Someone called Soul Mate - 3. Chapter 3

A/N: Although I am hoping it is clear, I still feel the need to inform you that every chapter of this story will contain past memories of Riley and Kyle, while simultaneously narrating the incidents that occur in the present timeline. It is to show how every other thing in their lives, keeps reminding them of each other. To avoid confusion, I am posting the memories in italic and grey, while the present incidents are in normal font styles.

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~ §§§ ~

Kyle waited anxiously for his professor to put up the list and kept hovering, trying to get a better look at the paper in her hand. However, it was impossible to see at all. When she was done, a group of students beat him to it and crowded immediately around the notice board.

It was his fourth week in the creative writing program and his teacher had declared that each of the students would get an assignment to prove their worth. They would get to work with a student from the Film Production program and the team of two would have to come up with a workable project. Kyle had heard some of his friends talking about a guy from that program who was being labeled as the younger version of Garry Marshall by all the teachers. So, most of them were dying to be paired with him.

“I can’t see anything,” Kyle complained with a huff.

He watched his petite friend Rose emerging from the crowd with an excited grin on her face. She came up to him and hugged him tight. “We both got the hot men!” She squealed into his ears.

“Stop screaming, Rose!” He yelled over her screams and she stepped back, clasping both of her hands in front of her.

“You got the Garry guy, YAY!” She clapped. “And remember I was telling you about the cute guy from the film production program who I bumped into last week?”

“Oh yeah, the one you stalked all day and night and I had to hear all that crap about where he lived, what he did, blah blah blah, right?” Kyle asked with disinterest.

Rose rolled her eyes, still smiling widely. “Whatever. His name is Mike Stevens and I got paired with him.”

“Good for you.”

“Alright, I am gonna go look for Mike and I will leave you alone with the Garry boy. Rumor has it, he is gay too.” She winked at him and began to skip her way out of there.

“Rose, wait! You didn’t tell me his name.” Kyle called behind her but she didn’t stop.

“Do your own dirty work, gayboy. I am not your slave.” Rose yelled back and was gone within a second.

“Great!” he mumbled under his breath and waited for everyone to clear out the area. However, a tap on his shoulder made him turn and he gaped looking into a pair of familiar blue eyes, which suddenly gave him a familiar flutter in his tummy. “What the heck are you doing here?” Kyle asked, his voice croaking with his initial shock.

Riley leaned closer to him with a smirk. “Hello to you too, Kyle.”

A couple of girls went past them and simultaneously said, “Hi Riley,” to him. He smiled at them politely and simply waved.

“How do they know you?” Kyle asked in a hushed tone and looked around nervously.

“This is my school.” Riley replied and blushed. “And people seem to just know me. I don’t know. I am from the film program.”

“Uh…” a dreadful feeling settled inside Kyle’s stomach and he slowly asked, “Garry Marshall?”

“Okay, gosh. I need to tell my teachers to shut up about it, already. It makes me feel good and everything but I am nowhere near to Garry’s talent at all.”

Kyle stared at him for a moment, thinking this must have been a bad joke indeed. He shook his head, smirking sarcastically as he spoke, “And let me guess, I am the one who has to work with you for this assignment.”

“Yup!” Riley grinned and Kyle couldn’t help but wonder why God hated him so much to put him through such torture.

“Just … perfect.”

~ §§§ ~

Kyle rubbed his eyes and threw his head back. Seeing Riley that morning had brought several past memories back to his mind – the ones that he had forced to be kept hidden in a locked closet in the corner of his mind. He had done everything in his power to never relive those moments. Usually, people would yearn to have some free time to sit back and reminisce about their past because it would be a pleasant reminder of their happy times. For Kyle though, it would mean thinking of not only the happiness, but also the pain and the betrayal. It was supposed to be in his past and he wanted it to remain in the past.

Inside the tent, he could hear Kelly’s giggle as Alice made fun of her husband’s cooking. It made him smile and he sighed.

Kyle looked around his small tent and stared back at the blinking cursor on his laptop screen. He had thought of this camping trip as a good way to escape the noisy city of New York and finish his current novel in a lonesome space in Arkansas. The first one that he had written ended up being a bestseller in the LGBT genre and now his readers were expecting a new one to hit the stores soon. His publishers were pushing him to write more but if he only could find some sort of inspiration, he would gladly get back in the race. He was certain that Arkansas would be the perfect place to think and it had worked when they had arrived.

