Chapter 11 Changes
He felt his chest heaving as he pushed his body further. Matt forced himself to keep stroking as he started to get out of breath. 'A few more strokes,' Matt kept repeating in his mind. He was getting really close. With one more push of effort, Matt's hand finally reached the end tile and pulled himself upward. He was first! He actually won the lap. Matt heard the coach's whistle blow off and watched as his other teammates finish right after him.
"Good work Dinicol!"
Matt beamed as he pulled himself out of the pool. He pulled off his cap and goggles and stretched his hand out to his teammate, Keegan, who was still in the pool and ended up finishing in third place.
"Pretty slow today, aren't we?" Matt smiled.
Keegan refused to take his hand and climbed out of the pool, not even acknowledging him.
"Don't worry about it. He's just pissed," Chris, their team captain whispered from behind, "He'll get over it. Good job. You set a new record."
"Thanks," Matt smiled for a moment as he turned to Chris. He didn't really care that much about the record, instead, Matt watched as Keegan walked off in a fit, pulling off his goggles and cap, "So... what's up with him?"
"Don't tell him I told you this but he just broke up with his girlfriend."
"Why?"
"Well, apparently, she was cheating on him. Keegan wanted to kick the shit out of the other guy but I convinced him it wasn't worth it. He called it quits and now, he's pretty much out of it."
Matt watched quietly as Keegan was getting a barrage of criticism from the coach for not performing well during their practice laps.
Chris wrapped an arm around Matt and almost caused him to bone up. Chris pointed towards the entrance of the swimming area, "Looks like you've got a fan."
Matt fixed his gaze and saw Jessica smiling and waving at him. Matt smiled weakly and waved back.
Matt quickly got dressed and walked out of the locker room. He slung his bag over his shoulder and saw Jessica waiting for him right outside.
"Hey, I didn't know you were here. When did you get back?"
"Almost a week ago," Jessica smiled as she moved the hair covering Matt's eyes aside with her hand. "So, how've you been?"
"I'm doing good. How was Vienna?"
"It was nice."
"Uh... do wanna grab breakfast or something?"
"I can't. I'm actually dropping by Ally's for breakfast. How about lunch? I'm free."
"I can't today. I'll take a rain check," Matt looked at his watch, "Um... I have to get going. I still have to go back to the dorms to get my stuff ready. Do wanna come along?"
"I can't right now, Ally's waiting. I just wanted to drop by and see you swim. You looked great out there."
"Thanks," Matt blushed, "Well, it was nice seeing you again."
"You too," Jessica smiled, her eyes dead fixed on Matt.
Andrew woke up in bed, his throat was awfully parched. He opened his eyes and adjusted to the light of the room. He sat up and scratched the back of his head as he yawned. He slid out of bed and got into his black robe. He walked barefoot into his bathroom and wiped the sleep off his eyes. He looked like shit. For the first time in many years, Andrew had a hard time sleeping. Jessica was like a hemorrhage in his head. She wouldn't stop haunting him in his sleep. She knew something about him and Jessica was definitely the type of girl who would use that kind of information to her advantage.
Andrew disrobed and decided to take a shower. He turned the hot water on and let it hit his face. He turned around and let it wash his hair down the chiselled exterior of his back down to his defined butt. Andrew closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He didn't like the feeling of having another person take control. He hated it. He needed to be the one calling the shots. Andrew had his ways of persuasion and so did Jessica. They were two of a kind. He was more upfront while she worked in secret. They knew how to play the game. The real question was, who's better?
Andrew lathered up. He soaped every crevasse of his body; skin touching skin. He was getting hard but decided to save it for some other time. He rinsed off, wiped himself down and got out. He wrapped himself again in his robe and towelled his hair dry.
Ally was already having breakfast when Andrew, still wearing his robe, walked into the kitchen. He was going to greet his sister a good morning but instead blurted out, "What is she doing here?"
Ally looked at her brother disappointedly, "What? Now I can't have guests?"
"It's too early in the morning for guests."
"How many times did I wake up to see girls I don't even know walking out of your room? And besides, it's almost noon. You overslept."
Jessica raised her spoon, "Do you want some breakfast?"
Andrew looked at Jessica sternly. She was beaming at him like she knew nothing. He wanted to strangle her on the kitchen counter and leave her dead but he knew better, "No thank you."
