#hap birt

“What the hell are you doing here?” It only took a second to notice that he was unpacking and the room was barely touched, which likely meant he sure as hell wasn't just leaving.

“Uh, unpacking?” He said as he slowly set his toothbrush on his folded clothes. “What the hell are you- doing here?”

“I was about to unpack. In my room. But then I walk in and I see 6 foot of you in here.” You didn't want to get on his bad side, but he was clearly in the wrong. “You need to leave.”

“You sure?” He asked, picking his keycard off the bed. “B19?” He took a couple steps, showing you the card, and even offering it for you to get a closer look. You showed him yours, revealing how they were, in fact, both for the room.

“How did they manage to double book a room?”

He merely shrugged, a hand sneaking to his brown hair and pushing it back- he had a very fuckboy-esque appearance, but slightly more fashionable, his muscles definitely indicated someone who went to the gym, leg day included. Once he faced you, you realized his shirt said “GENDER IS OVER! (IF YOU WANT IT)” in black letters over white, a la John Lennon. “Don't know. Couldn't you just get a different room?” He paused for a second, before figuring he should add to that. “I don't wanna sound rude, but uh, I'm here for my best friend's wedding and uh, everyone's already got a room and stuff, so I gotta be in the… block… thing...” he explained, almost sheepishly. Not what you'd expect to hear.

“Lohst-Murphy?” You asked as he gave a small nod, almost surprised, as if it seemed coincidental. “I'm here for the same one. Don't you have a friend or someone you could share with?”

“Well, my best friend is one of the brides, Rich is with Michael, a maid of honor is with her girlfriend, Jeremy's with his date, Jenna is with her boyfriend, and Chloe is with her boyfriend,” He explained it like a list, exhaling at the end.

“I mean, I would, but my cousin is the other bride and Connor, Evan, Jared, and Alana, also have girlfriends they are spending the night with.”

“Huh,” he remarked. “Looks like we've both been third wheeled.”

“More like thirteenth wheeled.” You said with a small laugh.

An awkward bit of silence passed before the other extended his hand. “I'm Jake by the way,” he said with a small clearing of his throat. “Dillinger.”

You accepted his hand, before giving your name in addition.

“So,” he mumbled, glancing at the carpet.

“So,” you responded, looking up at him. Holy shit, he was hot. Or cute. Same difference.

“Roomies?”

“Roomies.” You smiled, wheeling your bag into the room.

“Here, lemme help you with-”

“Thanks, but it's just one bag. I got it.” It wasn't that you didn't like Jake; he seemed nice. But seeming nice and being nice were two different things. As of now, he was still a stranger. Maybe an acquaintance if you squinted. But it's not like you were completely sure that he wouldn't murder you or something.

You slowly moved to the other side of the bed, where you began to unpack what you needed to for the night.

But of course, the silence was killing the both of you.

“So,” you said, glancing at Jake from across the queen size bed. “How long have you known Brooke?”

“Uh, middle school maybe?” He said, unfolding another graphic tee- grey with the words “Athletes Against Alzheimer's” on it in navy. God, you hoped he wasn't some creep, because he seemed almost too good to be true. “But it wasn't until this whole thing happened and she realized her best friend, almost my ex at the time, was just not good for her, then we kind of just… befriended each other. She's like, the sweetest girl with the biggest heart. I mean, we're both pan and all, but we know we'd never date each other or anything. And she met your cousin, who I'm guessing is good enough for her.” He finished his small spill as he slipped his jacket off, merely tossing it in his duffel bag on top of the neatly organized things still inside.

“Oh, definitely. Zoe's great. She's so independent, I was surprised she'd ever get married. She's a strong person, but still so sweet and-“ You paused, noticing him casually pulling his shirt off revealing a bare, yet well defined chest. “What the hell are you doing?” You nearly screeched, looking away and shielding your eyes as if by impulse.

“Uh, changing? What, do you think, I'm gonna sleep in jeans and a tank top?”

“I didn't think you'd start changing out of nowhere!” Really, there was nothing that you needed to look away for. It wasn't like you hadn't seen men's underwear ads before. But to see it in front of you was still… something new.

“I could change in the bathro-”

“Yes! Do that! Please!” You insisted, still keeping your eyes averted. Your temptation to say ‘take your six pack with you’ was strong, but you managed to hold it in as he grabbed… whatever he needed.

Once you heard the door shut, you finished laying out the things you needed. Your change of pajamas, toothbrush, all that jazz. As you set out each thing, you realized something that lingered in the back of your head that only just now came to light.

There was only one bed.

You would be sharing a bed with a stranger.

