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- 03/22/2011
- 2,074 Words
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Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Subtle Beauty - 15. Chapter 15
I could have moved to my side to cover Mich from Vern. Taking control of the situation, I should have steered him back inside the bedroom. There were a lot of things I could and should have done. Instead, I stared at Mich’s astonished face and noticed the beads forming on his forehead.
“Hi, Vern.” He retreated to the bedroom.
The sound of the closing door snapped me back to reality. Vern! My mind raced as I searched for any way I could explain to her what happened. What had exactly happened? Thinking took time and the more I stalled, the greater the risk Vern would come to her own conclusions. Nothing happened!
Turning around, I caught sight of Vern gazing at the closed bedroom door in disbelief. She focused her attention on me, her eyes full of unvoiced questions. Is it that bad? A part of my brain answered. Red underwear!
I watched as Vern’s face flushed. With her eyes averted, she moved toward the main door.
“Vern,” I whispered.
She flinched as if I shouted her name at the top of my lungs. Her hand lightly gripped the doorknob. What now?
“Coop, I’m sorry. You told me... If I had any common sense, I should have left earlier.” The redness on her cheeks deepened.
“We were studying Anatomy.” That’s my excuse?
The corner of her lips quivered, but she composed herself immediately. “I should go. See you tomorrow, kay?”
“Let me explain, please?”
She shook her head. “You don’t need to.”
I held her gaze. “I want to. You’re my friend. Stay. Please.”
A long sigh escaped her. “Ok, but you should come up with something better than Anatomy lessons or I’m outta here.”
My lips formed into a tentative smile. “I’ll just check up on Mi-- I’ll be right back.”
“Take you time.” Returning to the sofa, she busied herself with her iPhone.
As I made my way toward the bedroom door, I couldn’t help but feel that her eyes were on me although I heard beeping sounds emanating from her iPhone. The feeling of being watched evaporated as the door closed behind me. Inside, a fully-clothed Mich laid face down on the bed, his head covered by a pillow.
The bed creaked when I laid beside him. “What happened?”
Slowly, he turned to his side, his back to me. “Nothing.”
I inched closer to him while my arm wrapped over his body. I whispered in his ear, “We’re in this together, remember?”
He nodded his head. Silence filled the room and I worried that he wouldn’t open up to me. I hugged him tighter to reassure him.
“Sorry. I allowed my... eagerness to get the better of me.” His embarrassment was evident in his voice.
“Mich, turn around and face me,” I urged.
The bed rocked when he shook his head. He tried to free himself from my embrace, but I kept my arm around him.
In a soft voice, I said, “Look at me.” I tried to force him to face me, tickled his side, did everything I could think of, but nothing worked.
“The longer I stay here, the more Vern will think we’re doing something.” I hoped my voice was threatening enough.
His knee hit my thigh hard when he abruptly turned to face me. “She’s still here?”
Despite of my hurting thigh, I smiled. The redness lingered on his face. “Hey, handsome.”
The seriousness of his face wiped the smile off my face. “Stop it, Coop. This is how this whole disaster began. It's your fault. And you didn’t answer my question.”
“Yes, she’s still out there.” I studied his face, ascertaining myself that he was alright. “And what do you mean by this is my fault? I’m not the one who walked out there in my underwear.”
He scowled at me. “If you didn’t leave me hanging like that... I swear, I’ll make you pay one of these days.”
I winked at him. “What are you going to do? Blind me with your red underwear?”
A light punch landed on my arm. Mich’s face flushed again. He averted his gaze, but he moved closer to me.
“Mich, red underwear, are you for real?” My laughter filled the room.
“They make me feel sexy,” he whispered the last word.
A smile crossed my lips. “You are sexy. If Vern wasn’t there, your underwear would be discarded in a corner somewhere by now.”
Mich leaned in closer to kiss my neck. “Promise?”
“For sure.” I slipped my hand down his back and through his pants.
He had a shocked expression on his face. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Squeezing your ass.”
“You get your hand out of my pants or I’ll do something you’ll regret.” The mysterious smile he had on made my eyebrows meet in the middle.
“What are you going to do?” I kept my hand inside his pants, but the squeezing stopped.
His smile was triumphant. “Oh nothing. I just might let slip to Vern about that day in the pool. Ring any bells? If I remember correctly, you almost drowned as you confessed that you like me. Do you think she’ll find that news as juicy?”
Slowly, I slipped my hand out of his pants. “Fine. I’m just teasing, sheesh. I’ll go out and talk to Vern then.”
Before I could get up, Mich covered my lips with his. The kiss made me close my eyes and when I opened them, he was smiling at me.
He held my hand. “Sorry again, Coop. I don’t know what I’d do if I were in your shoes. Are you going to tell her everything?”
I shrugged. “Don’t know. Maybe. Would you believe that I told her we were brushing up on Anatomy?”
His chuckling was infectious. “Really? Oh man, you’re in so much trouble.” He paused, the seriousness of his face reflected his deep-thinking. “Would you mind if I go with you? There’s something I’d like to ask Vern.”
My face split into a warm smile. “Damn, that’s so sweet of you. You’ll help me explain to Vern, right? If you do, I’ll give you anything you want.”
