Unrequited Ch. 02

Thom had thought this moment would be so far away, but here he was, holding Caleb in his arms again. "Caleb?" Thom whispered, his voice swallowed up by the sound of the fast-paced drums and guitar. Caleb stared vaguely into the distance, looking obviously confused and disoriented, and before he could try to get his attention, another man wedged his way between them. "He's okay. Let me," a wiry brunette said as he took hold of Thom's precious, though drunken, paragon and hauled him to his feet. "I'm so sorry, babe! I think we're both a little drunker than we thought!" Thom heard the man say soothingly to Caleb as the pair stumbled through the door inside.

Babe? Just last night he was confessing his love and now Caleb had some other guy calling him babe?

Thom just sat stunned on the cold concrete floor, offers of help falling on deaf ears as he shivered, still holding the ghost of Caleb's body. His mind reeled as he tried to make sense of the situation, trying to reason it away. The only thing that would make him feel better would be talking to Caleb himself.

Thom braced his arms against the ground, pushing himself to his feet in an ungainly way. He pulled open one of the glass doors and rounded the corner, his gaze sweeping over the small dim room.

Thom found Caleb. And what he saw made him feel as if someone had built a fire in his belly, burning him alive slowly from the inside. The fire coursed through his veins, enraging him and crippling him at the same time.

Caleb sat on a small velvet sofa in the arms of that same rangy interloper. He slowly tossed back his shock of flaxen hair, letting out a soft moan as he leaned into the groping hands and hungry mouth of man behind him. Thom let the dams break, the fury taking hold as he approached the impassioned couple.

"What the fuck, Caleb!"

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Caleb's eyes peeled open wide. His breathing, still heavy with passion, quickened as his heart fought for escape against his ribs. He felt Elliott's hands still and his head lift from it's position at his neck.

"Oh god..." Caleb choked out, his throat feeling on the verge of collapsing completely. He blinked his eyes shut tight, and opened them, scalding tears now falling to his pale cheeks.

Slowly, Caleb craned his head around to see a seething and trembling Thom. "Thom," Caleb sniffled out as he fought the blur of tears from his eyes.

"Don't even fucking start, Caleb. How am I supposed to trust anything you say now? Who the fuck is this?" Thom said, his eyes wide and wild as he gestured savagely in Elliott's direction.

Caleb started to move, trying to free himself from Elliott and stand on his own two feet as an anger of his own started to build in his gut. "Who the hell are you to even ask me that?!" Caleb screamed, his fists balling up tightly, "You lost your right to talk to me like that last night!"

Elliott gripped Caleb's wrist. "Caleb, come on and sit down. You don't need this. You're causing a scene. And this guy doesn't seem too reasonable right now," he pleaded.

Caleb's look softened slightly as he looked down at the still-seated Elliott, "I'm okay. Let me talk to him. I need to do this. Stay here, okay? I'll find you," he said, clumsily shaking his arm loose and taking a step away from the couch. "Come here," he said, his voice shaking as he directed it at the fuming Thom.

Caleb stomped past Thom, trying to seem strong and authoritative in his still woozy state as he headed toward the only secluded part of the bar: the restrooms. He swung open the door thankful to find a single cubicle rather than multiple stalls. Less chance of any unwanted eavesdroppers. He turned around, standing face to face with Thom. It was a little surreal.

"Lock the door," Caleb said, still sniffling as he spoke. Thom did as he was told then turned to meet Caleb's gaze with his own icy glare.

"So." Thom said, crossing his arms and raising his brows.

"Yes?"

"So, are you going to answer my question? What the fuck was that out there?" Thom said with a nod of his head toward the door.

"Like I said, you don't get to ask me that. But just for your information, Elliott is a friend of mine," Caleb said, trying to sound matter-of-fact, but the trembling in his voice betraying him.

"Oh! A friend? The kind of friend that gropes you like that? The kind of friend that gets you hard?" Thom said incredulously, that wild look creeping into his eyes again.

"Isn't that what you thought you were?!" Caleb screamed, his eyes turning to stone. Thom went silent as tears started to slowly glimmer in his eyes. "I put myself out on the line for you. I put my heart on a fucking platter for you. I'd never said that to anyone else before, Thom..." Caleb whispered, hanging his head. "And you threw it all in my face. You spat in my wounds and now you're going to make sure they can't heal? You're a monster," he said, sounding stronger as he looked up at Thom.

Thom leaned back against the wall, letting out a sob as he sank to the floor. His arms hung limply at his sides, his head no longer supported by his neck rested on the wall beside him as he wept, the heat fogging up his glasses. He drew in a ragged breath before letting loose the deluge of his thoughts. "Oh, god, Caleb... I'm so sorry... I don't know what I was thinking. I thought if I saw you again, we would end up together, but you're right. I'm a fucking monster..." Thom wailed in between his gasping sobs, "I don't deserve to ask to be with you. I don't deserve your company. I don't deserve your forgiveness..."

"Shut up, Thom."

Thom opened his tightly shut eyes to see Caleb crouching before him, looking considerably less angry, but still agitated. He shut his mouth immediately, his hitching breath marked by sharp inhalations through his nose.

"Clearly we've got some shit to talk out," Caleb said with a sigh, placing a delicate hand on Thom's knee. "Do you want to try tonight?"

Thom replied with a silent nod of his heavy head.

"Do you want to go?" Thom nodded again. "Okay, do you mind if it's at your place? Mine is sort of a wreck..."

"That's fine... Mine is too. Hope you don't mind..." Thom said weakly.

"Alright," Caleb said, standing and extending a hand to the limp and sniffling form of Thom. "We'll get a cab"

"What about..." Thom started, looking toward the door as he accepted Caleb's hand.

"He'll be fine. I'll tell him before we go," Caleb said as he walked unsteadily toward the door.

"Caleb, wait." Thom hung back, still standing in front of the far wall. As Caleb turned around, Thom focused his eyes on his shoes. Caleb had never seen him act so shy like this.

"Do you love him?" Thom sniffled, blushing slightly. He looked like a kid telling his mother about his first kiss.

"No," Caleb sighed, shaking his head. "C'mon, let's go."

"Wait..." Thom blurted out again, taking a deep breath and wringing his hands. "Do you still mean it...what you said?"

"I've said a lot of things, Thom. Which one?" Caleb said, knitting his brows with concern.

Thom seemed to shrink before his very eyes, his breathing getting heavier as he became increasingly nervous. He lowered his voice down to a mumbling whisper, "Do you still love me?"

It was almost inaudible, but Caleb heard. He had no idea how to feel about Thom asking him that. They had to talk about this later. But he had no doubt about how he felt about Thom.

Caleb slowly crossed the room, stopping just in front of the trembling Thom. He placed a hand on his shoulder as he leaned in close. "I've never stopped loving you," Caleb whispered. Before Thom could say anything else, Caleb stopped him, placing a gentle kiss over Thom's smooth and heated lips. It was a kiss that was barely more than a whisper--just a taste of what Caleb had wanted so badly, but couldn't have. As their lips parted, Thom's face was painted with a look of utter shock. Caleb turned away quickly and walked back toward the door.

"Come on, Thom... We've got a lot to talk about."

As his back left the wall and he followed Caleb out the door, Thom felt like he was letting it all go. Like the rockets had been fired and bulls had been released on the streets of Pamplona. Like he was tumbling off a cliff to an imperceptible fate.

Like he was falling in love.