On Saturday night, Ken and Davis welcomed their friends into the apartment. Kari had baked cupcakes for the occasion and they were set out on the kitchen table amongst an array of pizza boxes, bottles of soda and assorted bags of snacks. The stash of alcohol was kept in the fridge.
The group sat in a small circle on the living room floor. Davis was at Ken's right. To his left was Kari, TK at her side, Cody, and Yolei. Plates and cups were spread out on all sides. They all took time to chat. Get-togethers like this were getting fewer and farther between as they all were frequently busy during the school semester.
"So, Mr. Hosts, I hear Ken has a game for us to play?" asked Yolei, excited with a twinge of impatience.
"Is it Strip Poker?!" Davis yelled, which was met by both laughs and groans.
"Don't you get your fill of stripping through the week?" TK chuckled, Kari giggling at the joke.
Davis pursed his lips and shot a glare at TK. "Ha ha."
"I'll get it," Ken piped up, leaving the circle to fetch it from his room. When he returned, he set the box down and opened it.
As he set the deck of cards in the center of their circle, Cody snatched the sheet of rules.
"Most Likely: a party game to determine who deserves the card and title," Cody began. "Draw a card and, as a group, decide which player gets the title. First player to get ten cards wins."
"Sounds fun! Let's do it!" Yolei shouted. "Wait! Let me get a drink first!" She abruptly stood and trotted to the kitchen.
One by one, they filed in and out of the kitchen, filling their cups with beer and wine.
When everyone had returned to the circle, Yolei was the first to draw a card.
"Okay, let's see. Most likely to sleep with a stuffed animal," she read, flashing the card to the rest of them. "That's easy! Kari!"
They laughed and agreed unanimously as Yolei handed the card to a smiling Kari.
The game went round and round, drinks flowing as each of them amassed more cards.
Davis, who was four beers in with even more cards in his possession, had his turn next.
He held the card up quite close to his rapidly blurring eyes. "Most likely to be the worst phone sex operator." He barely finished reading it before falling into hysterics.
"Oh! Oh! I know who gets this one!" Davis slurred raucously and wrapped an arm around Ken's shoulder, miming a phone up to his ear with the card in his other hand.
"Oh, baby, the way you read that book is so hot," he purred huskily, "yes, oh god, turning the page turns me on!"
Ken sat in his grasp, face aflame, indignantly scowling while the rest of the group laughed in shock.
Kari was the first to come to his defense. "Davis is just being ridiculous. It would be because you're so shy," she smiled sympathetically.
Ken begrudgingly plucked the card from Davis' fingers.
After another round and much humorous debating, it was determined that TK would be most likely to survive the apocalypse, Cody to start a cult, and Yolei to be kicked out of a funeral. Everyone was a good sport, laughing at each other as well as themselves.
Ken's turn was up again. Davis, having released Ken earlier was now back at it again, arm laid across his shoulder, peering at the card in his hand.
"Most likely to join a nudist colony," Ken read, a tiny smirk on his lips. "This card belongs to you, which makes you the winner." Everyone agreed immediately on the verdict and he added the card to Davis' stack.
"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Davis chuckled, gripping Ken tighter, turning his face toward his. "Let's start one in the apartment," he whispered in his ear.
Yolei, who overheard, scoffed and threw a fake, light punch against Davis' arm. "Ugh, is that all you think about?"
Davis cackled, still holding fast to Ken while he blushed in embaressment.
"That's not all, Yolei," Cody chided. "There's food, too."
The comment got everyone laughing.
"But girls first, always," TK added.
"If you all wanna' be like that, then you're not invited to my nudist colony," Davis spat affronted. "Only Ken can come."
If possible, Ken's cheeks lit up even brighter.
Kari took notice. "You never know until you try, Ken. It might be fun," she said, sly subtext hidden beneath the innocent-sounding sentiment.
In fact, Kari was the only one throughout the duration of the game who noticed the way Ken and Davis interacted. A small touch to the arm when Ken said something funny, looking a bit too long at Davis' face, all the nuances of their body language, subtle or otherwise.
"I'm okay with no invitation," Cody snickered.
"Me too. Have fun, Ken. You're on your own," said TK.
"Especially if there's no hot guys! Lame," Yolei whined.
They each stood up, thanking Davis and Ken for having them and making vague promises to get together again soon. The pair saw their friends to the door.
Ken turned around after twisting the lock, but was blocked by Davis just standing and staring at him, dopey grin on his face.
"You alright? What are you doing?" Ken asked gently in case Davis was even more drunk than he thought.