"Come on! It's the first meal of the day. We're having Trix. I'm pretty sure you'd stick around for Trix," Jessica raised one eyebrow and smiled as she shook the box of cereal with one hand.
Andrew hesitantly sat down with them and poured himself a bowl of cereal. Jessica faced Ally and continued the story she was telling before Andrew came in. Andrew watched Jessica in the corner of his eye. 'She's up to something. I know it,' he thought quietly as he took a spoonful of cold cereal into his mouth.
Jessica started laughing and continued retelling her story to Ally, "You know what's funny? I found this tape lying around. When I played it there was this guy there doing another guy."
"No way!" Ally had a disgusted expression on her face. "Ew. Where did you find it?"
Andrew dropped his spoon and excused himself.
"Where are you going?" Ally asked.
"I can't eat this crap. I want real food. I'm going out for breakfast. You have classes in the afternoon right?"
"Yeah."
"Watch out for yourself okay? There are a lot of weirdoes out there."
"I know, okay?" Ally replied a little bit peeved that her brother was treating her like a six year old.
Andrew looked at Jessica for a quick second. She had a very satisfied sly smile on as he walked out the door.
Let me go on. Like a blister in the sun. Let me go on. Big hands I know you're the one.
Matt had his earphones on as he walked out of the elevator. He had his gym bag slung over his shoulder as he moved his head side to side. He fished for keys in his pocket and opened the door.
When I'm walking, I strut my stuff. Man, I'm so strung out. I'm high as a kite and I just might stop to check you out.
Matt blushed and quickly looked away. Kevin was naked, towelling himself down in the middle of their room, his back towards Matt who had just walked in and closed the door as quietly as he could. Matt took a quick glimpse of Kevin's butt before quickly staring at floor. Kevin turned around and saw Matt trying to avoid looking at him. Kevin silently smiled and shook his head as Matt kept on walking over to his side of the room, eyes still glued to the floor.
"Matt!"
Matt looked up to see a still very naked Kevin motioning for him to take off his earphones. Matt pulled his earphones off and tried his best not to look below Kevin's torso, "What?"
"What's the matter? You've seen me in the buff before? Actually, you've seen more than just that..." Kevin smiled as he raised the towel to his head as he dried his hair, exposing his cock in plain sight.
"Yeah... a little too much," Matt chuckled uncomfortably as his cock suddenly began to stir in his pants.
Kevin just laughed and wrapped a towel around his waist as went on to grab a pair of underwear, "You know, just because I'm gay doesn't mean I want to fuck you... well, honestly I did before but we're roomies... although I think you're hot... it'd be weird... and we're great friends and I want us to stay that way..." Kevin noticed Matt's sudden discomfort and quickly retracted what he just said, "Uh... I didn't mean to freak you out or anything..."
"No. I'm good," Matt said defensively as Kevin pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt. Matt put his stuff aside and smiled at Kevin, his eyes squinting behind his thick glasses, "So... you think I'm hot?"
"Well, yeah," Kevin blushed a little, "but let me make it clear that I don't want to screw you or anything. I want everything to be cool between us. We're roomies, you know?"
"Yeah and I wouldn't want to get in between you and Vince," Matt chuckled.
"About that... I'm actually not sure where we're at right now."
"How come?"
"I don't know. I guess it just feels weird. I just got out of a relationship and I don't know if I want to be in one right now. I'm actually going to talk to him about it over breakfast. "
"I bet you two can work it out."
"Thanks," Kevin smiled at Matt who was now sitting comfortable on the edge of his bed. "Hey, are you doing anything tonight?"
Matt thought about it for a while, "Nope. Not really. Why?"
"Let's have dinner later... just hang out. Ever since Xavier came here we haven't really gotten much time to talk, you know? We're roomies, we should hang out more," Kevin smiled.
Matt nodded, "Sure. Okay. So where do you wanna eat later?"
"Think about it. Anywhere you want. My treat."
"Now you're talking!" Matt chuckled.
Vince stared at his coffee. His cheeky grin had faded. "I don't get it. I mean, we're good right? We don't have to be anything right now if you don't want to."
"I know. It just feels weird. It's just gonna be for a short while."
