The elevator dinged and Mark lurched off of the wall. A drunk was clinging onto his shoulder, drooling into his shirt. With a start, they shuffled their way out onto the hallway and made their way home.
"Keys?" Mark asked.
His friend, Adam, blinked at the door with his mouth hanging open.
With a roll of his eyes, Mark reached into his friend's pocket. A shuffling sound came from the other side of the door as he searched. The lock unlatched and a crack of light shone out.
"Baby!" Adam shouted, shuffling forward with open arms.
Paige let him wrap around her, smiling weakly as the man sank his weight into her.
"You two have fun?" she asked, stepping inside.
"I guess," Mark replied, shutting the door behind him and bolting it. "He's been like this half the night."
"Everyone else get home okay?"
Mark nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty quiet for the rest of us. Want me to get him to bed?"
But Adam was already easing his way toward the fridge, sneaking toward it in a careful half-crouch. He emptied a handful of condiments and Tupperware into his arms and slipped off toward his bed with a cackle.
"I guess not..."
Paige shook her head, watching with a grin as her man slipped away. "Are you sticking around for breakfast? We could all go out."
"Maybe. I think most of the guys are heading out first thing. I'm not in too big of a rush, though, unless you guys need me to go. I'm sure you want your place back to yourselves."
"It's no trouble," she shrugged. "Well, night."
She slipped back down the hall with a lazy wave and followed Adam into the bedroom. The door closed softly behind her. Adam's voice rose through the wall, far too loud.
Kyle went into his guest room and closed the door, muffling the sound of it. He got to work packing up the last of his things.
It had been the boy's last get-together before they all spread out across the country. One last chance to drag up all the old college stories, and then they would settle into their new lives. Their lives as real adults. It was one last chance to party like twenty-year-olds.
At least, that was true for most of them. Adam had already settled down and married Paige. He had already started his life.
Mark, meanwhile, was the only one of them who hadn't found a job yet. He hadn't even found a town he was sure he wanted to live in. The thought of it alone had been enough to keep him sober.
He zipped up his bag and pushed it against the wall, all ready to go for the morning. He stripped down to gym shorts and settled back onto the bedsheets.
And then he heard it.
A soft, rhythmic squeak of the bedsprings sounded from across the hall. The unmistakable sound of sex.
Adam grunted a few pumps later. A soft squeak came out that might have been Paige, or might have been the bedframe. A long, gasp rumbled through the wall as Adam finished.
The sounds abruptly stopped.
Mark turned toward the wall and waited for more, but the house was silent again. He settled back into the covers, shaking his head.
A soft tap rang against the door. Mark's eyes snapped open.
He climbed down from the edge of the bed carefully and opened the door by a crack. Paige was there, her thin white robe glowing in the darkness. She looked back at him with wide eyes.
"Hey," she whispered.
Mark peeked from the crack, hiding his bare chest. "Hi. What's up?"