This story is a translation of the Russian original, with names and vernacular made to sound as American as possible for ease of reading by an internatonal English-speaking audience. However, keep in mind that it's set in Russia, and make allowances accordingly. The Russian original was first published as a series of journal entries on a Russian gay meeting site qguys.ru. Please also note that English is not my native or even first foreign language.
P.S. Just to dispel any confusion that may have crept in, this story is pure fiction, even if parts of it may be based on actual events.
THE DORM ROOM PART 5
New Year's
"Damn, he's home alone. Fuck... No, thank god, Art is here too," for four weeks these had been my first thoughts coming back to the dorm room. After what had happened in the bathroom I hadn't even returned his greetings for a couple of days, but then slowly but surely I had calmed down. Dennis had all but given up trying to talk to me, which was for the better as I had no particular wish to say anything to him. Don't take me wrong, it didn't bother me knowing that Dennis liked guys, but the thought didn't feel... natural, for lack of a better word: Dennis just didn't look the part! He was supposed to be my best bud, and then... "Should a buddy be kissing you, naked in the bathroom? Hell, no!"
Tomorrow was going to be December 31st, and our residence hall was throwing a "small" shindig, after which I'd planned to go home for Orthodox Christmas (celebrated January 7th) to think, in the quite of my childhood home, about what had happened. We all had to move on, it was decision time.
As I walked into the kitchen, Dennis and Art were drinking tea, Denis his trademark strong black, and Art infamous herbal.
"Hi, I'm back! Got an A for my second final!"
"Good job, buddy! Keep it up, and you'll get your summa cum laude!" Art smiled at me.
"Great, congrats," Dennis mumbled and slurped his tea a bit too loudly.
Art kept looking from me to Dennis and back for a couple of seconds, but refrained from saying anything. "Wonder if he knows? I think he can guess we'd fallen out, but I don't think he suspects the reason," was my take on the situation.
"Okay, Art, thanks for the company. I'd better run, I've got a paper due," Dennis got up and left, careful not to touch me on the way out.
"He would have tousled my hair or flicked my nose before," I was sad to admit.
"You going to tell me?" Asked Art after a pregnant pause.
"What about?"
"About what the hell happened between you two."
"Happened? Nothing, everything's copasetic."
"Suit yourself."
Art opened his laptop and became absorbed in some app or another, and I poured myself a cup of strong coffee and headed for my computer. Two straight A's for two finals is all nice and well, but I had still to face two more. So no rest for the weary...
The New Year blowout was a ton of fun. Although, I guess, I wasn't one to judge, as a dorm hallway party could appeal only to a guy who'd never seen the inside of a night club before. But it was fun, if I do say so myself! The mood was framed by an energetic adrenaline-drenched choice of music, and then carried by an open mike for wannabe standup comedians and reinforced by sometimes over the top – but all in good fun – competitions. After one of those Paul and Mikey were sporting wet T-shirts. Well, come to think of it, Mikey was wearing a soaking tee, while Paul, right after the water gun fight, had taken his off to an uproar of whistles, yells, and laughs from the girls.
And then, out of the blue, a visibly drunk reveler (even though going dry was the condition the RD insisted on, it wouldn't have been a college party if somebody hadn't sneaked in the booze) bumped into me sending me on a downward floor-bound trajectory. And I would have fallen face first had there not been somebody's broad fleece-clad chest that stopped my fall. Just as the thought that the fleece felt and looked very familiar registered in my brain, it was drowned by the screaming realization that the chest – and the fleece – belonged to Him. With my run of luck, out of several hundred people at the party, it could only have been Him! Denis was holding me by the shoulders looking straight at me. For a fleeting second our eyes met, but it was enough for a wave of redness to come over me forcing me to lower my eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry, Dennis, I'll be on my way..." But Denis wasn't going to let me go, holding me gently but firmly, by the shoulders.
"Vic..."
"Dennis, let me go!"
He released his grip and I bolted away from him madly looking for Val, almost knocking a couple of people off their feet. Then I saw Val with two cups of soda in her hands, but all of a sudden I didn't want it, not the drinks, the party, or Val's company, for that matter. My mood did an about face and turned from sunny and excited to brooding and pissy. "Why the hell do I have to go bright red whenever he looks at me? I have every right to be majorly pissed at him, and yet all I do around him is act all dazed and confused."