"How long is that?"
"I dunno, until I figure things out?"
Vince and Kevin were sitting across each other at one of the four-seater tables in one corner of the cafe. Kevin had just dropped a bomb on Vince's parade. He didn't want to hurt the guy or anything. He'd been a great friend for the past few months but everything just didn't feel right for Kevin. Right after what happened to Xavier, he just couldn't stomach being with Vince just yet.
Kevin leaned over towards his friend who was still staring blankly at his cup of coffee, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I'm good. We're still friends though?"
"Of course. I just need some time apart. I hate to admit it but I still ain't over him."
"I understand," Vince took a sip from his coffee then grinned, "One thing though, now that Xavier's gone and we won't be seeing each other indefinitely, who'll protect you from all the big bad people of New York?"
"What?!" Kevin raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me mister, but why the heck do you guys always think I need guidance or protection of some kind. My folks, you Xavier? I can handle myself pretty well."
Vince just laughed, "I'd love to see that some time."
Kevin just rolled his eyes and started on his omelette.
"Just give me a coffee... Black," Andrew sighed and looked around the small cafe. He removed the scarf from around his neck and folded it. Andrew usually hated eating in no-star cafes but since he really wasn't into breakfast that much coupled with the fact that he wanted to stay away from his friends as much as possible in fear that Jessica might use them against him, the small cafe looked good to him. He scoped the place for an empty table spotted someone very familiar.
Andrew walked up to the table and pointed at the empty chair, "Hey. Is this seat taken?"
Vince looked up, saw Andrew and, quickly stood up to greet him, "Hey! You're Andrew right? Ally's brother?"
"Yeah and I believe it's Vince?"
"Yeah," Vince grinned as they shook hands. "Sure you can sit with us," Vince pointed to Kevin who was eyeing Andrew meticulously trying to remember where he'd seen him before, "This is Kevin, my best bud."
"Nice to meet you Kevin."
"You too."
Andrew sat down and looked at Kevin for a second. Kevin noticed he was caught staring and looked the other way.
Vince broke the silence, "I never took you for a guy who eats in this kind of place."
"I like it here. It's low profile."
Vince raised an eyebrow and grinned, "Why? Are 'ya hiding from someone?"
Andrew smirked, "No. I like it because it's peaceful here."
Kevin shook his head at how ironic that sounded. The place was abnormally busy with the sounds of clangs and clatters and business and chatter.
"Sorry, but haven't I seen you before from somewhere?" Andrew asked Kevin.
"I doubt it," Kevin lied. He'd remembered who Andrew was. He was that arrogant prick shouting at the cashier in that very same cafe when he and Xavier were having breakfast a couple of months earlier. "You're Ally's brother? You don't look alike."
Andrew smirked, "I get that all the time. I look like my father. She looks like my mother. You know her?"
"We're in the same philosophy class."
"You're taking Patterson?" Andrew's face turned sour for a second before that condescending smirk painted his face, "Don't you just hate that old hag? That bitch almost flunked me. Thank God I aced that final test."
"I'm sure you did," Kevin said sarcastically as Andrew's coffee was served on the table.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know. You paid your way through it?"
"Are you insulting me?"
"Why? Are you insulted?"
Vince just looked back and forth as the two continued with the tense banter.
"Who the fuck are you to tell me that?"
"I can tell you anything I want. It's a free country."
"You don't know me."
"I've seen you well enough to know that you're a snobby rich asshole who thinks the world should revolve around you."
"Fuck you!"
"Time out!" Vince finally butt in. "I think both of you started off at the wrong foot here. Why don't we talk about something else?"
"I'd rather leave," Kevin stood up and started walking out the cafe.
Vince stood up and excused himself and followed Kevin out the cafe, "Kev, wait up! Where're you going?"
"I need to get back. I still have a lot of things to do."
"I'll call you... oh, right, the time-off thing..." Vince stared into Kevin's eyes for second before Kevin looked the other way. Vince gave out a long sigh, "Well buddy, I'll guess I'll see you then."
Vince flashed Kevin a grin and stretched out his hand.
Kevin smiled and shook Vince's hand, "Yeah. I'll see you."
Vince walked back in and sat down. Andrew was sipping his coffee, his eyes focused on Vince, "Your friend's a little intense."
