Chapter Four
This time it’s Sand who wakes up alone. The sun is streaming through the windows and Sand’s legs are tangled in Top’s expensive sheets and the sound of cooking is coming from Top’s magazine worthy kitchen.
Sand crawls out of bed and pulls on his clothes before leaving the bedroom and following the smell of bacon and eggs to the open-concept kitchen. Top is busy plating the finished food and grins up at Sand as he sets two full plates on the kitchen island.
Sand hesitates for a moment before his hollow and growling stomach draws him forward and he finds himself sitting next to Top at a marble island, digging into a decently prepared plate of scrambled eggs.
“Is it good?” Top smirks as Sand digs his way through the food.
“Surprisingly so. My experience with spoiled rich boys led me to believe you as a species couldn’t cook.” Sand says.
“Do you know a lot of rich boys?” Top teases. Sand freezes with a forkful of egg halfway to his mouth, realizing he, however indirectly, talked about Ray. Top takes the awkward beat in stride as Sand puts his fork down and instead takes a deep drink of the orange juice. “I’m glad you like it.”
Sand hums. Now that the food is almost gone and his stomach is full, Sand is feeling awkward. His whole body is sore, his throat aches, and he’s having breakfast with a guy he can’t stand. Not that…Top is all that bad. The sex had been phenomenal and the breakfast, unexpected as it is, is good. Sand remembers that first night, when he had been about to leave and Top asked, pleaded, with him to stay. He had been about to refuse until he saw the look in Top’s eyes- fear. Top didn’t want to be alone at night.
So Sand had stayed and fallen asleep in the arms of the asshole he followed home and wasn’t nearly as opposed to round two last night as he seemed. It didn’t have to mean anything. Just because the sex is good didn’t mean he and Top had to be friends. Odds are that Boston and Nick are on the way to breaking up for the millionth time and Sand won’t have to deal with Top until Nick and Boston get back together after a few weeks of sulking apart.
It didn’t matter that Top is good at sex, or that he can read what Sand wants, needs. So what if Top can make a good breakfast or that he was calm and commanding in a way that eased Sand’s frazzled nerves. It didn’t have to mean anything.
“Do you want to go on a date with me?” Top asks before Sand can push away from the island and escape the apartment and his own confused feelings.
“What?” Sand tells his heart to calm the fuck down.
“Do you want to go out with me? I know this western-style burger joint I think you’d like.” Top’s gaze is steady against Sand’s swirling thoughts.
“You. Want to go on a date. With me?” Sand asks again.
Top gives him that trademark asshole smirk. “Yes, I do.”
Sand runs through a few responses in his head but the truth is he isn’t sure what he wants to do. “Why?”
Top lets a slow smile spread across his annoyingly handsome face. “Besides the fact you’re hot as all hell and a good fuck? I like you Sand and I want to show you a good time.”
“But we can’t stand each other.” And it was true, until about five minutes ago.
“The beauty of hating each other from the start is we already know the other person's worst qualities. I want to learn all the best things about you.” Top reaches forward and runs a hand through Sand’s disheveled hair. “Let me take you out.”
Sand feels a creep of panic along his spine. It’s stupid, really, to compare Top and Ray. Besides the fact both of them are rich, the similarities ended there. Ray had been all wildfire and impulsiveness; Top is cool and collected. But Sand hadn’t dated anyone since Ray…which means Top might be perfect- everyone knew the man couldn’t stay in a relationship longer than three months. Sand can get his head back in the dating game, forget about Ray getting out of rehab, and get some fantastic sex in the process.
“Yeah, alright.” Sand brushes Top’s hand out of his hair. “Let's see how long this lasts.”
Top hadn’t wanted to wait a week to have a more traditional Friday or Saturday night date and Sand is busy Monday and Tuesday, so Top rocks up to knock on Sand’s door at 6pm on a Wednesday night to take Sand out on a proper date.
Truth be told he expected Sand to laugh in his face that Sunday morning when Top asked him out. Instead Sand had agreed, after a period of confusion and deep introspection, to let a guy he proclaimed to be the biggest douchebag on the planet take him on a date.
Top knocks on the door and is only half surprised when Nick answers. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Nick’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What are you doing here? Did Boston invite you?”
Top lets out a little chuckle. “I’m here for Sand.”
It takes a moment for Nick to put the pieces together. “You’re Sand’s date?”
“Guess Sand wanted it to be a surprise.” Top wonders why Sand hadn’t told his best friend who his date is for the night.
