Wash 27

Cliff didn’t say a word as he drove.

The city lights blurred behind streaks of rain on the windshield,

casting their faces in flickers of red and gold.

The heater blasted too warm, fogging the glass,

and Teddy leaned his forehead against the window,

watching buildings race by like ghosts.

He could still feel the warmth of the coffee in his hand.

He hadn’t finished it.

Cliff’s grip on the wheel was tight, knuckles pale.

His jaw clenched, flexed. Flexed again.

Every red light felt like a battle he was trying not to lose.

“You didn’t answer your phone,” Cliff finally said.

Teddy didn’t look at him. “I was kind of… in the rain.”

“So, who’s that guy?”

Teddy shut his eyes. “Nobody. Just someone who… I barely knew.”

“Barely knew? You look close…” jealousy in Cliff’s words.

“What are we doing, Cliff?”

Silence.

The car idled at a stoplight.

A neon sign from a pawn shop flashed over Cliff’s face—EASY LOANS. NO QUESTIONS ASKED.

But this moment was nothing like that.

This was all questions.

Cliff’s voice cracked when he spoke. “I love you.”

Teddy’s chest tightened.

He turned, really looked at Cliff. “Do you?”

“I do.” Cliff gripped the wheel tighter.

“I love you in ways I don’t know how to explain.”

“Then why does it feel like I’m always chasing you?” Teddy whispered.

“Or worse—like there’s something about you, I really don’t know.

Something you hide from me.

Something you don’t want me to see.

You don’t want me to feel.”

Cliff pulled the car into an empty parking lot.

Shut the engine off. The rain hit the roof in rapid, impatient taps.

Like the universe itself was holding its breath.

———————————————————————————

They lay in silence.

Just two still bodies under a single white sheet,

as if the world had stopped spinning long enough for them to simply be.

The room was bathed in shadows—the only illumination coming from the soft glow

of the bedside lamps and the flickering cityscape beyond the glass walls.

Teddy’s breath was shallow.

He turned slowly toward Cliff, the sheet rustling against his skin.

A single tear escaped his eye.

Cliff reached out and caught it gently with his thumb.

“Oh, Teddy…” His voice trembled.

“I don’t even know what to say.

First your mom… now Drew.

And finding out you’re related?” He paused.

“This whole thing sucks. It really, really sucks.”

Teddy didn’t respond. His eyes closed, body curling in slightly as if retreating into himself.

Cliff shifted closer, wrapping an arm around Teddy’s waist,

pressing his chest against his back.

“What can I do?” Cliff whispered into the silence.

“Tell me what to do so you’ll feel better.”

Teddy’s voice was almost a breath.

“No more surprises.”

Cliff nodded against his shoulder.

“Okay. No more surprises.”

He hesitated.

“…Teddy?”

“Yeah?”

Cliff’s voice cracked. “Do you love me?”

There was a beat.

Teddy rolled over to face him.

The room was dim, but he saw everything in Cliff’s eyes.

The hope. The fear. The pleading.

“Cliff,” Teddy said softly,

“You know my feelings for you since the very first time

I saw you haven’t really changed. Not even an inch.”

Cliff let out a shaky breath, as if that truth held him together.

Teddy smiled faintly, letting himself rest in the warmth of that closeness.

“It’s nice,” Teddy said, “to know I’m loved.”

They held each other in the quiet.

“Do you think I should talk to Drew?” Teddy asked after a moment.

Cliff exhaled. “Maybe. But not yet. Let things settle.

You both need time to… feel your way through it.”

Teddy nodded.

He sat up slowly, bare feet hitting the cold floor.

He stepped into the darkness, reaching for his jeans when

he tripped—his toe hitting the edge of something hard.

A mess of envelopes scattered across the hardwood.

“Shit,” he whispered, rubbing his ankle.

Cliff sat up too, blinking into the dark. “What was that?”

Teddy picked up one of the envelopes and opened it.

His face lit with confusion.

“It’s your birthday?”

Cliff froze. “What?”

Teddy flipped the thick card in his hand.

“Wow, you didn’t tell me you were throwing this huge party!

Why didn’t you say anything?”

Cliff stood quickly. “Teddy, I— It’s complicated.”

Teddy smiled gently, misreading the panic in Cliff’s eyes.

“Hey… don’t worry. I get it. You don’t have to invite me.

I know how things are with us. You want to keep this between us, and I’m okay with that. Really.”

He walked over and kissed Cliff softly on the lips.

“But,” Teddy grinned, “we do need our own celebration. Just the two of us.”

He winked. Cliff didn’t respond.

Then Teddy gasped. “Wait!”

Cliff jumped. “What? What’s wrong?”

“My laundry bags. I left them at the convenience store!”

“Oh—let me drive you,” Cliff offered instantly, too eagerly.

“No,” Teddy shook his head, already pulling his hoodie on.

“It’s right by the corner. I’ll just grab a cab.

You go back to bed. I’ll call you when I get home.”

Cliff tried to hide the way his throat locked up.

Teddy kissed him again, this time lingering.

“Thank you,” Teddy whispered.

“Things with me are so up and down, all over the place…

but with you, I feel like I have a place. I know I’m loved.

And I don’t take that for granted.”

He kissed him one last time. Then he was gone.

The door closed with a soft click.

Cliff stood in the dim room, motionless.

And then he REMEMBERED TO BREATHE.

He looked down at the invitation Teddy had held.

His chest caved in.

Teddy hadn’t seen the words at the bottom.

Or maybe he had—but he couldn’t read them.

It was his wedding invitation.

The same invitation that Clarisse stole from his office.

Tomorrow, he will tell Teddy.

He has to tell Teddy.

But.

No more surprises.

This is TOUGH.