"He tends to be like that sometimes. I think the Patterson comment offended him a lot. I actually know her personally and the `old hag' is actually a really nice woman once you get to know her, so I suggest you keep your words to yourself."
"I didn't mean to offend. I apologize," Andrew put his mug down.
"Don't apologize to me. It's Kevin who needs to hear that."
"You guy are really close, aren't you?"
"Yeah."
Andrew sighed as he leaned his back on the chair he was sitting on, "It's a habit. I think I got it from my dad. I just keep talking without really thinking."
"Everyone has their habits. I guess we just need to control them."
Andrew just nodded his head in silent agreement.
Vince watched Andrew carefully, trying to read the guy's body language. Andrew had this air of stuck-up arrogance with him. By the way he dressed and carried himself, it was as if he found himself more superior than those around him but there was something in his eyes that said otherwise.
"So, what's the real reason you're here?"
"What?" Andrew was completely taken by surprise.
"You didn't come here for coffee. You just want to be somewhere else. Who are `ya hiding from?"
"What makes you say that?"
"I have my ways of knowing," Vince grinned.
"You're a psychic as well? I'm impressed."
"So... are `ya gonna tell me?"
"Why should I?"
"Well, you sat here because you saw me. I'm guessing you don't have anywhere else to go or trust anybody else with it. I'm a very very trustworthy person, you can tell me," Vince grinned again.
"I'd rather not. I like having my secrets."
"I respect that."
Andrew took another sip from his coffee. "Had any gigs lately Mr. Musician?"
"Nope. I kinda stopped with music for a while. I need to make money, `ya know?"
Andrew looked at the guy sitting before him with that seemingly permanent grin etched on his face. He took a few seconds to think it over before finally speaking up, "What if I can help you with your cash problem, will you able to do something for me?"
Vince leaned forward, "I'm listening."
"You're here again! Am I ever going to get rid of you?"
"I don't think you can," Xavier smiled as Agnes poured him another cup of coffee.
The old lady walked back to the counter to bring Xavier his usual order of waffles and bacon. She put the plate down, "Better start eating. It'll take hours before you get back. The traffic here is hell."
"Thanks," Xavier smiled as Agnes left to take other orders.
He picked up a piece of bacon and started eating. He looked around the diner as he chewed. There were a couple of people sitting on the counter stools having coffee. He looked across the room and noticed a young woman, probably his age looking right back at him. She had really short bob cut hair, dyed blood red. She wore a hot pink jacket over a black shirt. She waved at him like she knew him and walked over to his table.
She casually sat on the seat in front of him and extended her hand, "Hi. The name's Michelle, and you are?"
"Xavier," he smiled back and shook her hand, "Uh... Do I know you?"
"I just told you my name."
"Yeah... you did," said Xavier, a little confused. He'd had girls come up to him and give him their numbers but this was the first time a girl actually introduced herself and just decided to sit down in front of him and watch him eat breakfast. "Do you mind?"
"No. Just keep eating," she said nonchalantly as she propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her palms. "I've been seeing you hang around here a lot lately. Why is that?"
Agnes approached their table and refilled Xavier's cup with coffee, "So you've met Michelle?" Agnes quickly turned to the girl, "Be nice to him okay?"
"I don't bite," Michelle smiled at Xavier as she handed her own mug to Agnes who happily refilled it. "Thanks Agnes."
"Anytime," the old lady smiled as she walked away.
"How do you know Agnes?"
"Everybody here knows Agnes. She's an institution."
"Are you a relative?"
"Nope, I just like hangin' out here, which brings me back to the question. How come I always see you here?"
"I like it here.... Look, I'm not interested in dating anyone right now –"
"Who said anything about dating? I just sat here to talk. It seemed like you needed a friend or something. I've been watching you come in here for a week and you've been sitting all alone. I just thought you wanted company."
"Thanks, but I think I can manage by myself."
"Yeah, like the time you got your ass kicked? Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I forced it out of Agnes," Michelle smiled, "You're not from around here are you?"
"No. I'm originally from LA."
"Ooooh. The West Coast! I'd love to go there some time," she smiled as she took a long sip from her coffee.
Xavier was still uncomfortable with this new friend of his but something about her just automatically drew him in. She had a street look going on, very fit and somewhat outlandishly rugged.
