Chapter 2
**The Towel Incident**
**Inside the limo
N: "So what do you guys think of Doug?"
B: "He seems really nice and down-to-earth."
A: "Yeah! Did you see how he reacted when he realized who we were? He didn't care!"
K: "I know. I feel so embarrassed at how I acted."
H: "Don't worry about it Kevin. He said it was okay, didn't he? Anyway, he doesn't seem like the type of person to get pissed off over something like that."
A: "Defending him already, D? You must really like him. "
H: "Huh? What in the hell are you talking about, Bone? I just met him!"
K: "Please, Howie, you were staring at him--"
H: "I was not!"
K: "--as much as he was staring at you."
H: "...what?"
N: "He likes you, D. How did you not see that?"
B: "Yeah, didn't you notice how he looked right at you when he said that he would "enjoy" the company? Damn, Howie, he's attracted to you!"
H: "Okay, okay! I'll admit it...he's cute and I would like to get to know him better given the chance. But, we don't even know if he's gay and that IS kinda important."
N: "Just ask him, he might surprise you."
K: "So I take it that we're going to stay with him this weekend?"
All: "Yes!!!"
**Outside the limo
They were in there for about ten minutes before they again climbed out of the derelict vehicle. By the looks on their faces, especially Howie's, the discussion seemed to have gone rather well. I smiled inwardly.
"Doug," Kevin started, "we've discussed it and decided that we would be happy to stay with you this weekend," this with a significant glance at Howie. 'Strange. I wonder what's going on there," I mused. I responded to this in a very calm manner, which seemed to take ALL of them aback. I managed to keep the laughter confined to the insides of my headthis time. "That's great! I only live about a block away, so let's grab your luggage and we can walk there."
Nick cheered and did a little dance on the side of the road (I swear he can act like a 5-year-old. But it was funny.) and the Boys went to grab their bags. Howie had more than he could carry and I offered to help. He protested, but gave in when I explained that if I didn't lend a hand, we would be forced to make another trip back to the limo. Chuck was staying there to wait for the tow truck. By now, the rain had completely stopped and we were at my place in a few minutes. I opened the door, but as I went to turn on the light, I was taken down at the knees by a fast-moving bundle of canine.
"Damn Kina, couldn't you have waited til I set this stuff down?" I asked, groaning, after she knocked me down and I landed, rather painfully, on one of Howie's suitcases.
"Are you okay dude?" Howie asked while chuckling blatantly.
"Ohh...I see how you are. Laughing at my pain. You suck!" I retorted with a mock-pissed face. At this, tthe rest of the guys burst out laughing and Howie blushed a deep crimson.
AJ was laughing so hard that he was on the floor clutching his sides. But, he did manage to gasp out, "Man...you have...no idea!" before succumbing to another bout of hysterical giggling. I just stared at him, much too tired to make the connection. Deciding to ignore him, I returned to the matter at hand.
"Well guys, four of you can share the two king-sized beds in the other bedrooms and the last can have mine. I'll sleep on the floor." A short bit of arguing erupted, but it was soon agreed that Nick and Brian would take one bedroom, while Kevin and AJ would take the other. Howie got "stuck" with me, or so I thought. I was secretly pleased at this turn of events.
"You can get more pillows and blankets out of the hall closet if you need them and each room has its own bathroom. Oh yeah! Feel free to raid the 'fridge and cupboards to your hearts' content. My home is completely open to you. I'm sorry, but right now I HAVE to go to bed before I pass out!"
They all said their thanks and that they were turning in as well. It was fairly obvious that they were all exhausted. Going down the hall, they went to their respective bedrooms and closed the doors behind themselves. Howie and I moved his stuff to my room and I began to make my bed on the floor. Howie looked at what I was doing, steeled himself, and spoke.
"You don't have to do that."
"Huh? Don't have to do what?"
"Sleep on the floor. I mean, it is your apartment. I'll take the floor."
"That's sweet, Howie, but no. You are my guest and I will not have you sleeping anywhere but on a bed!"
"Fine. Let's compromise. Neither of us wants the other to sleep on the floor, so we'll both take the bed," the shock was quite visible on my face at this point, "Is that alright with you?"
"Yeah, I'm alright with it as long as you are," I returned in a questioning tone.
"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have suggested it in the first place," he answered as he turned his back to me to rummage through a suitcase, "Besides, it's not like you're going to ravage me in the night or anything."
'Not that that would be a bad thing' we both mumbled, too softly to be heard.
I then proceeded to walk into the bathroom, brush my teeth and hop in the shower. After washing and allowing the warm water to relax away some of the fatigue and tension from my tired body, I got out and dried myself off. I wrapped the towel around my waist and stepped back into the bedroom. As I did so, Howie walked by to get ready for bed. He lightly brushed me as he went past and managed to catch the zipper of his shaving bag on my towel. It would have come off had I not noticed and grabbed it just in time. This act pulled Howie up short. He turned and looked at me questioningly.
"Howie, I know you want to shower, but you'll have to get your own. I'm not finished with this towel yet, so you can't have it," I laughed while pointing down toward our predicament. As he looked down, he began to blush hotly. Then he spoke, barely managing to stammer out an apology.
"I...I...I'm s-so sorry, Doug," he stuttered in little more than a whisper.
"Don't worry about it," I assured him while disengaging us from one another, "Just don't let it happen again, or you may see more of me than you ever wanted to!"
This just caused him to flush more fiercely and he hurried into the bathroom. A few minutes later, the sounds of the shower were audible. I chuckled privately to myself and then put on a clean T-shirt and boxers, turned out the lights and climbed under the covers. I left the dresser lamp on for Howie.
Soon enough, I heard the shower shut off and the sound of the bathroom door opening. He quietly went over to his bags and moved things around looking for something. After a minute, the last light was extinguished and he gently got into bed. I was just conscious enough to mumble a goodnight and he did the same. In moments, we were both sound asleep.
That night I spent in a deep and dreamless slumber, not waking until the alarm clock went off late the next morning. I didn't even remember setting the damn thing! When I tried to roll over and turn it off, I found that I couldn't move. After a few moments of clearing the sleep from my brain, I realized why. Sometime during the night, Howie and I had ended up spooning together, and his arm was now holding me tightly to his decidedly unclothed body. Moving a bit, I had another realization. Something very hard and VERY big was poking me in the back...
Chapter 3
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