Marcus and Kyle: A Shift in the Orbit by Christian Mitchell Copyright 2005 ICONvsICON@aol.com
Chapter Two
I returned to the apartment late in the afternoon. Kyle had football practice so he normally did not arrive home until early evening. I always did my best to have dinner prepared and ready. He was usually too tired to eat out and we tried to be smart about our finances because of the cost of restaurants.
I had prepared citrus chicken, roasted red potatoes, and broccoli. Kyle immediately sat at the dining room table and rested his head on its surface. I placed the plate of food to the side and massaged his shoulders.
"Yeah," he encouraged. "That feels too good right now."
"Long day, huh?"
"It's going to be rough for a few days until I get used to waking up early and being at school all day long."
"Well, you can give me some pointers on how to handle it when I start baseball in January."
He straightened himself in the chair and glanced at me. "I better learn how to cook."
I chuckled at the image of Kyle running around the kitchen as he cooked dinner. "I'll give you some lessons."
We discussed the details of our day as we ate dinner. Kyle had run into one of our buddies, Tyler at school. He wanted to hang out during the weekend so Kyle and I planned to cook him dinner and possibly go to a friend's party.
After we loaded the dishes into the dishwasher the phone rang. It was Samantha in New York City. Since meeting her during our last summer getaway with our buddies we had talked on the phone several times. She was excited about a business trip to Los Angeles, which would allow the three of us to spend some time together. We agreed to talk the following week to make permanent plans.
We watched very little television and spent much of the evening cleaning the apartment and perusing college textbooks. I noticed that Kyle seemed to be preoccupied by thought. Occasionally, he ignored the book he was reading and stare into space.
"Why are you zoning out?" I asked.
He snapped back to the reality of the moment. "I'm not."
I smiled. "Yes, you are. What are you thinking about?"
"Money," he answered with a sigh. "I need to organize my finances because it's getting to be kinda tight. I mean, the money I get from my parents every month pretty much covers all my expenses, but then there's very little left over."
"You know I'll help you out, if you need me to."
"Yeah, I know. But that would make me feel like an ass. I can't support myself, so I have to depend on my boyfriend to take care of me? That sucks."
I sat on the green sofa and rested my hand on his shoulder. "Kyle, don't feel that way. I don't care about lending you money. It's okay. I'm not concerned about helping you out. And I wouldn't think of you as some sort of loser who couldn't support himself."
"I know," he replied. "Maybe I need to get a job after football season is over."
"Are you serious?"
"Well, I have to figure something out, because I don't want to be broke all the time."
"Well, let's see what happens. Organize your finances. See how things are during the semester. And, if you still want to get a job, then I'll help you look for one."
"Thanks."
"In the meantime," I stressed. "Don't be embarrassed about letting me help you out financially. Okay?"
"Um," he pondered. "Alright. But only if I really, really need it."
"Deal," I smiled.
Kyle and I undressed for bed. He rested his head on my chest as we watched Jay Leno perform his monologue for the evening. It was not long before he started to kiss me. "You're not too tired for sex, are you?"
"No," I grinned.
I quickly pushed him onto his back and positioned myself on top of him. We continued to kiss for a couple minutes before I started to nibble on his shoulder blade. I bit harder and Kyle moaned more loudly. He tilted his head back to allow me access to his neck. I sank my teeth into his neck and pushed my body against his so that our cocks were in contact.
Kyle pushed my mouth away from his neck and lightly slapped my shoulder. "Be normal, baby," he warned in a very loving and drawn out manner. He sounded like a kid whining about something, but without screaming in complaint. "You bit me too hard."
I laughed. "Oh, my God. You sounded so fucking cute!"
"Why?"
I did my best to imitate his almost-childlike command. "Be normal, baby."
Kyle and I both laughed. Then I returned to biting his neck and planting kisses on his face and lips. I kissed and licked his torso. When my mouth reached the side of his stomach he jumped because he was ticklish. I looked at him and smiled. I knew that he was ticklish and I intended to tease him without causing him to become angry.
I lowered my mouth to his cock and licked the length of his shaft. I nuzzled my face in the crease of his leg where it met his pelvic region. He giggled and pulled his body a few inches away from me. I pulled him to me and lifted his leg in the air so that I could nibble behind his knee.
Kyle moaned. I continued to kiss his leg as I worked my way down to his foot. I licked the length of his foot then placed his big toe in my mouth. His body tensed and his hands gripped my shoulders tightly.
