6It's rainy outside. The trees thrash and the streets are muddy lakes. A nasty storm is brewing. Brie shields his head as he locks his car and takes two giant steps into the shelter of Aiden's balcony.
He knocks, but finds the door open. He wipes his shoes on the mat. The hallway is brightly lit, and Aiden's own shoes are tucked neatly in the closet corner. Brie grins. It's always nice to cozy up during a storm, especially with your best friend.
"Daddy's home." Brie appears in the kitchen doorway.
Aiden cracks an egg into a bowl, hands glistening with remnants of yolk. "Thank god. I was worried you might die by lightning."
Brie scoffs. "I would never die so pathetically."
"You can't control mother nature." Aiden mixes the messy bowl of eggs and cake mix. He wipes the back of his forehead. "There's alcohol in the cabinet."
"Sweet." Brie kneels down and grabs a clear bottle of vodka. They're not supposed to drink, but Aiden's parents are out, and what kind of reckless teenager wouldn't take advantage of that?
Brie opens the bottle and pours into two cups. "Are we taking it raw?"
Aiden snickers. "I love taking it raw."
"Not surprised at all." Brie chuckles. His eyes slide over to Aiden, dressed in jeans that fit like a glove around his ass. His hair is wet, and Brie guesses he just took a shower. He probably smells nice.
It's hard to be around Aiden sometimes.
Best friend. Sweetest friend. And… Brie's hands itch. He swallows. Sexiest friend. He knows he's fucked it up by having feelings for Aiden. Brie's always been an open book, but this… this secret wraps like a noose around his heart.
"What kind of cake is it?" Brie downs his vodka. Ignore. The. Feelings.
"I was making french vanilla." Aiden sighs. "Honestly, I think it's going to turn out bad."
"You can't ruin a cake made with cake mix." Brie leans over his shoulder. Sniffs. Aiden smells like jasmine and soap. It's intoxicating being near him. Brie wants to wrap him up, cuddle him, and just... touch him. It doesn't even have to be sexual. Especially on such a stormy night, all he wants is to be warm.
Aiden turns around, meets him inches away from his face. "Are you sniffing me?"
Brie laughs, slides away. "What can I say? I'm a soap addict."
"I think you might not need this alcohol." Aiden wipes his flour-covered hands, and picks up one of the vodka glasses. "You seem drunk."
"Drunk on the idea of cake made by my precious dearest."
Aiden rolls his eyes. Bites his lip, giggles, and Brie's eyes soften at the corners. Fuck. He's such a goner. He needs this alcohol, now. He picks up his glass and downs it. It burns down his neck. It's only the second or third time he's had any. The warmth settles in his belly.
"Hey, we were supposed to drink together." Aiden hastily drinks his own. Coughs. "Man, pure vodka tastes like shit."
"I like it," Brie mumbles. Thunder sounds outside.
"Of course you do." Aiden watches him over the rim of his glass. "You've always been the daring one."
Brie shrugs. "Maybe I'm so numb from life that I need the stimulation."
Their eyes flicker to each other, then both of them look away. Brie knows it's a touchy subject: talking about sadness. The feeling is so swollen and grisly, like poking a sleeping bear.
Both of their phones beep, saving them. Brie looks down, sees the group chat name Orion's Belt, and Rey's three messages: guys it's not fair. why do I have to do math while u guys hangout. save me.
Brie pockets his phone. "Poor Rey."
"Always stuck doing homework." Aiden sounds wistful.
Brie hums in agreement. The only thing that could make this better is Rey, their third star, their interconnecting glue. But she's got straight A's to make. He can imagine her hunched over her desk, chewing on a gummy worm, brows furrowed.
They take another shot, then a third. Aiden's face is flushed with warmth by the third, and he's almost done his cake. Brie feels warm and light, and puts away the vodka bottle in the cabinet before they regret the next morning.
Hips Don't Lie plays on Aiden's phone speaker.
"What, are we back in 2005?"
Aiden pouts. "It's my throwback playlist!" He does a weird, gyrating dance with his hips in tune with the song, grinding against the counter. It shouldn't be attractive, but Brie's eyes follow his body, unable to tear away.
"Are my hips as sexy as Shakira?" Aiden says dramatically.
"Mmm." Brie sips from his water now, not trusting himself to speak. The lightning has calmed down, leaving the sound of heavy rain against the window. It's barely noticeable against the loud music.
