The Boys in the Band (Reverse Harem)

Chapter 5: A Restless Night

Momoko heard a noise and opened her eyes, forgetting where she was for a moment. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, automatically covering her body where the blanket had shifted and the shirt she was sleeping in had ridden up over her hips.

She could see Tommy in the light of the refrigerator, standing in cut off sweats, drinking a bottle of water. His abs and pecs were clearly delineated as he tipped the bottle up and emptied it in one go, Adam's apple working as he swallowed.

Hot.

He turned to look at her as he lowered the bottle. "Sorry, did I startle you?. It's just, all that drinking, you know, really dehydrated me, and I know if I don't get the fluids tonight, I'll pay for it tomorrow."

He closed the door and came closer. "Were you already sleeping?"

Momoko nodded and yawned, covering her mouth.

"Man, I'm so sorry." He sat down and rubbed her shoulder, sitting close enough that Momoko could smell him, his toothpaste and just him. Again, so hot.

"How long has it been since you guys went to bed?"

Tommy shrugged in the near darkness. "Not too long, maybe half an hour? I just figured with all of us coming and going from the bathrooms and stuff, you must've still been awake. I guess you were pretty tired, huh?"

"I guess so."

Tommy had let his hand slide down her arm, so now he was clasping Momoko's hand in a loose grasp, not holding her hand exactly, but sort of. The truth was that it had been a while since he'd been close to a girl in nothing but a shirt, and he was painfully aware of the fact that he was sitting mere inches from a this person who smelled so nice and had such soft skin.

He scooted a little closer, and clasped her hand a tiny bit tighter.

"Are you okay? I mean about everything that happened earlier with your ex." His voice was soft.

This time it was Momoko who shrugged. "Yeah, I think so. He seemed nice at first, and then not so much, and by the time I knew what a complete asshole he was, we'd been dating for months, and he thought he owned me, you know?" She let out a breath that had a hitch in it, and Tommy pulled her closer, so she was leaning on him.

He could feel the skin of her thigh against his leg because her shirt had ridden up again, and it felt smooth and firm. The warmth of a round breast was pressed into his bicep, and the feeling of the two together was doing weird things to his brain.

He hugged her briefly and released her, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, guys can be dicks."

"They sure can," Momoko agreed, looking at his eyes in the blue darkness of the living room. "Thanks for listening, Tommy."

"Hell, I woke you up, it's the least I can do." He stroked her hair as he rose. "Try to fall back asleep, okay?"

"Yeah. Good night."

"Night."

🌙 🌙 🌙 🌙

"Fuck!"

There was a clatter of tiny things falling all over the counter in the kitchen, as Momoko sat straight up for the second time in two hours.

"What? Who's there?" she asked in confusion.

"It's me, Jude," came the response, along with a sigh. "Since you're awake, might I turn on the light and try to clean up the mess I've made?"

"Sure?"