Hot showers.
They are one of the miracles of modern technology, Nate decided as he rinsed the shampoo from his tousled hair. He may have explored ancient temples, fought armies of goons, and recovered priceless treasure, but the ability to take water from God-knows-where and get it to squeeze through a little pipe and to his bathroom was still something to be marveled at, especially when it felt so good on his tired muscles. He hummed, just a little off-key, as he tried and failed to remember most of the words to an old song, soaking up the last few moments of delicious, soothing warmth before the time inevitably came that he would either have to shut the water off or explain to Sully why the bills were so high that month- again. He got to a line he remembered just as he turned the water off and began mumbling the words as he threw open the shower curtain.
"He's-got-to-be-good-lookin'-cause-he's-so-hard-to-see! Come together, right now..." He reached for a towel, but his fingers closed around empty air. Still blinded by the water draining down his face, he tried again, feeling along the top of the towel bar, but came to the same conclusion. "Oh no," he groaned, shaking his head like a dog to dry his hair. "What now?" He considered for a moment, and recalled that Sully had gone to the store for some eggs, and was probably not back yet. Nate's room was just down the hall from the bathroom, and although he did have to go by the living room on the way, it was probably still safe if Sully was still gone. Weighing his options, he decided that he had none, and-besides- what's the worst that could happen?
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained," he encouraged himself as he stepped from the shower, dripping wet and sans clothes, and cracked open the bathroom door. "Sully?" he called, a little half-heartedly. No response. "It must be clear," he decided, throwing open the door and running down the hallway.
"ARRGGHH!"
The blood-curdling scream stopped Nate in his tracks halfway across the living room, and he saw Sully covering his eyes with both hands and staggering around like a man drunk. Or blind. Or both. Suddenly remembering he was still naked, Nate grabbed a pillow to protect his modesty as Sully began to rant and rave.
"Oh, my eyes! They burn!" Leaning one shoulder against the wall, he slid halfway down it as if sapped of all strength while still firmly pressing his palms to his face. "Ohhhh, what did I ever do to deserve this?" he moaned.
"That's funny," Nate said nervously, still a little thrown from being caught in such a compromising situation. "That's what my last date said, too. Although, admittedly, the inflection was a little different, but-"
"Why are you still standing there?" Sully cried. "Go to your room!"
"Why didn't you answer when I called to see if you were here?" Nate asked, gesturing with his hands before realizing that that exposed himself and returning his hands to their position of maintaining what little dignity he had left.
"Because I didn't want to shout across the house like a barbarian!" Sully defended. "So I very graciously walked across the house to see what you needed, only to find that you clearly have no such inhibitions of civility!"
"Okay, next time just answer and save the gentleman act for the ladies, huh?" Nate replied, thoroughly flustered. "There was no towel. So, yeah."
"You know what?" Sully said, feeling along the wall toward the kitchen with one hand while still covering his eyes with the other. "Let's just forget this ever happened. You go put some clothes on, and I'll go get a very stiff drink and set up an appointment with my optometrist, see if he can save my eyes or if I'll be blind for life." As he disappeared around the corner, he fired one last parting shot at Nate. "By the way, you might want to take up a hobby or something. Something that can really impress the girls. You know, compensate a little?"
