William woke up late, feeling like his mind was still stuck in last night. The room was way too quiet, and his head was spinning a little. He had no idea what time it was, but he didn’t really care. All he could think about was last night...what happened, how he felt, how everything felt like it was shifting. He rubbed his face, trying to shake it off, but it wasn’t working.
He dragged himself out of bed and stumbled to the living room. Luke was still asleep on the couch, looking completely out of it, like he hadn’t slept a wink. William stood there for a second, just staring at him. The memory of the kiss and the confession from last night hit him all over again, and his chest tightened. What the hell was he supposed to do with that?
“Hey,” William said, tapping Luke’s shoulder lightly. He couldn’t even believe how calm he sounded when his heart was racing. “Wake up.”
Luke groaned, slowly sitting up, his eyes squinting in the light. He blinked a couple of times, looking totally confused. “Huh? What...?” He looked around and then back at William. “Oh... yeah. I’m in your place.”
William tried to keep it cool. “Yeah, you passed out on the couch last night. You remember?”
Luke rubbed his eyes, and for a second, it seemed like he was struggling to put things together. “Right. Right... I drank a bit too much.” He paused, looking kind of guilty, then finally met William’s eyes. “About last night, man... I didn’t mean to... you know, make it weird.”
William shrugged, trying to brush it off. “It’s fine. You were drunk, and honestly, we both know things got a little... complicated.”
Luke immediately looked down at his hands, looking awkward. “Yeah, I didn’t think it’d go like that. I’ve just been... thinking about you for a while, Will. I didn’t know how else to say it.”
For a second, William’s heart stopped. He wasn’t expecting that. At all. “Luke, man, you were drunk. You don’t know what you were saying last night.”
But Luke just shook his head, a soft smile on his lips. “Nah, I know what I was saying. I’ve liked you for a while, I just... didn’t know if you felt the same way.” He let out a breath, like it was all out now, and William couldn’t help but feel a little overwhelmed.
“Luke...” William started, but his words were stuck in his throat. What was he supposed to say? “You weren't thinking straight. You were drinking, and... this is a lot.”
Luke looked up at him then, his eyes soft and a little embarrassed. “Yeah. You’re right. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it like that. But it’s true. I like you, Will.”
The words hit him harder than he expected. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He just stared at Luke, who looked so vulnerable and... real. It was like everything else faded for a second.
“Look, I just... I don’t want things to be weird between us,” Luke said, his voice quiet, but there was that sincerity in it that made William feel like maybe they were crossing some kind of line. He wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. He wasn’t even sure if he was ready for what had happened last night, but here they were.
William finally managed to speak. “We can’t just jump into this, Luke. It’s... a lot to deal with. You were drunk, and I just... I don’t know what to do with all of this.”
Luke nodded slowly. “Yeah. I get it. I just... I didn’t want to keep pretending it wasn’t there. I don’t want to mess things up with you.”
William ran his hand through his hair, trying to keep himself together. “We just need to take it slow. I’m not saying I don’t care about you, but... I’m not sure if I’m ready for all of this either.”
Luke gave him a small, understanding smile, and for a second, it felt like things were gonna be okay. “Yeah, I’m cool with that. Slow is good.”
They both sat there, not saying much after that, but the tension between them had loosened a little. It wasn’t perfect, and William wasn’t sure what would happen next. But for now, maybe slow was all they needed.
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