24 – Jake’s Birthday Blast (3)

 

Axel, Sebastian, and Jake sat in a circle on Jake’s bedroom floor in a fit of uncontrolled laughter. Over what, Axel had already forgotten.

“This just made me think of a fun game idea!” Jake grinned, hands held out. “Hear me out- Strip Hangman.”

“What?!” Axel shook his head. “No. Forget I asked.”

“Strip Hangman?” Sebastian asked at the same time.

“Yeah. So you know how in Hangman, one person comes up with a word or phrase, and everyone else calls out letters. And if someone guesses a wrong letter, you draw out part of a stick figure on one of those… hanging noose things?”

“Yeah?”

“Instead of drawing out the stick figure, the person who guesses the wrong letter has to take off a piece of clothing. Like in strip poker.”

Axel couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s so stupid!”

“Don’t say stupid.” But Jake laughed along with him. “We should play it.”

As much as Axel enjoyed stripping down with Jake, they had company. “Maybe if we were alone. But we’ve got Sebastian here.”

“Yeah, more people makes it more fun! Besides, it requires at least three players. ” Jake looked at Sebastian. “What do you say?”

Sebastian had turned slightly pink, and stared at the carpet. “I dunno…”

“Prude.” Jake smirked.

“I’m not!” Sebastian shot back. “I just don’t want to see your ugly ass naked!”

There it was. His two best friends about to get into yet another argument. Axel needed to deescalate things fast. “Sebbie… Be nice to Jake.” Axel turned to Jake. “But that game sounds… trashy. Can’t we play something normal? Like Monopoly?”

“I don’t have Monopoly.”

“Who the fuck doesn’t have Monopoly?” Sebastian asked. “Or is it banned in the ES for promoting capitalism?”

Axel snickered. Jake rolled his eyes. “Fine. What about truth or dare?”

“What are we? 10?” Sebastian rolled his eyes right back at him.

“Maybe we should just put on a movie, then go to bed,” Axel suggested.

“Truth or dare?” Jake asked Axel.

Axel would rather not. But it was Jake’s birthday, so he gave in. “Truth.”

“When was the first time you masturbated?”

Sebastian’s hand flew over his mouth. Axel’s eyebrows shot up. “What the hell, man?”

“What?”

“We are not doing sex-related questions.”

“But that’s what makes it fun.”

That was the biggest reason why Axel didn’t want to play the game. Especially with Sebastian around.

Sebastian had leaned forward, chin in hand, as though he also wanted to know. Was he just as perverted as Jake?

“You really wanna know?” Axel asked Sebastian.

“I don’t care.” But the corner of his lip twitched.

“He definitely wants to know!” Jake guffawed, clutching his stomach, like he was laughing at an inside joke with himself. “Don’t you, Sebbie?”

Sebastian’s hands balled into fists. “Fuck you!”

“Calm down, both of you.” Axel would rather answer the question than see a fight break out. It wasn’t like he had to go into detail. “I was 13. Happy?”

Jake stopped laughing, and Sebastian loosened up. “Truth or dare,” Axel asked Jake.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to be nice to Sebastian for the rest of the night.”

“Only if he’s nice to me.” Jake looked at Sebastian. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Who do you have a crush on?”

Axel groaned. “Seriously? Did you turn 21 or 12?”

“It’s a standard truth-or-dare question.” Jake faced Sebastian. “So?”

Sebastian hugged his knees to his chest, averting his gaze. “I don’t have one.”

“Liar.”

“I’m not!”

“Leave him alone,” Axel said to Jake. “I dared you to be nice. Remember?”

“Fine. But that means he has to do a dare.”

“What!” Sebastian rounded his eyes at Axel.

Given that reaction to the question, it was obvious Sebastian had lied. He definitely had some secret crush he wasn’t willing to share. Jake’s request was a fair one. Axel shrugged at him. “You didn’t answer the question honestly.”

“Yes I did.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

Sebastian eyes darted up at the ceiling. “Fine. Dare.”

“I dare you to take off your clothes.”

“What?!” Sebastian stared, open-mouthed.

That was too far. Axel spoke out. “Jake, that’s mean.”

“How? It’s harmless.” Jake looked back at Sebastian. “Unless you’re a prude.”

“I’m not a prude.” Sebastian took off his shirt, and threw it at Jake. Then, fumbled at the button of his jeans. He stood up, nearly loosing his balance, and kept struggling with the button.

“How drunk are you that you can’t unbutton your pants?” Jake chuckled. “Axel, why don’t you help him?”

