I Bumped My Head and Heard His Heart

I accidentally hit my head in the shower. To my surprise, I find that I can hear my aloof housemate's thoughts.

"Damn, he's got perky buns."

I think of him as a regular housemate, but he wants to sleep with me?

I suddenly found myself able to hear the thoughts of Chase Ziegler, my aloof housemate. Oddly enough, it happened after my shower, while I was still shirtless.

Since we were both men, I didn't bother hiding anything or shying away. All I did was wrap a towel around my waist. The water droplets that I hadn't wiped from my chest slowly trickled down my abs…

Unexpectedly, I heard Chase's voice. "Damn, I want to touch those abs. Oh, and his buns are so perky."

I froze and turned back to look at Chase. His lips didn't move at all, but I heard his voice again.

"I didn't get to see anything again! Why's that towel wrapped so tightly around him? I want to see what's underneath… Maybe I should pretend that I really need to use the toilet and barge into the bathroom when he's showering next time."

What the hell? I considered him a friend, but he wanted to get down and dirty with me?

To tell the truth, Chase was handsome. Even during our school days, he'd been the campus heartthrob and the dream lover for many women.

After a few years out in society, he'd gone from being a sunny, handsome young man to a charming devil in a suit.

As I watched him, he tugged his tie loose with fingers that carried hints of rebellion. He frowned at a spreadsheet on his laptop screen. He didn't look at all like someone who'd just said such things.

I shook my head, thinking that maybe I needed to see a neurologist. Normally, one wouldn't be able to get a word out of Chase at all—if he could convey something in one sentence, he definitely wouldn't say two. There was no way he could've said such brazen things.

I'd probably imagined it.

I decided to make an appointment to see a neurologist the following day. I wanted to know whether I'd come down with something terminal.

But before I could make time to go to the hospital, I was forced to work overtime for about two weeks. When I finally got the time to rest, I decided to make the most of it. I got in bed and drifted off to sleep in less than five minutes.

Before I knew it, it was 3:00 am. I got out of bed, dug out a new pair of underwear from my closet, and headed to the bathroom.

Damn it!

I didn't know whether it was because I could finally relax my tense nerves after pushing myself hard at work for too long, but I had a wet dream!

But what bothered me most was the fact that Chase was the star of my dream! Sure, I liked men, but I could proudly say that I wasn't the type to go for people close to home. I didn't want to fish in my own pond!

"Damn it! Did my cutie pie have a wet dream? And was I featured in it? I'm starting to get jealous of the me in his dream. When will I get the chance to get into my cutie pie's pants?"

That voice appeared again, and I instinctively looked around for Chase. The lights in the living room were on—he was still wrestling with work.

Wait, no. How did he know I had a wet dream?

I wanted to find out whether the voice was Chase's, so I decided to probe him.

I got myself a glass of water and made him a coffee. Then, I headed to the living room. I sat beside him and handed him the coffee. "Here, have some coffee. You need to be focused when you're working."

"Thanks." Chase took the coffee and sipped it. His eyes narrowed slightly beneath his silver-rimmed glasses.

And then, the voice rang out again.

"My cutie pie is such a darling! He knows I'm tired from working overtime and made me coffee! He's adorable when making coffee, and he's adorable when he mutters to himself while washing his underwear. Another day of falling even more in love with him… Downing my cutie pie's coffee gives me all the energy I need to deal with brain-dead accountants!"

It seemed I didn't need to see a neurologist anymore. The voice was indeed Chase's.

Before we'd started renting together, we'd barely spoken. And even after becoming housemates, that was all we were. At most, we could say we were in the same line of work.

If not for this accident, I never would've even imagined that he liked me.

Well, hearing Chase's thoughts had happened by chance. Even though I knew how he felt about me, I decided to act like nothing had happened. I really didn't want to fish in my own pond.

…

That night, I met up with an old friend. We went to a bar nearby, wanting to catch up over a few drinks.

Before I realized it, my head started to spin. It seemed my alcohol tolerance had deteriorated since I hadn't had a drink for a while.

Suddenly, someone pushed a shot of vodka toward me from my left. "Can I buy you a drink?"

I looked at him. He was a man in a suit who looked to be about 30.

Under the circumstances, my body wouldn't be able to handle a drink as strong as vodka. I was about to turn the man down when I noticed a wedding band on his finger.

A wave of disgust crashed over me. I held back my nausea as I nodded at him and ran off with a hand over my mouth.

As I passed a booth, I noticed a burning gaze land on me. I followed it to find Chase there.

He was dressed casually and was sitting with a few guys around our age. They were probably his friends.

My friend noticed Chase ogling me and shouted, "Get the hell into that punk's pants tonight if you are brave enough!"

Chase chuckled and raised his glass in my friend's direction. Then, he downed it. He grabbed his jacket and stood up, his eyes trained on me as he growled in his head, "Your friend's right. I've waited long enough, and tonight's the night to make my move!"