Chris raced from the bathroom to his bedroom after the quickest shower in history. After the celebrations that afternoon at work Eric invited Chris to dinner and Chris couldn’t wait. He was so excited but when he finally arrived home at six thirty, after battling peak hour traffic, he only had an hour before Eric would be there to pick him up.

6.51pm.

Chris glanced at the clock under pressure to be ready on time. With wardrobe doors wide open, Chris stared at the variety of shirts before choosing the lilac to compliment the charcoal pants. Black belt to make his appearance neat and tidy, Chris hurried back to the bathroom to style his hair.

7.05pm.

Happy with his appearance, Chris gave himself a wink in the mirror before cleaning up the vanity and putting out clean towels. Back in the lounge room, Chris glanced around nervous yet excited about his date with Eric. Unable to convince himself it was happening, Chris struggled to stand still.

7:14pm.

Chris walked from the bedroom to the lounge room and back, convinced he had forgotten something before remembering his coat.

7:20pm.

In the kitchen, Chris tidied the kitchen table and the notes scattered down one end. As much as he wanted to show Eric the effort he had gone to, Chris collected up everything and stacked them neatly on the corner of the counter for another time.

7:23pm.

Back into the lounge room Chris inspected the shelves for dust. Big mistake, the finger mark left in the dust now bothered Chris and he was left cleaning the shelves. Rather than pulling all the books out, Chris wiped what could be seen but made a mental note to clean them better another day.

7:25pm

The house was too quiet. Chris turned on the small radio located on the counter dividing the kitchen and lounge room.

7:27pm.

Hunger started to gnarl at Chris. He’d not eaten anything at the afternoon farewell party to distracted to think of food. Now, food was all Chris considered. If Eric asked Chris for suggestions, Chris could make several, and another glance at the clock told Chris he wouldn’t have to wait much longer.

7:29pm.

Chris moved to the lounge window are peered outside. The evenings grew cool heading into winter and Chris wondered if he should take an extra jacket. A car drove past the house and Chris listened as it faded down the street. Shouldn’t be too much longer, he thought.

7:32pm.

Chris considered the possibility of asking Eric to stay the night. Not sure if it was too soon. It might be considered too soon, yet Chris didn’t think so. Perhaps his pining for Eric had pushed him to desperation. This had Chris questioning the state of the bed and if he had supplies if Eric did chose to stay. Back to the bedroom, Chris checked the bed; neat and inviting. The sheets had been change when he had been ill the week before and Chris thought not to change them again until maybe the following morning. It made sense.

7:35pm.

As far as supplies went, Chris checked the bedside drawer. Lube – check, condoms – check, handcuffs – check, gags – check. Perhaps the accessories should be hidden for now, he didn’t know what type of kinks the good doctor had and he certainly didn’t want to scare Eric away.

7:37pm.

Chris took the handcuffs and gags and put them in his sock drawer. Happy with how his room looked, Chris returned to the lounge room.

7:42pm

Back at the front window, Chris pulled the curtain back and glanced out. The approaching car pricked Chris’s ears and he leaned forward with bated breath. The car passed and continued and Chris let out a sigh. He watched and listened as another four cars drove past his house. He moved away from the window and sat down on the lounge and listen to the music while he waited.

7:52pm

Chris closed his eyes as the radio station changed over to another presenter and the music went to something Chris didn’t enjoy. Little things now began to irritate Chris as he rose and changed the radio station to something less chaotic.

7:57pm.

Seated once more, Chris closed his eyes, only to realise his phone was still in his workbag. There was a moment of angst as Chris rose again and retrieved his phone. With no missed calls or messages, a splinter of doubt began to creep into Chris’s thoughts.

7:58pm.

Chris turned his phone over in his hand contemplating whether to call Eric. His feet bounced up and down, as anxiety grew. Would he appear too eager if he called but what if something had happened? The negative thoughts surrounding Eric’s lateness began to overcome any legitimate reason he was not there. It was tearing Chris apart.