It was only when he had run into his ex-boyfriend, his thoughts were scattered all over the place. The time that Kyle was supposed to utilize for his novel, was spent thinking about Riley Gibson.

He wished the thoughts would just go away, and that wistful thinking weirdly gave him a feeling of déjà vu. It was the main reason why his mind was jogging down memory lane, replaying the first time he had seen Riley.

Back then, Kyle was still hooked on Gabe. Even when they broke up, he never thought of it as the end of their relationship. Gabe was the love of his life – Kyle was sure of that, and he had planned to spend his whole life with him, no matter what. That is why he couldn’t accept that he and Gabe were truly over. He made himself understand that couples need space every now and then and that this break-up would only be temporary.

However, when Riley came into his life, it made Kyle think twice. He wasn’t so sure anymore because of the strong attraction he felt towards the blue-eyed boy. Kyle was never the guy who accepted change as it came, so when Riley began to mess with his mind like that, he freaked out and decided to keep as much space between them as possible.

The assignment didn’t help him stick to his plan though, and he was stuck with Riley for a whole month because of it. Moreover, the boy was making it real hard for him. He would say and do all the right things and Kyle would be this close to melting in his arms.

~ §§§ ~ 

“Hey,” Kyle called over his shoulders, “have a look. I wrote the scene where Ryan and Candace are telling about their first time. You said it would be good to make it a bit comical, right?” He looked up at Riley who had come to stand by his side. Then Riley leaned down to get a proper look at the screen.

Kyle didn’t dare to breathe.

Riley’s cheek had brushed his when he had crouched down and it sent a chill running through his spine. Kyle moved away the instant it happened and ogled his partner.

Riley must have felt it too, because he pulled his gaze from the computer screen to look to his side. He was eyeing Kyle hungrily, as if he had wanted him for a long time. “Sex... Is that what you want too?” Riley asked him, in a way that aroused every sexual urge inside of Kyle.

“I-I can’t.” He stammered, breathing out heavily.

Riley chuckled. “I wasn’t talking about us.”

Then it hit him. “Oh! Ryan and Candace…” Kyle blinked and shook his head. What was he thinking? “Right! Sorry. Yes.” He swallowed, cursing himself for saying something that stupid. “Yes,” Kyle repeated, “This would have them speaking out their love for each other. The divorce part would come later.”

Kyle had come up with an idea of making a documentary about a couple who is getting a divorce. He wanted the character of Candace to have cancer and after she finds out, she decides to let her husband go. Riley had loved the idea and he suggested they make the film with two POVs, where each of them pour their hearts out.

“Listen to this,” Kyle told Riley and concentrated on the computer screen. “This is the part where Candace is talking about her cancer and she is sobbing. ‘When the doctors told me about the cancer, they said that I would hardly last a month if I didn’t go ahead with the treatments. We couldn’t afford that. I have seen Ryan work day and night to give me what I want. But he only works as a janitor and I am hardly of any use. If he ever found out about the treatments, he would do anything for me to have them; to keep me alive and breathing. He would be running in and out of the hospital and would work his ass off. But he would never complain. That damn man would come to me, worn out and he would still have a smile on his face. I know him. He would do anything for me.”

“This is good.” Riley suddenly said near his ear, and Kyle realized that he was awfully close to him once again. “So good.” He could feel Riley’s nose in his hair, smelling it.

“I-I can … What are you doing?” Kyle stood up from his chair and kept a safe distance from the dreamy-looking guy.

“Nothing,” Riley said, digging his hands inside the pockets of his tight jeans; the jeans were so tight that Kyle could see every muscle on his calves, thighs and even his crotch. Kyle pulled his gaze away. “I was trying to focus on what you were saying. But damn! Your hair smelt so freaking amazing. Like Vanilla.”

“Stop smelling me.” he said, exasperated by his actions.

“It was a compliment, baby. Take it.”

“I am not your baby.” Kyle snapped and began to pack his bag. “I gotta go. My parents are coming to Arkansas today and I can’t do this right now.”

“Okay, I’ll see you later then.” Riley said with an angelic smile.

Kyle looked away, before he could smile back. It was hard not to. “Bye.” He said and he was gone.

