroundings as he listened to the commotion in the kitchen with half an ear.

There was a TV in an entertainment center in front of him, screen dark and looking as though it wasn’t even plugged in yet. On either side of it were boxes marked with “stereo equipment” in Evan’s elegant scrawl. A few, smaller boxes had “art pieces: Fragile!” written in Valerie’s hand.

Valerie was a sculptress, among other things, capable of making almost anything out of clay and bringing it to life with glaze and fire. Her Asian-style dragons were exceptional, one of the best she had ever made (at least, according to her) was a gift to Jamie on his eighteenth birthday, the dragon making its home on a shelf above his computer.

“Finally!” Jamie snapped out of his reverie at Valerie’s exclamation, making him turn his head to see her holding a round, powder blue teapot above her head in triumph. As though sensing his gaze, she turned towards him and said, “Now we can have some nice jasmine tea while we talk.” Smiling, she turned her back once again to start the water, unaware of the apprehension in her wayward friend’s eyes.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Travis was stunned. Beyond stunned, really. More like mortified. Jamie had left a while ago, but he hadn’t moved from the spot where Jamie left him, his face so beet red Travis had a feeling he would have been mistaken for a lobster if he went out in public. That was, if his legs ever felt like cooperating.

And it wasn’t just that he’d accidentally flashed his roommate that was bothering him, there was something else, too. It was the look in Jamie’s eyes before Travis spoke to him. He could see so many things going on behind the silver-rimmed glasses, the main thing was that Jamie seemed torn. He had gone pale, though his eyes spoke differently, like he wanted to run from the room for some reason, yet storm inside and give Travis a piece of his mind for such indecency. There was another thing, as well...

Hunger. There was a ravenous look in Jamie’s eyes that Travis wasn’t sure he liked. One that he had seen in other stranger’s eyes whenever he went to the bar. The look of appraisal when somebody was checking him out, like he was a piece of meat that they couldn’t wait to sink their teeth into. That was what he had seen in Jamie’s eyes and that was why he was still paralyzed. He didn’t think he‘d ever see something so...primal in Jamie, who always seemed to be cultured and intelligent, and it kind of scared him.

Oddly enough, it was arousing, too.

Memories of one particular dream came to his mind, the one with him handcuffed to the bed and a certain raven, dressed in nothing but knee-high black leather boots and matching collar, thrusting harshly into Travis’ virgin hole and hitting the same sweet spot again and again, a dream that made the brunet shiver with arousal and apprehension all at the same time.

Travis tried to force the image out of his mind. He was getting hard and he was expecting company. Don, of all people. He tried to take slow, deep breaths as he thought unsexy thoughts, but one thing kept popping in: ‘Jamie saw me naked, Jamie saw me naked.’ There was a knock at the door and Travis jerked, as though his body was having trouble moving from the spot he was rooted to.

“Yo! T!” he heard Don call out. “You home, bud?”

Finally, with small, halting steps, Travis made it to the door, one last thought of ‘Jamie saw me naked’ passing through his mind before letting his friend in. “Hey, D.” Travis said, trying his best to act normal. “Sorry about that. I was kinda busy...”

“No problem...” Don went into the living room, not missing the obvious discomfort the other man was in, as well as the slight blush. Travis had always worn his heart on his sleeve, as easy to read as an open book. As he got to the couch, he held up the plastic bag he was holding, saying, “Mom sent these fancy cookies. She sent some for you and says ‘hi’.” He noticed how it took Travis a little longer than usual to answer, as though he was distracted. Something was definitely up. “Dude, you okay?”

Travis answered with a small “huh?” before quickly saying, “Yeah! Of course I’m fine. What gave you the idea something was wrong?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe it was that you were wearing the same face you had when I found your nudie mag stash. All embarrassed and stuff.”

Travis cast his eyes to the side as his blush deepened, his hand rubbing the back of his head in a nervous movement that had been a habit of his for as long as Don could remember. “Is it that obvious?” asked the brunet in a small voice.

“Dude, it always is.” Don waited until they were both sitting on the couch before saying, “Talk to me, man. You haven’t been quite right since that Jamie kid came to live here.” He’d met Travis’ new roommate all of once since he’d moved in, and aside from being a little cold, Don thought he was an otherwise okay guy.

Travis sighed, leaning back against the couch and throwing an arm across his eyes. “I think I did something unforgivable, Don.” After a moment of stunned silence on the blonde’s part, Travis said, “I... I accidentally flashed Jamie.”

After more stunned silence, Don asked, “That’s it?” He knew that his friend was somewhat shy and very modest when it came to his assets, but something that was accidental didn’t deserve this level of embarrassment, was it?

“You didn’t see the look in his eyes!” Travis exclaimed, sitting bolt upright, eyes wide. “He looked like he wanted to run away screaming, cuss me out for running around in front of him in my birthday suit and jump my bones all at the same time! It’s the ‘jump my bones’ part that’s really got me all worked up...”

“Doesn’t that mean he’s interested?” Don asked. “I thought you liked him, too.”

“I don’t-! I mean...” Travis sighed and shook his head. “I guess I kind of like him, but...” He chewed on the corner of his bottom lip before he said, “He...kind of told me that he was coming off a bad relationship. I do like him, but I don’t want him to think that I’m just getting him on the rebound, you know?”

Don nodded. He could sympathize with that, his own relationship with his girlfriend Annie only coming to be after she dumped some ingrate that had thought she was just a hot body. He couldn’t keep up with her mind, so he ran around with bubble-headed chicks behind Annie’s back. She had been devastated when she found out, but by then she had met him and they were slowly becoming friends.

