The Tribuo - 54. Part V, chapter 8

- VIII -

All my promises were forgotten when I ran into him on Thursday afternoon.

“Hey,” he smiled.

“Hey… More classes?”

“No, actually,” he ran his fingers through his hair. “I am on my way home.”

Well, what do you know… So was I. And sure enough, before I could switch on my brain, my mouth opened and words came out.

“You wanna ride?”

“Sure,” he said quickly, and then he looked like he had the same problem with brain functions as I did.

I gave him the ride to the apartment, and when he asked whether I wanted coffee or something… Well, by now you should have a pretty good idea about how well I stick to my own plans. So I said yes (of course), and then we ended up talking for the next four hours. Jess came home sometime between our coffees and smokes, and she looked like she was about to murder someone.

“You okay?” I asked when she was trying to fill her mug with coffee, her hands shaking.

“I will be,” she grumbled.

Then she started spitting poison about the history professor, who said that she had to turn in her paper by five o’clock tomorrow or else. I frowned. Jess was never the type to get so upset. Then she spilled coffee on her shirt, and for a few seconds, I believed that she would just throw the mug into the wall. I took it away from her, just in case. Finally, she announced that she was going to take a nap.

“Don’t wake me up unless you want to die young,” she said warningly. “That means both of you.”

I considered telling her that maybe she should lay off caffeine until she felt better, but then wisely decided against it. She would probably throw the coffee pot at my head if I said anything right then. She went into her room, slammed the door shut, and I thought about going home. Right when I was about to say, 'Goodbye,' Russell asked if I wanted to walk to the gas station with him to get more smokes. So my 'Goodbye' magically turned into 'Sure.'

After we got smokes, we ended up going to the Chinese buffet, since we were both hungry. And after that we went to the grocery store, because he said that Jess’ fridge only had cauliflower and frozen pineapple in it.

“I need substance,” he said. “Something that has calories in it, you know? I mean, lots and lots of calories.”

“Obscene amount?” I asked, and he nodded very seriously.

So we went to the store, and I asked him if he was a fan of Mac and Cheese, but then he got this funny look on his face.

“I don’t eat that stuff,” he said quickly. “Just noodles will be fine.”

I wondered how noodles were much different from Mac and Cheese, but then just shrugged it off. Who cares. Maybe he hates cheese. We got almost a cartful of food before he finally said that it would probably last him for at least a week.

“Jess doesn’t like grocery shopping much, does she?” he asked.

“Not much, no,” I shook my head. “That’s why your fridge is almost empty. But she’ll be more than thankful to you for getting food. She doesn’t like shopping, but she likes food.”

“Good,” he nodded. “She’ll be doing all the cooking then.”

When we got back to the apartment, it was almost nine in the evening. Jess’ car wasn’t there, and I figured that she was probably with Landley. Dumb move, if you ask me. Considering that she had to turn in that paper of hers tomorrow… Then I decided that it was none of my business, and she was smart enough to figure out stuff like that on her own. I helped Russell to put all the groceries away, and when he asked whether I was hungry or not, I finally had enough willpower to say that no, I am fine.

“What time is your first class tomorrow?” I asked right before I left.

“Eight-forty,” he said.

“Mine too. Want me to pick you up?” Okay, this is not funny. Lex, stop talking before your brain gives you an approval.

“Yeah,” he said slowly. “If it’s not too much trouble… I mean…”

“No trouble,” I interrupted him, thinking that trouble didn't even begin to describe what I was getting myself into. “Eight-fifteen?”

“Sounds good,” he muttered. “Thanks!”

“No problem,” I said lightly. “See you tomorrow.”

“Night…”

He walked me to the door and stretched out his hand again. I didn’t want to be rude, so I shook it. Once again, he held onto my fingers longer than just your usual handshake. I guess I could just pull my hand out of his grip, but I didn’t. He kept staring into my eyes, and I couldn’t look away. I don’t know how long we would stand there holding hands (that’s what it was; handshake was long forgotten), and I don’t know what would've happened next, but his phone rang, and it immediately brought me back to life.

“See you tomorrow,” I muttered, pulled my hand away, and almost stumbled down the steps, since I was in a serious hurry to get the hell away from there.

“Night,” he called after me before closing the door.

Next morning Jess opened the door, and she looked like she stayed up all night, which was probably the case. She didn’t look pissed off though, so I figured that she finished her paper.

“What are you doing tonight?” she asked.

I shrugged.

“Not sure. Why?”

“Wanna hang out, that’s all,” she said lightly, but her eyes were suddenly tense.

I wondered for a second what this was about.

“Okay,” I nodded. “What time?”

