Page 69 of Full Body Hit, Part 1

He washed up, taking a little longer in the shower than was probably polite, needing to scrub off the unease crawling all over him.

The cot had already been delivered and set up when Chase finished, Auston sitting on the edge and doing something on his phone. He looked up and set it aside as Chase stepped closer, though.

“You done?” There was no inflection there, but Chase still bristled slightly.

“Yeah.”

“Great.” Auston stood up, grabbing some clothes and toiletries he’d set beside him. “I can take the cot, by the way.”

“Oh,” Chase said, caught off guard. He’d been fully expecting to be relegated to the worst bed—he was the rookie, after all. “Really?”

“Yep.” With that, Auston disappeared into the bathroom.

Chase stood there for a few beats, trying to regain his footing. He hated how Auston oscillated from absolute dick to responsible veteran, like a weird Jekyll and Hyde he couldn’t keep track of.

He put his dirty clothes in a bag in his suitcase and crawled under the sheets with his phone. He didn’t have the energy to even talk to Aunix, but he couldn’t go to sleep without sending him something.

Charlie

Night daddy

Hope I dream about you

He scrolled through Instagram, trying to relax, but he tensed again the second Auston reappeared. He curled into a tighter ball, wishing he had his nest and then immediately feeling stupid for such a childish desire.

Auston shut off the main lights and got into his own bed. The cot made a loud, protesting noise, metal scraping against metal.

“Jesus Christ,” Auston grumbled.

Chase peeked out above the thick sheets draped over him, watching as Auston tried to settle, the bed protesting every move.

That thing was a moment away from collapsing.

Chase sat up further. “We should switch, I think.”

“Nah,” Auston dismissed. The cot squealed as he moved slightly.

Chase frowned. “Don’t be dumb, that thing is gonna break if you sleep on it.”

“It’s fine.”

Chase huffed. God, why was he so stubborn? Chase was smaller and weighed significantly less—that thing was obviously not made with Auston’s bulk in mind.

“Auston—”

“It’s. Fine.”

“Oh my God,” Chase muttered. “Fine. You can sleep in the bathtub when that thing breaks.”

Chase slapped his hand over one of the switches beside the bed. The main light turned on. He clicked it off and tried the next one. That turned on the hallway light. He tried the next one. Finally, the room plunged into darkness.

“Smooth,” Auston’s voice drawled.

Chase bit his lip, annoyance burning away at his gut. He chose, very maturely, not to respond.

Stupid Auston, with his stupid face and eyebrows and broad shoulders.

The shadow of night settled over them. Chase was too wound up to sleep. He kept replaying the last hour, dissecting Auston’s every word, every…