It took a while, almost half a year, but his patience was rewarded when the most beautiful girl in the world said she’d go steady with him.

“You’re thinking about Annie, aren’t you?” When he saw the love-struck grin slowly spreading across his friend’s face, Travis couldn’t help but comment. Mr. Perceptive had probably already guessed, but he was a little jealous of what he and Annie had. Theirs was a bond that wouldn’t be broken by outside forces, and Don had confessed that only Annie could tell him to leave, since he had no intention of dumping her first.

Travis wanted that kind of devotion, and someone he could devote himself to at the same time.

After a small moment of silence, Don said, “You know... You could do what I did.”

“You mean win over Jamie slowly and subtly?” Travis asked as he raised an eyebrow. “That would only work if he wants another relationship. He was under this guy’s thumb for a long time. I’m not sure if he wants to risk getting into another dead-end relationship.”

“Maybe,” Don said almost slyly, “but this is you we’re talking about.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you wouldn’t let him down, would you? You’re a good...no, great guy. You’d try your best to be everything he wants.”

“But...” Travis cast his eyes down like a dejected puppy. “Nathan told me I tried too hard...”

Don felt his mood sour. His friend was referring to the last person he dated, another ingrate that couldn’t appreciate what he had, in this case the complete loyalty and faithfulness of Travis. “Well,” Don said, a little bit of his anger showing in his tone, “Nathan was wrong, you didn’t try too hard.

“Look, let’s forget about him. Right now, we need to figure out how to get you in Jamie’s pants.” Don took put his best friend in a headlock as the brunet sputtered in indignation, ruffling already messy locks as he laughed. Travis tried to break free even as he started to laugh himself. He could always count on his buddy to cheer him up, even if he didn’t like how Don went about it.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Jamie was trembling. It hadn’t been that long since he finally cracked under Valerie’s gentle prodding, but it felt like it had been an eternity since the dam broke and he began to tell his friends everything about Baron. He had ranted and raved, gesticulating wildly as he paced around the living room and probably looking half-mad as he relived his years with Baron, but once he started he couldn’t stop, and his friends didn’t even try. They knew he needed to release the suffocating burden that he had shouldered, if only a little.

Now, he was sitting on the couch, his face buried in Valerie’s shoulder as he struggled to hold in his sobs, which was difficult since he hadn’t had such an overwhelming urge to cry since his mother passed away when he was young. Valerie wasn’t helping, either, holding him in place with one hand on the back on his neck as the other rubbed soothing circles on his shoulder, making small shushing sounds interspersed with words of comfort like “it’s okay” and “go ahead and cry, I’m right here.”

Evan, meanwhile, was sitting on the couch as well, sitting in such a way that Jamie was between him and Valerie, yet he wasn’t helping his girlfriend comfort the shorter raven. His arms were crossed across his chest, his gaze fixed on nothing as he faced forward, an angry scowl marring his handsome face. He wasn’t normally the vindictive type, but after everything Jamie had said about his tormentor, he was wondering if it was possible to drag someone out of Hell just to kick their ass and send them right back. Valerie gave him a look from over Jamie’s head, one that told him she shared his sentiments and then some, her mothering instinct making her protective of the man that was the brother she never had.

No wonder Jamie never told them. They would have killed Baron and gone to jail, just to protect him.

Evan scooted closer, his side practically melding to Jamie’s back as he reached across the back of the couch. His closeness caused Jamie to turn his head to look over his shoulder, his red-rimmed eyes meeting Evan’s. Evan gave him a smile, which only confused Jamie. After a small sniffle, Jamie tried one more time to break free from Valerie’s grasp. Unsuccessful, Jamie voice was muffled by her shoulder as he asked, “You guys aren’t mad?” He hated how he sounded like a child, but his throat felt too tight to say anything else.

Valerie was the first to answer. “Of course not! Why would we be mad at you? That Baron jerk is the one we should be mad at, but he won’t be bothering you any more.” She finally let go of his neck, letting him look up at her properly. He only saw a sincere, if a little sad, smile on her face. Turning to sit facing the TV, he felt Evan move to give him space. Looking to his other friend, Jamie only saw the same expression on the taller raven’s face.

Jamie couldn’t believe it. They weren’t angry with him. They weren’t disgusted and calling him a whore. They were still his friends, even after everything Baron had force him to endure.

He couldn’t help but smile as more tears burned at the corners of his eyes. He rubbed them with the knuckles of one hand as he leaned forward to get his glasses off the coffee table. Valerie threw an arm around his shoulders when he straightened his back, Evan doing the same. “So...” she said with a devious smile crossing her face. “Tell me more about this Travis person.”

“Huh?” Dumbstruck, Jamie gaped at her as he wondered when he had told her about him.

Correctly interpreting her friend’s unasked question, she said, “While you went on your little tirade, you mentioned someone named Travis. You called him ‘that nosy, sex god wannabe.’ “ Her smile became absolutely treacherous as he reddened, his brow knitting as he frowned.

He knew that smile. It was the one she got when she saw a matchmaking opportunity.

“He’s my roommate,” he answered tersely.

“So? I still want to know more about him. If he’s going to live with you, I have to approve of him, first.”

He opened his mouth to tell her that he was going to live with the brunet no matter what she said, but he closed it just as quickly. He knew how those words would be interpreted in her fangirlish brain, and it would only serve to spur her on.

Sighing, he gave in, knowing it was impossible to argue with her.

Even as he did so, he was glad to have his friends back and here with him.

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TBC...............................