Page 7 of Inevitable

“Hey, stranger.” Bas’s voice was raspy from sleep, and he looked at Drew like he was the best thing Bas had ever seen. Drew had missed him so fucking much that he didn’t seem to know what to do with himself.

This was his favorite kind of Bas. The one who was still sleepy enough to forego the self-imposed rules he was usually enforcing.

Drew took advantage of the moment and climbed on the couch next to Bas and settled in. Their sides were glued together, and the heat of Bas’s skin made Drew feel all warm inside.

Peace and calm settled over him like a cozy blanket. He let out a long breath, tension that he’d been feeling for days whenever he thought about Bas dissipating.

Bas yawned and burrowed closer, still half-asleep. “How was the wedding?”

Drew combed his fingers through Bas’s hair. The sleepy haze that surrounded Bas made Drew’s limbs feel sluggish. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine this was real. That he and Bas were not just best friends. That they were more. That he’d finally managed to convince Bas to give them a chance.

Drew really needed to get himself together. He had no idea why it was so hard to act normal that morning.

“Every moment of the wedding was meticulously planned out, so all in all it was a great success,” he said, forcing his mind back to Bas’s question.

“I bet Sharon made the wedding planner cry at least once.”

Drew chuckled. Sharon might be difficult to please, but Nick usually managed to calm her down without too many casualties. “She was all right.”

“Hmm.” Bas’s sleepy mumble left no doubt that he didn’t believe Drew, but Drew let it go. Sharon and Bas had never gotten along, and they never would, so Drew had long ago given up hope that the two of them would miraculously embark on a lifelong friendship. Grudging civility was the best they could all hope for, and Drew was fine with that.

“What have you been up to?” Drew asked. Sharon and Nick had become good friends of his, but he didn’t have any wish to waste his time with Bas discussing the wedding.

“I spent the better part of the night going through the set list for next week’s gig with Rotten Vertical. They booked me for three nights. Only I got too caught up doing my own thing and left it to the last minute.”

Bas was a freelance composer, a studio musician, and he also rented out his studio on top of everything else, which meant he was a very busy guy.

He yawned, jaw cracking. “Sleep deprivation is starting to kick my ass.”

“Just think about it like this: in one week you’ll be free, and you can take a break. I’ll take some time off, and we’ll get away for a while. Maybe a road trip. Like the ones we used to take. Or hell, somewhere where it’s nice and warm. We’ll rent a cabin on a tropical island and just relax and hang out and drink exotic cocktails.” The more Drew talked, the more excited he got about the prospect of a vacation. When was the last time either of them had taken time off? No work, no people, no obligations? There had been that trip to Fiji after he’d passed the bar, but that was more than three years ago.

Drew was halfway gone to fantasy land when he noticed how quiet Bas had gotten. He looked down and saw him worrying his lower lip between his teeth. He always did that when he was about to deliver bad news.

Drew stiffened. “What?”

Bas pursed his lips for a second and swallowed. Not exactly a sign of good things to come.

“I had this meeting a few weeks ago,” he started.

“With?”

“The Illumination.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah… The thing is, they want to hire me for their new album.” The sentence came out in one big rush of words that Drew was barely able to decipher.

Bas was back to chewing on his lip, so Drew placed his thumb against Bas’s lower lip and freed it.

“Stop, or you’ll chew that thing right off your face,” he grumbled.

Bas gave him a small smile before he sighed and pressed his nose to the side of Drew’s neck. Drew closed his eyes. Sometimes he really hated himself for not being strong enough to draw some boundaries. Maybe if they actually managed to behave more like friends it’d be easier to… move on.

Even the hypothetical was painful.

“I really want to work with them,” Bas said. He looked at Drew almost pleadingly, like his decision depended on what Drew would say, which was ridiculous. And even if by some ludicrous twist it did, Drew would have never been able to say no. Bas was his biggest weakness. Whatever made him happy, Drew wanted to give it to him.

And it was The Illumination. Bas had very few bands he truly admired, but The Illumination was at the top of that list. To be able to play on their new album would be a dream come true for Bas.