"Picturing you naked," he smiled devilishly.
Ken rolled his eyes and gently elbowed him out of the way so he could get started on cleaning up the living room.
Davis guffawed as he knelt down and started stacking empty cups. "Oh, come on," he pleaded. Ken thought he was going to conclude the plea with 'I was just teasing,' but he didn't.
Ken balled the empty snack bags in his fist, a stack of plates under the other arm and walked into the kitchen. Davis followed with an armful of empty beer bottles.
Ken turned the faucet on and took the few glasses from Davis to start washing while he hovered beside him, leaning back against the counter.
"You don't have to be so uptight," Davis teased.
"I'm not uptight," Ken countered, response sounding more sour than he had meant it to.
Davis cocked his head and his eyebrow in mocking disagreement.
"Just because I'm not as... not uptight as you are, doesn't mean I'm uptight," Ken scoffed, rubbing a dishtowel over the glasses and placing them back in the cabinet.
"For once, I'd like to see you just let go," Davis pondered aloud, and as Ken brought his arms down, gripping the edge of the sink, he softly brushed his fingertips along the top of his hand.
The sensation sent a pleasant chill up Ken's arm, which naturally made him panic. "I'm not having this conversation," he scowled, turned, and walked back into the living room where he, after returning the cards to their box and turning off the light, took a seat on the couch.
As expected, Davis followed and flopped down beside him.
Ken huffed a tired sigh and leaned his head against the back of the couch. Davis, already turned toward him, propped up his arm, cheek in his palm.
"Tonight was fun, right?" asked Davis happily.
"Yeah," Ken replied with a smile. He had missed his friends and was grateful for any amount of time they could gather.
While he reminisced, he hadn't noticed Davis scoot closer, looking at him intently.
"I know something else that would be fun," Davis whispered, and as Ken turned his head slowly toward him, their faces were a mere few inches apart. Davis was so close he could feel the breath on his exposed neck. He looked so serious, not at all the goofy expression he normally wore while heavily intoxicated.
Ken was transfixed, having no idea what Davis would do next. His pulse was thundering in his face, breath quick and shallow.
As if in slow motion, Davis leaned toward him and pressed his lips softly against Ken's.
Once the initial shock had subsided, which did take a long few seconds, Ken reciprocated gladly, arms winding around Davis' middle.
They kissed with heated urgency. Davis' chest was heaving, slipping his tongue between Ken's parted lips. Ken barely had time to register what was happening as real before Davis was lowering him to lay beneath him.
Davis moved his mouth to the side of Ken's neck. He arched his back and Davis slid his hands beneath him, roving everywhere he could reach.
Ken's soft, breathy whimpers urged Davis on, and he joined their mouths again. Pressed together, Ken could feel Davis' arousal against him.
Only when Davis began blindly slipping his hands beneath his shirt did sense return to Ken. His brows furrowed in confusion. He gripped Davis by the shoulders and pushed him upward.
Eyes wide, he put his hand over his forehead in mortification.
Davis knelt above him looking a bit wounded. "Ken, I... "
"I can't do this," Ken winced, scooting out from under Davis and speeding to his room.
He paced for a while, praying Davis wouldn't follow him. He finally collapsed onto the bed, palms covering his mouth. Oh God. My God. What just happened?
Davis was drunk, sure, but how could he be that drunk? Was it that his urges were so uncontrolled, so long as he had a body beneath him he didn't care? He had to just be toying with Ken. There was no way he knew of Ken's feelings for him.
Not before, at least. But now?
Lines had been crossed, irreversibly crossed. How could he face him in the morning? He had no room to deny enjoying it. He surrendered to Davis' touch so wantonly. It was all he ever wanted; to be held by him, touched, loved.
But this wasn't love. Not the love he wanted from him. This was just physical. It was lust born of too much alcohol and raging hormones.
Ken covered his face with his hands, praying for unconsciousness, death, anything to take from him away from this.
At the other end of the apartment, Davis lay in his bed, heaving a defeated sigh with his fingers pulling through his hair.
Things hadn't panned out quite as he had hoped. Sure, Ken hadn't run off screaming when he kissed him, but he didn't exactly see it through, either.
Maybe Ken thought it was a trick, some technique from his lothario playbook simply to get him into bed. It wasn't, but how could he risk their relationship by confessing his true feelings?
His entire being throbbed with unfulfilled want, the feeling of Ken's lips still on his.
Ken's lips. Ken. His best friend. The one person he truly wanted but couldn't have.