Subtle Beauty - 14. Chapter 14

“Coop, that was amazing.” Mich’s booming voice reverberated against the walls of my tiny room. The small bed creaked its protest as he fidgeted.

A satisfied smile crossed my face.

“Can we do that again, please?” The want in his eyes could not be mistaken. He gently massaged my thigh, willing me to concede to his request.

I straightened a lock of blonde hair which fell down his face. His hair was slightly wet with perspiration. “Are you sure you’re ready for another one?”

He grinned at me and planted a soft kiss on my cheek. “Yep. Absolutely sure. I’ve never done anything so exhilarating before.”

My laughter filled the room.

Mich nudged me hard. “What’s so funny? I don’t appreciate being laughed at, Coop.” His face contorted into a pretend frown. “As my boyfriend, isn’t it sort of your job to ensure I’m always happy?”

Trying to keep a straight face but failing, I said, “I’m laughing at the fact you’re this excited about Algebra. If you’re not careful, people might think you’re a math geek.”

“No need to worry, you already got that title covered.” A playful light danced in his eyes.

“Thanks. I’m glad you think I’m a math geek.” My chest swelled in pride. “And by the way, I’m your boyfriend? Really? Since when?”

Mich didn’t take off his eyes from the notebook he scribbled on. “Oh about two weeks ago when you groveled at my feet so I would accept you as my boyfriend. A bit too dramatic for my taste, but you looked so pathetic so I took pity.”

“Mich!” How could he turn our day at the beach, the day we decided to be together, into that?

He chuckled. “What? You started it.” He traced my jawline with a knuckle. “At the risk of being thought a math geek, can we focus on my assignment please? We might as well do this while I’m on a roll.”

I snorted. “You managed to solve one problem, whoopee.”

“Focus. On my assignment. What part of that is not clear to you?”

The strange way he said it made me want to laugh, but I kept it inside. I scanned the page he wrote on. “Just continue what you’ve started.”

He smiled, pleased at himself. Before pouring over his book again, he snuck a quick peck at my cheek. Sneaky little devil. “I just repeat the trick you taught me, right?”

My head moved from side to side. “It’s not a trick. All I did was explain to you what dependent and independent variables are and their relationship with each other.”

“Thanks to you, I actually understand what I’m doing, which feels great by the way. Mind replacing my professor?” Mich gazed at me expectantly.

I lightly punched his arm. “I thought we’re focusing on your assignment? You’ve only done two so far. At this rate, we’ll need to do an all-nighter.”

He started the next problem.

“Besides, let’s be practical, Mich, I can’t be your professor. I’m much too young.” I studied his face while he concentrated on what he was doing. He would put the end of his pen in between his lips when he got stuck on a problem then his face would suddenly light up. I’m one lucky guy to have someone like him.

“It would be great if you can be my professor. That way, I get to stare at your face or ass every time we have class.” He shut his book. “Finished.”

Exactly how long had I stared at him? I took the notebook he offered me. Tiny but neat handwriting covered two pages. “Good job, Mr. Anderson. You pass.”

“Wow, I did everything right? Told you I’m on a roll.” He got out of the bed and stretched. “Your bed’s much too small.”

“Judging the way the bed creaks, I’d say it thinks highly of you too. And can you please get your ass back in here? I believe I only said you passed. You need to check problems four, eleven and nineteen.”

Mich jumped on the bed and it shook angrily. “Sorry.”

While Mich worked on his assignment, I laid down on the bed. This is going to be a while. Surprise and doubt crept in my mind when Mich sidled next to me after a couple of minutes so I could look at his assignment. “This better be right.”

I closed his notebook without a word and handed it back to him.

He put his things in his back then returned beside me. He laid his head on my chest and I got a whiff of his sweet and slightly sweaty aroma.

“Sorry about the air conditioning. Nothing in this apartment works.” I was glad he couldn’t see my reddened face.

Mich took my hand and wrapped it around him. “No worries. There’s a slight breeze coming from the window so it’s not that bad. Unless this is your way of telling me I am beginning to stink?”

I chuckled. “Nah, you still smell sweet. And even if you reek, I’d... I’d still want to hold you like this.”

He turned over to bury his face in my chest. “How come you’re not perspiring as much as I do?”

“For starters, this is my apartment. The air conditioning breaks down a lot so I’m used to it by now.”

We lapsed into silence. The lull of our breathing made me drowsy. Slowly, my eyes closed.

“Coop?”

I squeezed his arm. “Mm-hm.”

Mich’s voice was soft, controlled. He’s afraid he’ll ruin the moment, perhaps? “Do you think... Should we talk about sex?”

My consciousness snapped into attention. Sex talk? Absolute not. “Do you think we should?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know. There’s nothing wrong if we talked about sex, right? We’ve talked about anything and everything. What’s wrong with sex talk?”

“I’m not sure whether I’m ready.” Shoot, I said that aloud.

His head inclined slightly. “Am not sure either. Talking and doing it are two different things.”

Our eyes met.

