Out

Part Thirteen

Benji

I groan, shifting under the blanket trying to get comfortable. My body aches and my head pounds. It takes me a few seconds to remember where I am when I open my eyes. The blinds on the window keeps the light out, so I have no idea what time it is.

When I look at the clock on the nightstand, it reads one in the afternoon. I count to three, gathering up enough energy to get out of bed. Jorge is nowhere to be found, but I drove him to Drew's house last night, so he has to be here somewhere.

The light in the hallway makes me squint in pain and the smell of food coming from downstairs makes my stomach turn. I walk down the stairs, gripping the rail tightly so I don't fall. When I get to the bottom, Jorge's wandering the room with a trash bag, cleaning up cups from last night.

"Hey," Jorge glances up and smiles at me. He's in his jeans and sweater from last night, making me realize I'm still in my boxers.

"Hey," I hear my voice crack as I sit at the table, laying my head down on the cold surface.

"How are you feeling?" Jorge sets the bag down and walks over to me. His hands feel like heaven, rubbing up and down my back.

"Like I might throw up at any second," I laugh but regret it instantly when I get a sharp pain in my head.

"Here," Drew emerges through the kitchen with a plate of eggs, water, and medicine. "You drank a shit ton last night. I don't even remember the last time you were drunk."

I take the medicine and gulp down the rest of the water. Jorge takes my glass to the sink and refills it before bringing it back to me.

"You need to eat something," He sits in the chair next to me. Drew picks up the bag the Jorge set on the floor and continues his work, cleaning up the house.

"In a minute," I need to let my stomach settle. If I eat right now, it'll come back up within a few minutes.

"How are you not in trouble all the time?" Jorge turns to Drew. "If I had a just one party, my mom would kill me, let alone every weekend."

"My dad's always a way on business. He's barley ever home," Drew fills up the bag and ties it at the top, leaning it agains the door to be taken out later.

"Is that hard? Having him away so much?" Jorge voice is the only sound that doesn't make my head pound. I close my eyes and rest my head on the back of the chair.

"Yeah, but I like being alone. I wish he'd come see me play at games or something, though," Drew laughs. The chair squeaks as he sits down next to me.

"For a while I thought you were homophobic or something," Jorge whispers, nervous about how Drew will react.

"I wasn't, but I didn't care much about what I said, or who I said it to. I would say stuff, not caring if it offended someone, but then when I found out Benji is gay, it made me sad that he couldn't even tell me. He couldn't tell his best friend because he was scared that I wouldn't accept him. I don't want to make anyone to feel like that," I smile at his words, as does Jorge. "Are you guys going to homecoming next weekend?"

"We haven't talked about it," Jorge trails off. I open my eyes and his are already on mine. I give him a small smile and nod my head, letting him know that I will, in fact, be taking him to homecoming. "You look like you've been hit by a truck."

"I feel like it," I stretch as best as I can in the small chair. My muscles loosen up a little bit, but not enough to be comfortable.

"You were fucked up last night," Drew laughs at the memories. I remember most of what happened leading up to our third game of beer pong. After that, things get a little bit fuzzy.

"What happened?" I turn to Jorge. He giggles in his seat. I pick at my eggs, waiting for his answer.

"You kept yelling about how everyone should be gay," His eyes light up as he erupts in fits of laughter. "And you kept trying to get in my pants, like, in front of everyone."

"Oh, my god," I put my face in my hands out of embarrassment.

"Don't worry I took care of you," Jorge smiles. I just stare at him, worried that maybe I forced him to have sex with me when he said he wanted to take things slow. "No, not like that."

"You're a mind reader, I swear to god," I smile at the beautiful boy in front of me, thankful he was with me last night. I tend to do stupid things when I'm drunk.

"We should go back to your house, your mom's probably worried," Jorge stands up. "You told her you'd be back last night."

I stand up and follow Jorge up the stairs to get my clothes. When we get to the spare bedroom, Jorge hands me my clothes that are folded neatly in a pile.

"Thank you," I smile at him and slide my T-shirt over my head. "I hope I didn't ruin last night."

"You said the same thing last night," Jorge smiles and sits on the bed. "You didn't. I had fun."

"I'm glad," I walk over to him and kiss his forehead before sliding my pants up my legs. "Where are my shoes?"

"I think you threw them last night," Jorge covers up his face to keep from laughing. "They're over there."

I finish putting my shoes on and grab my keys from the bedside table. I hold Jorge's hand the whole way to my house, and my mom is waiting for me in the kitchen when I get home.

"Where were you? I thought you were coming home last night?" She sends me a glare but smiles at Jorge.

"I spent the night at Drew's and I forgot to text you," I rub my forehead in annoyance. I just want to get up to my room so I can lay down with Jorge.

"Benji-"

"I know, I'll text you next time," I groan, making my head pound.

"You're hungover," My mom laughs. I roll my eyes and pull Jorge halfway up the stairs before she stops us. "Oh! Jorge, I was going to ask if you wanted to come over for dinner tomorrow night? All of our family will be here."

"I would love to," Jorge flashes a charming smile at her. "Thank you."

"Okay, come on," I groan and pull him up the rest of the way to my room. When we get there I close the door and lay in bed, motioning for him to cuddle me.

"You're so needy," Jorge giggles but lays on my chest, putting his face in my neck. I sigh in content and hug him closer.

"Because I need you." I feel him smile against my neck, giving it a small kiss.