In a Moment - 5. Chapter 5

New England isn’t exactly famous for clear skies...in fact, there are plenty of natives who find it plain annoying when the sun shows its face too often. Chris was one of those people. Unusual for the late fall, the sun began to pour through the window in the opening hours of the morning and starting drenching Chris’s face with light. However, sleep wasn’t about to let up and let the day win. As soon as the light got bright enough to be annoying, Chris unconsciously groaned and turned over in bed. A few seconds later, he was still again, this time with his head firmly tucked away from the insistent daylight. The stillness was not to last though, as Chris registered movement around him.

“Mmghhghh...Ace? You up?” a groggy voice asked. Chris wasn’t conscious enough to answer and so responded by nuzzling his face deeper into its hiding place...which happened to be someone’s shoulder.

Justin strained to open his eyes in the bright morning. He didn’t immediately recognize his surroundings, but after a few moments of slowed perception, he remembered...he was in Chris’s room...and bed. As he looked around idly, Justin quickly closed his eyes and grabbed his forehead as a ray of sunlight hit him square in the eye, shooting like lightning into his hung-over brain.

“Ouch...” a second groggy voice uttered. Justin dared a glance over next to him and saw that Chris was now face down on the bed after losing his “pillow” when Justin moved his arm.

Justin chuckled a little. “Sorry, Ace...um, do you have any aspirin or something?”

Chris merely grumbled and pointed toward his dresser...more or less anyway. Justin clumsily reached over and grabbed a small white bottle. After tossing back a couple pills, he offered it to Chris, but soon realized that he was fast asleep again.

Justin smiled. “This guy could sleep through the apocalypse,” he said quietly. After glancing at the clock...which read a woeful eight in the morning...Justin decided to get a few more hours of sleep as he slipped back into bed. He paused for a few moments to observe the other occupant of the bed. Since an early age, the two had been accustomed to sharing a bed...being best friends and neighbors resulted in them sleeping over constantly. As he looked on, Justin couldn’t help but notice that Chris looked very settled and tranquil. Justin knew, however, that Chris’s sleep wasn’t always as peaceful as it appeared. He signed knowingly as he gazed over his friend’s unconscious face. He knew that behind the shut eyes that there was a storm brewing in Chris’s mind. Sleep was an escape for him, but it didn’t always give him peace. As Justin settled back into bed, Chris instinctively pressed back into Justin, who responded by putting an arm around his sleeping friend, giving him a light hug. Warm and comfortable, Justin faded back into sleep as the earlier hours of the morning passed by outside.

****

There was always somewhat of a bustle around Harvard. Whether it was groups of students heading to class or professionals commuting to work, there was rarely any pristine quiet around the campus. Saturday mornings were quieter than most though, with many students catching up on sleep and the usual weekend lull in activity. The morning was a stone’s throw above freezing with the sun shining through clearly, but the occasional gust of chilly wind reminded all that winter was nearly upon them.

A small break in the quiet came as a dorm building door opened and closed, the light shuffle of a lone figure making his way across the yard fading into the background. Adam barely looked around him as he made his way back to his dorm. He idly watched his feet as he walked along, almost unconsciously guiding himself back. After a short stroll in the brisk morning air, he stood before the doors of his own dorm, digging into his pocket for his ID to get in. As he pulled out his card, something else came out along with it...a small slip of paper. Adam stood there, frozen in his own thoughts as he looked down on the slip, the writing stirring up a torrent of feelings.

“Call me, 703-555-1876 –Sean”

Adam stuffed the paper back into his pocket as he entered the building. Just outside of his own door, he paused. He rested his head on the door, shut his eyes and muttered, “Damn it...”

****

“Alright...it should be this next street,” Adam spoke out to the group. Brad, Erika and Sean followed as they turned down the bustling street in Boston. As Adam glanced back to check if everyone was accounted for, he smiled as he saw Brad and Erika being very friendly, chatting and laughing as they strolled along. They would glance up every few moments to make sure they didn’t fall too far behind as Adam guided the group toward the club. Adam took note of how well they were getting along...he barely noticed as Sean walked up.

“They’re cute together, huh?”

