The smell of fresh toast and eggs woke Thomas from his induced coma of a night out, making his stomach grumble uncomfortably. When he accomplished the difficult decision of opening his eyes, he saw Carly across the studio, in front of the kitchen stove.

From his position, he could tell she was cutting some veggies and stirring the pan. He stretched back to check the clock, it was still 7:30. As students, they were used to sleeping 3 to 4 hours, so he didn’t feel as tired, rather than somewhat disoriented.

Thomas yawned and caught Carly’s attention, who turned to check on him.

"Morning, frog ass" Despite the pet name, she sounded cheery and hyped, as if she didn’t share his headache.  

"Mhm," Thomas grumbled in response, trying to make it into a sitting position. "Eggs?" His voice was still hoarse, and the middle part of his throat hurt when he attempted to talk.

"I went out to buy you some things because you only had milk and cocoa. I'm making omelets" Carly continued, her smile showed in the tone of her voice. Thomas kept questioning how someone could have so much energy first thing in the morning.

Thomas stood up and dragged each step until he got to the fridge. He looked into the white square as if he had forgotten why he was standing there. And why all this food was now stored inside. Then, as if suddenly remembering, he grabbed a bottle of water and gulped it in seconds. "Marry me" he blurted.

"I see no ring or manners"

"Marry me, please?" Thomas kneeled and took off his ring to offer it to her, holding a side smile.

"Oh, Thomas! I thought you'd never ask" Carly now had a dramatic Broadway-like voice and gestured in such an eccentric way, it made Thomas snort.  

"I'm sorry for... yesterday" He was still on the ground, for some reason, he thought he would appear sorrier if he kept kneeling there.

"Hmmm, be more specific. Are you apologizing for almost kissing Sam or for throwing up all over the place?" She looked down for a second but stopped herself from getting distracted, and instead served each omelet on a plate.

Thomas cringed. "Both?"

"Both?"

"Both" Thomas nodded more confidently and stood up, trying to read Carly’s emotions behind her apparent chill attitude. He didn’t know how to approach the situation, so he pursed his lips for a second, considering his own words. "Do you think it would be a good idea if I also talk to Sam? I think I should"

"You already did, check your phone" She gestured back with a fork.

Oh, no.

Thomas went back to his bed and grabbed his phone with the same urgency someone would have when calling 911. His texts were something like:

ahdkas dduhde I'm

so soryfu

tahank you for fdroping us

 “I’m so screwed.”

“Look, you were super drunk. I know you always get a little horny after some drinks, nothing personal. I’m quite sure Sam will understand too. Just-…” She looked at the texts too, and Thomas could tell she cringed as well but tried hard to hide it. “Just tell him it was a mistake, he’s pretty cool”

“Yeah, I think he’s too cool.” Thomas rolled his eyes.

“Honestly? I think he has a bad boy façade, actually a baby-inside type of guy” Thomas wasn’t convinced, and it showed on his face. “Dude, stop it.” Carly took his wrist and pushed him to the table. “We are meeting tonight with some other friends from Psych, wanna come? Maybe you guys could talk soberly and not falling into each other.” She smiled devilishly. “Pun intended”

“Right” He groaned but kept silent for a moment. They shared quietness and ate their omelets. Carly was an excellent cook, but she hated compliments and they had gone over those arguments too many times for Thomas to risk it once more. Instead, he was remembering the events from last night. “How are you so chill? I don’t know what type of relationship you two have but…” He dragged his sentence, waiting for Carly to finish his thoughts. 

She shrugged and kept eating, holding a neutral expression. “We are not exclusive or anything.”

This made Thom frowned a little, unable to puzzle out how those types of relationships worked. Not being exclusive, being fine with your partner being involved with someone else. Maybe he could understand it better if they had some sort of agreement? He pictured Laurence with someone else. “But-…”

“Okay, Thomy, don’t punish yourself too much.” Carly interrupted, and stood up, leaving half of her omelet. “I’ll go to class now.” She leaned and kissed Thomas’s head affectionally as if the gesture would ease his thoughts.  

Once alone, Thomas went back to the images of Sam. He remembered what he did last night, he remembered his fantasies. He knew what he was driven to, what he had done with his hands, what he didn’t. And what he wished he could have. The lack of alcohol easing his thoughts now made him slip into an anxious state. He felt the same guilt, intensified this time because now something had happened. Not something out of the ordinary, he could’ve touched himself thinking about some famous actor or actress. It was totally normal, right? Right. Then why he felt like he was cheating?  Why had he felt Sam’s gaze so present? The softness of his wavy hair, his lips not touching his back.

Thomas had to stand up and shake his head to stop some type of reaction. He felt the urge to call Laurence. But when he took his phone, an inside voice made him hesitate, unsure if he should tell him about the sudden attraction he fell for Sam. Unsure if it would even show on his face. It wasn’t uncommon, he knew sometimes people find others appealing regardless of them having romantic partners or not. Carly seemed to not care. However, it was the first time it happened with someone so close to him.

Before he could make a decision, his phone rang. 

Laurence was calling.