~ §§§ ~

“So it’s true.” Kyle was pulled back to reality by his mother’s voice and he looked at her. Alice was peeping through the zippered opening of his tent.

He offered her a smile and asked. “What is?”

“That you ran into Riley Gibson today.” She asked and sat before her son. “I can tell by the way you are acting.”

“And how exactly am I acting now?”

“You know, trying to be alone but also desperate to talk to someone.” Alice guessed.

Kyle chuckled. “What is new with that?” he enquired. “I am always running away from our crazy family.”

Alice smiled lovingly. “I know. But today is different.” She said, secretively. “Just before I came in, I caught you smiling to yourself.” Kyle blushed immediately. “Does that have something to do with Riley, honey?”

He couldn’t stop himself from smiling after that and his face felt hot. Kyle looked down at his laptop which was sitting in his lap when he confirmed, “Yes, Riley is in Arkansas. He is here directing his first film ever.”

“That’s some news.” Kyle looked up to see his mother’s eyes twinkling with pride. He had forgotten how close his family had grown to Riley back then. “Did he tell you what kind of film he was directing?”

Kyle thought deeply. “I … hope it wasn’t porn.” He said aloud and laughed.

Alice slapped him on his bicep and he laughed more. “Did you at least invite him over to meet us?”

“No, but he has invited us all to a party.” He told her.

“Nikki told me that.” Alice nodded and scrutinized her son’s face. “She seems to be so excited about the party and meeting up with Riley after so long.”

“Yeah and so is Jessica.” Kyle added with a chortle, remembering her enthusiasm when she had seen Dylan Carver. But he didn’t utter a word about that to his mother.

“Are you?” His mother suddenly asked and every other emotion inside of him was wiped out.

His heart sped up faster. “What?”

“Are you excited to meet Riley?” Alice asked him once again, slowly this time. “It has been a long time since…”

“Mom!” Kelly’s little voice yelled for her from outside.

Alice sighed. “In a moment, sweetie.” She yelled back and looked exhaustedly at Kyle. “Sometimes I wonder if we should have stopped having children after Nikki.” She confessed, dramatically. “Seriously I love Kelly and all but she is gonna be the death of me.” Kyle chuckled as he watched his mother retracing her steps outside the tent. “That little girl wants to know about everything in the world.”

“She is just curious mom. Cut her some slack.”

“Don’t take her side with this.” Alice whispered, faking a shock. “I am the one who has to handle that little devil.”

“Hey!” Kyle smirked. “You were the one who decided to give me another sibling.”

She rolled her eyes and was about to go out, when she stopped and looked back at her son with a serious look. “Kyle,” his mother called out, “Riley is a good guy. I still say, it wasn’t his fault what happened back then. You should cut him some slack.”

Kyle forced a smile on his face and gave a curt nod. When she was gone, he suddenly turned remorseful. He shut his laptop with force, pushed it away and sprawled over the bed sheets.

~ §§§ ~

Kyle was certain that Riley was stalking him everywhere he went. That evening when he was helping his grandmother cook dinner for everyone, there was a knock at the door. “I’ll get it.” Kyle offered and went through the kitchen to open the back door of the house. “What the fuck?!” He yelled.

“Kyle!” Both his mother as well as his grandmother scolded him. “Watch your language!”

“Yes Kyle, where are your manners?” Riley asked, the grin on his face beginning to annoy Kyle. Holding two bags of - what looked like – groceries in his hands, Riley pushed him out of the way and walked inside. “Hello Ellis.” He said to Kyle’s grandmother.

“Hello Riley. How was your day at school?” Grandma Ellis asked, while prepping the cookies for a nice bake.

“It was good. Did Kyle tell you that we are working together for an assignment at school?” Riley asked, setting all the bags on the counter.

“No, he didn’t.” She gasped and glared disapprovingly at her grandson.

Kyle rushed to his grandmother’s side and whispered angrily, “What is he doing here?”

“Why, I invited him to have dinner with all of us. Did I forget to tell you that?” His grandma drew her eyebrows closer, trying to remember.

“Duh!”

“Hmm… Must have slipped my mind then,” she said. “I wanted your parents to meet the boy who saved you from going to jail.”

Kyle’s mother, who was sitting at the dining room table reading a newspaper, looked up suddenly. “Riley Gibson, is it?” She asked. Kyle’s parents had arrived just an hour ago and he was already getting heat from them for running the car over an innocent man.