Suddenly, Jake stuck his head out of the bathroom. “Do you need anything right now? I'm gonna take a shower if you don't mind,”

“Go ahead. I'll probably brush my teeth later though.”

“Great.”

The second you heard the shower turn on, you immediately went to change your clothes, getting ready for bed, despite knowing very well that you'd spend a long time before you actually slept. The fact that you still had to share a bed… would be awkward. Jake seemed so comfortable, it was pretty obvious he was some level of high school fuckboy. But at least he was a little more… sympathetic. Checking on things. Asking if you needed the bathroom before him.

Jesus, why couldn't you get over such a... sexy stranger?

You needed to get your mind off it. And brush your teeth.

You grabbed your toothbrush and toothpaste and slipped into the bathroom; surely he wouldn't be done already. But by the time you were spitting out toothpaste, Jake had slipped his head out from behind the curtain. “What are you-” before he could finish his thought, he must've leaned too much as he peaked out of the curtain, slipping, and yanking the white curtain down with his tall body as a curse slipped out of his mouth.

You jumped back, watching him frantically cover up the hips and below, his face looking up at you with and startled look, his dark hair all wet and matted. Jesus, how was he still hot?

In full rom-com fashion, he stood up, keeping the shower curtain covering his waist as he awkwardly reached for his towel. He finally managed to wrap the white cotton around himself, dropping the curtain and finally saying something. “What the hell were you doing?”

“Brushing my teeth? I didn’t think you’d be done so quick!”

“Well,” he sighed, trying to fix the shower curtain with careful attention to his towel. “Guess it won’t be so weird when we sleep together now I guess, right?”

“I-”

“Yeah, I phrased that weird.” He said with an awkward chuckle. “Unless you want me to sleep on the floor or something! I can do that, I-”

“No, no, it’s fine!” You insisted, trying to keep things from getting any more awkward. “I mean, you deserve the bed as much as I do- it’s a queen, right? There’ll be some… space.” Hopefully you both were able to respect each other’s boundaries, but that apparently was not a thing between you guys. “Anyways. I guess I’ll leave you be, I’ll be on the side of the bed with all my stuff I guess. What time are you getting up?”

He shrugged. “Whatever works is fine with me.”

“Seven-ish then?”

“Seven-ish.” he repeated with a small smile.

Jake walked out of the bathroom a couple minutes later, seeing you hang up your dress for tomorrow so it would be ready. He gave a small smile as he looked at the color. “Purple. Nice.”

You were almost startled as you turned around and saw him there, simply in boxers and his aforementioned t-shirt, his hair fixed to some extent from its former messy state, but it looked cute either way. “It’s actually orchid, you uncultured swine,” you scoffed gently as you moved closer to the bed, still unsure of what exactly was about to happen.

“Well, whatever it is, I’m sure you’ll look great in it tomorrow.” Was he flirting?

“Thanks,” you smiled. “I’m sure you will too- unless your wardrobe for tomorrow is another tank top, jeans, and jacket ensemble.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t ruin Brooke’s special day like that. I’m actually a, uh, pretty good dresser.”

“We’ll see in the morning.”

The conversation was nice and fun, it was like you guys were actual friends. But there was still five feet that stood between you two, and you weren’t exactly sure what would be next. Jake glanced down at the bed as you did, looking at the thick, crimson sheets before back up at you. “Well, uh, ladies first.” he said, his arm extending in a welcoming manner over the bed.

Slowly, you slipped into the bed, trying to focus more on the comfort than the awkward. Jake, however, didn't get in bed, but got on the floor instead, doing, of course, push-ups. “I'll be there in a sec,“ he mumbled as he began counting to himself semi-audibly.

All you could do was laugh slightly as you saw some of what he was doing. Was he trying to be hot right now? You two at least managed to hold a conversation while this happened, learning a couple new things about each other.

You learned Jake had two sisters, both younger. You learned about the really weird junior year he went through, featuring his two broken legs. The two of you exchanged a lot of stories- you guys even had more interests than you’d expect. By the time you two fell asleep, it didn’t even seem awkward that you two slept in the same bed.

Stripes of sun shot through the crevices of the blinds and curtains over the windows, giving the basic effect of the morning inside the hotel room. You woke up to the sound of your alarm, noticing the two of you had apparently moved around a lot in your sleep. So much so that you wound up asleep on Jake’s chest, an arm loosely slung around you. You almost panicked by impulse- but you managed to study his features a little. Half his face was buried in the amber hue of the pillow, his hair disheveled once again and pointing every which way. His torso gently rose and fell with each breath as he continued to sleep, despite the sun indicating it was time to get up.