Michelle put her coffee down and watched as Xavier started with his eggs, "So, how do you like New York so far?"
"Most of it's okay. I don't know, I haven't really gone sight-seeing much."
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah."
"If you'd like, I can take you around sometime; show you the real deal."
"No offense, but I really don't know you too well to be going with you."
"I get it. Do you have a cellphone? Don't worry. I won't steal it."
Xavier took out his brand new phone and handed it to her. She punched her number in and handed it back to him, "If you ever change your mind, give me a call," she smiled as she stood up, waved to Agnes at the counter and walked out of the diner.
"I'm coming!"
The young professor was already in the middle of putting on his tie before he walked over and opened the door to his apartment. "What're you doing here?"
"Hey River! Missed me?" Jessica smiled.
"I asked you a question," River eyed her suspiciously.
"And you'll get your answer as long as you answer mine," Jessica's smile broadened as she pulled out a mini video tape from her pocket. "What exactly were you doing bent over, naked, in Andrew Gallagher's bed?"
"What the fuck are you talking about? Is this a joke?"
"Come on River," Jessica walked towards him slowly, "We all have our secrets. I know yours, so might as well spill it out... professor... that is, if you still want to be one."
"You fucking bitch," River shook his head. "I knew it. You didn't change one bit."
Jessica shook her head with that evil angelic smile still on her face. "Come on! One little incident? How pathetic do you think I am?"
"I can't believe you'd go this low just to get back at him."
"After what he did to me? This is just the tip of the iceberg. Now, are you gonna give me answers or would you want the whole student body, not to mention the entire faculty and board of trustees to see this little gem?"
"I never knew you were a sushi guy."
"I love sushi. Domo arigato!" Matt thanked the sushi chef who handed him his plate of fresh Salmon Sashimi.
Kevin watched Matt take a huge chunk of wasabi and mix it with his soy sauce. "You're actually gonna eat that?"
"Yeah. I love it spicy."
"You know what? You never cease to surprise me."
Matt chuckled and picked up a piece of sashimi with his chopsticks, dipped it in his soy sauce, which pretty much was ninety percent wasabi already, and ate it happily. Kevin almost snorted all the water he just drank after seeing Matt's face quickly flush red. Matt stuck out his tongue and fanned himself with his hand. "I love that burn."
"I bet you do," Kevin laughed. "You're friggin' crazy man."
"Try it, it's goooood!" Matt raised his chopsticks to a get a new piece.
"No thanks. I'm good with my very plain, very mild, sushi roll."
"Your loss," Matt took another piece of wasabi-soaked sushi into his mouth.
"So what's up with you?"
"Nothing much. Things are pretty slow I guess. The only thing that's keeping me busy is the swim team."
"Yeah, you kinda told me about that four times already today."
"That's because you keep asking what's up. It's only thing that's up," Matt chuckled and suddenly realized how odd and sexual that must've sounded. "I meant swimming and not... you know."
"What?"
"Nothing," Matt quickly took another piece of sushi in his mouth. "Another wasabi please."
"Ease up on that stuff will ya?"
"No can do. I loooove wasabi. So, how about you? How did it go with Vince?"
"I went. I don't think he took it pretty well."
"The guy obviously likes you a lot. Remember the time he brought breakfast in our room just for you?"
"If I remember correctly, he brought it for you."
"Oh yeah... really nice guy."
A couple of plates of sushi and eleven balls of wasabi later, the roommates found themselves walking into a small convenience store. Kevin was digging his way into the freezer, trying to decide what flavor ice cream to buy for dessert. Matt was patiently waiting by the cashier, looking at magazine titles. He perused through the variety of stuff on the counter and found a couple of boxes of condoms lying around. He grabbed a box and examined it.
"So how big are we?"
Matt quickly put the box down and saw the clerk smiling at him. The guy was a little scrawny but he had a good face. He had a great light-brown tan and gelled up short curly hair.
"Uh... I was just checkin' it out."
"So was I," the clerk winked at him. "I love guys with messy blonde hair"
Matt felt really awkward and embarrassed, thankfully Kevin walked over and had two pints of ice cream in his hands, "I couldn't figure out what I wanted more, Peanut Butter or Mint Chocolate. What do want Matty?"
