Subtle Beauty - 17. Chapter 17

Darkness engulfed the room when I awoke with a start. Faint morning light seeped through the window. My instinct told me to growl in pain as the headache worsened, but I endured it in silence. Beside me, Mich slept peacefully. His slight snore and rhythmic breathing reminded me of his presence. Biting my lower lip, I closed my eyes and willed myself to ignore the pain. It didn’t work.

Tears welled from my eyes. Lately, the headaches came more frequently. I was never able to predict when it would attack. There were days I was fine, but at times, the pain overwhelmed me. Days like this. The worse part was that the headache lasted for a day. Pain level peaked in the morning, improving as darkness approached. I should be grateful for that at least.

I froze when Mich turned to face me. Draping an arm over my midsection, he scooted closer. The warmth of his body made me feel better, if only for a while.

“Coop, why are you shaking?” he groggily asked.

Blinking sleep away, he fixed his gaze on me. Worry was plastered on his face. He tugged at the blanket and covered both our bodies. Underneath, my back fitted against his front with his arms wrapped around me.

“What’s wrong?” His words were full of concern.

“I’m fine. Just a bit of headache. Your nakedness feels so damn good against my back, Mich.” I hoped my voice didn’t betray me.

His breath brushed the side of my neck when he sighed. “Don’t start. And who do you think you’re fooling? You don’t sound fine at all.”

I didn’t say anything. We laid in silence while his right hand rubbed my chest. Whenever my breathing hitched, his embrace would tighten. He made his presence known.

“Coop, I can’t stand this any longer. Is there nothing I can do to ease your pain?” He moved his face closer to mine and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“Well, you can get me a glass of water.”

“Warm or cold? A glassful? Half full? You know what, don’t worry your aching head. I’ll be right back, ok?” He planted a kiss on my cheek then slipped out of bed.

Despite of the pain, I smirked as I watched his naked form glisten in the semi-darkness. Mich wagged his hips as he tiptoed out of the room. Tease.

When he came back, he wore a smile for me. He placed the glass of water on the study table as he sat down on the bed. Grabbing a pillow, he propped it against the headboard. “I need you to sit up, can you do that? Need any help?”

A sudden pain shot through my head as I propped myself up. My upper body backed hard against the headboard. Mich had a grim expression on his face as he offered the glass of water to me.

My feelings improved as I drained the contents of the glass. I ignored Mich’s wary gaze on me and focused my attention on the window. Bright sunlight poured from outside, morning had come.

“Good morning,” I said with a smile.

He leaned closer and covered my lips with his, his own special greeting. “Morning, morning breath. Feeling better?”

“Yeah, thanks for the water. It usually does the trick. I mean my head still hurts, but it’s more manageable now. And my breath doesn’t stink.” I scowled at him.

Covering his nose and mouth with a hand, he said, “Sure, whatever you say.”

I grabbed a pillow then threw it at him. Bad idea. Mich’s laughter was cut short when he saw me double over in pain.

He sat next to me and placed an arm over my shoulders. “This is better?”

“My fault.” I leaned against his chest. “The pain worsens when I make sudden movements. Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

He took my hand. “Well I can’t help but worry. You mentioned about your headaches before, but I didn’t know it was this bad. I feel so powerless.”

A smile crossed my lips. “You do know that this is partly your fault. I think we’ve been having too much sex. Must’ve triggered something in my head.”

“Too much?” His tone rose. “We hardly do anything except make out and sleep naked. We don’t do it that much. Or at least not as much as I want to.”

I noticed the playfulness in his voice. With strained effort, I forced myself to play along. “Uh-huh. So whom did I have sex with last night? And the night before that? And all those other nights?”

He nibbled my ear. “Don’t know. I think you’ve been cheating on me Cooper. How could you?”

Laughing inside, I gently elbowed him. “Oh shut up. I do my best to satisfy you, but I guess you’re never satisfied.”

Both of his arms wrapped around me. “You satisfy me baby, so much. I love being naked with you and waking up in the morning by your side. But I must tell you, I hate seeing you like this. You pretend to be ok, but you’re not.”

I gently turned so I could look at him. “It gets better as the day wears on so—”

“Don’t worry?” The exasperation in his voice couldn’t be mistaken for anything else. “I care about you so please don’t ask me not to.”

Reaching back, I brushed my fingers against his knitted brows. “Ok, sorry. I’m glad you’re here, Mich. You distract me from the headache.”

His laughter filled the room. “For a guy in pain, you sure say the darndest things. Did you like that little show I did for you as I was getting you a glass of water?”

“Yep,” I nodded my head, “it was very... enticing. Let’s see what my cock has to say.” I lowered the blanket down to my knees then groaned inwardly. “This is just too embarrassing. I think it has shrunk.”

Mich rubbed the fuzz on my groin. “It’s fine, Coop. I think that’s your body’s way of telling you to keep off of sex for now.”

