Opposites attract - 5. Chapter 5

The afternoon passed and I changed for our visit to the college movie club, before Kev had returned. I felt like dressing up, though I wasn't exactly sure what for.

For him, of course.

That nagging little voice in my head had to add. I let this comment slip by. Who am I to contradict myself? I chose the pair of blue jeans that were tight on my ass, but loose on the legs. As a top, I decided for a black longsleeve. It had those almost rectangular applications on the shoulders, which made me look a little bit broader.

It takes more than a little cloth to look broader than him.

Ignoring the more petulant part of me, I finished my clothing by going for the red chucks and getting that nice beige jacket out of the closet. It was September and the nights here could already get a little chilly.

He can keep you warm.

“Oh, shut the fuck up!” I said aloud.

Fine, talking to oneself. One of the sure signs of a healthy mind. I fetched my wallet and checked it for the student's id card, when I dropped it to the ground.

Well done, Clumsy Smurf.

I bent down to get it up.

“Oh.” Kev's voice came from the door.

I turned around quickly and straightened myself. For one heartbeat, Kev's gaze lingered, where my ass had been a second ago. His cheeks turned the slightest shade of red.

“Um… that's not good for your vertebrae… bending down like this… I mean…”

Had I really caught him red handed looking at my rear? That would have been too good to be true. I decided for my own mental health that I would simply ignore it and that he had not stared.

“You dressed up really nice for the evening. Expecting anyone special?”

“Only you.”

I played on his embarrassment, hoping to get away with it and to avoid further inquiries.

Hide in plain sight.

You could see on his face that he was processing that last retort of mine. After some seconds, which seemed to stretch out excruciatingly, he settled for me having pulled his leg. That sly grin grew on his face.

“Well. If you dress up for me, I will return the favor. Let's see, what I can come up with.”

Whether he intended to or not, the clothes he chose really did the job for me. He was wearing a pair of grey jeans, which firmly snuggled to him. A white shirt with short sleeves covered his upper torso and was tucked into his trousers. He hadn't buttoned it up completely, so you could see quite a lot of his bare chest. In his hand, he was holding a blue sports coat.

“Satisfied?” he moved up and down his hand as if advertising himself, the well-known sly grin plastered to his face.

“It will not be too embarrassing to be seen with you.”

My heart was beating in my throat, he was looking amazing.

“Close enough.”

We arrived early at the college's movie theater, which was used mainly for educational purposes, but was free to use in the evenings by the various student's clubs. We got our name badges reading ‘Kev Schneider is Rocky’ and ‘Leon Fitzgerald is Frank-N-Furter’, our names added by one of the students with a marker pen. Additionally, we got handed a small stack of paper cards, having ‘Rice’, ‘Water’, ‘Toast’ etc. written on them.

“What's that for?” Kev asked.

“Some…um… rituals have formed around watching this movie. There are scenes where the audience throws rice or slices of toast or shoots a water pistol. The fan club had some trouble with campus administration regarding the cleaning afterwards. So they came up with those.” I raised the small package of cards.

“Oh. I have heard of it. But when I am supposed to throw what? I've never done that before.” Kev was frowning in puzzlement.

“The fan club has integrated little cues into the movie, subtitles telling you to prepare a certain card and the exact moment when to throw it. There are some interjections by the audience as well, but these are subtitled, too. Like Karaoke. It's the ‘Dummy's Guide to the Rocky Horror Picture Show’.” I smirked.

“Awesome. I like that one.”

Kev held up a card that simply read ‘Card’ and chuckled. That sound still hadn't lost its effect on me.

The movie itself was great. It was heartwarming to watch Kev. He was enthusiastic like a child… a very big child, indeed. We even joined the crowd dancing the Time Warp. Kev was a good dancer; more flexible than one would expect a man of his stature to be. It was the third fun evening in a row and all of them had one thing in common: Kev.

On our way back, like the day before with the action movie, we replayed scenes. We had fun singing the songs. We didn't sing them well, but full of verve. Much too soon, we were back in our room, where singing wasn't an option any longer, not without pissing off our fellow students. We changed for bed and talked.

“We have to go next time as well. That was even more fun than just watching. Let's do the Time Warp agai-in.” He sung the last part in his deep baritone voice.

I cackled.

“As I have already told you: they don't need much encouragement to show it over and over again. We will have plenty of opportunities to see it.”

“I liked especially watching it with you.”

That was borderline awkward, but I decided to go with it.

“Same here, Kev. Was nice to see someone as captivated by the movie as me. And nice hip action on your side.”

That earned me another of his smiles. My heart was close to a meltdown.

“Oh, I haven't told you yet. I'll have a job interview tomorrow at the fitness spa in the city, close to the cinema. They are looking for an instructor. I phoned the owner today and he was quite impressed with my qualifications. So keep your fingers crossed for me.”

“Sounds great. Good luck then, Kev.”

“Thanks. The work hours would go very well with my timetable. I hope for the best. Would be nice to have some extra bucks. Just in case my pimp… beg my pardon… my patron gets tired of me.”

“You won't get rid of me that easily, Kev. We are stuck to each other.” I pointed a finger at him while saying it. The effect would have been better, if I had kept a straight face.

Kev laughed, but his eyes showed that this little act had moved him. Somehow, he had felt the affection that was hidden in my words, had seen behind the façade of banter. These were the same mechanics at work by which I perfectly knew, what he had felt. It was one of those rare moments, where emotions were communicated directly, transcending cumbersome words.

“No-one wants to get rid of you.” Kev said almost too soft to hear.

The moment had passed and in its wake had left behind a feeling of loss and emptiness, which was almost tangible in the room. We didn't say another word and just switched off the lights.