Left alone in the laundry room, Noha leaned against the door for a few seconds. His heart pounded uncontrollably, his cheeks burned, and his body felt overwhelmingly sensitive. He waited for a few moments until he managed to catch his breath. As soon as he calmed down, he went straight for his clothes. When he was about to grab his shirt, he felt dizzy, and nausea took over him. Little by little, his legs lost strength, and kneeling on the cold floor, he vomited his stomach bile until he fell prone.
***
Sunlight streamed through the large living room windows. The view was one he had never dreamed of seeing; he could appreciate the treetops stretching into the distance, interspersed with luxurious buildings. Noha stood for a few seconds admiring the view, his mind blank and feeling completely at peace. He had slept like he hadn't in a long time, and a feeling of fullness flooded his chest. Gradually, he remembered what had been a long night, small fragments of what had happened coming to his mind. Little by little, his heart filled with worry. He finally remembered passing out while vomiting in the laundry room. Lost in his thoughts, he noticed something moving beneath him.
When he became aware of his body, he realized he was lying on top of Luc, like a small child. His legs were wrapped around his hips, his arms tightly around his torso, and his face was on his shoulder. Luc's arms gently supported his back, as if he were something fragile. It felt really warm and nice. "What are you thinking?"Noha jumped up, and in doing so, he got tangled in the blanket covering their bodies and inevitably fell to the floor with a thud. Had he spent the night embracing this guy covered with a blanket? "What the hell?"
His nape prickled, and his face burned with shame. Luckily, he noticed he was wearing a white t-shirt that was too big for him and his boxers. When he mustered the courage, he looked at Luc's face. There he was with a triumphant smile.
"Hey, you took the blanket, I'm cold," he said sadly.
"No, you were going to take me home, you damn psycho!" Noha wrestled with the blanket as he tried to stand up.
"You passed out in the laundry room on top of your own vomit. I couldn't wake you up; you looked pathetic."
"And that's why you made me sleep on top of you?" Noha said, glaring at him.
"Hey, you're crazy. You begged me not to leave you alone, you kept crying and babbling. You forced me."
"Shut up! I would never say something like that to someone like you."
"Think what you want, I only did what you asked," he added, rubbing his eyes. Now his eyes looked clear and bright.
"Does he wear contacts? His eyes keep changing color." Noah thought
"I don't want to hear another word from your mouth. I'm getting out of here," Noha said decisively, walking towards the laundry room to get his clothes.
The laundry room was just as he remembered it, completely spotless. "Had this guy cleaned?" Also, he had no traces of being dirty; he was completely clean. "How dare that idiot?"
Within a few minutes, Noha had left the laundry room. His clothes were soft and smelled nice. "At least he's a kind psycho", Noha thought to himself. Reaching the end of the hallway, he could see Luc standing in front of the kitchen island, smoking a cigarette.
"You can use the bathroom if you want, it's over there," he added, pointing to a small door.
"Okay, thanks. I'll give your kidnapping service 5 stars," Noha said, walking reluctantly towards the bathroom.
"Tsk."
In the bathroom, he could see his condition. It wasn't as bad as he had imagined; his face looked fine, but his hair was another story, tangled and matted. When would he stop embarrassing himself in front of everyone? Noha fixed his hair as best he could and went out, determined to leave this place and never see Luc again in his life.
"Hey, come here, have some water," Luc called to Noha in a nonchalant tone.
"I don't need anything. Could you just let me go?"
"Are you going to keep pretending I kidnapped you so you don't have to thank me? Fine, two can play the same game." "Could you please open the door for me?" Noha added before losing his patience.
"Come on, drink and eat something before we leave. I don't want you getting sick again."
"What do you care?" Noha couldn't take it anymore.
"It's true, just come here, I won't ask you for anything else," he said, gesturing to a stool with his hand.
In front of the breakfast bar was a glass of water, some toast, scrambled eggs, and orange juice. Reluctantly, Noha sat down, took the glass of water, and drank it quickly. He was actually dying of thirst. Little by little, he ate the breakfast that Luc had given him.
"Did he cook this? It's pretty good."
"Are you going to eat something, or are you just going to watch me while I eat?" he said while eating a piece of toast.
"I'm not hungry right now," he mentioned as he approached Noha and wiped the corner of his lips with his thumb, then brought it to his mouth.
"Mmm, delicious."
"You're crazy."
Noha ate the rest of his breakfast in silence. He had thousands of thoughts floating in his head and felt like the whole previous night had been a bad dream. His face burned every time he remembered what had happened between Luc and him in the laundry room. Unwillingly, he became a lewd person when he was very close to him; he couldn't control himself. It was a facet of himself he didn't even know existed.
"What are you thinking about?" Luc added with a playful smile, as if he could read Noha's thoughts.
"N... Nothing that concerns you," Noha almost choked on the last bite of his breakfast.
Suddenly, a phone rang in the living room. It seemed to be Luc's phone. Before heading to the living room, he pushed the glass of juice towards Noha and gestured for him to drink it. He seemed to have noticed that Noha was about to choke.
"What's wrong with this idiot, taking care of me like a little kid? I have to get out of here immediately. I've played along long enough."
Already in the living room, Luc picked up his cell phone and answered the call.
"Hello," he said curtly.
"Yes, I told you I'd be there. Why are you so worried, Julian?" His voice sounded angry.
"No, it isn't late, I'm dealing with something. I'll call you later... goodbye," he hung up with a sigh, covering his forehead with his hands.
Noha was already in front of the apartment door, like a puppy about to be taken for a walk. He had played along with Lucian's games enough; he had to go to work. None of what had happened made any sense.
"You... wait a moment, I'll be right back," he said, looking at Noha. "I said I'd take you home! I'll be right back!" Luc left the living room and headed upstairs at full speed.
"You bastard, let me go!" Noha shouted with all his might.