“Wha? Oh, yeah they are...” Adam responded as they walked slightly out of earshot.

“So I’m guessing Brad asked you for backup to try and get with Erika, right?”

“Heh, more or less...I’m guessing that was why Tom decided to disappear huh?”

“Probably, haha...but that wasn’t too surprising. Tom has a tendency to just get random phone calls and then he just disappears.”

“Ah ok. So, you and Erika...you two are friends right?”

“Fag and fag hag,” Sean answered, chuckling to himself.

“Hehe, that’s cool...I had one too, but she’s slightly less available these days.”

“Why’s that? Does she not go to school around here?”

“Nah, she goes to school in Boston, but it’s a bit different from when we were in high school...oh and she spends most of her free time with her boyfriend.”

“Heh, yeah...girls are like that. If they ever break up, you’ll see more of her than you probably want, haha.”

“No question.” Adam took a quick glance over at Sean and had to exert a bit of self-control to not blatantly check him out. Sean looked over and Adam scrambled for a bit of conversation to cover up. “So...uh...you’re not from around here then?”

“Nope, I’m from Virginia, near D.C.”

“Oh cool, I’ve never really made it down there.”

“It’s nice, you should visit some time. I’ll make sure you have a good time,” Sean said, innocently enough, but the possible innuendo was soon apparent and he blushed. “Ok...that kinda came out wrong...”

“Hehe, no prob.” Adam couldn’t help but smile. He was usually very nervous around other gay guys, especially ones he didn’t know that well, but for some reason, Sean was different. He exuded confidence, but just seemed genuinely nice and laid back. “So what made you wanna go to school here?”

“Legacy, haha. My dad went to Harvard and I think my great grandfather did too. I swear I’m good student too, so it wasn’t entirely my family...at least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

“Sure...I believe you...your name isn’t on some building is it?”

“Does it count if it’s a portion of the campus?” Adam stared for a moment thinking Sean may have been serious, but quickly realized when Sean started laughing. “Got ya! Nah, we aren’t THAT rich.”

“Had me there for a second.”

“Yeah I could tell. So how about you? Any influencing factors?”

“Um...yeah...some I guess.” Adam thought silently to himself, “Yeah, Chris wanted to go here.” As the thought passed by, he answered, “I went to the summer program here and really liked it. Also, I guess I like Boston and I didn’t want to leave just yet.”

“That’s cool. I miss home, but at least it’s not too far away.”

“You can just take the train or fly back for the weekend without trouble right?”

“Pretty much...it doesn’t take that long. So where exactly is Quincy?”

“South of Boston proper...it takes like 30 minutes on the T from here.”

“Nice place?”

“Yeah...well it’s home, haha. It’s a nice town, but kinda quaint I guess. It’s a lot mellower than Cambridge.”

“Sounds kinda like my hometown, Alexandria. It’s outside D.C. and kinda quaint too in places.”

Adam noticeably warmed up to Sean during the conversation. Sean was definitely the more experienced of the two when it came to dating and such, but there was some mutual nervousness. Sean could barely take his eyes off Adam. The group finally arrived at their destination and made their way inside. A flash of some well-made fake IDs later, all of them were past the bouncer and making a B-line for the bar. As they waited to get the attention of a bartender, Adam looked around. He wasn’t much of a clubbing person and he had never been inside the particular club. It was a good size and filling up with what looked like hundreds of people...and a lot of gay guys. Adam and Sean both rolled their eyes as they saw some guys dancing on a large ledge, shirtless and their jeans practically falling off their asses.

Sean turned to Adam and jokingly pleaded, “Please tell me you aren’t that kind of guy,” as he gestured to the ledge.

“Haha, no way in hell...bit too modest for that.”

“What’ll it be guys?” a bartender asked as Sean and Adam turned away from the dance floor.

Adam hesitated slightly and Sean picked up on it. “We’ll have two rum and cokes.” Adam smiled at the gesture since he knew he looked a little nervous.

“Comin’ up guys...oh and you can put that away, you’re in here already so I don’t give a shit,” the bartender said as he pointed to Adam’s hand, which was clutching his fake ID. Sean took a closer look and gestured to the ID as the bartender moved away.

