Enduring

9

I lay on the couch, pale early morning light streaming through the window. Cal sits on the other end, my ankles resting in his lap, the fingers of one hand drumming on my leg. It's quiet, both of us too absorbed in our respective activities to break the comfy silence. Cal scribbles something in his notebook-- I assume he's writing a song-- and I scroll down a bit further in the story on my phone.

Isn't this the dream, Seymour? You, a hot guy, a casual morning snuggle? The only thing missing is the sex... I sigh softly, and hope Cal doesn't hear. Our respectful contact only clause is holding well, though it may be difficult. This is the second time he's spent the night at my house in the past week, and, though there have been some tense moments, things have been pretty peaceful. God bless him. He doesn't interrupt me when I'm reading. We can sit here and not talk, and be perfectly fine. Bless his soul.

Cal taps my ankle twice, quickly, smiling at me. I grin back, and we spend a warm heartbeat looking at one another. Damn. Look at his little face. So cute. So good. Too quickly, he looks away to write something else, and I return to reading. The smell of too strong coffee fills the room, and I hear Cal snort.

"You forgot to count how much coffee you put in, didn't you?" He has a smug little smirk on his face. He isn't wrong... But. Rude.

"... shut up."

"You know, after that mess with the waffles, I figured you'd be more careful," he trails off, a teasing glint in his eye.

I bounce my ankles on his upper thigh, eyebrow raised, pointedly not looking at him. "I'm sorry, whose crotch is this, so within kicking distance?" When he doesn't respond immediately, I glance up. Cal is now grinning, shoulders pulled up, expression a mixture of apologetic and sheepish. "That's what I thought."

A bit more honey roasted quiet. The coffee smell gets stronger, and I pull myself into a sitting position. "It's gonna beep soon. You want any?"

Cal hesitates, then makes an exaggeratedly thoughtful face. "I dunno... It might be more like motor oil than coffee at this point..."

I smack his arm. "Brat." I push myself off of the couch, adding, "If I can drink it black, it's not gonna kill you." I hear Cal following behind me, muttering that there's no way I can. Oh, really? Watch me. "Bet. If I can drink a whole cup black, you have to watch Lord of the Rings with me. The whole thing."

Cal makes a face. "Ugh. You and your nerd stuff," he pouts. What a puppy dog. Then, a sudden mischievous grin, nearly a smirk. Or a wolf. Quite probably a wolf. "If you can't, we get to do whatever I want for an evening."

Foreboding. Not sure if I can trust that... But, then again, knowing him, it'll probably be fun. Don't overthink it. "Deal."

Cal spits into his his palm and sticks his hand out. What the...? A spit shake? Eugh. "Oh, c'mon. It's not real without a handshake."

Damn. There goes my fail safe for in case he won. "Is the spit necessary?"

Cal snickers, murmurs, "You've done worse, babe. You and I both know it."

Low blow. How dare he? I grimace. "Don't remind me." Begrudgingly, I lick my own hand and slap it against his. "There. Now, coffee time."

Cal nods, seemingly appeased, and follows me the rest of the way to the kitchen. No sweat. This is gonna be fine. It's just coffee. The coffee pot is filled with a sludge the blackest I've ever seen in real life.

Cal picks it up, swishes it around. "That's some Monsters Inc. shit, Seymour. How much coffee is even in here?"

I don't know. I was too busy watching you put your hair up, and water your plants, and just generally be shirtless. That took, what, three minutes? Five? "I have no idea. I wasn't paying attention." I step around him to grab a mug, popping up on my toes a bit. "But it's whatever. It'll just be real strong. Like an espresso or something."

"This coffee could bench me. That's how strong it is." Cal watches me pour it into the mug warily. "Listen. How about we just throw it out, call off the bet, and binge some Netflix?"

Ha. The poor boy thinks I would admit defeat. Never. "Oh, why? You think you'll lose the bet?"

Cal rolls his eyes. "As if. I just don't want you spitting coffee all over the place."

"Please." I lift the mug to my mouth, and Cal makes a sound somewhere in between a squeal and a shout. I raise an eyebrow at him.

"You aren't adding any sugar?" Cal is worrying his hands, looking a bit apprehensive and awestruck. I smile at him sweetly.

I am a badass manly man. I eat nails for breakfast and drink the blood of my enemies with every meal. I don't need sugar, goodness. "Sugar is for the weak." With that, I tilt the mug back.

Oh, that's not too ba- Oh, shit! That's freaking disgusting, ew, ew, ew. Okay. Don't make a face don't make a face don't make a face. You are strong and you are not losing this bet. Stone faced, or at least I hope so, I take another swig.

Cal stares at me with wide, starry eyes, full lips slightly parted in an almost gasp. "You aren't dying?" He pokes my cheek, and I bite my lip to hide a smile. "How?"

I poke out my tongue slightly, smiling. "I'm awesome, that's how." I take another tar filled sip and try not to show that my eyes are full of tears.

"Speaking of how awesome you are..." Cal puts on a face he knows I can't resist, a pleading, coy look. "My moms is having a dinner soon, and she wants to meet you."

His mom wants to meet me? He wants me to meet her? Is this serious? Are we serious? Is he out? What if they hate me? Will he hate me if I say no? "Oh?" I take another drink of my disgusting coffee. "Well, do you want me to, um, meet her?"

Cal bites his lip, looking at me from the corner of his eye. "Well," he begins, hesitant. "It's not that I don't want you to meet her. I'm just a little nervous about it. But, she'd sure appreciate it."

It's because you're lame. You're anxious all the time and a spoilsport and not at all the kind of boy he should be with. You're just... You. "W-well... I'll think about it." I already know I'll probably end up saying yes, only because Cal will be sad if I don't. "For now, though, movies?"

Cal, smiling, ruffles my hair lightly. "Of course."

A/N:
Some wholesome fluff! Plot break too, in a way. We all deserved it. It's good for the soul. Next chap is the dinner so strap in, y'all. I'm also trying to get an update schedule going, so hopefully that'll work out and I can get more out to you guys ^^

I hope you enjoyed! Give it a vote and comment if you feel the urge! Sorry it's been a while since the last one...
QOTC: How do you think the dinner will go?

Love you!
AJ