While I waited for Braden to come out, I looked around the living room with a crinkled nose. Honestly. He was home all day, what the hell did he do besides play video games? Cleaning surely wasn’t on his to-do list. After I spritzed citrus-fresh Febreeze to cover the smell of pent-up man musk, I grabbed the pledge and a cleaning cloth. I tackled the coffee table after first turning on the robo vacuum, Bob.

The varnished surface of the wide, wooden table was a mess. Shaking my head, I spritzed it before wiping away the day’s funk and assorted scuff marks. I made quick work of cleaning up things like Doritos crumbs, sticky spots where sugary soda had been spilled... the half moon smudges that I knew too well had come from his bare feet being up on the table.

Once the table was back to its pristine glossy finish, I grabbed the hand vac from its holder and quickly sucked up the crumbs between the couch cushions. Some people relaxed after work with a cold beer or a hot cup of tea. I preferred the mindless act of cleaning.

Shutting off the hand vac, I stepped over Bob and hung the handheld back on the wall near the dining area. I put the pledge away and washed my hands before grabbing the two Styrofoam containers of food I’d brought home. As bad as it was for the environment, at least it kept the food halfway warm.

I plated the food and threw away the wrappers, then carried them over to the table and set them on place mats. I lit the dusty votive candle in the centerpiece, then looked at the table for a minute, trying to think what was missing. The table itself was still clean from breakfast, so that wasn’t was bugging me.

Oh, yeah. Drinks. As soon as I thought that, I went to the fridge to grab sodas until it dawned on me that Braden had likely been living on Mountain Dew again. Thinking of his future kidney health, I bypassed the soda and grabbed the pitcher of fruit-infused water I kept on hand.

I was just setting the drinks down on coasters when Braden came walking out in nothing but a towel. I rolled my eyes and slid into my seat.

“Oh. The candle is lit? Shall I take it that I’m overdressed again?” He tossed me a wink and sat down. “I see Bob is working in there. Does that mean you already gave the couch its nightly blow job while I was drying my hair? And spit-shined the coffee table?”

I rolled my eyes and shoved a french fry into my mouth. Honestly. If there was a chance of us hooking up tonight, it wouldn’t happen if I was pissed off... especially since he was just teasing me. As it was, looking at his chiseled chest and lickable flesh wasn’t helping me to focus on fueling the body.

“Dude. Again with the fruity water? Are you trying to convert me or something?” He joked, but I noticed he drank it readily enough. Good. The strawberries, cucumber, and lemon it had steeped in would all add nutrients his diet was lacking. Probably? At least, I liked to think I was helping him.

I swallowed and washed it down with a refreshing sip of water before answering. “No, I’m merely trying to save your kidneys from some of the overwork your soda addiction is giving them.”

Braden was already digging into his burger and merely grunted around his mouthful. I picked mine up and took a bite too, savoring the taste of the juicy meat and melty cheese. We ate companionably for a few minutes, before Braden drained his glass and rose to get a refill.

I forced myself to look away from the bulge of his half-hard cock being hugged by the pale blue terry cloth. Honestly? He had a semi at the table? I tilted my head just enough to watch the muscles flex in his calves as he walked. Fuck. For a guy who spent most of his time locked up playing video games, he was one sexy-ass alpha.

“Wanna take a picture? It would last longer.” I startled, raising my eyes along the curve of his body to see Braden smirking as he stood there with the pitcher of water and turned back my way.

“I didn’t realize I was staring, sorry. My thoughts were wandering,” I mumbled quickly when he stopped to top off my glass before refilling his own.

“Don’t worry about it, man. You think I don’t check out your ass from time to time?” he winked and sat down, reaching for something to set the pitcher of water on. “There’s no shame in it. We both have nice bodies, and we know it. What’s the point in being demure? It’s not like we haven’t fucked before.”

“About the bodies, I’m trying to wrap my brain about this bullshit. I work hard on my feet, and hit the gym or go jogging almost every morning. While you... I mean... have you even left the house recently? How are you even in shape? And how does your skin stay so tanned? It’s criminal.”

Braden snorted. “Obviously, you’re unaware of my naked lunch and yoga time on the balcony. But, yeah... otherwise? I’m an alpha, toots. What do you want from me?”

What did I want from him? Umm... a front row seat for this naked lunch and yoga time for starters.

