(Pete's POV)

Tyler wasn't as small as he looked under his clothes. I expected the kid to be all skin and bones. But he wasn't. He was fit. Not like one of those muscle heads who frequented the gym seven days a week. Not too fit, but definitely not all bones either.

I woke up that morning with my ear pressed against his chest. His heartbeat's steady rhythm pulling me gently from my slumber. But I wasn't ready to wake up fully and face the mess I'd just invited him into. Tyler was a good kid. An innocent kid. And in my drunken stupor, I decided to ruin his life for a one night stand.

Our friendship wouldn't be the same after last night. He wasn't like Ryan. Ryan didn't take sex personally at all. He was an even bigger whore than I was in college and remained that way long after. Brendon might have been his first monogamous relationship, if I'm not mistaken.

But Tyler was a virgin to the best of my knowledge. His religion prevented him from sex before marriage. Yet he'd given in so easily after a kiss. I had to wonder if he'd ever been kissed before. Or was he saving that for someone special too. I wish I was special. I wish I was good enough for Tyler. But I wasn't. I knew he'd grow to regret letting me take his virginity.

Though my eyes were closed, I could feel the younger man staring at me. I yawned before opening then. Pretending I was just waking up. I let my lids flutter for a few seconds. Then I meet his intense gaze. I didn't like that look. I didn't like any of this. What the hell was wrong with me?

"Good morning." He smiled nervously.

It broke my heart to see how unsure of himself he was. "Good morning, Ty. How did you sleep?"

He blushed and looked away. So damn innocent. And I'd fucked it up. "Fine. Good. It was really good. Thank you."

"We should talk." But the universe was against that plan. My phone began vibrating on the nightstand beside us. I reached over to pick it up. Not bothering to lift myself from the comfort of Tyler's chest. "Hello."

"Pete!" The voice sounded familiar enough.

"Briton?" I guessed.

"What? No. It's Bren- you know what? It doesn't matter. You need to go see Patrick."

"What?" The urgency in his tone was making me nervous. I sat up. "What?"

"Ryan hit him."

Immediately I saw red. "WHAT?!"

"H-He walked in on us- well-uh-"

"Get on with it!"

"He walked in on us having sex-"

I ended the phone call without thinking. I didn't want to hear another word about that. Especially not form him. I couldn't understand who I was more angry at out of the three. Definitely not Briton. He never truly liked me anyway. Now, Ryan or Patrick? Who did I want to kill more right now?

Ryan.

Definitely Ryan.

Was he fucking insane? What did he think gave him the right to lay a finger on my man? I don't care what the hell he did. I was going to kick his ass. But first I needed to make sure Patrick was okay. That Ryan didn't beat him too badly.

I dropped my phone on the bed and stood up. Ignoring the confused look Tyler was giving me.

"Pete," he sat up. Covering himself with the blanket. "Calm down. What's going on?"

"He hit him." I spit the words venomously. "He hit Patrick."

"Who?"

"Ryan did!"

"I-I thought you said you were done with him."

I turned around in the middle of pulling up my pants to glare at him. Unable to hide the annoyed look on my face. But then I remembered saying just that to him last night. He should have known I didn't mean it.

"I don't want to talk about that now."

Tyler hopped out of the bed. I did a double take as he scrimmaged around, naked, for his underwear. I watched him getting dressed as I rushed my own clothes onto my body. His face scrunched up in discomfort as he slid his pants up.

He was in some kind of pain. He did an okay job at hiding it, but I knew the signs. And I knew why. I remembered the aches after my first time bottoming. It just made me feel worst about what I persuaded him into last night. I turned away from him and tried to ignore it as I slipped my shoes on. He was still putting on his shirt when I grabbed my keys and headed for the door.

"Pete, wait!" He cried.

"Ty, you don't have to come with me to the house."

My words seemed to alarm him and I couldn't understand why.

"Don't leave me."

"I'll be right back." I assured him. "I just need to make sure Patrick is okay. And to see Ryan."

"Pete, please."

