Kiss Me, Babe
1/1
“We’re sorry Mr. Barakat, but there’s nothing we can do. All flights to Baltimore are canceled. The storm has the entire city under six inches of snow, and there’s more falling as we speak. I’m afraid there’s no flights going in or out until the 26th at the earliest.”
Christmas Eve, and Jack’s flight home was cancelled. He was on the phone with the airport for the last hour trying desperately to find some way out of LA to be with his family on the east coast, but the lady he just spoke with had killed any last hope he had.
He thanked her for her help, hung up, and threw his phone at the couch. He ran his hand through his hair for the fiftieth time since he called; the black-blond strands had started out flat and now they were standing completely on end. He slumped on the couch with his rejected phone, trying to think of some way he didn’t have to spend Christmas Eve alone.
Thankfully, there was one person he knew he could count on to be in LA.
4 texts and half an hour later, his best friend Zack showed up smiling at his door, green eyes bright and brown hair curling out from underneath a Santa hat. He was holding a bottle of wine, a box of Christmas ornaments, and a copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
“Never fear, Santa Claus is here,” he announced.
---
Zack was his best friend on paper. He and Jack had been randomly selected roommates in college, and sharing their small cell of a dorm made them extremely close.
Zack was his best friend on paper, but in real life he was so much more than that. Zack was his person. Anything that happened in Jack’s life, big or small, funny or sad, Zack was who he told first. Zack was who he partied with on the weekends and who he relaxed with on the weekdays.
Oh, and Jack was secretly in love with him. No big deal.
---
“Why don’t you have any decorations up?” Zack asked, taking in Jack’s bare apartment. “No wonder you don’t want to be here. It’s Christmas cheer-less.”
“I guess I just never got around to it,” Jack sighed. “I didn’t think I would be home.”
“Then that’s the first thing we’ll do,” Zack decided. He shoved his supplies into Jack’s arms and made his way to the hall closet where Jack kept random things like decorations. “Open the wine, we’ve got decorating to do.”
---
It didn’t take long for Jack to learn that being attracted to your roommate was pretty much the worst thing ever. Zack was into working out, and he could never be bothered to put on a shirt when he was just hanging around their room. Jack knew it wasn’t fair to look at him like that, and he tried his hardest not to. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t notice the broadness of his shoulders or the curve of his waist.
He definitely didn’t notice the tattoos decorating Zack’s biceps or the dimples he had in his back, just above the waist of his shorts. The silver ring in his nose definitely didn’t drive him crazy, and neither did the fluid movement of the muscles in his back when he stretched. The crinkles around his eyes when he smiled didn’t make Jack’s heart skip a beat. And Jack definitely didn’t fantasize about tracing the lines of his abs or tangling his fingers in his perpetually messy hair, no sir. Or at least that’s what he told himself to get by.
---
The first thing they did was set up the tree. Zack dug Jack’s little four-foot artificial tree out of his closet, and they blared Christmas music while they decorated it. Jack didn’t have that many ornaments, just a star, some lights, and a few red baubles, but Zack had brought a box filled with little woodland animals and candy canes.
They drank the wine too quickly and talked, each story reminding them of something else and causing an endless chain reaction. Zack told Jack stories about people at work and made him laugh until he was snorting and he forgot all about the airport and the storm in Baltimore.
They ended up making a quick trip to the grocery store down the block. Zack insisted that they get a box of cookie dough to make those stupidly delicious sugar cookies with the Christmas trees on top. Jack was the one who had to tear the dough away from Zack so he could actually bake some cookies before Zack ate it all. They lit the fireplace and sat in front of it together, eating the few cookies they managed to make.
Zack’s eyes twinkled while he listened to Jack, and whenever Jack glanced at him he held his gaze for a few seconds too long. Jack figured it was just the wine.
---
There was one time Jack almost told him. They were still in college, in their second year of being roommates. It was a few days before Christmas break, and Jack’s dad had just had a heart attack. Jack was overwhelmed with studying for finals, worried and upset about his dad, and Zack had been there for him. Zack spent all night watching movies with him and going out to get them various junk food meals, and Jack was grateful that Zack was just there. No questions asked.
He’d almost said it that night, when they were crowded onto his little dorm bed and surrounded by Chinese takeout boxes. It would’ve been so easy. By the way, you’re the most caring person I’ve ever met and I love you.
But he didn’t.
---
Now they were sprawled on the couch, mugs of coffee in hand. The room was dark except for the fireplace and the Christmas tree in the corner, both trying their hardest to make the little apartment merry. How the Grinch Stole Christmas was playing on the TV because Zack wanted to watch it; Jack had rolled his eyes so intensely that it hurt a little, but he had to admit he was secretly enjoying it.