“So where’d you get yours?”

“Huh? Oh, my roommate made it...photoshop whiz.” Adam stared down at the ID as Sean examined it. It was almost perfect...except it was a Maine license instead of a Massachusetts one. He laughed a little to himself as he remembered watching Chris make it. A friend of his from Maine had given him a scan of an ID which Chris used to produce several for Adam and Justin. Adam remembered marveling at Chris’s meticulous attention to detail as he assembled the fakes from bleached copy cards, using clear packaging tape and a highly modified mechanical vegetable slicer...that’s right, a vegetable slicer...to produce the glossy finish. They even still worked as copy cards.

Sean handed the ID back to Adam. “Dude, that thing is awesome...I’d believe it, haha. Think he could make me a new one?”

“Heh, I’ll ask.” Their drinks came a moment later. Before he could even reach back to his wallet, Sean had given money to the bartender who smiled and moved on to the next customer. “How much was that?” Adam asked.

“Don’t worry about it...you can buy the next round,” Sean said with a warm smile, which Adam returned.

“Hey boys!” The call caused both of them to look over toward Brad and Erika, who were working their way toward the dance floor. “Come on, you guys are supposed to be strutting your stuff!” Erika called out as he dragged Brad into the crowd.

Adam laughed and Sean just shook his head. “I swear, I don’t know her THAT well,” Sean tried to claim.

“Hehe, it’s ok...you should see my friend Rebecca.”

“So...is dancing your thing or not so much?” Sean asked passively as they sipped their drinks.

“Heh, I can fake it I guess...people tell me I’m better once I loosen up.” After saying that, Adam took a large swig of his drink in an attempt to “loosen up.”

“Yeah me too...I think everyone can dance a little better when drunk...or at the very least they can blame their poor performance on the alcohol afterward.”

“Pretty much. So...dancing your thing or not so much?” Adam inquired, feeling a little braver as the alcohol wore down his inhibitions...Adam was a severe lightweight when it came to drinking.

Sean smirked and looked over at the dance floor. Seeing that they were both done with their drinks, Sean took Adam’s glass and set it down before he pulled Adam into the crowd. “Let’s find out,” Sean beckoned.

****

“OH MY GOD THAT’S FUCKING SICK!” someone screamed as various other people let out various “yucks” and “ewwwws”. Chris was among the disgusted as the balance of the group gathered around a computer stared. Justin and Ryan had front row seats as they sat wide-eyed at what they were watching.

“Can they really do that?” Ryan asked as he tilted his head to change his perspective.

“Apparently,” Justin deadpanned as he stared.

Naturally, if you get a bunch of drunken college kids in a room with a computer, someone will eventually suggest watching porn. It doesn’t matter what the sexual orientations of the people are...it still just sorta happens. Of course, sometimes the sexual orientation will determine how long the porn can hold a person’s interest. For Chris, this wasn’t very long as he had just witnessed more than he ever wanted to in regards to female anatomy. He slipped away from the group and made his way over to a table which was covered in half-empty bottles of liquor and mixers. The party was a hit...again...but had somewhat degenerated to straight porn watching, so Chris knew it was winding down. Feeling his buzz disappearing, Chris looked over the selection before him, but opted for something else. Looking around for a moment, he kneeled down and reached under the table and came up with a bottle of blue liquid that he and Ryan kept put aside and out of view. He poured himself another drink, replaced the bottle and found a comfortable spot on a couch as he watched the rest of the people. He was amused at the fixation over the obviously surgically-modified girl moaning and groaning on the screen, but was also doing his utmost to push his other thoughts into the back of his mind.

After he had learned that Adam wasn’t going to show up, Chris did his best to just mingle and have some fun. It was somewhat labored at first, but eventually he got a bit into the mood and loosened up. He even danced with a drunken Steph for a while, much to the amusement of his friends. Someone who didn’t know Chris that well asked Ryan, “Hey, he’s gay right? I mean, he seems pretty into it.”

Ryan laughed and just responded, “She’s very special...she gives him coffee.” The response just further confused the guy, but he laughed and moved on.