"Tyler, stop it." I snapped. I wasn't angry at him. Just annoyed. He was holding me up from checking on the man I loved. Tyler was visibly shook by my loss of patience. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see the hurt look on his face. Holding my breath as I counted back from ten. When I opened my eyes again I was more relaxed. Reaching over, I cradled his face in my hands. "I know you must feel like shit. Your body is sore in ways you're not use to."

"Yeah." He nodded.

"Tyler, you need to relax. Run a warm bath. Sit in it for as long as you need to. Don't worry about me."

He relaxed in my hold. I waited until he nodded and stepped back to walk out the door.

I wasted no time literally running to the parking lot for my car. I pressed the unlock button when I was close enough. Listening in for the double beep before sliding in.

The jingling of my keys is what alerted me to how badly my hands were shaking. I tried to pay no attention to it. But it got worse. I couldn't stop shaking long enough to put the key in and start the fucking car. My entire frame was trembling with too many emotions at once.

I tried to force myself to focus on one. Of course anger was the one to top them all. Gut twisting images of Patrick laid in bed with his best friend clouded my head. Making the shaking intensify. And even when those images subsided, different images of Ryan beating the hell out of my boyfriend filled my thoughts. How dare Briton fuck my boyfriend! How dare Ryan lay a finger on him. How dare Patrick fucking cheat on me!

A different, more random, upsetting thought process took over me.

I remembered the first time I had gay sex. My freshman year of high school. The senior who'd charmed me into his bed didn't even use a lubricant. The fucking jerk. And then he laughed in my face when I got emotional after sex. Didn't give me a second thought as he left to go see his girlfriend right after.

I became that same asshole years later. I used Patrick all through college the same way that boy used me. I watched Patrick break down in this same town, not even a year ago when he talked about me taking his virginity. Was I doing the same thing now to Tyler?

I didn't want Tyler to feel like that. He didn't deserve to feel like that. He was the most pure person I'd ever been lucky enough to meet.

Self fury took over me and I found myself slamming both fist against the steering wheel of my car. The horn taunted me with each hit. Fuck that condescending horn and fuck everything else.

I was standing outside the hotel room a minute later. I stuck the key in and waited for the light to flick green. When it did, I tried to open the door as quietly as possible. Tyler wasn't in sight when I walked in. Which meant he must be in the bathroom.

The door was ajar so I pushed it open. He looked up at the sound. Gifting me with a smile I didn't deserve.

"You came back." He moved to leave the tub. I held up a hand to stop him.

"Of course I came back. I wasn't just going to leave you alone all day after... after that." I couldn't bring myself to say what I'd done.

Tyler's smile didn't falter. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. It's what I'm supposed to do."

I walked fully into the small bathroom. Perching myself on the edge of the tub. The suds in the water prevented me from seeing any private parts of him. My hand swiped the top of the bubbles. I brought it to my lips and blew the suds I held into Tyler's face. His surprised giggles made me smile. Made me feel a little better.

"You can get in." He offered.

It was too small for that so I shook my head. "No. You need room to... relax." I tilted over to plant a kiss on his forehead. "I'm going to go order some room service."

"Okay." The talk of me leaving his presence again seemed to worry him. "But hurry back."

I assured him that I would. And then I assured myself that I was doing the right thing by staying here with him. This was what I was supposed to do after taking his virginity. Show him affection and cater to him. I wouldn't let him have the same experience that I'd had. That Patrick had.

Oh, who was I kidding? It was in my nature to fuck up. I was going to end up hurting him the same way I hurt everyone else I cared about.

My phone was still on the bed where I'd dropped it. I was going to order everything on the menu that I thought Tyler would like. But first, I sent a text to Joe. Asking him to take care of Patrick for the day.

A/N: You guys have legit waited months for me to update before. So I'm going to keep updating way more frequently as a thank you for your patience with my laziness.
(P.S. yes i know peterick are dicks but it'll get better. Maybe. You know what FOB says, People change. right? Or maybe that was seasons. Idk. I always get them mixed up!)