Subtle Beauty - 2. Chapter 2

Ok this was weird. Awkward. Embarrassing. Pleasant. Did I just say pleasant? Dammit! Fuck, I just swore. Did it again. Dude, enough with the internal monologue! I ought to say something to him, but what? Did I already mention that this was weird?

“Would you relax? You’re making me uncomfortable,” Mich said in an amused voice.

For the first time since he started driving, I glanced at him. He concentrated on the road, so I allowed my gaze to linger. His longish blonde hair fell just past his ears, and I wondered whether it felt as soft as it looked. My eyes wandered down his straight nose which fitted his face perfectly. Well, that was my opinion anyway. When I noticed one rosy cheek (I could only see half of his face), I began to smile, but it quickly turned into a frown. His cheeks hadn’t been rosy earlier, maybe he was blushing?

Hoping that it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, I closed my eyes for a second. When I opened them, I found myself looking deep into Mich’s eyes, which gave us both a shock.

Fuck, he saw me looking! That was why he was blushing. Way to go Coop! You just made yourself queer. You might as well offer to give the guy a blowjob.

I was about to apologize when Mich suddenly spoke. “So how did you become friends with Vern?” His gaze darted to my clothes.

Ouch. Was he judging me by how I looked? I couldn’t help but dislike him a bit for that. “What do you mean?” My voice sounded tense even to me. “Does the fact that I dress differently from all of you mean that I am not qualified to be her friend?”

He glanced at me for a second and I was immediately embarrassed at the way I acted. His expression was hurt, almost wounded.

“I didn’t mean it that way,” he said. “I was only trying to make conversation and wanted to know how you became friends with her.”

Oh. I spied how tightly he gripped the steering wheel through the corners of my eyes and bit my lower lip.

“Michael...”

“Call me Mich, ok? All my friends do.” There was still a note of hurt in his voice, which I only noticed for a second. If he asked me to call him Mich, did that mean he wanted to be friends now?

“Mich,” I said, surprised at the thrill I got when I said his name out loud, “don’t mind what I said. I’m just... I’m just sick and tired of people judging me for the way I look. I was so afraid that maybe you were judging me that I didn’t realize that I was doing it to you.” I turned to him and our eyes met but I didn’t look away this time, hoping he would at least see the sincerity in my eyes.

He turned his attention back on the road. “It’s cool, man. Don’t worry about it. You still haven’t answered my question though.” Then I saw a smile form on his lips.

I felt myself smiling too. Couldn’t help it, his smile was infectious.

“Vern and I first met in high school and we’ve been inseparable ever since. I’m not sure why Vern still hangs out with me, except maybe she’s so used to torturing me by now that her day’s not complete unless she made mine a living hell. I think it’s her favorite pastime or something.” I noticed that a smile still played on his lips when I happen to look at him again.

“But seriously,” I continued, “Vern’s a great friend. I just give her a call when I need her and she’ll come no matter how busy she is, even if she’s on a date.”

“I know,” he said and I had to look at him because of the sadness that I heard in his voice. What was Vern thinking dumping a guy like him? He seemed kind and caring. In fact, he was far better than the morons she used to date (or would ever date, if I might add).

Unsure of what to say, I kept silent. The guy had just been dumped, he was entitled to wallow a little. That was when I decided to look outside.

“Um, where are we going?” The note of panic in my voice was unmistakable.

Instead of answering, he just smiled. “My place,” he said after a while. “It’s still too early to have dinner so we can hang out in my place in the meantime.”

“But you said you were taking me to my place,” I protested.

“I did and I would have, if you’d told me where to go. You didn’t say anything though so I figured I’ll just drive you to your place later.” Something didn’t add up with what he’d said. I mean, he could have just asked where I live. He didn’t ask, that was for sure.

“Look, I just got dumped and I could really use some company. Maybe part of the reason Vern asked you to do this for her was to cheer me up a bit.” That seemed reasonable enough, but he was better off with his friends. We were practically strangers.

“Why me?” Did I say that out loud or in my head?

“Eh?”

Fuck, I said it aloud. The fact that he kept glancing nervously at the rearview mirror assured me that he knew exactly what I’d meant.

“I’m guessing you have friends, so why do I need to keep you company?” My whole attention was on him now and he was cornered. I felt a little bit triumphant.

“Because... because of timing. You’re here now, my friends aren’t.”

Dammit, how did he get out of that one? Sneaky bastard.

“If you don’t want to, I’ll drive you to your place now. Where is it?”

Did I imagine the disappointment in his voice? “Since I’m already here, I might as well keep you company for a while. Where do you live anyway?”

“We’re here,” he answered. I couldn’t comprehend what his words meant as I was distracted by the captivating smile lingering on his lips. Understanding only came when he finally stopped the car. Immediately, I turned away from him, not wanting to embarrass myself again.

As we got out of the car, I noticed that we were in the driveway of a two-story house which seemed old as compared to its modern-looking neighbors. A large, ancient tree almost hugged the house from the way the it leaned a bit towards the structure. Somehow, I knew that whenever I’d think of this house, I would always remember this tree.

I noticed too the properly kept lawn, brightly colored flowers and plants which varied in sizes. As I looked around, I suddenly felt homesickness not because our lawn had ever looked as neat as this, but because the house gave me a feeling that I was home.