“Tempting, but no. I’d be too embarrassed to explain what happened. You can manage on your own, babe.” With an apologetic smile, he ruffled my hair.
“Remind me to give you a ‘supportive boyfriend’ award later, ok?” I nudged him aside as I got out of the bed.
Seconds later, Mich stood beside me with his backpack slung on a shoulder. “I’m happy just to be your boyfriend so no need for an award.”
Our faces were inches apart. He wrapped his arms around me as he studied my face. I watched as his eyelids closed before placing his lips on mine. While we kissed, I kept my eyes open. When the kiss ended, I found myself staring deep into his blue eyes.
“You cheated. Why did you keep your eyes open?” His gaze lowered.
Running my fingers through his hair, I said, “You should know by now that I like looking at you. Sorry.”
A touch of red appeared on his cheeks. “Let’s get out of here, ok?”
“Whoa,” I yelped.
“Payback for squeezing my ass earlier without permission.” Before I could get over my shock, he opened the door and stepped out.
“You guys sure took your time. Are you guys okay now?”
“Yeah, about that...” Mich grabbed my arm and pulled me to him. My nose bumped against the doorframe. Without checking whether I got hurt or not, he added, “Coop will provide you with an explanation. I have to go, but I’d like to ask you something first.”
Vern slipped her iPhone into her shoulder bag. “What’s up?”
My nose is fine, guys. Thanks for asking.
“Did you plan for this to happen?” Mich blurted out.
Gosh, I hope my nose isn’t bleeding. Wait, what?
A funny expression appeared on Vern’s face. “Wait, you’re asking me whether I planned for you to come out of that door with nothing but skimpy underwear on? Sure, Mich, there’s nothing I want more than to see you in red underwear.” Her eyes rolled. “I didn’t know you’re this obnoxious.”
Ouch. That’s nasty.
“Oh, no. No, no. That’s not what I meant.” Mich’s mouth opened and closed as he weighed his next words. “Did you play matchmaker when you broke up with me using Coop?”
I turned toward Vern and stared wide-eyed at her. Her composed face didn’t falter. She looked at Mich instead of me.
She flicked her head to the side as she said ‘yes’.
What’s going on?
“Why?” Mich’s voice sounded strained.
Shrugging, Vern crossed her legs. “Coop probably didn’t notice, but that day I told him there was something wrong about you. Thinking about it now, the word I chose was questionable, demeaning. There’s nothing wrong with being... yourself so I’m sorry.” Her eyes focused on me. “But that something I noticed about you reminded me of my friend. There’s nothing I want more than to make my friend happy. He has been unhappy for so long although he pretended not to be.”
Vern...
“You took a huge gamble. What if your plan backfired?” The lack of emotion in Mich’s voice made me shiver.
The rise and fall of Vern’s chest slowed down.
Mich cleared his throat to break the silence. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. There’s really only one thing I’d like to say, thank you.”
I looked from Mich to Vern and felt a sort of understanding passed between them. Vern’s breathing returned to normal. Meanwhile, Mich casually looked at his watch.
“I really gotta go. Sorry about--” His hands motioned toward the lower part of his body, but he suddenly stopped. “Anyway, please don’t give my boyfriend such a hard time.”
Turning to me, Mich took my hand. “I’ll see you later, ok?”
I chanced a sideways glance at Vern, and Mich took the opportunity to plant a kiss on my lips. Not fair, I wanted to be the one to do that. He hugged me briefly then went on his way.
With reddened cheeks, I sat beside Vern. She beamed at me.
Her eyes studied my face. “Coop, you look so happy.”
“I am happy.” I grinned at her. “And I guess I should thank you for what you did. If I’d known that was your plan, I wouldn’t have agreed.”
She shoved me gently. “Why do you think I didn’t tell you? But what Mich said really got to me. I hadn’t considered the possibility of my plan backfiring.”
“Your plan worked so no worries, right?” I didn’t allow myself to think of what could happen if Mich and I didn’t end up together.
Without warning, she pinched my nose. “Does this hurt?”
“Ow. Stop that.” I shook my head. “Thanks for reminding me.”
“That reminds me, you have some explaining to do.” She looked at my face then burst out laughing. “If you can only see what I see. You don’t need to go into detail, I’m just curious.”
“Nothing happened, ok? I want to. I think Mich wants it too. We were contemplating on doing it when you came.” I noticed the embarrassment on her face. “Hey, I’m actually glad you dropped by. Things were going so fast. We were both letting our feelings get the best of us.” I drew out a deep breath and exhaled. “Vern, do you think it’s weird that I want my first time with Mich to be special?”
“Of course not. I think it’s sweet.” Vern paused to think. She fished for her iPhone. She gripped my wrist as her face lit up. “Tomorrow’s a special day. You should ask him to come over.”
My face scrunched up. “What’s so special about tomorrow?”
“Mich’s birthday?” Her eyes scrutinized my face. “Don’t tell me you forgot?”
She laughed at the somberness of my face.
Shit, I’m screwed.
Anyway, thanks for reading. We still have quite a ways to go before the ending. I hope you're still enjoying the ride. Your reviews always give me encouragement :)
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