When I awoke in the morning, I groaned in exasperation. Apparently, the need to suffocate ones sleeping partner in the middle of the night was habitual for Taylor. At least I'd remembered to take off all the heavy sheets I'd been using before.

This time, both of us lay on our backs, on our right sides, but his left arm was pinning me to the mattress. And it wasn't in a cute 'oh, he's using me as a teddy bear' way. Oh, no. It was an arm flung across my side as if I was a continuation of the bed he lay on. I groaned again and almost managed to escape before we woke up.

"Rains? What are you doing?" he asked, sitting up, wide awake. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. I'm just trying to get out of bed. You've made a habit of grabbing hold of me and refusing to let go."

He moved his arm off my waist instantly and blushed. "I'm sorry. I forgot to mention that. I tend to cuddle with things in my sleep. I didn't think it'd happen. I don't usually do that in unfamiliar places. I'm sorry."

I laughed. "Don't be so worried about it. As long as I can get up and move around if I have to, it's okay."

"Okay. Can you do that?"

"Probably. I haven't had to try that hard yet." I turned the alarm clock off before it could start and turned the TV on. It was silent. I turned to Taylor.

"Did you mute the volume when you turned the TV off last night?" I asked.

"Yeah. It was really loud yesterday."

"Huh. Okay. That works."

He attempted to roll around and back onto his side while I bustled about, getting ready. After a few minutes of trying to tame by hair, I finally gave up and twisted it into an immaculate bun near my neck.

"Are you going to get up and eat breakfast with me?" I asked when I came back into the room. He groaned into my pillow and mumbled something unintelligibly. "What?" He turned his head.

"I said, 'I don't want to deal with the guys.' They're giving me crap about staying here with you."

"I know. I'm getting it, too. They're only doing it because you're the new guy and they want to prove they can come out on top."

"I still don't want to."

"Fine. Have it your way, then. I'll be home early tonight, so you don't have to wait to come back over."

"Okay."

My house was blessedly empty when I went downstairs. There wasn't a single soul to annoy me as I made my breakfast. All the rooms were empty. I sat at the bar and ate my food slowly. I was just putting my plate in the sink when Taylor came down.

"You are awake," I said.

"Yeah. I wanted to see you off. I got my first pieces of mail yesterday."

"Oh? You're excited about that?"

"I don't usually get mail from people who aren't trying to get me to date them."

"Ah, yes. No fan mail yet?"

"None, thank God." He sat down in the chair I'd recently vacated with his cup of coffee.

"You still have to respond to it."

"I know. I can't believe I agreed to do that. I must have been really tired. It was a trick," he whined.

"But, you're still going to."

"Of course."

"Good. I'm off. I'll see you tonight, yeah?" He nodded and waved me out the door.

As I drove to Hannah's house, I tried to work through how we would stay in touch after she and Dustin had moved. I assumed we would still talk on the phone and email or whatever new technological advancement came about, but it seems that any long-distance relationship never works out very well in the long run, friendship or not.

Hannah greeted me as she got in my car by asking me how Taylor took it.

"Took what?" I asked.

"The news that Dustin and I are moving." I stared at her for a second before slowly looking forward, comprehension coming to me. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Slipped my mind. I don't think I even thought of it."

"Well, I don't blame you. I wouldn't remember anything if I was around him as often as you are."

"No. I had to show him the garage and he asked about—"

"The garage? Like, the one above ground? The one your p—"

"Oh, no. Not that one. The one I actually use. I'm not stupid enough to show him that yet. If anything, he'll understand that the least." I sighed, imagining his reaction. "No. The car needed to be checked, so I just brought him down there for a little. He thought it was interesting."

"Well, I'm sure. It's a large area where famous car enthusiasts hang out on a daily basis. Not to mention that the cost of all the cars down there could buy you Antarctica."

"True."

I pulled into the road and headed towards the bank.

"On another note, Marcus called me yesterday." She turned to look at me.

"Did you talk to him?" she asked.

"No. He called while I was out. He told Jacob to tell me."

"Did he know it was Jacob, like, who he is?"

"Not that I know of. Probably not. He's not the smartest of the bunch. I will have to contact him, thought. He may request that Jaz and I return to him for a little."

Hannah stayed silent for a moment before she decided to speak.

"Do you think he'll try to do what he did last time again? I don't think Jaz could take that. He was pretty bad when he came back last time."

"I know. I shall try to fix everything I need to from here. I'm not going to just up and leave. Especially since you and Taylor were seen with me not minutes later. It's documented and probably released publicly by now."

"True."

We rode the rest of the way to work in silence. She'd brought something up I hadn't really given much thought to. I'd been keeping secrets from Taylor. I hadn't known him long enough to divulge anything and I didn't know how long he was going to stick around. It'd only been a couple of days. We didn't know each other very well, but I supposed I wouldn't be averse to telling him. If anyone understood, it'd be him, I thought darkly.

The day passed quickly and without much excitement. After we got off work at the bank, we drove over to the vet's and Dustin came to pick Hannah up from there. By the time I drove into my driveway, I just wanted to take a shower and fall asleep.

When I entered my bedroom, I noticed a note on my dresser. Taylor had written it to tell me he was going to be a little late and he needed my cellphone number so he didn't have to come over and write a letter again. I smiled at his antics and took a quick shower. I picked up a random movie out of the stack and stuck it in the TV while I got ready for bed.

I'd fallen asleep about halfway through I Love You, Man, but Taylor woke me up when he came in and turned it off. He pulled off the comforter and his shirt before he climbed into bed. I mumbled something at him and he laughed a little.

"Go back to sleep, Ray," he said, lying next to me. I curled up on my side again, not noticing the nickname. Immediately, he dropped his arm around my waist. My eyes shot open in surprise. It was the first time he'd voluntarily showed affection for me. I almost wanted to ask him his reasoning for it, but I decided the psychology major in me could rest for at least one night.

The heat of his body lulled me to sleep rapidly.