Justin was keeping an eye on Chris throughout most of the night. He also made a point to count how many drinks Chris had, as he knew very well his friend’s limits. After Ryan had filled him in, Justin was concerned, but was pleasantly surprised to see Chris letting loose and having fun. He still kept a careful watch just in case. However, toward the end, he had lost track and Chris had slipped out of his attention due to a drink too many. Still, Chris slipping away from the group hadn’t gone completely unnoticed. As he sat on the couch, caught up in his own thoughts, Chris was greeted by a movement on the couch as Ian sat down.

“Hey Chris, you doing ok?” Ian asked nonchalantly.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I’m fine...just wasn’t too interested in the...view over there,” Chris answered, pointing to the ongoing pornfest.

“Ha, yeah seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many horny people.”

It dawned on Chris that Ian was straight...his cognitive functions were still obviously impaired. “Um...you are straight, right? Not to say that all straight guys should like acting like idiots and watching porn shamelessly, but...well...your species isn’t being well-represented a the moment.”

“Heh...yeah...call me old-fashioned, but I prefer to be the only person in the room with a hot naked woman...preferably one that is actually IN the room and I’m not paying anything.”

“HA! Yeah, you are old-fashioned.”

“So what are you drinking?” Ian asked, pointing to Chris’s glass of blue liquid.

“Oh, it’s Hpnotiq...want some?” Chris held out his glass so Ian could inspect it beforehand.

“Um, is it strong? I’m still a lightweight here.”

“Haha, nah it’s pretty tame...but the taste is a bit on the intense side...in a good way.”

Ian shrugged and took a sip...after which he cringed for a moment before looking surprised. “Wow...that’s good.”

“Heh, yep...one sec.” Chris pulled the bottle out again and poured Ian a glass. “Ryan and I always keep a bottle of this for rough days and special occasions.”

“Ah...expensive?”

“Enough so to make us not want to give it out freely...we are poor college students after all.”

“Ha, well don’t I feel special then...thanks man.”

“No prob...so, didya have fun?”

“Man this was awesome. You guys do this every week?”

“So far...we’re probably gonna tone it down a lot once school really gets going hardcore, but for now it should be regular. You’re permanently invited by the way.”

“Nice...thanks. So do you actually know everyone here?”

“Either I do or Ryan does...we’re doing our best to limit the number of people at these, lest we have to start charging admission.”

“Actually that may not be a bad idea...I’ll kick in some money.”

“Ha, thanks...I’ll have you speak with the finance department later,” Chris joked, pointing to Ryan.

“Ok, not to sound like a total loser...which I may be, but anyway...” Ian started, chuckling along the way, “what do you end up doing on the weekends here besides, god forbid, studying?”

“Well, at least for now, I make a point to get as much of my work out of the way before the weekend hits. So aside from a little bit here and there, I try not to do any work on the weekends. Besides that, it varies...just hanging out and chilling I guess. I go out biking a lot and I go home and do some cooking too.”

“Oh that’s right, you live close by. So Boston’s good for biking around?”

“Yeah I love it...it’s gonna get a bit cold for it soon, but it doesn’t really stop me.”

“Cool...I left my bike at home, but it’s pretty old. I was gonna spring for a new one if I can find a good shop.”

“Well I can take you by my bike shop...I know half the people who work there and they usually give me a bit of a discount on equipment.”

“That’d be awesome. So are you busy at all tomorrow?”

Chris paused just as a sound squeaked out of his mouth. He and Adam usually took their laundry to Quincy so they could do it at home. They also brought their bikes so they could ride around the hometown. The last weekend, they slipped and didn’t go together...just as Adam began feeling like Chris was avoiding him. Chris wanted to say that he couldn’t make it, but decided against it.

“Um, yeah...tomorrow’s good...whenever I manage to get up, heh.”

“Ok then, well, why don’t you give me a call when you’re up for it? I’ll either be asleep or trying in vane to catch up on work.”

“Alright, sounds good.”

