Subtle Beauty - 6. Chapter 6

“Come here, Coop.” Mich beckoned me to his bed. What did he want now?

Eyeing the mischievous smile playing at his lips, I cautiously sat beside him. Gazing up, I noticed a weird glint in his eyes. I frowned.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked.

“Yes.”

My heart stopped beating and a deafening silence engulfed me. Does he know about my feelings for him? My longing? How did he know? What would he do about it?

As if he heard my last question, he leaned closer to me.

I leaned backwards to avoid him, but he kept on advancing. Panic ensued within me when I felt the mattress against my back. He planted his hands and knees on my sides so that I was trapped, his face inches from me.

With fear in my eyes, I said, “What are you doing?”

He didn’t answer, but I began to discern the strangeness I noted in his eyes before. Desire? Perhaps he wanted me as much as I wanted him? I began to hope.

Hope turned to reality as he closed his eyes and planted his lips against mine. Slowly, my eyelids closed on their own as our kiss lingered.

That was when reality turned out to be a dream.

Darkness welcomed me when I opened my eyes. It was just a dream. Another Mich dream. Spending afternoons and evenings with him had taken its toll on me. He was all I could think about, even in my sleep.

Nothing I could do about it though, I... needed him. He was my addiction and I couldn’t get enough of him. Just seeing him made my day.

A small dampness in my crotch brought my hand to my boxers. Fuck! Ripping them off my lower body, I stood up and used the piece of clothing to wipe away the precum from my cock. I chose to ignore my semi-hardness. Good thing I woke up before things heated up. My laundry basket already reeked of cum.

Without bothering to cover myself, I began my morning ritual. If either Vern or Mich knew about my daybreak exercises, they’d surely laugh. Or at least be surprised. Totally out of character.

The exercise started with stretching then followed by a hundred push-ups and fifty sit-ups. Breathing hard, I lay on the floor for a while, covered in sweat. My muscles ached when I got up, but it felt good somehow. A sudden energy coursed through my entire body. The hot water of the shower washed away any muscle pain that lingered.

As I dried myself in front of the mirror, I noticed the dark circles under my eyes and a long sigh came out of me. I hadn’t been sleeping well. Not since Mich and I became friends.

As if on cue, the room swirled, but stopped almost immediately.

Today was Saturday, which meant I didn’t need to meet up with him. The realization made me both happy and sad. What the heck do I do now?

After putting on clean clothes, I combed my hair. Another change because of Mich. I never used to care about my hair, dammit! Why does he affect me so? What hold does he have on me? Will I be able to resist him?

A lot of questions I didn’t know the answers to.

Laundry! Might as well do it before the smell invaded my bedroom. My nose wrinkled as I picked up my dirty clothes, the odor couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. Draping the towel over the basket, I made my way out of the apartment.

I almost tripped over myself when I saw Mich ascending the stairs. He wasn’t supposed to be here. This was my day-off. My day away from him. From his charm. His smile. That smile.

“What are you up to?” He looked at the basket I carried which I kept as far away from him as possible. The towel hindered the spread of the unwanted smell, I reassured myself.

“Hey, Mich. Gotta run. Laundry. Bye,” I said in one breath as I tried to pass him, but he blocked my path.

“Can I come?” Did he just say ‘cum’? Here? Why would he want to cum? Oh no, he could smell my laundry.

“Can I come?” he repeated.

“Yes.” I felt guilty. Dirty. How could I think that he would say something like that? My infatuation had taken over my entire being. Get a grip, Coop.

Gently pushing pass him, I added, “Let’s go.”

“Would you like me to help you with those?” He meant the laundry basket, of course.

Calm down, I told myself. If you act weird, he would get suspicious. You would lose him when he finds out. Learn to deal with your feelings. He sees you only as a friend. Nothing more.

“Thanks, but I got these covered,” I said in a calm voice which surprised me. “What are you doing here anyway?”

A smile appeared on his lips. “I want to hang out with you.”

“This early?”

His smile vanished, replaced by an expression similar to a frown. “Well, um... you see... I have...”

“You miss me?” I teased.

“What if I do?” We both stopped on our tracks. The defensiveness in his voice surprised me. I felt that his words surprised him too. He misses me? Lost in thought, the brief touch of his hand on my shoulder jolted me back to reality and sent the laundry basket flying in the air.