"Uh... I'm good."
Kevin put the ice cream on the counter, "Punch these up... Jason" Kevin read the clerk's name tag.
"That'll be $13.50"
Kevin gave him exact change and grabbed the ice cream. "Let's go buddy!" Kevin and Matt walked out of the store. Matt looked through the glass pane and saw Jason still eyeing him with a smile on his face. Matt quickly looked away and followed Kevin back to their dorm.
Xavier kept switching channels on the TV. The same things were on. If it wasn't about politics, it was about some celebrities making fools of themselves. Xavier turned it off and headed for the bar. He grabbed a bottle of Vodka and unscrewed the cap. He took a quick whiff of it before deciding to cap it and put it back. He had pretty much finished his school work at that time and he really had nothing to do. He wanted to call Kevin but decided that it really wasn't the best thing to do for both of them.
Xavier sat back down on his bed, bored out of his wits. He found his cellphone lying on the bedside table. He picked it up and fished for Michelle's number. He pressed the call button and listened to it ring a couple of times.
"Hey."
"Hi. I guess I might just take you up on that offer."
Matt grabbed a shirt and put it on. He stuffed his gym bag with his wet clothes and closed his locker. He turned to his side and saw Keegan staring at him with a goofy smile on his face.
"Sorry 'bout yesterday. I had rough day."
"Yeah. I heard about that."
"Chris told you huh? That guy really can't keep secrets."
Matt chuckled as he put his glasses on.
"You should really try contacts. You look better without those on."
Matt squinted and smiled, "Nah. I like my glasses."
"You did awesome today. You kicked my ass and I was on my game this time."
"Well, I kicked your ass in basketball so this was just cake for me... which reminds me, you guys still owe us our prize."
"What prize?"
"Remember the bet? You do anything we want."
Keegan smiled, "Have you thought up of anything already?"
Matt jokingly looked up and scratched his head, "Hmmmm... I think I'll save it up for something that's actually worth it."
"Just make sure there's no money involved in it. I'm kinda broke right now. That bitch pretty much sucked me dry."
The image of Keegan getting a blowjob quickly burned through Matt's mind. He instantly pushed that away and looked at Keegan and smiled, "I'll keep that in mind."
"Where're you heading?"
"Well I have class in less than an hour so I have to get ready for that."
"That sucks. I wanted to hang out for a while. Wanna play hookie?"
"No can do," Matt chuckled. "I have a test next week so I can't afford to miss out today."
"Well, I guess I'll see you around?"
"You betcha," Matt smiled. Even though he didn't show it, his heart was pacing like crazy.
Matt was sitting in class as the professor was wrapping up the discussion. Matt was putting his things in his bag when he noticed the girl sitting beside him having a hard time scribbling down pages and pages of notes on the board before the professor could erase it completely. Matt watched as this frail girl with even thicker glasses than his, try to cram as many words in her notebook as quickly as she could. The professor had pretty much wiped the board clean as the class started walking out the door. Matt leaned over the girl and handed him his notebook.
"Here, I took down some notes. You know, you don't have to do that. It's all on the books and the research is pretty much all in the net and the library."
"I know, I just like to get the exact notes. You don't know if we'll need all of them in the future," she smiled as she took his notebook. "Are you sure it's okay for me to borrow this? Don't you need this for your next class?"
"It's okay. I still have twenty minutes to spare, you can have it copied by then. I'll go with you."
"Thanks. What's your name again?"
"Matt."
"Sarah."
The two shook hands and walked out of the room.
"Matty!" Jessica approached Matt and gave him a hug as he walked out the room.
"Hey! What're you doing here?"
"I thought we'd have lunch. I'm taking you out."
Matt sighed, "Um... I can't right now. I have a class in a few minutes."
"Oh. I was hoping we'd go out," Jessica's gaze shifted from Matt to the girl standing beside him.
"This is Sarah. She's from my class."
"Hi Sarah. Nice to meet you," Jessica smiled so effortlessly even though she didn't want to.
"Hi!" Sarah smiled.
"Uh, we need to go. I'll see you soon."
"Yeah. I'll see you," Jessica watched Matt and Sarah leave as she pulled out her cellphone to make a call.