It was not long after I had kissed and licked most of his body that he asked me to fuck him. I applied lubrication to my cock and pressed it against his ass. Kyle looked directly into my eyes and said," I need to feel you in me."
I didn't know where I acquired my stamina, but I could fuck for about an hour without coming. Kyle could never last that long though. Eventually he would tenderly push me away and say, "I can't take it anymore."
I positioned myself on my back so that he could fuck me. Kyle thrust in and out of me for five to ten minutes then he came. I always asked that he ejaculate on my cock. I liked to use his cum to masturbate with while he fucked me again. Because he could last longer following his first ejaculation I would let him fuck me until I shot my load.
Like every night, we cuddled and fell asleep content.
The first few days of school had convinced me that the semester would be fairly easy. I predicted that I would do well and receive a GPA of 3.5 or higher. The insight conquered the initial apprehension I had about college. I was a bit more concerned about the second semester of school because baseball would be added to my workload.
I quickly became friendly with a guy named Devon during the first week of the semester. He was a nice looking guy with short brown hair that always sat next to me in Algebra. My new friend seemed to have a perpetual smile on his face. He always had a cup of coffee in his hand when he walked into our eight o'clock class.
"Good morning, buddy boy," he greeted.
"Good morning," I responded. "How are you?"
"Man, I'm good. Had a late night though," he smiled. "I didn't finish today's assignment. Did you?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty disciplined about homework."
"Thankfully, the professor only uses exam scores to calculate our final grade."
"Yeah, I wasn't expecting that. Hopefully, I'll do well on the exams."
He slapped his hand on my shoulder and handed me a piece of blue paper. "You're going to come to my party Saturday night."
I glanced at the invitation. The bold lettered headline announced the RETURN TO HELL PARTY 2001. I smiled. "Hell, huh?"
"That's right," he beamed. "I'm not going to let you talk your way out of coming to the party. So tell me that you'll be there and I won't kick your ass for not wanting to go."
"Oh, no, it's cool," I replied. "I'll be there. I can bring someone with me, right?"
"Of course. Bring as many people as you want, man."
"Thanks."
Devon retrieved the invitation and wrote his phone number on the back. "If anything comes up or you get lost trying to find the house, call me."
I told Kyle about the party later that evening. He was excited about the opportunity to possibly make new friends with other students. "Cool. We can take Tyler with us."
"Yeah, that's right," I agreed. "Maybe he'll meet his new girlfriend there. He needs to find someone so he can start feeling better about himself."
"You make it sound like he's completely depressed or something."
"No," I corrected. "But, lately, he's been bitching about not having a girlfriend."
"Well, maybe he'll hook it up at the party."
"I hope so," I smiled. "The guy needs to get laid."
The following morning Kyle and I awoke at six o'clock. The telephone rang as soon as we sat down to eat breakfast. I picked up the receiver and was greeted by Samantha's frantic voice.
"Oh, shit!" she exclaimed. "I didn't think that I would be able to get through to you. I was just calling to let you know that I'm fine."
I was confused. "What are you talking about?"
"Oh, you don't know?" she questioned with disbelief.
"Know what?"
"We're under attack," she replied. "Turn on the television."
I motioned for Kyle to get up from his seat. "Turn the news on. Samantha says that the country is being attacked."
"Yeah," she exclaimed. "Terrorists. They've already crashed jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. And the government doesn't know if there are any other high jacked planes in the air."
I jumped up from my seat. "What?" I joined Kyle in front of the television. The screen was filled with the shocking image of one of the burning towers. Smoke billowed skyward in an eerie manner.
Samantha's voice startled me. "Marcus, I need you to call my sister in San Francisco. The phone lines in New York are not working well. It's hard to get a call or make a call."
"Yes, of course," I quietly responded. "Give me her number."
Following a brief conversation with Samantha's sister I returned to the television. Kyle wiped tears away from his eyes. I wrapped my arms around his waist.
"This is fucking horrible," he cried. "I can't fucking believe this!"
I could not divert my eyes from the television screen. I did not want to witness the chaos and destruction in New York City. However, my eyes were transfixed by the images and reporting of the anchorman. I stared blankly at the screen and did not fight the tears that streamed down my cheeks.
Again the phone rang. It was my mother. She was in a panic. "Marcus!"
"Yes, I know. Samantha called us. We're watching it right now."
"Are the two of you going to stay home?"
"Um, I have no idea," I replied.