“Your tree looks sad without any presents under it,” Zack sighed.
“Unless Santa brings me some, it’s going to stay that way,” Jack joked.
“You never know,” Zack said completely sincerely, staring intently at Jack. His expression was reminiscent of a kindergartner that still believed in Santa with all his heart.
“Right,” Jack grinned, taking a sip of his coffee. “You never know.”
Zack grinned back, and then he set his mug on the floor and edged across the couch, closing the space between them and laying his head on Jack’s shoulder.
Jack felt like his heart skipped four beats. How he managed to keep hold of his mug, he didn’t know. Zack’s touch was nothing new, but Jack had always expected the friendly punches on his arm or flicks of his ear. This was completely new territory. This was crossing the line into cuddling country.
What now?! his mind shouted. Zack laughed at something the Grinch said on the TV, oblivious to the supernova occurring in Jack's head.
Jack assessed the situation. He was sitting up mostly straight, and his feet were propped up on the ottoman. Zack was sitting next to him with his cheek resting on his shoulder, and his hair was tickling Jack’s ear. Most importantly, Zack’s left hand was resting on the couch mere centimeters away from Jack’s right.
If he didn’t do something now, he never would. Zack would never know that Jack cared about him like this, and Jack would live forever in agony because he was in love with his best friend and he never had the balls to do anything about it.
BE A MAN, he told himself. Aren’t you dying to know?
He was.
And that’s how he ended up slowly reaching over and gently placing his palm in Zack’s.
And Zack laced his fingers through Jack’s and held on tight.
And never mind that Jack’s palm was sweaty enough to put out the fire in the fireplace. Because he squeezed Zack’s hand, and Zack looked up at him with green eyes sparkling enough to pass for Christmas lights.
And an even wilder notion popped into Jack’s head.
He set the mug he was still holding in his left hand down on the table beside the couch, and slowly, to make sure this was okay, he lifted Zack’s chin with his thumb.
Jack’s nose was about to bump into Zack’s when he suddenly spoke.
“Jack,” Zack whispered.
He froze, ready for the rejection that would inevitably come.
And then Zack surprised him.
“Kiss me.”
And Jack answered by gently touching his lips to Zack’s.
And suddenly his tree without any presents wasn’t so sad anymore. His present was right next to him, kissing him back and tugging him closer by the fabric of his t-shirt.
Christmas in LA hadn’t been so bad after all.
Christmas Eve, and Jack’s flight home was cancelled. He was on the phone with the airport for the last hour trying desperately to find some way out of LA to be with his family on the east coast, but the lady he just spoke with had killed any last hope he had.
He thanked her for her help, hung up, and threw his phone at the couch. He ran his hand through his hair for the fiftieth time since he called; the black-blond strands had started out flat and now they were standing completely on end. He slumped on the couch with his rejected phone, trying to think of some way he didn’t have to spend Christmas Eve alone.
Thankfully, there was one person he knew he could count on to be in LA.
4 texts and half an hour later, his best friend Zack showed up smiling at his door, green eyes bright and brown hair curling out from underneath a Santa hat. He was holding a bottle of wine, a box of Christmas ornaments, and a copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
“Never fear, Santa Claus is here,” he announced.
---
Zack was his best friend on paper. He and Jack had been randomly selected roommates in college, and sharing their small cell of a dorm made them extremely close.
Zack was his best friend on paper, but in real life he was so much more than that. Zack was his person. Anything that happened in Jack’s life, big or small, funny or sad, Zack was who he told first. Zack was who he partied with on the weekends and who he relaxed with on the weekdays.
Oh, and Jack was secretly in love with him. No big deal.
---
“Why don’t you have any decorations up?” Zack asked, taking in Jack’s bare apartment. “No wonder you don’t want to be here. It’s Christmas cheer-less.”
“I guess I just never got around to it,” Jack sighed. “I didn’t think I would be home.”
“Then that’s the first thing we’ll do,” Zack decided. He shoved his supplies into Jack’s arms and made his way to the hall closet where Jack kept random things like decorations. “Open the wine, we’ve got decorating to do.”
---
It didn’t take long for Jack to learn that being attracted to your roommate was pretty much the worst thing ever. Zack was into working out, and he could never be bothered to put on a shirt when he was just hanging around their room. Jack knew it wasn’t fair to look at him like that, and he tried his hardest not to. But that didn’t mean that he didn’t notice the broadness of his shoulders or the curve of his waist.