“Yes ma’am!” Riley walked upto her politely and Kyle watched his mother standing up. “And I take it, you are Mrs. Morgan? Kyle’s mother?”

“I am.” Alice nodded, giving him a kind smile. From what Kyle could tell, Riley had managed to impress her with his good manners and that irritated him more. “And I am sorry for what my son did to you.”

Riley waved it off, saying, “Don’t be. It was just an accident. It wasn’t his fault, ma’am.”

“Call me Alice.” His mother offered. “And it is indeed sweet of you to say that, but I am sure it was his fault. My son has a reckless manner of driving his cars.”

“Mom!” Kyle complained.

“Don’t you ‘mom’ me like that!” She scolded him for the millionth time that evening. “You almost killed a boy here – a sweet boy, who goes to the same school as you do. You could have ended up in jail, Riley.”

“Mrs. Morgan … Alice, please.” Riley said. “None of that happened. I am fine. Kyle is okay, too. I suggest you should let it go. Please? For me?” He begged her.

“You are being too good to him.” She shook her head but when she saw him giving her a puppy dog look, she melted. “Alright, fine. But Kyle, you are not getting any car to drive for a month and while we are here, your dad and Chris will go over your driving lessons once again.”

“God, Mom!” Kyle exclaimed. “This is so embarrassing. I can drive just fine.”

“Hey, I am with your mom on this one.” Riley said, crossing his strong hands over his chest and made a funny face. “You do need some sort of punishment.”

“Thank you Riley.” Alice said, with a smug expression on her face.

It broke the dam in Kyle’s mind and he stormed off, but not before stopping to warn Riley, “You need to get out of my house.”

He heard his mother and grandmother angrily calling him in unison. But he didn’t stop. Kyle walked out and went straight to the bedroom where his dad was unpacking all their stuff. Little Nikki was in the room, dressing up her doll and she didn’t even acknowledge his presence when he came in. When Graham watched his son enter, his brow raised with inquisition.

“Mom can be impossible sometimes.” Kyle propped down on the bed.

“Shh,” His father silenced him, pointing a finger to Kelly’s crib where the one year old was sleeping peacefully.

Kyle looked apologetic. “Sorry.” He said and went to check on the baby. Thankfully, she was still in her deep sleep. Kyle smiled, feeling overwhelmed by the cuteness of his youngest sister.

“I just put her down to sleep.” His dad told him. “The flight seemed to freak her out a bit.”

“Hmm.”

“What did your mom say to you that made you so angry?” Graham asked.

And just like that, his wrath was back. He went back to sit on the bed and spoke in a hushed tone. “She is taking every chance she can get to embarrass me in front of Riley. And Riley,” he exhaled, “He is such a pain in the ass.”

“Hold on. Who is Riley?” His father stopped folding his shirt and looked confused.

“Riley Gibson obviously; you know the boy who I … um… had an accident with.”

“Oh, is he here?” Graham perked up. “I need to go thank him right away.”

“Not you too,” Kyle rolled his eyes, getting tired of this. “Stop treating him like he is a superhero or something.”

“Kyle,” His father sternly said, “He did a good deed saving you. He deserves to be thanked for that.”

“Do you love Riley, Kyle?” His little sister Nikki asked, looking up for just a moment.

Kyle was speechless and he tried hard to recover from that shock. “What?” He tried to play cool, but disgusted. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t love Riley.”

“But you loved Gabe, didn’t you?” She asked.

“You loved Gabe?” His father asked, totally surprised.

“Wha-” He shook his head. “Stop asking me such stupid questions, Nikki and do your… thing, whatever you are doing. And dad,” he turned to his father. “Whatever it was between Gabe and I, is over so don’t bother yourself with it.”

“Hmm. I wonder then if I should tell you that Gabe called on your old cell phone yesterday.”

“He did?” Kyle looked hopeful.

Graham chuckled. “Yes, he did. He wanted to know where you were.”

“Did you tell him?”

“Did you want me to?”

Kyle paused. “No,” he hesitated. “Of course not! Gabe is nothing to me anymore.”

“Who’s Gabe?” Riley emerged at the door munching on a half-eaten apple.