****

The sound on the dance floor of the club was nearly deafening. Not even a deaf person would have been completely spared. With the blasting music, super low bass and the constant yelling and screaming of the crowd...loud didn’t quite cover it. Despite that...or perhaps because of it...the club was lively and full of people having a good time. The dancing covered the full spread from people casually swaying to the beat to the ambitious ones who could make a passerby mistake the sight for a music video.

Somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, Adam and Sean were getting along nicely. Adam had definitely loosened up...in his mind, the advantage of being a lightweight was that he got into his “happy place” that much faster. After one drink, with only a one recharge in the middle, he was nicely buzzed and enjoying himself. The feeling was mutual with Sean...he was taking full advantage of the congested space to get close to Adam, his arms wrapped around Adam’s waste from behind as they danced. The room was warm from all the movement and body heat, but that didn’t stop Adam from leaning back into Sean’s embrace. Adam’s eyes were closed for much of the time as he used his other senses to coordinate his movements. He was perfectly happy not seeing anything else as he let himself get caught up in the warm feeling around him.

“Having fun?” Sean whispered into Adam’s ear...or rather his loud voice was a whisper relative to the background.

Adam grinned widely as he turned his head to the side. “Yep...you?” He opened his eyes to see Sean’s face looking right back at him, staring deeply into his eyes.

“Just got even better...” Sean said with a toothy smile.

The night was winding down as the clock approached the magical cutoff time...two in the morning. Almost as if everyone was afraid of turning back into pumpkins...or god forbid, sober people...the crowd began to quickly thin out as closing time came closer. Brad and Erika tracked down Sean and Adam before they all headed out. There was a line to get cabs on the street and the T was already long closed. Adam looked at his group and, satisfied that they were all adequately clothed for the cool night, made a suggestion.

“Um guys, it takes a bit, but we could walk back to Harvard. I know the way...”

The idea seemed acceptable, but Erika held up a finger. “One second,” she said. In a couple swift motions, she pulled off her high heels, produced a pair of sneakers from her small purse, slipped them on and made the other shoes disappear into her deceivingly small-looking bag. “Ok, let’s go.”

Everyone just stared at her in awe. Brad uttered, “How’d she do that...with that?!” as he pointed to the tiny purse.

Sean shook his head and chuckled. “Evil sorceress,” he joked to the amusement of all.

The group was relatively awake and alert as they set off toward the river to cross back into Cambridge. Adam had made the trip numerous times, but usually with his bike. Still, the night was pleasantly cool at that moment and even sported a cloudless sky speckled with stars. Brad and Erika had apparently gotten along well as they walked along with his arm wrapped around her waist. Sean and Adam also made their high spirits evident as they strolled along, hand in hand, with the lights of the city at their backs.

****

“You sure you got him? He can just crash here,” Ryan suggested as he looked, admittedly amused, at Chris holding up Justin by the arm.

“Dudee...Ry...I’m cool...it’s just across the yardd,” Justin slurred out. “Besidess...you just wanna get in my pantss...”

Ryan groaned as he laughed. “One drunken gay hook up and you’re branded for life.”

Chris appeared in thought for a moment before he said, “yeah pretty much. Nite Ry!”

“Oh ha ha...alright, just be careful.”

Chris left Ryan’s building with Justin in tow, guiding the off-balance boy across the yard. He giggled at the sight of his friend completely plastered as he stepped closer to his own building. A quick glance at Justin’s watch revealed that it was past three in the morning. “I wonder if Adam’s back yet,” Chris thought to himself. He looked around the yard and saw a few groups of people, but none were close enough to recognize anyone. Just as he turned back toward the path, a small chill ran up his spine. Chris looked around for a moment before shrugging it off and continuing on.

****

“God that took forever...” Brad proclaimed as the he and Erika ran for a few dozen feet onto the grounds of the yard.

“You guys need to work out more or something,” Sean suggested. “We’re not even winded.” He and Adam looked on, amused, as their friends were sitting on a ledge rubbing their aching feet and legs.

“Yeah, yeah...leave the straight folk be...we’re lazy and out of shape,” Erika admitted.

“Alright, let’s get a move on,” Sean said as he and Adam pulled up the squatters. “So which dorm are you in Adam?”