8:20pm

Chris could no longer endure the torture he was putting himself through. Without any explanation, Eric had not shown and Chris was devastated. But the more Chris went over it in his head the more he questioned why Eric wasn’t there. It wasn’t because he didn’t want to be there, how would he explain the letter he left. The answer wasn’t going to present itself willingly and so Chris dialled Eric’s number.

8:21pm.

The call went straight to Eric’s message service. This immediately put Chris on edge. He left a quick message for Eric to call him and hung up.

8:33pm

Chris paced the kitchen, moving the dishcloth from one side of the sink to the other. He poured himself a glass of water, washed the glass and put it away, only to retrieve it again. With the glass full, Chris returned to the lounge room. Seated, Chris held the glass tight in his hand as his legs bounced on the balls of his feet. Once more Chris called Eric but the call went to the message service. Anxiety turned to dread, fear replaced annoyance.

8:38pm

The music began to irritate Chris and his stood and switched off the radio. Chris returned the empty glass to the kitchen, rinsed it out and put it away. So many questions with no answers tormented Chris. He felt helpless and concerned he couldn’t reach Eric. Had his recently ex-boyfriend change his mind? Chris was beginning to feel despair at the thought that maybe Eric had stood him up.

8:44pm.

Chris went to the fridge and opening the door stared at what food he had in there but he had lost his appetite. He returned to the lounge room, stood in the room with his hands now in his pants pockets wondering what had happened. It all seemed fine that afternoon. Chris went and sat back down on the lounge as the sadness hovering at the corner of his mood finally took over. He leaned back against the lounge and told himself he wasn’t going to cry.

10:15pm.

The sudden knocking at the door startled Chris awake. He had not realised he had fallen asleep and looking at the clock he heard the knock at the door a little louder this time.

Chris stumbled up from the lounge towards the front door. As he opened the door, he found Eric standing there; beside him were two suitcases and a goldfish bowl under his arm.

“I’m so sorry Chris. I never meant it to be like this. Can I come in?”

Chris stood back as Eric entered with the fish bowl and Chris picked up his bags and brought them inside.

Immediately Chris went to Eric and asked, “What happened? Is everything alright. I tried calling but I couldn’t get through.”

Eric placed the fish bowl down carefully on the kitchen table and turning towards Chris came to him and embraced him. Chris wrapped his arms around Eric’s waist and held him tight.

“I’m so sorry Chris,” Eric spoke against Chris’ neck.

“That’s fine, you’re here now. I thought you had been in an accident, I was worried.”

Eric pulled back and said, “You look so good tonight, and I had big plans for us too.”

Chris smiled and taking Eric’s hand, said, “Come and sit down, tell me what happened?”

Eric let Chris lead him to the lounge, and they sat together.

“When I got home tonight, my ex decided I was moving out. He was supposed to be leaving at the end of the month so I figured I had till then to find another place but his new boyfriend didn’t like that I was still there. We had a huge fight after that. He had been cheating on me for months. Anyway, I got angry and threw my phone at him. Hit him square in the head too. After he left I discovered my phone broken and couldn’t contact you. I began to think you might have thought I had changed my mind, so I packed up everything and came straight here. I hope that’s alright.”

Chris smiled and leaning over gave Eric the kiss he really needed. Eric let the tension he had been holding go as he kissed Chris back.

“Sounds like you’ve had a rough day.”

“How about a rough twenty days?”

“Not anymore. You can stay here for as long as you like but I should you warn you I have kinks.”

Eric raised his eyebrows, and replied, “You have kinks?”

Chris nodded, “Want to go to bed and find out?”

“You don’t want to get something to eat. I bet you haven’t eaten yet.”

“No, have you?”

“No.”

“Well I think we can still order takeaway pizza. Why don’t I go do that, you go put your bags in the bedroom and after we’ve eaten, we’ll go to bed?”

Eric smiled and giving Chris another long delicious kiss he whispered, “Deal. It’s what the doctor would have ordered.”