As soon as Kyle saw him, his mere presence pissed him off. He took hold of one of his dad’s shirts that was lying on the bed and threw it at him. However, Riley caught it with ease and laughed. “You are not allowed in here. This is a private bedroom.” Kyle snapped at him.

“I came here looking for your dad.” Riley explained and smiled at Graham. “Hey, Mr. Morgan, Ellis wants you to take a look at the broken sink. I tried to fix it but something seems to be stuck in there.”

“Alright!” Graham said, with a smile and warily stared at his son. “Can you tidy this up for me, Kyle?”

Kyle nodded, still fuming. “I can help him with that,” Riley offered, generously.

Graham walked over to the door and offered his hand. “Riley,” he said, as Riley shook the hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you finally. I am glad you are joining us for dinner tonight.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Morgan.” Riley smiled, a bit sadly. “I get to meet a perfect and happy family.”

“Hardly.” Graham chuckled and left.

“So,” Riley spoke up and asked once again, “Who is this Gabe anyway?”

“It is none of your business.” Kyle snapped.

“Gabe was Kyle’s boyfriend but Gabe did something and now they are not talking to each other. So Kyle doesn’t love him anymore.” Nikki filled Riley in and gazed at him in awe.

“Nikki,” Kyle gasped. “Shut up! He is a stranger to you. You don’t tell strangers everything.”

“It’s okay,” Riley sat beside her and tickled her a bit. Nikki giggled. “It’s good that I am not a stranger then? Hey Nikki, I’m Riley.”

“Hi Riley.” She shyly said.

“Stop it.” Kyle ordered. “Nikki, go find mom and do something with her. I need to talk to Riley alone for a minute.”

“But…”

“Go!” He demanded, sternly.

Nikki pouted and ran out, crying.

“Geez! What has gotten into you?” Riley asked with a frown.

“Why don’t you leave me alone, dude?” Kyle fumed. “This is my house, my life, this is my family. You are not needed here. So, stop acting all nice, okay?”

Riley stood up and slowly went up to him. He held Kyle by his shoulders before explaining, “Chill dude. I’m just trying to get to know them. That’s all.”

“Well, don’t do that. I don’t want you to get to know my family.” Kyle said, shrugging Riley’s hands off his shoulders.

“What if I want to?” He shrugged.

Kyle gave a sardonic laugh. “Why, Riley? Why would you want to know my family?”

“Because we could become boyfriends in the future.” He smirked, mischievously.

“Ha! Believe me, that is never gonna happen.”

“Why, because of Gabe?” Riley asked, with a hint of jealousy in his tone.

“No, not really.” Kyle stammered, being caught off-guard just for a second. “B-but it is none of your business.”

“It will become my business when you kiss me.”

“And why would I kiss you?”

“Because I am gonna kiss you now.”

And just like that their lips crashed together. Even after several attempts of holding himself back, Kyle couldn’t stop. He kept kissing Riley, sucking on his lower lip like it was some sweet candy. They fell back on the bed and Kyle unknowingly began to tug on Riley’s shirt. He wanted to feel the boy all over. He had such a deep desire for Riley that Kyle was ready to have sex with him right there in his parent’s room.

Before he knew it, Riley’s tongue had entered his mouth and was happily exploring his insides. It felt heavenly and Kyle gave out a moan.

At that moment, he heard his father yell for him and they both broke apart. “Oh God!” Kyle came to his senses. “No, this can’t be happening. No-no-no!” He shook his head and got out off the bed as if it had suddenly gotten filthy.

“Kyle, hey-hey,” Riley reached out, to hold him but Kyle kept backing off. “It’s fine. It was only a kiss.” He smiled dreamily. “Okay, a sexy, hot, passionate kiss. But seriously, you don’t have to freak out … we can go slow if you want.”

“You don’t understand. I can’t be doing this.” Kyle said, in his panicked state. He felt wrapped in so much guilt. His dad called him again. “I am sorry.” His voice cracked. “I am so sorry.”

He rushed out and tried to calm himself. He straightened his shirt and combed his messed up hair with his fingers before entering the kitchen area.

“What …”

“Hey Kyle,” A familiar voice made him look up. “Miss me?”

The penitence from his actions deepened in the worst way, when he looked at Gabe standing there in his grandmother’s kitchen, with an apologetic look on his face and a bunch of flowers in his hand.

 ~ §§§ ~