“Are you sure about that? If we discuss it, I might want to do it.” Slowly, our lips closed the small distance between us. “See what I mean?”

“Yeah, but don’t you feel that as a couple, we should be open to such a conversation? You do want to do it with me, right? I don’t mean now... later.” He bit his lower lip as he studied my mouth.

I reached for him and we shared another kiss. “Does that answer your question?”

“Sorry, I didn’t get your answer. Mind ‘telling’ me again?” He leaned forward and we kissed repeatedly. The last kiss lingered until we were both out of breath.

I shook my head to clear my mind. “I thought you said we were going to discuss it? The way things are going, we’re doing it more than talking about it.”

A mischievous smile appeared on Mich’s face. “We’re just kissing.”

My eyes rolled. “Right, kissing doesn’t lead to anything after all. For your information, our ‘innocent’ kissing has already given me a hard on.”

Mich closed his eyes, probably considering whether to look or not.

“Don’t you dare. I mean it.”

He opened his eyes and kept it at me. We looked at each other and saw the longing in the other’s eyes. Unexpectedly, Mich brushed his hand against my groin.

“Mich...”

We kissed with a passion that intensified our feelings. Our breathing became shallow. With a mind of their own, our hands roamed around. The clothes we wore turned into hindrances which had to be gotten rid of. I helped him get out of his shirt. Taking a while to admire his toned chest, I pulled him to me so I could bury my face on his neck. He whimpered when my lips traveled from his neck to his nipple.

Impatiently, Mich ripped my shirt off of me. He showered my face with kisses as he lowered his body against mine. My naked chest against his. His warm skin, against mine. Carefully, he undid the zip of my pants.

“Mich, I think someone’s at the door.” An incessant rapping sound followed.

He managed a garbled ‘what’ while he sucked on my adam’s apple.

I reached for my shirt. “Someone’s at the door. Can’t you hear the knocking?”

He covered my lips with his. “Can’t we just ignore that? It’s probably nothing.” He leaned down for another kiss, but I gently pushed him away.

“What if it’s an emergency? What if there’s been an accident and the whole building’s being evacuated? I’ll just go and check. I promised to be back as soon as possible.”

“Coop, you’re killing me here. I hope you know that.” He tried to grab me back to bed, but I managed to avoid his hand.

At the open door of my bedroom, I turned to look at him. “I’ll be back.”

“Coop, just go so you can get your ass back here with me. If you’re not here in five minutes, I’m going out there and drag you in no matter who you’re talking to. In case you’re wondering, yes, this is a warning. Your five minutes begin when you close that door.” The frustration was clear in his voice.

With trepidation, I closed the bedroom door and quickly made my way to the main door. Another set of knock came. Who could that be? I slipped my shirt back on as I opened the door.

“Vern?”

She scanned my clothes. “Hi, Coop. You just got up? I’m liking the rugged way you look today. Where’s your glasses?”

She stepped inside while I stared open-mouthed at her. “By the way, your fly’s open.”

I closed the door and took the opportunity of having my back at her to zip up my fly. Trying to act casual, I asked, “I appreciate the visit and everything, but why are you here?”

She looked at me sternly. “Last time I checked, we’re still friends. Am I not allowed to miss you? Don’t I deserve to visit you when I feel like it? I thought you’d be happy to see me Cooper.”

How long has it been? One minute? Two? I peered at the bedroom door which remained closed. “I’m happy to see you Vern, of course. Sorry if we’re not spending as much time together as before. I’ve just been very busy lately.”

Vern’s lips formed into a teasing smile. “Busy with your boyfriend?”

“Yes, busy with Mich. My boyfriend. Anything wrong with that?” I asked in defense.

Vern sat on the sofa. “Nothing. Whether you believe me or not, I’m happy you’re with Mich. I’ve never seen you so happy before. Not ever since Luke.”

“Shush, Vern. Don’t say that name. Mich might hear you. He’s slightly jealous of Luke.” I clamped my hand over my mouth as I realized I said the name.

Her eyebrows went up. “Mich’s here?”

I glanced at the bedroom door. Three minutes or four? “Yes.”

“Where?”

To avoid looking at her, I lowered my head. “In... in my bedroom.”

Vern abruptly got up from the sofa. “Coop, why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’m sorry for barging in like this. I should’ve guessed from the way you’re acting weird, well weirder than usual, that you guys are doing it.”

“We’re not doing it, Vern.” Liar.

She gazed at my face. “Are you sure?”

I couldn’t make myself say another lie, so I just nodded my head.

“So you won’t mind if I stayed and hung with you guys?” She wore a straight face. I couldn’t decide whether she actually wanted to hangout or was testing me.

“No, of course not. Let me just go in and tell Mich you’re here.” I took a few steps forward.

“I’m curious, what were you doing before I came?”

I stopped a few feet from the bedroom door. “We were studying. I was helping him with his Algebra homework.”

“Ok. So the fact that your zip was down earlier means nothing, right?”

In answer to her question, the bedroom door opened.

“What the fuck’s taking you so long, Coop?” Mich looked at me then at Vern. He wore nothing more than his red underwear.