Chapter Two
Late morning sunlight nearly blinds Sand as he blearily opens his eyes. It takes Sand a moment to realize where he is- the bed he’s currently lying in is bigger and nicer than his own at home. The floor to ceiling windows and expensive furniture also isn’t Sand’s. Then the events of last night, the text from Mew and deciding to have sex with Top, comes crashing down.
“Oh fuck.” Sand whispers, his voice horse from all the yelling that took place last night. The soreness and bruises make themselves known as Sand carefully disentangles himself from Top’s tight grip and slides out of those silk sheets the man is so proud of.
Thank god that Top is still asleep, because Sand does not want to have any kind of conversation or confrontation with him. Instead Sand tiptoes through the apartment, pulling on his clothes as he goes, and presses the button for the elevator, which lets out a soft ding as the doors open immediately. Living in a penthouse with its own private elevator has its perks.
It’s as the elevator doors are opening onto the parking garage that Sand realizes that Top drove them there and Sand’s bike is currently chilling in Yo’s parking lot. This gives plenty of time for Sand to curse his own stupidity as he waits for his ride share. Sand opts to spend a little extra for a car, because his ass will not take riding a motorcycle back to the apartment. The driver raises a brow at Sand’s disheveled hair, bruised neck and the inside out t-shirt and Sand avoids the drivers eye until he can hurriedly jump out once they reach Sand’s apartment.
His hopes of Nick being gone or still asleep are dashed when Sand unlocks the apartment door and slips inside, plans of showering and changing before his friend could see him dashed as Nick pops out of the kitchen.
“Good morning!” Nick says cheerfully as he too takes in Sand’s disheveled appearance. “How was your night?”
Sand’s one saving grace is that it looks like Boston hadn’t spent the night. “Fine.”
“Oh, just fine? Was the sex that bad?” Nick’s eyes swirl with mirth as he rushes into the hall to block Sand’s way. “So who was it?”
Sand desperately craves a shower and knows, unfortunately given Boston and Top’s weird little friendship, that Nick will find the truth out sooner rather than later. “Top.”
Nick cocks his head to the side and his mouth opens and closes a few times before he finds his voice. “I’m sorry did you just say Top? Asshole-you-can’t-stand-Top? That Top?”
“You don’t like him either.” Sand retorts.
“That’s not the point. Why the hell did you have sex with Top? You hate his guts.” Nick’s eyes travel over Sand once more, retaking in the hickey’s adorning Sand’s neck.
“Mew texted me last night. Ray’s getting out of rehab at the end of the month.” Sand swallows against a sudden stab of fear in his gut. “I just…I needed to take my mind off things.”
Nick’s face had darkened at Ray’s name. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Nick, I just overreacted. There’s no reason to worry.” Sand tries to reassure. He really does want that shower.
“I am worried. Once Ray gets out of rehab the first place he’s going to go is either a bar or our apartment. He lost his shit at the hospital when you broke up with him, before his dad shoved him in that rehab program. He’s going to want to get back together.” Nick’s hands clenched into fists at the memory.
Sand feels exhausted, as if he ran from Top’s place back home. His whole body is sore, he smells like booze and stale sex, and he’s dehydrated. The fact that Ray will try and barge back into his life isn’t something he needs to be reminded of. And Nick might be wrong; maybe rehab will stick this time and Ray will finally leave Sand alone. “I’m going to shower.”
Sand pushes forward and locks the bathroom door behind him when Nick calls out Sand’s name. Sand throws the shower on, peels out of his dirty clothes, and steps under the hot stream of water, letting the water wash away all Sand’s worries. He remembers last night, Top’s lips on his, Top’s hands against his skin, Top fucking into Sand hard like Sand wanted. If Sand is being honest, the sex had been phenomenal. Top may be an asshole but he did know how to fuck. And the sex had worked, for a time. Sand forgot all about Ray and the whole tangle of problems his ex-boyfriend represented. Now, though, Sand is alone in a shower, with nothing to keep him company but his worries.