67- Morning After

You know that feeling when you wake up with a headache and a rocky stomach and a nasty taste in your mouth in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room and you really can't remember what happened the night before for a few minutes? Yeah. That's what Michael was going through right now. The room was graciously dark. He was propped over on his side with a towel under his face, and his back was against something big and warm. Wasn't he on a date last night? He totally was. He went on a date with Edwardo, his crush, hottest guy in the city, with the most sexy eyebrows and beautiful voice. He tried to initiate sex in the limo, going off something he'd seen in a porno…

Alcohol… A bottle of alcohol got opened, and Michael didn't remember much after that. Did… they have sex? Was his first time actually with the man of his dreams and he couldn't remember? He didn't feel any different, and he wasn't sore anywhere. That said, he couldn't smell Edwardo in the sheets at all. The only smell was… dog? Right, Edwardo told him he had a dog. He rolled over and sat up slowly, resting against the headboard. Even in the dark he could make out the large canine silhouette next to him. The rest of the bed was undisturbed. He slept alone last night. And the comically oversized clothes he was in weren't his, from the wonderful smell they had to be Edwardo's. The dog let out a groaning noise and rolled over, wiggling to get back close to him. Their tail thumped loudly against the bed.

"I think I messed up." He whispered as he rubbed the animal's chest. "Looks like it's the walk of shame for me…"

He checked the time on his phone, which was helpfully plugged in on a cluttered nightstand next to him. It was already way later than he usually slept. He turned the bedside lamp on, wincing back from the sudden brightness. The light revealed an absolute godsend on the table's contents, a glass with seltzer tab packets, and a bottle of water. He gratefully prepped the medicine, chugging it as soon as it was ready. There was also a handwritten note on the table which apologized for last night, gave directions to the bathroom, and told him to come downstairs when he was ready. It even apologized for "Essie" not wanting to leave him alone.

Michael looked over at his bed companion. Definitely a girl. She was a grey pit bull with a white spot on her chest. Half of her left ear was missing, and she had a big scar running down her nose. He remembered Edwardo saying she was a fighting ring rescue. Given her demeanor and the sheer number of rhinestones set in her pink leather collar, her life had to be pretty good now, right?

"Heh, your collar's even fancier than mine, huh?"

Michael rotated his collar around so the lacings were back in the front. Whatever had happened last night, he was grateful he still had it. It wasn't comfortable to sleep in, but the fact that it was still on had to have something to say about Edwardo's character, right? He caught Essie's name tag glinting in the lamp light.

"Aww, even your tag has sparkles? Your daddy's got good taste, doesn't he?" He flipped the tag to read it. "Princessa Bonita Esperanza… I can see why he calls you Essie. Are you daddy's little princess?"

Essie's tail wagged even harder, and she grumbled like she was responding to him, with a big panting grin on her face making him chuckle a bit. He gladly resumed gentle belly rubs as he sipped what was left in the water bottle. The seltzer tabs were starting to kick in, gradually making life more tolerable. He'd have to leave the room eventually, to pee if nothing else. He must have been really drunk last night to not remember anything. He wasn't looking forward to seeing Edwardo. It was going to be awkward as hell.

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Edwardo sat at his workout machine, working his arms with the bar and pully system attached to the adjustable weights. Last night was going great, that is, until he freaked out. He messed up. He messed up so hard. Working out usually let him get his thoughts together, almost like meditation. He could either count the reps and let his mind go blank, or lose himself in the repetitive motions while he let his thoughts wander. The latter was what he was currently engaged in. He had music playing softly over his speaker system, not wanting to wake his guest upstairs. His very beautiful guest upstairs. His very beautiful guest upstairs who he'd gotten totally smashed on his father's alcohol…

His workout room was more of an atrium. It was a built-in retreat that greatly influenced his decision to buy this particular house. Separated from the main living space by glass sliding doors, it boasted plenty of room for several pieces of workout equipment, and had a modestly sized inground pool with a safety fence already built in. It was completely made of glass which made it comfortable in winter, and had a retractable awning and ventilation system for the summer. Plants decorated the space, both on stands and hanging from the ceiling. It was his favorite room in the whole house. Especially when it was raining.