Nick opens his mouth to retort but is interrupted by the arrival of Sand, dressed as he usually is in sinfully tight jeans, vintage t-shirt and leather jacket. Top had always appreciated Sand’s style (and that amazing body) but licks his lips at the sight of Sand now the two of them are going on a date.
“I’ll be back later.” Sand says to Nick as he grabs Top’s hand and drags them out of the apartment and closes the door before Nick can protest.
“Any reason you didn’t tell him I was your date?” Top wonders if Sand is ashamed.
“Because he would have tried to talk me out of it. He doesn’t really like you either.” Sand says as he drags Top down the stairs.
“Nick seemed a little upset I was there for you.” Top remembers the look on Nick’s face when he realized Top was there for Sand. They reach the parking lot and Sand lets go of Top’s wrist as Top leads them toward his car.
“He just…had a fight with Boston, is all.” Sand replies, worrying at his lower lip.
Which doesn’t make sense, as Nick assumed he was there to hang out with Boston and Boston would only be at Nick's apartment if things were going good. But they reach Top’s car and Top wants to wipe the look of faraway worry off Sand’s face. “That explains it.”
Sand is silent as the two climb into the car and Top drives them to Heart Burger, the old-timey, western-style burger joint Top likes to eat at. The silence remains as they snag a booth, order their burgers and wait for their food to arrive.
Top isn’t sure what to do. Most of the people he goes out with are already into Top; he isn’t sure how to start a conversation going with someone he doesn’t know well and never got along with until a few days ago, when they started having sex.
Sand is looking around at the red booths and checkerboard floor with interest. “How did you find this place?”
“There was a club opening last year that my friends and I went to. Afterward we were drunk and hungry and this was the only place still open. Even drunk I knew the burgers were good and came back the next day for lunch.” Top remembers the burgers tasted like heaven to his alcohol riddled mind.
After that, in fits and starts, through their orders arriving, Top and Sand start to talk. And they do have some things in common- they both like horror movies and American tv shows, both like graphic novels and indie music, although Sand’s true musical love is classic rock. Top finds out that Sand is studying music in college (no shock there) and is starting to sell his own brand of alcohol now that the new law passed. Apparently he actually liked making alcohol but it’s only a way to make money while he does shows with his bands and travels the country going to music festivals.
“There are all these international music festivals I want to go to but I have to save up for those; it’s a lot more expensive once you leave Thailand.” Sand has finished his food and is sipping at his drink.
Top tempers the urge to offer to fly Sand anywhere he wants to go this very moment. “Have you ever played at a festival?”
Sand shakes his head. “Not yet. My band mostly plays at bars.”
“That’s where I first saw you, you know. At Yo’s, right before Nick introduced us.” Top admits.
“Oh yeah?” Sand smirks.
“Mhm. You were between sets and you came over to the table in those tight jeans, looking like sex itself. And when Nick introduced us you didn’t even acknowledge my existence. It made me so mad…and so hard.” Top has to remind himself they are in a restaurant and he can’t fuck Sand against the nearest surface.
Sand runs his thumb through the condensation on his glass before bringing his thumb to his mouth and licking the moisture away. “If it helps, I thought you were hot too.”
That certainly does help. Top pays the bill and the two of them walk back to the car. The drive to Top’s apartment (not Sand’s- neither want to end their first date under Nick’s watchful gaze) is for once not quiet. Sand sings along to the radio, voice lilting, as his hand traces a path slowly up and down Top’s inner thigh.
Top does his best to keep all his concentration on the road. The drive to his apartment seems to take twice as long, the elevator slow enough that Top wants to call the building manager and complain. Sand is a warm presence at his side as the elevators open into the apartment. He takes Top’s hand and leads him into the bedroom.
The air feels charged. The other times they had sex had been heavy and fast. Sand trails his hands along Top’s arms and chest, unbuttoning his shirt and letting it fall to the ground. He reaches down and unbuttons and unzips Top’s jeans and Top obligingly step out of them as they pool around his feet. Sand leans forward, kisses Top’s chest, licks his way to bite at Top’s nipples, trails his tongue down Top’s abs.
Top is panting and hard by the time Sand kneels down before him, dragging Top’s underwear down to be kicked aside. Top is hard and aching when Sand takes Top in his mouth. Top gasps as Sand swallows Top down, humming around Top’s dick in his mouth. Top and groans as he fists his hands in Sand’s hair, pulling Sand closer and closer. Sand’s mouth is warm and wet around Top and Top feels his orgasm building up as Sand sucks like his life depends on it. When Top’s orgasm hits he pulls out of Sand’s mouth and comes all over the floor, not knowing if Sand would appreciate having his face being covered in come.