Aiden's face is so bright, and Brie stares shamelessly. Tries to drink in every inch of him. They're both drunk and Aiden doesn't seem to care that Brie's eyes follow him everywhere. The song switches.
I Kissed a Girl by Katy Perry comes on. Brie snorts at Aiden's taste in music. Aiden sings, "I kissed a girl and I liked it!" dancing around the kitchen like a maniac. He stops midway, and looks up at Brie.
"You know what I don't get," Aiden says.
Brie shrugs. "Trigonometric functions?"
"That too." Aiden laughs. "No. I don't get why it's so normal for girls to kiss each other for fun. They just try it out! Like, hey, let's practice on each other!"
Brie's eyes twinkle. "I know. There's a whole song about it. Can you imagine a song, I Kissed a Boy, being a hit on the radio?"
"Would never happen," Aiden says conspiratorially. "God, we should fix this double standard."
Brie blinks. His heart jolts, and he tries to keep his voice steady. "Yeah. Heh. Imagine us kissing for fun. For practice."
"It's so stupid." Aiden giggles, shakes his head. He glances back at Brie. "But it honestly wouldn't be a big deal."
Now Brie's heartbeat is in his ears. He's not sure if he's hearing right. He's a little drunk and maybe he's hallucinating and - "I kissed a girl and I liked it" streams through his thoughts. No. They are really having this conversation.
Aiden is staring at him with wide, baby deer eyes. Brie's gaze drops to his lips. Fuck. He wants to kiss him so bad.
"We could try it." Brie swallows, tries to sound casual. "You know, just as a fun thing."
Aiden tilts his head, face flushed a soft, barely hued pink — From the alcohol? From the dancing? From the thought of their lips locking under fluorescent kitchen lights? Brie isn't sure. All he's sure of is the dazed heat in his stomach, and Aiden's gaze.
It takes only two steps for Aiden to walk over to where Brie is seated on the kitchen stool. Before Brie can blink, Aiden climbs onto his lap, limbs awkwardly snuggling into Brie's space. He smells like cake mix and the lingering scent of soap. Brie holds him close, rubs a hand up Aiden's thigh.
"You're warm," Brie mutters.
"You're…" Aiden fiddles with Brie's collar. "You have kissable lips."
"Not a bad first guy to kiss, then, huh?"
"Could never be bad." It must be the alcohol talking. Aiden leans in. His mouth brushes Brie's, ghosting the surface. Brie clenches his hand on Aiden's thigh. Don't think. Just do it. He presses his lips back.
The first thing Brie processes is that Aiden's mouth is soft. Of course it is. Aiden has always been soft, inside and out.
The heat from Aiden's body feels like safety as rain pours outside. Brie dips in to deepen the kiss. Aiden's hands tangle in his hair, and Brie grips his waist. They both taste like vodka. Brie thought it would be weird — kissing a guy. But it feels natural. Aiden feels natural. He pushes against Aiden's lower lip, not quite slipping his tongue in, but sliding gently.
Aiden makes a satisfied noise. His hands, still in Brie's hair, clench around the locks. They kiss for a few minutes, but it's hard to know just how long - Brie's mind is clouded with Aiden's mouth and his warm body, with the gentle push and pull of their lips. An ocean tide ebbing and rising.
When they pull apart, Brie's body buzzes. Adrenaline pumps through his veins. He's sure his hair is disheveled, eyes wide. Aiden looks stunned, cheeks bright and glowing. But he smiles, and rests his head on Brie's shoulder.
"Was that… okay?" Brie's voice comes out hoarse.
"Yeah. It felt so… normal." Aiden stumbles over his words. "I thought I wouldn't know what to do, but it was like my brain just shut off. And my mouth just knew."
"Me too," Brie admits. "Maybe it's because we've been friends for so long."
Aiden grins. Pulls his head away, and stares at him. "We developed telepathic kissing communication. Got it."
"Hey. I bet there's science behind this."
"The longer you've known someone, the better the kiss will be?"
Brie tugs at his waist. "Not just longer. The closer you are to them, too."
They look at each other. Brie's heart beats too fast in his chest. He's still coming down from the rush. He knows this was just a one time thing. Neither of them are ready for something more, not when Rey — not when Rey is still a big question mark, not when both of them are half-drunk on vodka.
But Aiden's body is warm, the rain has stopped, and somewhere beyond Brie's ringing ears, Just the Way You Are by Bruno Mars switches into its chorus.
"I kissed a boy and I liked it." Aiden's mouth brushes his forehead. "Now let's have some cake."
THE END