“Come at seven,” she said very quickly. She looked like she was itching to tell me something. “Let’s go for a walk.”

“Okay,” I nodded again, and then I saw Russell behind her back. “Hey!”

“Hey,” he smiled. “Thanks again for this!”

“No problem,” I smiled back. “See you tonight, Jess!”

“Buh-bye,” she said almost cheerfully, but I knew her well enough to tell that something was off.

I’ll find out tonight, I thought, and then she closed the door.

*****

I came over at almost 7:30. Jess’ car wasn’t there. I frowned and called her phone. She didn’t answer. Finally, I rang the doorbell, thinking that she was probably running late. Somehow, I had a feeling that Landley had something to do with it. I rang the bell again after a minute, wondering where the hell everyone was. Finally, the door opened. Russell blinked when he saw me.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I looked at him carefully. He looked like he just woke up. His hair was messed up, shirt untucked, feet bare. “Jess told me to come over tonight.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right…” he stepped aside. “I remember you guys talking this morning.”

“Were you sleeping?”

“No,” he grinned. “Drinking.”

“Oh, yeah?” I glanced behind his shoulder. Sure enough, there was a half-empty bottle of something on the table. “What’s the occasion?”

He waved his hand in the air.

“No reason,” he said finally. “Well… The weekend and all, I suppose… I don’t drink usually, just felt like it.”

“What are you drinking?” I tried to see what was on the bottle.

“Rum,” he said seriously. “That was all I could find here. And I didn’t feel like going to the store. Want some?”

No, you don’t, my brain said sternly.

“Sure,” I said. “But I better not drink too much. I still have to drive home. You know, responsible driving and all…”

“You gotta wait for Jess anyway,” he shrugged. “Who knows when she’ll show up.”

“She’ll show,” I nodded.

…It was almost nine in the evening, Jess was nowhere to be found, and the bottle was almost empty by now. Well, damn. I drank way more than I intended. I wasn’t filthy drunk or anything (I can hold my liquor just fine), but I really didn’t want to drive right now. Not because I was afraid to run someone over -- as I said, I wasn’t that drunk -- but because, knowing my luck, I’d be pulled over by the first cop that happened to see me.

I tried calling Jess again. Still no luck.

“Crap,” I muttered after hanging up again.

“She probably forgot,” Russell yawned.

“She usually doesn’t,” I said with a sigh. “I’m gonna make coffee.”

“I’ll be outside poisoning myself,” he said thoughtfully.

“Sounds good,” I nodded. “I’ll probably join you after I start the coffeemaker.”

I found a clean filter, got everything ready, and pushed the start button. The coffeemaker didn’t produce a single sound, the light remained off. Damn, is it broken? This sucks! I unplugged it and tried a different outlet. I pushed the button again, and this time, the light went on for about three seconds. Then the damn machine made an angry whining noise, and before I could do anything else, something popped rather loudly, and then the entire apartment went dark.

Russell opened the front door.

“The lights just went out,” he announced.

“Uh huh,” I said gloomily. “I think I blew a fuse.”

“That’s some strong coffee right there,” he snorted.

“I like it that way,” I said solemnly and started laughing. Huh, I guess I was drunker than I thought.

“I have a flashlight,” he walked back inside and closed the door. “Jesus, it’s dark in here…”

He slowly walked down the little hallway, trying not to bump into anything. Then he tripped on something and cursed loudly and with great imagination.

“You okay?” I didn't even know why I was still laughing.

“Yeah,” he grumbled. “I think it’s a shoe… I can’t see it, but it has a heel, that’s for sure.”

I made my way towards him.

“Careful,” he said quickly. “It’s right…”

And I tripped on the damn shoe.

“...there,” he finished after I smacked my head on the wall because I almost lost my balance.

Dammit, Jess! Some people put shoes away, instead of leaving them in the middle of the hallway.

“You okay?” now he was laughing as well.

“Fine,” I grumbled, grabbing onto his shoulder and pulling myself upright.

He pulled me up, and then he just stood there, his hands on my shoulders. My eyes adjusted to the darkness, so I wasn’t as blind as before. I realized how close to me he was standing; I could feel his breath on my skin. See, if I were sober, I would probably just make a joke and walk away. If I were sober, I would just go and fix the damn fuse. If I were sober, I would take my hand off his shoulder immediately. But I wasn’t sober, so I didn’t do any of those things.

He slowly ran his fingers down my face, his eyes locked on mine. When he touched my lips, I inhaled sharply, and he blinked.