“Um, Wiggs.” Adam gazed over the yard toward his dorm. He spied a couple of people walking up to the building, but they were a good ways off. Something, however, made him not want to go back to his room. “I think my roommate probably has a bunch of people there still.” Adam didn’t like lying, but he didn’t feel like revealing his true reasons for not wanting to go to his room.

“Why don’t you just come up to our dorm?” Brad asked. “It’s still early, we can just hang for a while.” Sean’s eyes noticeably lit up at the suggestion.

Adam thought for a few seconds. He glanced quickly back toward his dorm...the people had disappeared. Turning back, he looked at Sean for a moment, slightly mesmerized by his eyes. “Sure...why not?”

****

“Dudee...Ace...I’m fine, really.” Justin slurred out as he made a zig zag dive for the bed.

Chris rolled his eyes. “I thought I was supposed to be the lightweight.”

“Yo, I’m not a lightweight...I just can’t count properly after I’ve had a bit to drink,” Justin claimed jokingly.

“I’m still not convinced you can count properly period.”

“Oooo...ouch...I’ll think of a snappy comeback tomorrow...” Justin said as he lay down. Chris chuckled and walked back into the common room. “Hey Ace? Aren’t you coming to bed?”

“Um, I was gonna sleep out here...”

“Ace...seriously...I promise I won’t puke on you.”

“Haha...nah, that’s not it...” Chris trailed off as he felt his mind slip into a dark spot.

“Chris...come here...please?” That was enough...Chris made his way back toward his bed as Justin reached out for him. A second later, they were hugging tightly. “It’s gonna be ok, Ace.”

“I fucked up though...” Chris’s voice was muffled as he dug his face into Justin’s neck.

“Ace, everyone makes mistakes ok...just live and learn. Now come on, nothing’s gonna be helped by you trying to pull away from everyone.” Chris gave in...a minute later he was nestled comfortably in Justin’s arms as they began to doze off.

“Thanks J,” Chris whispered. “I love you.”

Justin tightened his embrace for a moment. “I love you too. It’ll be ok...”

Chris let himself drift away to those words.

****

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Adam asked nervously. After hanging out for a little under an hour in Brad’s room, the group disbanded and he had walked with Sean down to his room. Sean had sensed Adam’s apprehension about going back to his own room, so he invited Adam to stay the night...he didn’t feel like his intentions had to be completely innocent, but he first and foremost wanted to make Adam feel better.

When he heard the slight tremble in Adam’s voice as they entered the room, Sean just smiled as he lightly pulled Adam toward him. “Adam, I’m the one who invited you, remember? Besides, my roommate is gone for the weekend and I’m taking full advantage of the absence of that douche.”

“Heh...ok...thanks Sean. I don’t...I guess I’m just feeling a bit off.”

Sean winced slightly. “I hope I didn’t put you off at all.”

Adam was quick to correct him. “Oh no, no...it’s not you at all...I really had a great time...I guess I just have a few issues, that’s all.”

Relieved and wanting to be supportive, Sean tried to reassure Adam. “We’ve all got issues...that’s normal.”

Adam grinned. “You don’t seem like you have any...”

“Well I do have one at the moment...” Sean trailed off, smirking.

“Oh and what’s that?”

“Well...there’s this really great guy...and I can’t seem to think of the best way to let him know how much I like him...”

Adam felt a rush of tangled feelings wash over him. He was happy...and excited...and nervous...and even felt a tinge guilty. He closed his eyes and mentally shoved the negative feelings into a mental closet and shut the door. When he opened his eyes, he saw Sean leaning in toward him.

“Sean...”

“Yeah?” Sean answered, without stopping his approach.

Adam took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He barely whispered out two words as Sean’s breath breezed past his lips. “Kiss me.”

Sean smiled as he closed his own eyes. He lightly brushed his lips across Adam’s before he knowingly pulled away ever so slightly...Adam leaned in to follow. Sean immediately stopped pulling back and drew himself closer. They both felt shivers as the kiss took hold. Even the negative thoughts in Adam’s mind stopped stirring a warm rush flowed through his head. For a moment...but just a moment...he lost any sense of sadness and felt totally at peace.