“So what’s the verdict?” Mich said in a voice full of curiosity.

“It’s beautiful,” I answered honestly.

“Really? Too bad then because this is not our house.”

“You’re kidding.” I began to panic. Looking around desperately, I saw Mich’s car. If he parked his car in this house, surely this was his house, right? Unless it was really his intention to deceive me.

I relaxed a little and hoped that he didn’t notice my momentary panic. When I looked at his face, I was already calm and composed.

The sneaky bastard was laughing at me with his eyes. “Don’t pretend, I gotcha, admit it,” he said with a big smile on his face.

“There’s nothing to admit. You didn’t fool me, I knew this was your house.” I hoped the seriousness in my voice would convince him that I was telling the truth even if I was not.

“And you knew this was my house how?” He paused for effect. “Wait, I think I got it. You’ve been stalking me.” His smile just got bigger, if that was even possible.

Argh, what a sneaky little bastard! I would get him for this if it was the last thing I do!

“Are you trying to make me regret that I came here with you? If you are, you’re doing a good job of it.” That did it. His face fell and his smile vanished like magic. Victory!

“Why don’t we go in?” he said with obvious nervousness.

The screen door creaked loudly when he opened it. “Who is it?” said a voice from inside. In my opinion, the screen door was a very convenient buzzer and alarm system in one.

“It’s me, Grandpa,” Mich said in a loud voice as he let me inside the house. I was equally impressed with the interior, it was comfy, clean and homey.

I followed Mich as he led the way to the kitchen, which was where the voice came from. Once in the kitchen, I saw an old man with gray hair busy with cooking something, spaghetti by the smell of it.

“Hi, Grandpa. I brought a friend, hope you don’t mind.” Mich got behind his grandfather and placed a kiss on the old man’s head. So we were friends now?

“Why would I mind, Mich? Let me just finish this and then I’ll see this friend of yours.” Mich’s grandfather had a kind, sweet voice.

Mich got busy with cleaning up some of the mess that his grandfather had made, while I stood uselessly watching the two of them work. I offered to help, but Mich just smiled at me and continued cleaning up. Mich’s grandfather was still busy with cooking and kept his back to me.

After what seemed like forever (to me at least), Mich’s grandfather finally faced me. I was struck by how much he looked like Mich (although the proper way of saying it would have been that Mich looked a lot like his grandfather). Mich’s grandfather had a welcoming smile on his lips as he looked at me while I tried (and failed) not to get uncomfortable under his gaze.

When Mich had finished with cleaning up, he said, “Let’s go to my room Cooper. I need to change and then we can hang around there for some time while Grandpa is finishing up here.”

It was harmless enough, but no way was I going to be alone with him in his room while he changed.

“I think I’ll stay here for a while to chat with your grandfather. I’ll just come up later, ok?”

Mich gave me this weird look which confirmed my fear that I wasn’t successful in hiding my discomfort.

“It’s the first door on your right.”

I nodded my head and was glad when Mich finally turned to go.

Mich’s grandfather was watching me when I turned to him. I smiled at him tentatively and he gave me a warm smile in return.

“Hi, I’m Cooper. Nice to meet you, Sir.” I extended my right hand to him which he took and squeezed gently.

“Please call me Grandpa and nice to meet you too.”

“Ok, Si- Grandpa.” He had a certain confidence around him, something which only people who had been around for some time possessed. In spite of my initial nervousness, I warmed up to him. There was something about him which made me feel comfortable.

“So how long have you known Mich?” There was a twinkle in his eyes which bothered me. It was as if he knew that I wasn’t really Mich’s friend. But how?

“Erm, actually, I haven’t known him that long. I mean, I see him in school sometimes but we were never that close to be considered as friends. In fact, today was the first day that we have ever talked.” Yeah, this stranger now stood in your kitchen and called you Grandpa, anything else?

“What happened that the two of you finally talked?” If he was surprised at what I just said, I couldn’t tell. He just seemed really curious.

“Well, I broke up with him.” What the fuck? “I mean, my friend Vern who was dating your grandson asked me to do it for her.”

“Please don’t get mad,” I added nervously.

“So let me get this straight, you are friends with the girl that my grandson was dating. You acted as a sort of messenger for her and the message was that she was breaking up with him?” He sounded amused, why?

“Yes.” Should I say sorry at this point and run like crazy out of the house? Sorry wouldn’t do me any good now, but I kept the ‘running like crazy out of the house’ option open.

Grandpa laughed. Huh? What exactly happened? I didn’t say anything funny, did I? I looked around for hidden cameras, but couldn’t find any. Probably because they are hidden, genius.

“You’re the bringer of bad news and yet here you are in our house. How did that happen?” Grandpa looked at my face but I couldn’t look at him straight in the eyes.

“I’ve made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry. Up you go then, Mich is probably getting impatient waiting for you.” He turned around without a word as I stared openmouthed at his back.

As I made my way upstairs, I was in some sort of shock. I couldn’t believe that I got out of that situation alive. Without thinking and knocking, I opened the door and found Mich shirtless as he sat on his bed while his upper body leaned against the headboard and his hands behind his head.

Dammit!