“Shit,” he muttered and pulled his hand away. “God, I’m sorry… Crap… I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to… Lex, I’m…”

And then whatever shreds of willpower I had left, evaporated completely. I kissed him and I didn’t care about the consequences. At first, he just stood there. He didn’t pull away, but he didn’t respond to the kiss either. I stopped after several seconds, and I had no idea what to do, so I just kept my mouth on his without moving or even breathing. Suddenly, he moaned, grabbed the back of my neck, and pushed me into the wall. And then he was kissing me like there was no tomorrow.

I lifted up his shirt and ran my hands over his smooth, warm skin. I could feel his insanely fast heartbeat, and I knew that mine had the same crazy rhythm. He kissed me so hungrily that it made me slightly dizzy. He pulled me away from the wall, and all but shoved me into his room without interrupting his kisses.

I didn’t think about anything. I lost the ability to think. We undressed each other as if we were on a very strict time frame and couldn’t afford losing a single second. Russell kicked the door shut and pushed me down on the bed. I grabbed his hand and pulled him on top of me. I started kissing his neck, and he was moaning nonstop. God, that moaning turned me on even more. Then somehow, I was the one who ended up on top, and I didn’t mind that in the slightest. My mouth was all over him, and his hands were all over me.

I didn't know how much time had passed since we ended up in his bed, and I didn’t care. I felt like I was having a very intense dream. Our rhythm was perfect even before I was inside him. He hissed and arched his back, and I stopped immediately.

“Am I hurting you?” I muttered, and he grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me closer.

“No,” he whispered and kissed me as hungrily as before. “Keep going…”

That was all I needed to hear. I tried moving as slowly as I possibly could. I didn’t know how long I could keep the slow rhythm going, however. I felt like I was about to spontaneously combust any second. He was moaning even louder than before, his body moving underneath me, it was driving me crazy. He pushed down on my hips, driving me even deeper inside him.

“Harder…” he muttered without opening his eyes.

And then I let myself go. I don’t think I was even in charge of my body after he said that. Pretty soon I was moving a hell of a lot faster, and then, when I reached the point of no return, he gasped into my neck and stiffened up underneath me.

“Oh, God…” he moaned. “Don’t stop, don’t stop…”

I wouldn’t be able to stop even if I tried.

“Oh, my fucking God…” he growled and his eyes flew wide open. “Oh, hell… Don’t stop-don't stop-don't stop! Don't... Jesus!!”

He squeezed me tighter than I thought was possible, and it threw me into overdrive. I screamed out his name, and our spasms became one. I kissed him, swallowing his moans, convulsing until my ears started to ring, and then I collapsed on top of him, completely spent. We were one sweaty, sticky mess, and it didn’t even matter. He buried his fingers in my hair and held me tighter. I kept kissing his neck, and then I didn’t even notice how we both fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was confused. I had no idea where the hell I was. Then I realized that I had someone’s arm wrapped around me, and I carefully turned my head. Russell was asleep next to me, his face buried in the pillow, his arm around my waist. And then I remembered. I immediately broke in cold sweat. Oh, Jesus Christ, what have I done… I moved very carefully, and he didn’t even stir when I peeled his arm off my body and slid out of bed. Yeah, shower would be an excellent thing right now, but I can wait until I get home. Idiot, moron, dumbass, I kept thinking while I was looking for my pants. I tried to remember if he called me a different name last night. I had no idea. I don’t think he did. But it didn’t matter. Goddammit, Lex… You are…

“Where are you going?”

I jumped up and almost lost my balance, my foot caught in my pant leg. I turned around. He was looking at me, his eyes tense.

“Home,” I breathed. “I gotta get home.”

If he starts apologizing for last night, I’m gonna lose it.

“You need to fix the fuse first,” he said seriously, and I blinked.

Then I remembered. That’s right, I blew the fuse last night. Ugh, in so many ways… I told myself to knock it off.

“Yeah,” I muttered. “Right… The fuse…”

He sighed and sat up.

“It’s Saturday,” he said calmly. “They have that weekend special in Starbucks. I think you get, like, a free drink if you get there before eleven in the morning.”

I glanced at the clock. It was 7:30.

“It’s buy one, get one free,” I said and he grinned.

“Let’s go then,” he said as calmly as before.

I realized that I was still trying to balance on one foot, and sat down on the bed, my jeans forgotten.

“I think I need a shower first,” I said finally, and he laughed.

“That makes two of us. Come on,” he got off the bed.

I just stared at him silently.

“I’ll rub your back if you rub mine,” he shrugged, and I couldn’t help it, I laughed.

…We got to Starbucks at 10:40. That was one hell of a long shower we had. I tried Jess’ phone again after we got our drinks, but she never answered. Finally, I gave up. She’ll show up at home sooner or later.