“Hmm. Let’s start with you not calling me toots. But seriously, B. You need to leave the house once in awhile. Get out there, see other people. I hate to think of you sitting here in here gathering moss all day. On my next day off, let’s do a hike or something. We haven’t done that in a long time.”

“No, shit, we haven’t.” Braden blew a slow whistle between his teeth. “ Damn, Greggie... I haven’t hiked in like three years. Are you kidding me? I will fucking die. Why don’t you just poison me or smother me in my sleep? It will be an easier death, and way more convenient for body removal.”

“You know I care about you, right? Between me sleeping days and working nights, and the string of losers we’ve both been dating, we’ve lost touch. Don’t you think? And I agree... it has been too long since we’ve been hiking. So we take it slow. We don’t have to climb Devil’s Peak, just a jaunt through Hollydale hills... it will do you good to get some activity.”

I felt like a fraud, feeding my oldest friend junk food while nagging him to get more exercise. Especially with the fantastic body he had? I only wish my soft abs had the definition he was rocking.

“At the risk of pissing you off and ruining my chance of turning your maybe into a yes, can I just go back to the string of losers you mentioned? Speak for yourself. I know I’ve been wasting time on dingbat omegas with fluff between their ears, but at least they weren’t outright jerks like some of the alphaholes you’ve brought home here and there.”

I rolled my eyes and nipped the end a fry. “Your point? I’m assuming there was one hidden in there.”

Braden spread his arms out wide, barely missing his glass of water in the process. “My point is that we both have areas we need to work on. I date vacuous dillholes because I meet them online and they have pretty pictures. What’s your excuse, man? You actually pick the ones you bring home after meeting them in person.”

I was still trying to figure out how we went from him needing to get out of the house to my poor dating decisions.

“Can we not? I mean... obviously, I could have been choosier. But that’s on me for picking guys up from where I work.”

Braden stared at me incredulously for a minute then started to snicker. “You can’t mean that! You actually met those dickbags at the bar? In a club known as the Big ‘O’? And you really let them pick you up? Ew. No, Greg... just... no.”

“Again I ask... was there a point in all this, or did you just want to make sure I wasn’t in the mood for a hook-up tonight?”

Braden eyed me thoughtfully. “Maybe we should both consider not picking up anyone up for awhile. Just... I don’t know. Stick to each other when the need hits? You’re my best friend in the world. And we like to fuck, you have to admit we’re compatible there. Plus, we already live together. Couldn’t that maybe enough for now? You know I’ll step aside if you meet the one. But, I’m kinda sick of the roller coaster of looking.”

I pushed my mostly empty plate and leaned back in surprise. This was something I hadn’t seen coming from him. I took a long drink of water to buy a few moments thought before answering.

“Even for you, that’s kinda random. You get that, right? I mean... you’re basically asking me to be in a non-romantic relationship with you... some kind of bromance, if you will. Is that about right?”

Braden nodded excitedly. “Exactly. We’re probably the best lay either has ever had. We have everything but the romance, but that’s just because we’ve always been smart enough not to kiss. Who knows, maybe we’d be compatible there too, but why risk what we have? I’m just saying, we always end up back in bed together between the lame people we were wasting our time on. Why not just waste our time on each other instead?”

I looked down at my lap, chuckling as I shook my head. When I glanced up at his earnest expression though, something melted a little in my heart.

“You’re such a softie, Braden. I mean, totally bromantic. Really. But you know what? You’re right. I’ve never had a better lay than you. You’re hot and the sex is hotter. So... let’s not have a relationship? Or, let’s be fuck-buddies? However you want to say it. Either way... how about we quit talking and release some tension?”

Branden’s answer was the most romantic thing he could have done. He stood and blew out the candle, then stacked our dishes and took them to the sink. I watched in surprise as he rinsed them thoroughly and loaded them into the dishwasher. He returned to the table with two of the Clorox cleaning wipes I favored, thoroughly cleaning the surface before taking the pitcher of water away too.

After he’d tossed the wipes and refilled the pitcher, he put it back into the fridge and silently held out a hand to me. My entire body was humming with need as I rose and pushed in my chair. Taking his hand, I let him lead the way back to the bedroom. The sound of Bob continuing his work further relaxed me and got me in the mood. The mood for... bromance?