He definitely didn’t notice the tattoos decorating Zack’s biceps or the dimples he had in his back, just above the waist of his shorts. The silver ring in his nose definitely didn’t drive him crazy, and neither did the fluid movement of the muscles in his back when he stretched. The crinkles around his eyes when he smiled didn’t make Jack’s heart skip a beat. And Jack definitely didn’t fantasize about tracing the lines of his abs or tangling his fingers in his perpetually messy hair, no sir. Or at least that’s what he told himself to get by.
---
The first thing they did was set up the tree. Zack dug Jack’s little four-foot artificial tree out of his closet, and they blared Christmas music while they decorated it. Jack didn’t have that many ornaments, just a star, some lights, and a few red baubles, but Zack had brought a box filled with little woodland animals and candy canes.
They drank the wine too quickly and talked, each story reminding them of something else and causing an endless chain reaction. Zack told Jack stories about people at work and made him laugh until he was snorting and he forgot all about the airport and the storm in Baltimore.
They ended up making a quick trip to the grocery store down the block. Zack insisted that they get a box of cookie dough to make those stupidly delicious sugar cookies with the Christmas trees on top. Jack was the one who had to tear the dough away from Zack so he could actually bake some cookies before Zack ate it all. They lit the fireplace and sat in front of it together, eating the few cookies they managed to make.
Zack’s eyes twinkled while he listened to Jack, and whenever Jack glanced at him he held his gaze for a few seconds too long. Jack figured it was just the wine.
---
There was one time Jack almost told him. They were still in college, in their second year of being roommates. It was a few days before Christmas break, and Jack’s dad had just had a heart attack. Jack was overwhelmed with studying for finals, worried and upset about his dad, and Zack had been there for him. Zack spent all night watching movies with him and going out to get them various junk food meals, and Jack was grateful that Zack was just there. No questions asked.
He’d almost said it that night, when they were crowded onto his little dorm bed and surrounded by Chinese takeout boxes. It would’ve been so easy. By the way, you’re the most caring person I’ve ever met and I love you.
But he didn’t.
---
Now they were sprawled on the couch, mugs of coffee in hand. The room was dark except for the fireplace and the Christmas tree in the corner, both trying their hardest to make the little apartment merry. How the Grinch Stole Christmas was playing on the TV because Zack wanted to watch it; Jack had rolled his eyes so intensely that it hurt a little, but he had to admit he was secretly enjoying it.
“Your tree looks sad without any presents under it,” Zack sighed.
“Unless Santa brings me some, it’s going to stay that way,” Jack joked.
“You never know,” Zack said completely sincerely, staring intently at Jack. His expression was reminiscent of a kindergartner that still believed in Santa with all his heart.
“Right,” Jack grinned, taking a sip of his coffee. “You never know.”
Zack grinned back, and then he set his mug on the floor and edged across the couch, closing the space between them and laying his head on Jack’s shoulder.
Jack felt like his heart skipped four beats. How he managed to keep hold of his mug, he didn’t know. Zack’s touch was nothing new, but Jack had always expected the friendly punches on his arm or flicks of his ear. This was completely new territory. This was crossing the line into cuddling country.
What now?! his mind shouted. Zack laughed at something the Grinch said on the TV, oblivious to the supernova occurring in Jack's head.
Jack assessed the situation. He was sitting up mostly straight, and his feet were propped up on the ottoman. Zack was sitting next to him with his cheek resting on his shoulder, and his hair was tickling Jack’s ear. Most importantly, Zack’s left hand was resting on the couch mere centimeters away from Jack’s right.
If he didn’t do something now, he never would. Zack would never know that Jack cared about him like this, and Jack would live forever in agony because he was in love with his best friend and he never had the balls to do anything about it.
BE A MAN, he told himself. Aren’t you dying to know?
He was.
And that’s how he ended up slowly reaching over and gently placing his palm in Zack’s.
And Zack laced his fingers through Jack’s and held on tight.
And never mind that Jack’s palm was sweaty enough to put out the fire in the fireplace. Because he squeezed Zack’s hand, and Zack looked up at him with green eyes sparkling enough to pass for Christmas lights.
And an even wilder notion popped into Jack’s head.
He set the mug he was still holding in his left hand down on the table beside the couch, and slowly, to make sure this was okay, he lifted Zack’s chin with his thumb.
Jack’s nose was about to bump into Zack’s when he suddenly spoke.
“Jack,” Zack whispered.
He froze, ready for the rejection that would inevitably come.
And then Zack surprised him.
“Kiss me.”
And Jack answered by gently touching his lips to Zack’s.
And suddenly his tree without any presents wasn’t so sad anymore. His present was right next to him, kissing him back and tugging him closer by the fabric of his t-shirt.
Christmas in LA hadn’t been so bad after all.
♠ ♠ ♠
Merry Christmas!