But even his most comfortable setting wasn't helping him figure out his current dilemma. Michael tried to have sex with him, and he freaked out. He knew he was attracted to Michael, he just didn't realize Michael was actually a guy until a few days ago. He hadn't had sex with a guy before, and he knew how it was supposed to work in theory, but theory and practice were very different things. Was he less of a man because of it? Then again, wasn't it weird to have sex on the first date? But, between alphas and omegas that's how things worked, right? He liked Michael, and by now he was fairly certain the feeling was mutual. It's just…

He didn't think things would move so fast. Was Michael like that with everyone he dated?

Last night was rough. Michael followed him shot for shot, and by the time he was pleasantly buzzed poor Michael was trashed. Of course he would have been. Michael's so much smaller than he is. He should have realized and done something to prevent it. He just hoped the stains came out of Michael's clothes as easily as the mess was to clean off the floor. It wasn't the first time he'd had to clean up after some drunken escapades, he'd joined a fraternity in college after all, but puking seemed to upset Michael so much… It didn't help the night end on a high note.

On the bright side, Essie liked Michael from the moment he stumbled through the door. She wouldn't leave his side at all last night. Not when Edwardo carried him to one of the spare bathrooms, not as he hugged the toilet half naked. She even stood outside the shower as he got cleaned up, and stayed with him overnight, refusing to come out this morning for breakfast or to use the bathroom. Seeing how much she liked Michael, it was all the more reason to give this thing a serious shot.

As a consequence of last night's events, he got to see a LOT of his crush... all the way down to a very frilly pair of pink underwear that conveniently had no back. Michael had had some muscle tone to him, but he was just so tiny, so pale, so vulnerable... With freckles across his shoulders, and a butt that looked as cute as any woman's framed by pink lace... He knew Michael'd gotten inside information about his favorite snack, but how could Michael have possibly known he had a weakness for lingerie? Last night was a huge test of his willpower. He just really hoped that after everything that happened, he hadn't already blown it.

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The seltzer tablets finally kicked in enough his head wasn't throbbing anymore and his stomach felt almost okay. He had to make a debut sometime. He couldn't just hide in a bed that wasn't his in a house that wasn't his all day, even if all he wanted was to simply hide under the covers until Edwardo forgot about him. He groaned and got up, waiting for the room to stop spinning before following the instructions on the note to find the bathroom. Essie stayed by his side the whole way, even waiting patiently outside the bathroom door.

Michael was grateful for the map. The hallway outside was a long one, and all the doors looked the same closed. This had to be a big house… There were stairs leading down about halfway down the hallway, and another set that led up at the end of the hallway. The bathroom was huge, and obviously unused by the lack of soap in the shower. The double sink countertop had a couple of things that were obviously put there for him, including a new toothbrush in the package, a small sample toothpaste, a comb, a razor, and some hotel sized toiletries. There was even a fresh set of clothes much like the ones he was wearing with another note that read: "Just in case." It was touching to think Edwardo set all this up ahead of time for him.

The face in the mirror wasn't a pretty one. The dark eye bags stood out the most, and his faded out, grown out hair stuck up in all directions. He really should have gotten it redone before yesterday's date, whether Ryan could have gone with him or not. Even a box dye would have been better than this. What was he thinking? The worst part? He now had a big, red, angry pimple coming in on his chin.

He was grateful for the toothbrush, his mouth still tasted nasty. He washed his face in the sink and tried to do what he could with his hair. It was hard to get it anywhere near presentable without some kind of styling product. If only he had some concealer for his chin volcano... The next step was to go downstairs, right? He had to go downstairs to leave the house because he probably definitely embarrassed himself so much Edwardo would never want to see him again, right?

No use dwelling on it. He set his shoulders and made his way through the hallway to the stairs. The best thing would be to get this over with quickly. Like a bandaid. Just rip it off.