Fergus took notice of the gravel crunching under his feet, the cold breeze on his skin and the dryness of his mouth. He'd never been nervous to speak to his friend before. He was very aware that this could be the most important conversation they'd ever had. As he extended his index finger in the direction of the doorbell...
"Hello, stranger!" Alistair quipped as he approached from behind.
"Had to pick up a couple of things. Everything alright, mate?" Alistair added playfully.
Fergus couldn't match his energy, he wasn't able to avoid the elephant in the room. Alistair knew what the issue was but decided to continue the charade.
"Let's go inside, it's chilly out here." and with that, Alistair lead the way. A million thoughts were racing inside Fergus' mind. How should he approach this?
After being invited to sit, Fergus took notice of his leg bouncing uncontrollably. His palms were sweaty and his throat was parched. Was this a good idea? He could forget the whole thing and crack open a beer with his buddy.
"Hey, man! Catch!" Alistair launched a bag of extra hot chips towards Fergus. Unable to think and/or control his limbs, the bag flew beyond him, landing on the back of the sofa. Fergus reached back and looked at the packet.
"Do you remember that time we bought chips with varying levels of heat, seeing how far we could get before tapping out?" Fergus knew exactly what his friend was referring to but was trying not to get manipulated into brushing the kiss under the carpet. He clenched his hands around the bag and rose to his feet.
"You feeling okay? You don't look great?" Alistair asked, seemingly genuinely worried.
"Why did you do it?" It was out there.
"Come on, we've been through this, Fergus." Alistair was desperate to get off this topic.
"Pleasing the room is not a good enough reason to kiss my girlfriend, Alistair! We're mates, mates don't do shit like that! In front of an audience no less!" Fergus' confidence grew as he waited for a response. The air lingered in stillness, who would utter the next word?
"I fucked up..." Alistair admitted.
"Yeah, you did." Fergus didn't wait for an elaboration. He pushed past Alistair, leaving him to dwindle in the silence.
Later that afternoon, Eve was surprised to learn that Fergus had visited the gym. He used to go quite often but he had let himself go a little during the second year of university. Inspired by her boyfriend, Eve searched through her wardrobe for sportswear, found her preferred home workout routine on YouTube and paused it while she made herself a shake.
The scent of chopped fruit filled the air as Eve's concoction was ready to be blended. With one hand placed above, Eve was about to start the machine, when she heard a knock at the door. Wiping her hand with a kitchen towel as she walked, she opened the door to find Alistair standing there looking apologetic.
"Can I come in?" Alistair muttered. After a momentary ponder, Eve stood to one side, gesturing her permission. Alistair walked past, his cologne following behind. Eve breathed it in, it was intoxicating. Damn, he smells incredible.
"So, what do you want?" Eve barked, arms folded.
"I need to fix this." Alistair's desperation came through. Eve huffed, not knowing what to say.
"I feel lousy! I'm going to lose my friend..."
"Good! Who kisses their friend's girl in front of an audience?" Eve immediately recognised the irrelevance of the audience part of that statement. Alistair looked dejected.
"And what about me?" Eve delved deeper. Alistair raised an eyebrow as if he hadn't considered Eve's feelings.
"Of course... I'm sorry." Alistair offered.
"Sorry for what?! Kissing me, grinding on me?! Touching yourself in front of me?!" Fuck... Why did she say that?
"Touching myself?!" Alistair exclaimed, genuinely confused. Eve knew the cat was out of the bag.
"The night... After you... You touched me. I needed a drink so I went downstairs..." Eve disclosed. Alistair had been slapped across the face.
"I... I didn't know you saw that..." He had nothing.
"I didn't!" She lied.
"I saw a flickering light and once I realised you were being a disgusting pervert, I ran back to bed!" She lied again.
"That wasn't right. I shouldn't have done it. I was very drunk..." Alistair knew that was a pathetic excuse.
"You were drunk? That's it? That's all you can say?" Eve was relentless. All her pent-up feelings towards Alistair were being liberated.
"No. Umm, I'm an addict... or at least, I think I am." Alistair didn't know if this was true. He was reaching for an out.
"A what?" Eve sounded intrigued. It worked.
"Onlyfans. I subscribe to a few accounts. They help me to relieve... myself. When I'm stressed or just in the mood, you know?" Eve's grilling had turned into a therapy session.
"I always wondered who actually pays for Onlyfans... I guess I know now..." Eve raised an eyebrow of judgmental intrigue.
"It's perfectly safe and above board. Lots of women earn a decent income." Alistair felt as though he had someone to chat with, like a horny book club.
"If you've got it, flaunt it, I guess." Eve giggled shamefully. She was being swayed by the discussion.
"Exactly! Good on them, I say. By all accounts, it's safer than them entering the porn industry." Alistair speculated.
"How so?" Eve was amazed by her curiosity.
"They're their own boss, everything is on their terms. Content, marketing, finance, rules. They have complete control." The silver tongue devil delivered.
...
"So... how much money do these girls make?" Eve couldn't understand why she asked that.
"Those in the upper echelon of the industry are millionaires." Eve's jaw dropped.
"I mean, quite a lot of women have to post some videos for free, just to get their name out there but once they pick up momentum, that train doesn't stop." Eve closed her mouth, clearing her throat.
They stared at one another, not knowing where to take the conversation, when Fergus walked through the door. Fergus was finding it hard to look at his friend.
"I just came to see if I could make amends. I'll go." Alistair nodded awkwardly, holding his hands up. Eve glanced at Fergus, who knew what she thinking. He wasn't sure about what he was about to ask.
"Wait." Alistair stopped in his tracks.
"Stay." Fergus exhaled
"There's a bottle of red and steak in the fridge."
"That sounds good." Alistair smiled with genuine appreciation.
Fergus attempted a smile as Eve gently rubbed his shoulder. Fergus took his jacket off and walked into the hallway. Eve and Alistair shared a look. Things were going to be okay after all.
TWO HOURS LATER
"That was delicious! Thank you, both." Alistair wasn't used to eating steak at home. He was more of a two-minutes-in-the-microwave kind of guy.
Eve stood and started to collect the empty dishes.
"Not a problem." Fergus replied warmly.
As Eve started to load the dishwasher, Alistair peered over Fergus' shoulder. He was genuinely happy that they had all patched things up... But... he watched her. Her curves, her hair, her face. His cock twitched as he reached for his glass of wine.
"Well, next time I'm the host. I can't promise it'll be to this standard..." Alistair's charm filled the air, it was comforting. Eve returned to the table with a new bottle of red.