Val, to her credit, seeing that my bright mood of a few minutes ago had vanished into thin air, valiantly tried to cheer me up, by dragging me to dance, cuddling to me in search of kisses, but all her efforts ricocheted and only fed my irritation. Moping around like a shell of my usual self, I finally had enough and gave up.
"Val, I'm really sorry to ruin it for you, but I'm not feeling well, so I guess I'd better hit the sack." Preempting her objections, I gave her a peck on the cheek and almost ran to the elevators, hoping she wouldn't be hot on my trail.
"I guess I should do what I said and turn in for the night while everybody's still at the party. They should be out till at least 2 or 3 in the morning" When I unlocked the door, the first thing I noticed was the light in the hall. "Huh, the light is on. What the..." That thought was left unformed as loud female moans coming from Art and Dennis' room left me momentarily mentally speechless. There was a sock hanging off the door knob, which was really unnecessary, as whoever Art had in there was loud enough as to leave no doubt what was going on behind the closed door. "I guess I should go somewhere and let Art enjoy his thing and spare the girl the embarrassment of knowing she'd been heard. Or I can try quietly crawl into my ro..."
"Yes, Dennis, Yeeees!!!"
I was floored. "Dennis?! He's there with a girl! After kissing me in the bathroom?!"
The door suddenly flew open and out came a smiling Dennis. He had only thin sweatpants on, which were proudly sticking out where the crotch was. Once he saw me, he froze, flicked – as it seemed to me from where I stood – a regretful glance back toward his room, and looked right back at me.
Both of us tried to stare the other down for a couple of minutes, until, annoyingly giggling, the slightly disheveled girl made her grand appearance. Her cheeks were flushed and every cell in her exuded satisfaction with what had just been done to her. So much so, that she didn't even notice me at first.
"Denny, you are amazing!" She touched his chest and gave him an unmistakable come-hither look. "We definitely need to do it again soon, tiger. Aw!" That last aw was addressed to me.
"She is cute, there's no denying that. Long stems, nice boobage, well dressed, big eyes – a total babe. And her folks seem to be loaded. Every guy's dream." For some reason this assessment felt like a knife twist in my heart.
"And what's the kid doing here?"
"Kid! I'm not a kid, you stupid bitch!" It was all it took for me not spit it out loud at her. And thank god, a scandal was the last thing I needed! But she must have sensed my feelings from the rage in my glare.
"Jesus, a guy and a girl had sex, big deal, don't get your undies in a twist! For awesome sex like that, I'd be willing to do it in public, haha!"
"Lana, I think you should go."
"Okay. Call me, Denny baby!" cooed the girl and, grabbing her stuff, left the suite.
All the while Dennis and I were still trying to make the other blink first. He did look slightly – not embarrassed – abashed, but his eyes, never the less, held mine steadily and calmly. I, on the other hand, was bursting at the seams with rage, white knuckled from balling my hands in fists, whipping him with my eyes. And it was I who lost the cool first.
"Denny baby!" Even I knew how nasty it sounded. "So that's how it is? First you kiss guys in bathrooms, and then turn around and fuck girls! I get it, you just wanted to experiment a bit kissing a smaller guy. Others do it, so why not, right? And what possibly could the boy do? You are stronger and bigger, so nada! And so what if the boy spends a month trying to come to terms with the kiss, to fuck with him and his feelings, right? You got your jollies, and now can fuck the girls!"
Dennis came up me and put his hands on my shoulders, holding them firmly in his grip and brushing aside all my attempts to shake his hands off.
"Vic, calm down. Yes, I am responsible for what happened in the bathroom. But I'm an adult, and only I decide who I sleep with and when."
Blinded by a new wave of rage I raised my hand as if to hit him, but if he noticed that, his face didn't show it.
"And where does it leave me?!!!" Was the anguished cry that came from the depths of my heart.
Instead of right-hooking him in the jaw, my hand slackened and fell limply on his chest, while my eyes habitually came to stare at the floor and Dennis' bare feet. "He has such exquisite shapely feet." And then a thought flashed through my head, "What did I just say to him? Oh my god!"
Dennis made a sound that rang suspiciously close to a snort, but at this point it didn't bother me, as all my rage had dissipated. And I turned right back into the shy boy who always flushed red whenever He was around.
"Oh, really? So you are jealous." It wasn't a question.
"I... I, no... Dennis, I'm sorry, I said too much."
I raised my eyes at him. There was no trace of the recent slight embarrassment on his face. Instead, I saw confidently looking back at me those eyes, the eyes I'd give my all to - body, soul, and heart.