Jessica stepped out of the cab and walked up the marble stairs. The doorman greeted her as she casually strode past him. She got into the elevator and pressed the button to her floor. She held the tape in her hand with a smile on her face. She only needed a little more time and she'd get back at him. The doors opened. Jessica stepped out and handed her coat to her maid.
"Miss Jessica, a friend of yours is here to see you."
Jessica continued walking towards her room, her maid following closely behind her, "Which one?"
Jessica stopped in her tracks as she saw Andrew sitting on the edge of her bed, his eyes focused on her, "Leave us."
The maid obediently walked away as Jessica closed the door behind her, "What are you doing here?"
"Funny. I asked the same thing about you yesterday. I probably should ask you again what you were doing at River's but I think I already know."
"Do you now?" Jessica walked over to the other side of her room and faced herself in the mirror as she flaunted the tape in her hands, Andrew still watching her closely.
"If you're trying to get back at me, it won't work."
Jessica smiled at Andrew, "What makes you so sure? I have all your little secrets on tape, not to mention a few good names I can throw around."
"You do know I can twist it all back at you."
"I'd love to see you try this time."
"What will it take for you to just disappear?"
"You don't get it do you? I love this! I'm not going. You're my little puppet, just like everybody else. It sucks, doesn't it? Me, being on top?"
"You don't know who you're dealing with."
"I've heard that before. As you can see, right now, you're powerless. Everybody knows who you are and what you are. As for myself, they see a reformed girl. I've changed, you haven't. Who do you think they'll believe especially once I air this out for the whole world to see? Andrew Gallagher, daddy's little fudge packer?"
For the first time, Andrew was stumped. He couldn't think of anything to say. She had him by the balls and there was nothing he could about it.
"Cat got your tongue huh? There's the door. I'll be seeing you Thanksgiving. Your mom invited me over. I'd love to see them once they get back," Jessica smiled as she watched Andrew's reflection slowly walk out the room.
"Oh, and take good care of Ally for me, will you?"
Andrew quickly grabbed the nearest vase and threw it at the mirror behind her, breaking it to pieces. "You don't go fucking near her! I'm going kill you if anything happens to her again!"
"Temper! You're not in your house. Here, I make the rules. Get out before I have you arrested!"
Andrew stormed off leaving Jessica a bit shaken but still satisfied with her new found power over him.
Matt paid the fare and made his way down the aisle. He walked from row to row and found a seat on the bus, right in front of a woman with her kid who was busily trying to blow up her bubble gum. Matt put on his earphones and looked at his reflection in the window. He tried taking off his glasses and squinted. Everything around him seemed fuzzy but he could still manage to see. 'I do look good,' Matt smiled. He put his glasses back on and ran his hand through his hair. He tried pulling it down his face, 'A little too long?'
A woman sat beside him and looked at him with curiosity. Matt noticed this and got a little conscious. He stopped looking at his reflection and rested his back on the chair.
Matt had a goofy smile on as he contemplated wearing contacts. He closed his eyes and hummed the tune of the song playing in his ears. He remembered Keegan telling him he looked good without glasses. The woman beside him must've thought he was on something because Matt suddenly burst into a chuckle when he remembered the guy at convenience store flirting with him. Matt noticed the woman beside him staring at him with that irritated look so he calmly sat down properly and rested his head on the seat.
Matt started humming the tune again when he suddenly felt that 'Pop!' Matt's eyes shot open. He quickly leaned forward and grabbed the back of his head. "What the?"
He had a huge wad of gum stuck in his hair. The kid sitting behind him was laughing hysterically as her mom apologized to Matt profusely. Matt tried pulling it out ending up with a long string of gum and webbed hair. "Fuck!"
Vince was humming as he grabbed a couple of books and rearranged them on the shelf. He took a couple more books and shelved them one by one.
"Get your fucking hands off those! I just arranged them!"
"I liked them better this way," Vince grinned as Deb stormed after him and hit him with a book. Vince just laughed at her and decided to sit on the counter.
"You're so juvenile. I hate you!" Deb screamed as she rearranged the books once more. "I liked you better when you sung at the Joe's at least back then you'd use this time practicing instead of bugging me."
Deb walked back behind the counter and slapped Vince on the back, "Get off!"
