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Drew was reluctant to leave Beth on Saturday night, but he hadn’t felt comfortable asking if he could stay the night. They weren’t there yet. Besides, he had to work the next morning. With her work schedule, Sundays and Mondays were her only days to sleep in. He didn’t want to take that away from her just to satisfy his own selfish want.
His apartment was dark when he arrived home. He must have forgotten to turn on the outside light in his haste to get out the door. Turning the key in the lock, he pushed open the door, and flipped on the light.
The sight that greeted him was not what he’d expected. His buddy, Shawn, was curled up on his new couch with a blanket draped over him. “Shawn?”
Shawn rolled his large body to face Drew and then sat up slowly. It was only then that Drew noticed several empty beer cans beside the coffee table. “Hey. You’re back.”
Drew shut and locked the door behind him. “What happened?”
“My old lady kicked me out. Said I’m afraid of commitment or some shit.” Shawn ran his hands through his hair, causing it to stick up in all directions. “Do you think I can crash here for a few days? I start my rotation tomorrow, so I won’t be able to look for a new place until Friday.”
“Sure. Whatever you need.”
“Thanks.”
Walking into the kitchen, Drew realized he still had Beth’s list in his hand. He quickly folded and tucked it into his front pocket. The last thing he needed was for Shawn to get curious. Trust was one thing, but he didn’t want to have to lie to his friend. He also wasn’t ready to put his sexual preferences out in the open to be scrutinized.
“Were you out with your girl tonight? The one you were telling me about?” Shawn asked.
Drew took two glasses and filled them with water. He had no idea how much Shawn had had to drink, but if what he could see on the floor was any indication, his friend was going to be feeling it tomorrow.
Handing one of the glasses to Shawn, Drew sat down a few feet away on the recliner. “I was. And before you ask, it went well. She’s making me dinner Monday night.” He couldn’t hide his joy about that, so he didn’t even try.
“I’m happy for you. You deserve it.”
“Thanks.”
They were both quiet for several minutes.
“I hope you don’t mind that I used the spare key you gave me,” Shawn said.
“Of course not. I gave it to you to use if you needed it. You obviously needed it tonight.”
Shawn gulped down half the water in his glass. “Yeah.”
“You want to talk about it?” Drew asked. Shawn had certainly listened to Drew’s women troubles over the years.
“Not much to tell.” Shawn shook his head and downed the rest of his water. “I was over at Mickey’s helping him set up a swing set for his girls for most of the day. Came home around five and Jill had my bags packed and waiting for me at the door. Everything was fine last week. I don’t know what happened.”
“Did you mention she’d been out of town or something?” Drew asked, trying to help his friend make sense of what appeared to be the end of his relationship. Shawn and Jill had been together since Drew had been a firefighter—longer.
“Yeah. Her sister’s been sick, so she was in Denver helping take care of her sister’s kids. She got back late last night. I was hoping we’d get to sit down and enjoy a nice evening together before I went back on rotation.”
Drew didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry, man. I really am.”
Shawn nodded and looked around the apartment. “Are you sure you don’t mind me crashing here for a few nights?”
“Of course not. We’re both on duty tomorrow, then between sleeping and having dinner at Beth’s, I won’t be here much Monday either.”
“I owe you.”
“Pfft. How many times did you save my skin in the last seven years?” Drew asked.
His friend laughed. It was good to hear.
“Exactly. So don’t sweat it. Crash here as long as you need.”
Considering it was going on eleven, Shawn helped Drew clean up some of the clutter and downed a few ibuprofen before climbing back on the couch. After making sure everything was locked up tight and that the lights were out, Drew made his way into his bedroom. Only then, with the door closed, did he fish Beth’s list out of his pocket.