Axel wanted no part of such a cruel dare. “I’m staying out of this.”

Sebastian finally got the button undone, and kicked off his pants. He sat back down.

“You forgot your socks,” Jake said.

Sebastian pulled them off, and threw them at Jake. “There. Truth or dare.”

Jake smirked at him. “Dare.”

“I dare you to take off your clothes.”

Axel groaned. “You’re really gonna stoop that low?”

But Jake was already undressing while sitting, Sebastian’s eyes locked in on the scene. There was a subtle grin on his face. Despite starting it, Jake hadn’t grinned like… that. And it hit Axel, then and there.

Sebastian’s secret crush was Jake.

That’s why he was always so antagonistic towards Jake all the time. It was to mask his true feelings. Maybe even from himself. He probably felt shameful for it. Doubly so, since Jake was Axel’s boyfriend. It also explained his strong refusal to answer the crush question. Who else could it be that he wouldn’t want either of them knowing about?

“And since I’m not a coward like you…” Jake slipped his thumbs under the waistband of his boxers.

Axel grabbed Jake’s wrist. “No. Those stay on!”

“Okay...?” Jake frowned at Axel, but moved his hands onto his thighs.

Those sexy, bare thighs... Axel ached at the sight. Sebastian forgotten, he ran his hand over them.

Jake leaned over, and kissed Axel. It was a sloppy kiss- Jake definitely still had drink in him. But it aroused Axel all the same. He kissed back, long, slow, and equally sloppy. Axel still had a buzz going himself.

Next thing he knew, he laid on the floor with Jake pressed against him. Jake pulled his lips away from Axel to whisper, “Truth or dare.”

Axel shoved Jake away as he remembered the series of events that transpired. He looked over at Sebastian, who had his knees pulled against his chest, eyes on the floor. Their overt display of affection must have killed him inside.

“Sorry,” Axel apologized. “We got a little carried away.”

“It’s fine.” Sebastian sounded fine too. Strange. Maybe Axel had it wrong. Maybe his secret crush was actually Jake’s dad, or someone equally embarrassing.

Jake sat up, draping his arms around Axel's neck from behind. “So?”

“So what?”

“Truth or dare? Though I know you’re gonna say truth.”

Axel pulled away from Jake, turning to face him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means you’re always playing it safe.”

“I do not!” Axel wracked his brain for examples of times he did not play it safe, but couldn’t think of anything. Jake had a good point. “Fine. Just for that… Dare.”

“I dare you to take your clothes off.”

“Is that the only dare you can think of?” Jake was lucky Axel was still buzzed enough to not care. Plus, Sebastian and Jake were already undressed. It felt fair to join them. Axel stood up, somewhat struggling to keep his balance, and took off everything but his underwear.

Jake’s eyes roamed his body. “Underwear too.”

Axel playfully swatted his arm, and reached for one of the forgotten glasses of water on Jake’s desk. He was going to get a major hangover if he wasn’t careful. “You two should be drinking your water.”

“Alright, Daddy,” Jake said with a flirty smirk. He got up to drink from his glass, while Axel handed the third glass to Sebastian, who turned his head away to look at Jake, a slight blush in his cheeks.

Interesting. Maybe Sebastian did have a crush on Jake after all. Axel studied Sebastian, but Sebastian just chugged his water. So Axel turned his attention back to Jake. “Now what?”

“You never asked Sebastian truth or dare,” Jake said.

“I’m done with that. We might as well have played Strip Hangman, for how we all ended up.”

Sebastian yawned in response. “I’m ready for bed.”

“Good idea.” Axel downed the rest of his water. “What’s the sleeping arrangements?”

“We can all fit in my bed,” Jake said.

Axel normally slept in his underwear, and knew Jake did too. But sharing a bed with Sebastian gave him second thoughts on that. Though Axel knew that wouldn’t stop Jake from sleeping in his underwear. And Sebastian wasn’t asking to borrow anything.

It probably wasn’t as big of a deal as Axel made it out to be in his head. He’d just have to sleep in the middle, to keep the two apart.

They all got into the bed. It was a tight squeeze. Jake cuddled right up to Axel, while Sebastian kept his distance. Though his arm kept slipping off the mattress.

“If you need to get closer, you can,” Axel said to Sebastian. “I won’t be offended.”

Sebastian scooted closer, his body now pressed against Axel’s. Axel didn’t have much room for his arm, so he linked it with Sebastian’s. Jake reached over to the lamp on his nightstand, and turned it off. Almost immediately, Axel fell into a deep slumber.