Queermance Anthology, Volume 1 Read Online Free PDF

of a mess, but it wasn't
sounding pretty.
    To my relief, Adam had conveniently collapsed into the shower recess, which would make the clean
up a lot easier.
    'Hey, Regan,' I said as I leaned past his kneeling form to start the shower.
    'S'not funny, Ed. I think I'm dyin'-' Adam's sentence was cut short by convulsions as he
started to dry heave.
    Jesus, what a mess.
    'You puked on your shoes, mate.' I gingerly untied his laces.
    'Sorry, Cullen.'
    'Not my shoes, mate! You're the one who'll have to clean 'em!'
    I tried to stay vomit-free while I undressed him as he heaved, but in the end I stripped,
stepping past him into the shower; a much easier way to tackle a boneless, fouled Adam.
    'Up you come, mate.' Grunting, I hoisted Adam upright in the cramped space. Man, he was
heavy!
    Leaning him up against a tiled wall, I soaped him up. Despite my earlier lust, Adam's attempted
seduction of Perky Tits followed by his spectacular chunder had effectively curbed my ardour. Adam
was less than helpful in his inebriated state, becoming even harder to handle with soap-slick skin.
I hadn't known how ticklish he was until my attempts to wash his pits resulted in drunken giggles
and violent squirming. By the end of the shower, we'd clashed heads a few times as he jerked away
from my soapy hands.
    Once I'd finally gotten us both vomit and soap free, I pulled back the shower curtain to expose
the towel rails. The empty towel rails. Ah, fuck it! We'd not unpacked the ute yet. I propped the
dripping, dozing Adam into a corner of the shower. I pulled on my jeans over my still-wet skin and
made a dash for the cars to retrieve towels and linen for the night.
    As I approached the front units, I could see that the party hadn't stopped when they'd changed
venues. Bundy and Stick had been joined by a few more blokes, and the beer supply had been
replenished too. They were in for the long haul.
    I contemplated tucking Adam into bed and joining the party, but decided to call it a night
instead. I'd gone from randy anticipation to dejected pessimism in one day and I'd need a good
night's sleep if I had any hope of finding somewhere else to stay tomorrow. I couldn't stay with
Adam now. I couldn't sleep on the sofa bed and watch him bring girls home. For our friendship to
survive, I needed to pull back so we could re-establish the boundaries of mateship. And wasn't that
a crying fucking shame?
    After wrestling with a drunken Adam, I couldn't be fucked making up the sofa bed, so I just
stretched about out beside his warm body. The thumping bass of the party music next door and the
shrill tones of drunken women kept me awake for ages until, eventually, I drifted off to sleep.
    ****
    I woke up with Adam's light snores ruffling the hair on my nape.
    I could feel the rising humidity as the sun lightened the sky outside the window. I decided to
switch on the air conditioner before trying to get a few more hours of sleep. I didn't particularly
want to start my house-hunt anyway, because moving out would mean we'd decided to return to platonic
friendship. I soothed my conscience about delaying my task with the convenient excuse of extreme
fatigue. At a pinch, I could crash with Bundy and Stick for a couple of nights, but I'd need to find
a more permanent solution before lectures started the following week.
    After finally figuring out the stupidly complicated air conditioner controls, I returned to the
bedroom to find Adam curled up on my side of the bed. The long curve of his back made me wish I
could run my hands all over the exposed, sun-kissed skin. With a sigh, I crawled into the bed,
pulling the sheet up to cover us both. Adam scooted across the bed until his back nestled against my
front. I started to move in order to make more space between us when his sigh of contentment made me
pause.
    Bugger it. I couldn't resist putting my arm around his chest to pull him more firmly against me.
If this was the last time I got to do this with Adam, I was going to enjoy