Dammit! My dirty clothes littered the stairs. I stopped worrying about the smell when I saw my underwear land in front of Mich and he made to pick it up.

“STOOOP!!!”

Mich froze. Before he could do or say anything, I scooped up my clothes and dumped them unceremoniously inside the basket.

While rubbing his ears, he said, “What did you do that for?”

“Sorry.” Really I am. “Other people touching my stuff creeps me out. I’m weird that way.” Sorry for lying too.

We walked in silence for a while. Strangely, I became aware of his hurried breathing.

“It’s ok, you know? You need not be ashamed of it.” As I looked at him, I saw his cheeks turn red.

“What are you talking about?” My voice resonated with the confusion I felt.

“Your underwear. The smell. It’s... normal for our age. I... do it a lot too.”

I averted my gaze although I could feel his eyes on me. If he only knew that he caused all those ejaculations, he wouldn’t be this understanding.

“Thanks.” What was I supposed to say? This would have been better if he wasn’t so nice. His good nature made him all the more endearing to me. Why couldn’t he just be a prick like he was supposed to? Act like a jock, dammit!

We went inside the laundromat and I busied myself in separating and putting my clothes in different washing machines, one for whites and the other for coloreds. When the two machines finally hummed into life, I sat on a bench beside Mich. Following his gaze, I saw a couple in their twenties who couldn’t seem to get their hands off each other. Heck, they didn’t even notice us watching.

Mich stirred and sighed.

He had this sad look on his face when I peered at him in my peripheral vision. “You ok?”

“Yeah. I... They just look so happy together.” His eyes travelled to the couple for a second.

Catching a glance at the couple again, I took note of the guy’s arm around the girl’s small waist. She had her head against his beefy chest while her hand lightly caressed his thick thighs. The thing I noticed most was the broad smile on both their faces.

“Very romantic,” I commented.

Mich chuckled.

“What?”

He tried to compose himself, but a smile lingered on his lips. “I just didn’t expect those words to come out of your mouth. You’re always so serious, especially when school is concerned.”

“I can be romantic,” I whispered.

His hand moved to my back and he kept it there. “Of course you can. I’m actually glad that you have a romantic side. I worry that you weren’t interested in that stuff.” A pause. “So is there anyone in school you’re interest in?”

Let me see, there’s you. I have been secretly attracted to you since we formally met, buddy.

The couple saved me from answering Mich’s question when the dryer buzzed and they both got up to get their stuff. As they passed us, the girl muttered something to the guy.

When the couple left the laundromat, I turned to Mich and he had this satisfied smile on his face.

“What are you smirking about?” I fixed him an irritated look.

“Nothing.”

Taking my glasses off, I said, “Then why are you so happy? Tell me, Mich, please?” This was the first time he witnessed my pleading look. Twinkling eyes and pouty lips had never failed me before. I could see him almost giving in, but he averted his eyes. Not fair.

“It’s nothing, Coop. I just remembered something funny.” Sure, that was all there was to it. I wasn’t born yesterday.

“Then tell me what the girl said. You must’ve heard her. You were closer to them.” He shifted from his seat, but didn’t say anything.

“Oh come on.” Frustration didn’t even describe what I felt.

His next words were uttered in barely a whisper. “I didn’t hear what she said.”

Before I could react, the washing machines buzzed. Reluctantly, I got up, but had to stop when I felt a little faint. My legs felt like jelly as I moved toward the washing machine and transferred my clothes to the dryer.

The dryer had started spinning a long time ago, but I still leaned against the machine to steady myself. If things would just stop spinning, I’d be fine. My lack of sleep finally caught up to me.

“Are you ok?”

Sensing Mich behind me, I tried to turn around, but found that I couldn’t. “I’m fine. Can we hang out another time? I’m not good company right now. I didn’t sleep well last night.”

He moved closer to me and placed his hands on my arms. “My God, Coop, you’re shaking. What’s wrong?”

“I said I’m,” a wave of nausea hit me, “fine. Can you just go?” I don’t want you to see me sick.

“I’m not gonna leave you like this.” His voice held a note of authority, of being in control.

With all the remaining strength I could muster, I turned to face him. Worry was pasted all over his face. Wanting to reassure him, I smiled.

“You don’t look so good, Coop.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but another wave of nausea hit me and with nothing to support me, I felt myself falling. My senses left me except my hearing. Mich kept saying my name, but his voice got fainter until... nothing. Everything went quiet and dark, and I felt so cold.