After that they go on more dates and they have lunch together at their shared University and Top is enjoying himself more than he thought. He and Sand get alone astonishingly well, having some shared interest and a sarcastic sense of humor that develops into much appreciated sexy banter that has Boston rolling his eyes the one time he’s subjected to it.
It’s a Friday night, a few weeks after they start dating, when Top shows up at Sand’s apartment to pick him up for another date. There’s a new horror movie out that both Top and Sand want to watch and Top is looking forward to sitting in a dark theater next to Sand before the two inevitably end up entwined together in Top’s king sized bed.
The door, like that first night, is opened by Nick. “You’re early, Sand is still in the shower.”
“I must be over excited then.” Top takes a seat on the couch to wait for Sand.
Nick hesitates a moment before he takes a seat in the chair sitting next to the couch. “Listen, I want to talk to you.”
Top is immediately on edge at Nick’s serious tone. “What is it? Is Sand alright?”
Nick seems surprised by the question. “Sand is fine. In fact, he’s really looking forward to this date.”
Top smiles as his heart gives a little flutter of excitement. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Nick sighs, checks the hallway to make sure Sand is still in the shower, before turning back to Top. “It really should be Sand telling you this, and I know he won’t, and now you two are actually semi-serious I think you should know-”
“Know what?” Top is getting annoyed by Nick’s ramblings. Does Nick want to stop he and Sand from dating? Sand always talked about how overprotective Nick is.
“...Sand never saw it as abuse.” Nick rushes out and Top freezes. “He was dating someone before you, Ray, who was…an alcoholic. Ray couldn’t go more than a few hours without a drink. At first it was fine; Ray was always the life of the party and he practically worshiped the ground Sand walked on. But then, as the relationship got more serious, Ray started to get worse. A lot worse. Not just the drinking but he got jealous and possessive. Started pushing Sand around, screaming at him, calling him a whore. And Ray was on the smaller side but Sand never fought back, not when Ray shoved him to the ground or into walls or when Ray started to hit him. Sand’s mom and I begged Sand to leave Ray but Sand never would. He loved Ray too much. Until…”
Nick pauses and Top feels sick. He never knew this about Sand and Sand never really talked about his past relationships. And call Top an asshole all you want but he never hit any of his boyfriends before. “What happened?”
Nick sighs again, a glint of tears in his eyes. “Ray was drunk again and got behind the wheel to drive home. Sand tried to stop him but Ray wouldn’t listen so Sand got in the car with him. They ended up wrapped around a tree. Ray was fine, just a few cuts and bruises, but Sand had a nasty concussion and a broken rib. They were kept separate, at the hospital, but Ray somehow found out where Sand was and barged into the room, crying and begging Sand to forgive him. At that point I was there, the hospital called me as Sand’s emergency contact, and Sand couldn’t even look at Ray, broke up with him then and there after a year of us begging him to.”
“And then?” Top hates this mysterious Ray with all his heart.
“Ray fucking lost it. Shouting and screaming that Sand couldn’t break up with him, that he loved Sand more than anything. It took hospital security to drag Ray out of the room. By rights he should be rotting in jail but Ray’s dad is rich and worked something out with the police. Extended stay in some fancy rehab facility and Ray’s dad payed for all of Sand’s hospital bills.”
Top swallows against a dry throat. “Why are you telling me this?”
Nick leans forward and meets Top’s gaze. “Because I don’t want you to hurt Sand. Ray’s getting out of rehab in less than two weeks and he’s going to come here to find Sand. The last thing Sand needs when that happens is another spoiled rich boy hanging around who’s just going to hurt him.”
“I don’t want to hurt him.” Top keeps his gaze steady. And he doesn’t. He wants to make Sand happy.
Nick opens his mouth to say more but closes it with a snap as Sand, freshly showered, arrives in the hallway and makes his way into the living room. He looks the same sinful way as always, trademark jacket and graphic t-shirt and Top drinks in the sight of him. Sand had always been so self-composed and confident, with no hint that at one point the person who was supposed to love him the most had hurt him so badly. Top decides to wait to talk about what Nick just told him with Sand, wanting the relationship to settle more before even attempting that minefield.
Top feels Nick’s gaze on his back as he stands up and kisses Sand. “Are you ready?”
Sand chuckles and sends a cheeky wave at Nick. “Don’t wait up.”