Chapter 7

Seven

Jacob

Jacob woke up with a start. He was slightly sweaty and disoriented. What time is it? was the only coherent thought his brain could put together. He reached for his phone on his bedside table, haphazardly running is hand over it and pushing the button to make it show the time.

3:40am. He must have passed out around 11:30 the previous night. His thoughts slowly came back to him.

Hoooo-ly shit , Jacob thought remembering the events that occurred just a few hours before. He had been drinking, but not that much. He remembered it all. Will's unbelievably good massage. His own inability to hide how good it felt. Will's hands exploring his body in a way that he'd never felt before. And finally, when Will finally had made the leap and wrapped his hand around his cock…

Jacob felt a rush through his body just at the memory. He hadn't really been thinking at all, once Will had started touching him – it's like the part of his brain that usually said hey, Jacob, you aren't into guys had completely turned off once Will's hands were on his body. He had just met the guy a couple days ago, but he had been so drawn to him, so comfortable with him. Jesus Christ , he thought, dumbfounded.

Jacob rolled over in bed and grabbed a second pillow. He put his arms around it and hugged it tight, slowly drifting off to sleep until the morning.

He woke again at a more reasonable time, and slowly got out of bed and sauntered out to take a shower. He didn't see Will on his way to the bathroom. He hopped into the shower, and quickly washed. He felt surprisingly good. His calf muscle still ached a bit, but was much better than yesterday. His back felt noticeably more relaxed and less tense thanks to the massage.

He turned off the shower and grabbed his towel, stepping out. He made his way back to his room to get dressed. As he shut the door to his bedroom, he heard Will coming out of his room down the hall. Jacob found some clothes to put on and began to get dressed.

Well, this should be interesting , Jacob thought before leaving his room. He didn't know what to expect from Will, at all. Had he just been looking for a quick hookup with a fit, athletic guy? Was he gonna be awkward, or not mention it at all? There was only one way to find out.

Jacob stepped out into the living room, making his way into the kitchen, where he found Will just where he'd been the previous morning. He'd made some fresh coffee and was drinking a cup of it at the dining room table.

"Hey," he said, looking up briefly at Jacob and then back down to his phone.

"Hey, morning," Jacob said, cautiously looking at Will, trying to read the signs. He wasn't historically very good at reading signs, so he tried to step lightly.

"Uh… I'm gonna make some pancakes probably, you want any?" Jacob asked.

Will looked up.

"Nah, it's okay. Don't worry about me. I was actually planning on going to the diner and just getting something small. I wanna take a walk and get some fresh air. I'm actually a little hungover," Will said, softly.

"Oh, okay," Jacob said, and got started making pancakes for himself.

Jacob noticed a definite change in Will. Over the past few days, he had always been so bubbly and friendly, always up for a conversation. This was different. Jacob felt a little guilt begin to seep into him. Well, clearly he was not happy about last night , he thought, trying to think though the reasons Will might be upset. It sure seemed like he wanted to jerk me off , Jacob thought, his confusion only worsening.

He decided to leave it be. If Will wasn't happy about what had gone down, he didn't want to pry. It was a totally weird, random thing that happened anyway – Jacob had never expected anything like that to happen.

He continued making his pancakes, and after Will finished his cup of coffee, he got up, placed it in the sink, and went to shower. Jacob was just sitting down to eat when he heard the front door open and close as Will went out to the diner.

Around noon, Will finally came back to the house. Jacob had been in his room, continuing to pack; he was nearly finished, with just two more boxes left to fill. Jacob heard the front door open and close and Will put his backpack down on the couch. He appeared at the door of Jacob's room, leaning on the doorframe and looking in.

"Hey Will, how's it going? How was the diner?" Jacob said, trying his best to seem friendly and open.

"It was alright," Will replied, "but the walk was even better. I really needed some fresh air. I'm feeling a lot better than I was this morning."

"I'm sure you'd be even better if you'd have let me cook you some of my awesome homemade pancakes, but okay," Jacob grinned, trying to ease any tension.

Luckily, Will laughed.

"Listen… Jacob," Will said, becoming slightly serious again.

"What's up?" Jacob replied, feeling a nervousness growing inside of him. What was Will gonna say? Jacob watched as Will hesitantly entered his room, made his way over to the bed and slowly sat down.

"I just have to say something. I can't just pretend to ignore what happened last night. I really wanted to say sorry. I took it way too far, and I don't wanna make you uncomfortable or force you to do anything," Will said. It was the first time Jacob had seen him look nervous.

"Hey, it's really okay, man," Jacob said, sympathetically. "I mean, holy shit , I did not expect things to go down like that, but it's not like I stopped you. I really needed to release that tension, and you certainly helped."

Will sighed, sounding relieved.

"Phew, okay. I was really worried you were gonna kick me out first thing this morning, so thank you. I promise it won't happen again. Actually, I'm gonna finally stop procrastinating and get my plane ticket back home today," Will said, diffusing the conversation.

"How much are plane tickets from here to Arizona?" Jacob asked.

"Huh? Oh, I think usually around 400 or 500 bucks, but since my dumb ass waited so long, it might be more like 700. Lucky me," Will said, looking deflated.

"Tell me about it. I am actually getting nervous for my long road trip. The cost of gas is obviously cheaper than flying, but driving across all of America on my own? It's honestly kinda scary," Jacob said, nervous just thinking about it.

"Doesn't sound scary to me. You know only movies scare me," Will said, laughing at his own expense. "You should take me along on your road trip. I can provide annoying, witty banter and plenty of drawings of the vast expanse of the American roads," Will joked, standing up from Jacob's bed.

"Y'know, that doesn't exactly sound bad," Jacob said, grinning as he continued to pack clothes into the next box. "Arizona is directly before California, and I am gonna be driving straight through it."

Jacob looked over at Will. Will had his eyebrows raised, as if to say I can't tell if you're serious or not . Jacob couldn't tell either. He began to mull over the idea of Will coming along with him on the ride. It might be kind of awkward at first, thanks to the events of last night. But that had been a fluke. Most of the time Will was super easy to talk to, and Jacob could see himself actually becoming good friends with him.

He began to more seriously consider the possibility in his mind, and somewhere deep down, he realized that the thought of Will coming along on the road trip made him feel reassured, happier.

"I mean, I know you were joking when you said I should take you along, but 3,000 miles all on my own really does sound rough. It sounds crazy, but I can tell you're a good guy, and I'd be happy to split the cost of gas with you if you did want to come," Jacob said, nervous to see Will's reaction. Jacob was beginning to want this to happen.

"…Are you serious, Jacob? Would you really be okay with that?"

"I think so," Jacob said, studying Will's face. "You don't have to say yes, I just wanted to put it out there."