Vince slid down the counter and turned around to face Deb with puppy dog eyes, "But I love bugging you."
"Go bug somebody else!"
Vince laughed. "Come on Deb, lighten up! I'm just joking around."
Deb just rolled her eyes and returned to reading her book.
"Light And Dark," Vince read the title aloud, "What is that? Some kind of occult book?"
"None of your damn business. Why don't you bug your boyfriend?"
"He's not my boyfriend... and we're taking a break."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Well Kev said he needed some space so I'm giving it to him."
"Since when has that stopped you before? You like the guy, don't you?"
"Well, yeah."
"So? What's stopping you?"
Vince looked at Deb for a couple of seconds and quickly went out the store. Deb watched Vince walk away and just rolled her eyes, "Finally!"
Kevin opened the door and was surprised to see Vince standing there. Before he could even say a word, Vince's lips were on his. Vince held him tightly by the cheeks as he felt their tongues brush against each other. Kevin forcefully pulled away.
"What the fuck? Didn't I tell you I wanted a... Fuck it!" Kevin quickly grabbed Vince by his shirt and pulled him into the room. He pushed Vince back just as the door closed. He pinned Vince's back to the door and kissed him furiously. Kevin pulled Vince's head closer, his fingers lodged into Vince's hair. Vince's hands grabbed Kevin's ass and ground their crotches together.
Kevin pulled back for a second to catch his breath. Vince looked at Kevin as he gasped for air, "I love you. You do know that?"
"Shut up," Kevin smiled and quickly pressed his lips against his.
Vince kissed Kevin lightly on the forehead as the two of them lay there, catching their breaths.
"So I guess the break's over huh?"
Kevin smiled and looked at Vince, "You're impossible."
"I know," Vince grinned as he moved closer for a kiss. The two broke the kiss when they heard the door knob turning. Matt walked in, saw them in their naked afterglow and quickly walked back out and closed the door.
The two of them looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces, "Was that?"
Matt heard the door to their room open and saw Vince walk out. Vince was grinning at Matt, "Sorry 'bout that."
"Uh... No, I think I should be the one saying sorry... I didn't mean..."
"Nah. It's all good," Vince grinned at him again and ruffled Matt's hair. "Nice do. It looks good on 'ya."
"Thanks," Matt smiled as Vince walked down the hall towards the elevator.
Matt peeked into the room, "Is it safe to go in now?"
"Yeah," Kevin laughed.
"Sorry about that," Matt closed the door behind him.
"You know, we really do need to get some kind of a system going on here," Kevin said as he put on a clean shirt.
"Yeah, I think so," Matt agreed as he sat down on his bed and put his bag down.
"Nice haircut. I love the color too."
Matt chuckled. He had his hair cut short and had it dyed dark brown just like Kevin's. If you didn't know they were roommates, you could've easily mistaken Kevin and Matt for brothers at that moment.
"You look... hot," Kevin laughed and made Matt blush. "Now if only you can take off those glasses."
"I actually will," Matt smiled as he pulled out a small case of contact lenses. "I decided to try contacts. It might do me good."
"Why the sudden change of look?"
"Let's just say something popped on my head."
"Well, whatever it was, you look great."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the delayed update. The reason this time seems pretty lame... I didn't get to update earlier because of the Olympics. Lol! Come on! Who wouldn't take the time to stop what they're doing and watch Michael Phelps win it all? Aside from the fact that guy's hot, he just eradicated all my dreams for Olympic swimming stardom. Yeah right, I would've never made the first round of cuts anyway. Lol!
This was actually supposed to be a very long chapter and when I say long, it should've been twice its length. I decided to cut it right here because I think this scene would be a perfect ending. This only means one thing. Some of you sent me suggestions over the past months. I told some of you that I'd think about those suggestions and use them in the story. (Yes, I actually take suggestions seriously) I also gave out which chapters they might come out. Since I split Chapter 11 in half that only means the succeeding chapters will move as well... Hope you got that.
I really really want to say thank you to all those people who took the time to send me some kind words, you really push me to write more. If you like what you're reading so far, please send me an email at zenlikewriter@yahoo.com Add your comments, suggestions, questions or rants if you have any. I'd love to read what you guys think about the story so far.
Cheers!
-gabe