"Please, come over here and spend the day with your sister or take her to your place. I don't want her to be home alone while this is going on."
"Okay. I'll call you when we are about to leave."
"I'm going to the office so I can cancel appointments. I'll return home as soon as I can."
"Do what you need to do," I responded. "If we leave, I'll call you or dad."
"Thank you."
As I put the telephone on the kitchen table I heard Kyle exclaim, "oh, shit" as he fell to his knees. I quickly glanced at the television and saw one of the towers collapse. I shook my head in disbelief and sat on the floor next to Kyle. He glanced at me for a second then buried his face in his hands. I pulled him into an embrace and started rubbing his back. "It's okay, baby. Everything's going to be fine."
"No, it's not," he protested. "This is the worst fucking day of our lives!"
I did not respond. Comforting words escaped me. Sentences of any kind did not seem appropriate. I didn't want to pretend that the day might somehow magically be amended or justified. I held Kyle in my arms and cried on his shoulder as New York City and the Pentagon burned.
Kyle and I returned to our apartment late that evening. Neither one of us said much to each other. I sensed that he was very upset, but I didn't know what to say in order to console him. He informed me that he was going to get ready for bed.
When I walked into the bedroom Kyle was already in bed. I undressed and got into bed to lie down next to him. "Are you okay?"
"No," he replied. "I can't talk right now."
"I know this is difficult. I'm sad as well. But we need to support each other so that we can get through this together."
Kyle did not respond.
I placed my hand on his shoulder. He reacted by tensing the muscles in his arm. "Don't push me away, Kyle. I'm only trying to comfort you."
He wiped a tear from his eye, but his body remained motionless.
"Are you serious? You're so upset that you don't even want me to bother you?"
I couldn't believe it. Kyle ignored me. He did not seem to want me to be around him. My feelings were hurt.
"Okay, fine," I surrendered. "I'm going to the living room." I stood up to put my jeans on, but decided that I had every right to walk around naked in my own apartment.
Kyle extended his hand and motioned for me to get back into bed. I situated myself at his side and wrapped my arms around his body as he placed his head against my chest.
"I love you, Kyle. I will always be here for you," I reminded him.
"I know," he sighed. "I'm sorry. And I love you, too."
We did our best to continue with the week as normally as possible. It was not always easily accomplished because Kyle was depressed. By habit, I put forth the effort to console with words or touch. Sometimes Kyle simply didn't want to be bothered. I tried to lift his spirits, but I learned that I needed to give him freedom and time. I told myself that his method of coping was not a rejection of me. It was the first time that we experienced awkward moments between the two of us.
Honestly, I never anticipated that Kyle would ever be depressed enough to not want to communicate with me. I was shocked. His behavior upset me. I did not understand how my best friend could suddenly be so distant toward me. Kyle didn't treat me badly or speak mean-spirited words directed at me. However, enduring occasional bouts of the silent treatment forced me to analyze the situation the best that I could.
I expected more from the man that I loved. I did not want to irritate Kyle if there was no problem for me to worry about. Yet I wanted to be certain that there was nothing wrong between the two of us. Trying to discuss the subject proved to be unsuccessful at times. He made it perfectly clear that I should not be concerned about his moments of depression or tendency to become silent.
"Sometimes I just need to be alone with my thoughts," he explained. "I'm not mad at you. And I'm not trying to keep secrets from you."
"Okay," I replied. "I just want to make sure that nothing is seriously wrong, especially between us."
"Don't worry. Just let me deal with this. I'll be fine and normal again," he sighed. "I don't want you to feel bad. I'm not trying to hurt your feelings."
"Well, we always talked about everything. So, it's kind of weird, to suddenly not do that," I responded. "But now I know I should leave you alone. If you need to talk, you will let me know."
"Exactly," he smiled. "I still love you."
I kissed his hand and caressed his face. "I still love you, too. Always."
Kyle's smile widened. "Always."
Our tender moment of reconciliation and understanding was interrupted by a knock on the door. Tyler walked into the apartment with his arms outstretched. "What's up, mother fuckers!"
I laughed and gave him a big hug. "You're ready for the party, aren't you?"
"Hell, yeah!" he exclaimed. "With school and the terrorists, I'm really need a fucking drink or two."
"Or five," I grinned.
Tyler shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head in agreement with my suggestion. "I'm ready to get drunk and have a good time."
"Me, too," Kyle announced. "Let's dip and hit the party."