Knight gasped and pushed past Elliot, running up the steps and bursting into the bathroom. His stomach sank at the sight of two toothbrushes in the cup by the sink. He stepped away, rubbing his face in annoyance. When did that even happen? Yeah, Elliot had been staying with him recently, but only because it was convenient. Or so he’d thought.
“Your toothbrush...”
Elliot leaned against the doorframe with a scowl and his hands in his pockets. “What about it?”
Knight looked over his shoulder and swallowed, unsure how to break the topic. He liked Elliot despite his obsessive nature—and partially maybe because of it—and he didn’t want to be unnecessarily cruel, but this misunderstanding couldn’t go on. “What do you think this is?” he asked in the end.
Elliot shrugged, obviously tense. “The bathroom? Is this a trick question? Are you fucking Jake?”
This was incredible.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business. We’re not a fucking couple.”
Knight could see Elliot’s hands tightening in his pockets. “What the fuck are we doing then? You invited me to live with you. You even let me stay when you were away. Knight… You know we just fit together.”
Knight pushed his fingers into his hair. “I invited you here because I didn’t want you to freeze your ass off in that trailer. We’re fuckbuddies, not boyfriends. I don’t do boyfriends, and you told everyone behind my back that we’re an item. Who the fuck gave you the right to make those decisions for me?”
“I didn’t say ‘boyfriends’!” Elliot spread his arms, only making Knight feel more trapped in his own bathroom. “But wouldn’t it make sense? We love spending time together. Why the hell wouldn’t we be boyfriends? We have a good thing going on.”
If Knight were any weaker, he would be losing his breath in panic by now. But he was a man in control of his life, and he wasn’t going to give up the reins to anyone. “No. This has gone too far. If you can’t understand the concept of friends with benefits then you better go back to your room. Take your stuff and your toothbrush, and we can talk once you’ve thought this through. Maybe.”
Elliot didn’t blink, watching Knight with glistening eyes. His skin was so pale he looked like he could slide to the floor at any second. “You can’t be serious.”
Unsure what to do with his hands, Knight grabbed his belt and forced himself to look steadily at Elliot. “I’m very serious. I never asked you to move in here. You just creeped in bit by bit, like a cat. This can’t go on.”
Elliot walked up to Knight slowly, as if afraid to startle a wounded lion. “Do you not want someone in your life who is willing to give you every single part of themselves?” he whispered and put his fingers on Knight’s hand. His touch was damp, soft, warm, and it sent electricity up Knight’s arm.
Knight could only pull away. “No. No, I don’t. I’m good, and I don’t need someone constantly watching what I do and bitching when I want to fuck someone else.”
The violence came so suddenly Knight wasn’t fast enough to react, and when he moved to shield himself, Elliot already pulled back toward the door. “You’re fucking Jake, aren’t you? He can’t possibly give better head than me! Does he go bare? I could go bare!” He was raising his voice with every word, and his pale face reddened with fury.
Knight was only slowly realizing Elliot had slapped him on the face. What the actual fuck was that? “What are you on about? I’m not gonna go bare with a guy who keeps pestering me to do so. And that’s completely beside the point anyway. I’m not letting anyone trap me. I’ve been super patient and super kind, and this is how you’re repaying me?” he asked, tapping his stinging cheek.
“Maybe patient and kind is not enough!” Elliot stormed out into the bedroom and gathered the few things he had. He was a ball of fury that seemed to be rolling forward and quickly becoming an avalanche of rage. “So I want more! Sue me. I can see what’s going on here. Trap you? My life revolves around you. You don’t want my dedication, and you don’t care about me. I’m not settling for this shit. I’m not gonna be your convenient fuck!” He stuffed his belongings—two books, deodorant, a pack of cards—into the bag and zipped it up, walking off barefoot down the two steps from the bedroom.
Knight sighed, watching Elliot in exasperation. “I thought we were on the same page about this. If you told me you wanted more I’d have said straight away that it wasn’t gonna happen, so stop acting like a little bitch.”
Elliot looked back at Knight with his nostrils flaring. “Maybe sometimes we don’t know what we want until we get it? What could you know about that Mr. Perfect-body-perfect-face? So fucking shallow, that’s what you are!” He spat each sentence as if he were throwing daggers at Knight from across the room. “Have you ever been in love? Why did you rope me in like this? Whatever. I don’t care. I’m going. You can keep the fucking toothbrush, ‘cause I don’t want to even go past you!”