“What does that tell us?” I pointed at his growing member using my lips.

His hand on my groin went rigid. “That’s my body’s way of telling me to stop what I’m doing.”

My eyes scanned his face while he tried his best to avoid my gaze. “Kiss me.”

“Not such a good idea right now.” His body trembled as he shook himself. “Don’t you think I know what you’re trying to do?”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” I said in a sweet, innocent voice.

“Right.” He got up. “You’re distracting me with your sexual innuendos so I’d stop fussing over you. Anyway, I’m going out.”

“You’re leaving me?” The suddenness of his announcement prevented me from masking the hurt in my voice.

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” He winked at me. “You’ll have to survive on your own for a little while. I’ll just drop by a pharmacy.”

A huge grin made its appearance on my face. “Did we run out of condoms already?”

“Put a lid on the teasing, Coop. I mean it.” Mich crossed his arms as he stood halfway out the door. “I swear, you drive me crazy sometimes. Not that you have any say on the matter, but I’m buying you some medicine to help with your headache.”

“Won’t work,” I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Sadness crept up on Mich’s face. I bit my lower lip as I regretted what I had said. It’s true the medicine didn’t work before, but he didn’t need to know that. “I mean, yeah the medicine would help ease the pain. Thanks.”

He didn’t buy it, but I felt his need to do something. Anything. Without a word, he disappeared from my view.

“Mich,” I called out.

He came rushing back. With furrowed brows, he looked at me. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just thought you might want to, um, put these on?” Using my foot, I indicated his clothes which hung from the bottom of the bed.

“Oh yeah, good idea.” With his back to me, he donned his underwear and pants. “I never thought being naked with you had any demerits.”

I grinned at his remark.

“I’m guessing you’re still going to attend your classes for the day?” he asked as his shirt went down his face.

“Of course.” I started to nod my head, but stopped when the headache increased.

“I figured as much.” He went to the side of the bed and pecked me on the lips. “Why don’t you get yourself ready while I’m gone?”

“Sure. Bring back breakfast.” When I got up, the room swirled and I had to lean against the table to steady myself.”

“Don’t exert yourself too much. Please.” The concern was back in his eyes. “I love you.”

“I won’t.” My grip on the table’s edge tightened as the room continued to spin. I tried to smile, but all that I managed was a half-smile. “Love you too, Mich.”

*************************

School stuff littered the bed as I reviewed the day’s lessons. Earlier, the headache sent me into a stupor which left me staring stupidly at my professors as they droned on about their subjects. With furrowed brows, I read a passage on a book for the third time.

The throbbing on my head was barely noticeable, but frustration made me edgy. I hated that I had to struggle over schoolwork. Good thing Mich had swimming practice, I didn’t know how I could hide my sour mood from him.

Gritting my teeth, I snapped the book shut. At this rate, I’d be up all night. Fucking perfect. With pen on hand, I started to work on my assignments.

After an hour, I was only one-thirds done. I stopped and rested my head against the headboard. Eyes closed, I thought about Mich.

In my mind, I saw his worried face. His melancholic eyes made me shiver. The downward curve of his lips instead of his usual goofy smile made my heart skip. I blamed myself, I had no right to make him unhappy.

Why did this headache have to attack today? Was it because of the recent surge with which it struck? Due to Mich’s frequent staying over? Or both? In the past, I was fine by the time he arrived in the evening. This morning’s headache was worse than the others because I saw how much it affected him seeing me in pain.

I looked forward to doing my regular push ups and sit ups with him whenever he stayed over, but he didn’t even mention those this morning. He noticed my pain although I tried my best to hide it.

The urgent tapping on the front door snapped me to attention. Pushing aside books, I slid down the bed. I took deep breaths to make myself appear fine in case it was Mich on the door.

Opening the door, I smiled when my gaze landed on Mich. He had his head bowed as he picked at something on his gym bag. “Hey, handsome. Come in.”

With his head turned away from me, he rubbed my belly as he went inside without a word. Uh-oh, somebody else had a lousy day at school. Asking him how his day went earned me a grunt.

“Would you like something to drink? I have…” I opened the refrigerator and frowned, “yeah, I’m not sure why I even bother to look. I’ll bring you some water.”

My expression turned gloomy when I saw Mich resting his head on both hands. His hair was in complete disarray.

I placed the glass of water on the coffee table then sat beside him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I gently shook him. “Talk to me.”

He remained silent. Looking closely, I noticed that his body was shaking. I rubbed a hand up and down his back. When that didn’t work, I wrapped both arms around him. He continued to tremble. What happened?

“Mich, you’re scaring the hell out of me. Look at me and tell me what’s wrong.” I noticed the concern in my voice, but noted the beginnings of panic too.

My mouth opened wide when he turned his face to me. He seethed in anger and there was a shiner on his right eye.