Sheets | ✓

TWENTY-ONE

I rolled over in the bed, moving slowly to not wake Benny up, though I doubt that even a hurricane would even make the guy even move. Benny's mouth hung wide open, a little drool dribbling at the left corner of his mouth, and a throaty snore drifted in and out of his gaping lips. I silently groaned, burrowing my head under my pillow in a bid to try and shut out the loud noise. I shut my eyes hard, face scrunching as I tried to will myself to sleep, but my senses were too alert and my mind too active to even begin to drift off into sleep. 

It was already past two in the morning, and the moon was shining high and silver in the sky. Benny mumbled something about flying chocolate squirrels, his hand flicking off the blanket to scratch his bare stomach. Rolling over again, body restless, I looked over at my best friend enviously. He was blissfully asleep, his mouth now closed in a half smile as his eyes fluttered beneath his lids with a dream. Benny grumbled something about the squirrels melting, rolling over onto his side so his back was facing me. 

I nestled my head further up on my pillow, eyes blinking as I stared at Benny's back; his shoulders were broad, but his build a little pudgier than Nico's. His shirt rode up his torso, exposing his lower spine and the taper of his stomach which disappeared into his boxers. I sighed as Benny shivered a little after pushing the blanket off his body, and pulled the fabric over his exposed skin. As the slither of flesh disappeared under the blanket, I realised that looking at Benny, I didn't feel a thing. Seeing his bare skin did absolutely nothing for me, not like Nico's. 

I gulped as I looked at Benny's back, imagining the wider, stronger frame of the tattooed boy I plucked from my memories. Benny's hair began to slowly morph into black, semi-wavy locks and the skinnier bare arms that lay above the white blanket bulged with muscle and became covered in dark tattoos. I felt my mouth become wet as Benny turned onto his stomach, the blanket sliding off his torso again to unveil his abdominal area once again. Instead of seeing Benny's lean indentations, I could only remember Nico's layers of hard muscle rising and falling as he lay on his back, and the feeling of those muscles under my finger tips. My hands twitched as I found myself reaching forward, Benny stirring as the bed dipped under my shifted weight.

"Fucking hell," I cursed, nimbly climbing out of bed in a hurry. My movements were fast, the bed only shaking slightly, Benny rolling over. Benny's mouth flopped open again, a long, deep snore gurgling at the back of his throat. I let out a frustrated breath before grabbing my glasses off the bedside table, sliding them onto my nose bridge. I unplugged my phone from its charger and slipped my arms through my blue zip-up hoodie, which clashed with the bright green checkers of my pyjama bottoms. Jamming my feet into my black thongs, I didn't think too much of my outfit at this time of the night, grabbing one set of keys to the beach house and quietly creeping outside to try and still my restless heart.

The night air was crisp and I shivered when the sea breeze drifted through my thin layers of clothing. I tried to keep my mind as clear as the night sky as I walked down to the beach, the whole area silent bar the rhythmic crashing of the waves and the rustle of overlying tree branches. I found my breathing steady as the expanse of the beach came into view beyond the low-lying fronds of the palm trees, kicking my thongs off my feet to bury my toes into the soft sand. What had once been hot to the touch during the day had cooled to just a warm glow, my feet happily sinking into the plush ground. 

Walking over to the rocky area of the beach, I climbed onto a short, smooth rock and sat down. I let out a contented sigh when my feet dipped into the cool water just below me, my toes managing to scrape the sand in the shallow puddle. 

Leaning against some rocks behind me, I began to look through my phone, stopping on the unfinished conversation I had with Nico just this afternoon.