Disclaimer:
The following story is purely fictional. Please read it legally - be of a legal age and in a legal place. Any similarity in plot or resemblance to a real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Please do not copy and/or publish this story. Thanks :)
Please consider donating to Nifty.org! It's a great place to keep alive! http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html
*************************** Wet shame, wet fun
Chapter 8
Their second year at university kept them remarkably busy. Unlike the previous year, they now shared fewer classes with each other as they had advanced into different majors from each other. While Jake has chosen to major in pharmacology, Theo decided to go down the road of `functional human biology'. Despite spending less time together during the day, Jake was integrating well into Theo's larger group of friends and acquaintances.
One day, Theo brought home a classmate and they settled down at the dining table while Jake was preparing dinner.
"Honey, I'm home," Theo called out, which he usually did despite how lame it was.
Jake poked his head out of the kitchen to greet him, but froze when he saw an unfamiliar face at his dining table.
Sensing a stall in the greetings, Theo introduced Jake to his classmate.
"Brent, that deer-in-headlights over there is my boyfriend, Jake. Say hi."
Brent snickered at Theo's casual attitude in what was basically his `coming out'. Brent had met Theo in one of his classes and quickly grew to appreciate Theo's cavalier and humorous demeanour, as many of his classmates did. Being the charming personality Theo was, Jake was never surprised at the growing number of friends his boyfriend made, but Theo hadn't yet brought a friend over for dinner until today.
"Hi, Jake," Brent spoke.
"I hope you don't mind that I invited him over for dinner. We've got an assignment to work on together afterwards." Theo walked towards Jake and took him into his arms as he turned his head to talk to Brent. "He always takes so good care of me and makes the best dinners. There'll be more than enough." He turned back to Jake and gave him a soft kiss.
Jake's face noticeably reddened and he visibly squirmed in Theo's arms, which only earned a chuckle from the older boy who gave him another kiss. He was very aware of Jake's persisting reservation towards displays of affection despite having been in this relationship for over a year. It was merely an attribute of Jake's introversion; hence Theo took no offense to it. However, he did enjoy seeing his boy fidget whenever he softly took his boyfriend a step outside his comfort zone.
"He's shy," explained Theo as Jake slinked out of his arms and sought the privacy of the kitchen. Brent nodded in understanding and thought nothing of it.
When dinner was served, general chit-chat was shared between the two classmates while Jake listened silently. Over the course of the meal, Jake became more comfortable with Brent and participated further in conversations with him when appropriate.
Letting Theo get started on his assignment with Brent, Jake cleaned up and washed the dishes by himself before retiring to the comfort of his bedroom, bidding the visitor a `goodnight'. He did some reading for his next lecture, but quickly grew tired of reading about drug development and clinical trials and started playing a game on his smartphone. He started to get very sleepy a few hours later. Because Theo was still working with Brent on that assignment, Jake felt slightly disjointed at having to go to bed alone. However, he was happy with the fact that he had met another one of Theo's friends and appeared to get along with him. The extreme discomfort that disabled him earlier in their relationship whenever Theo introduced him to others as his boyfriend no longer plagued him. In a way, Jake was secretly ecstatic that Theo was publicly announcing him as more than just a friend. He drifted to sleep smiling and dreamt of their future together.
*** The first semester came to an end and the boys received their exam results. High-fiving each other, they celebrated their successful outcomes with a dinner out at their favourite steak house before ending the night with a passionate romp in bed of the sexual nature. Their fervent love-making was not unheard by their flatmate, Kevin, who light-heartedly made comments to them the morning after, much to Jake's embarrassment.
The last semester came and went. Not unexpectedly, both boys excelled into their classes and earned themselves excellent results. As the year came to a close, both boys spent Christmas with Jake's family before travelling to Theo's family to spend New Year's with.
Their third and last year of university started uneventfully. Again, they shared a few classes together but most of their papers were different. Jake already knew that he wanted to study pharmacy after he finished this current degree and had already began the process of applying for Pharmacy School. Jake was particularly interested in getting into the Pharmacy School at Auckland University, which was the closest one to where his parents lived. While he enjoyed his time away from the place that he grew up, he missed his parents dearly and would take the opportunity to move closer to his family. However, to increase his changes of being accepted into Pharmacy School he applied at the two other universities that offered a Pharmacy programme.
On the other hand, Theo had absolutely no idea what he wanted to do after he graduated. The only thing that was certain was that he was going to follow Jake wherever he ended up – that much was clear. The thought of pursuing further study after his current degree hadn't crossed his mind until he was having the conversation with a new guy who had started working at the library with Theo. Like Theo, Joseph was also in his final year of a Bachelor of Biomedical Science but majored in reproduction, genetics, and development. Joseph had revealed to Theo that he had just applied to Medical School at their present campus. Knowing Theo's exceptional intrapersonal skills and confidence, as well as his academic proficiency in the human sciences, Joseph encouraged Theo into considering a career in medicine.
Theo sat on the idea for a few weeks before discussing it with Jake. He shared his concern that starting Medical School would be a massive commitment. Jake echoed Joseph's assessment that he would make a great doctor and that he would support Theo in whatever decisions he made. After a meaningful phone call home to seek his parent's opinion, who also expressed positive feedback for whatever Theo wanted to do, he finally bit the bullet and began applying for Medical School.
Fortunately, all the places that Jake had applied to for Pharmacy School also had a Medical School, so he applied to those three universities. A fleeting concern filled Theo of the possibility that he wouldn't be accepted into the same university as Jake, but he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind as there was no point in worrying about it then.
Despite now having a plan for after graduation, the added stress of thinking about Medical School and getting good enough grades, filling out endless paperwork for the applications and hoping to pass the first hurdle of obtaining an entrance interview significantly affected Theo. He picked up a few extracurricular activities and leadership roles at a few social clubs to add to his CV and to round out his applications to Medical School. This was all in addition to studying and his part-time job at the library. He was frequently tired and had less leisure time with Jake, which did not go unnoticed by the younger man. Jake spent more nights heading to bed alone and had developed an increasingly nervous bladder, which he kept separate from Theo. Even Kevin was starting to tiptoe around Theo because of how on-edge he was.
The tension that Theo carried had become obvious to his colleagues at the library when during a shift, Joseph watched as Theo snapped at a library patron who was trying to dodge paying a library fine for an overdue book. Having been told off by Theo, the patron quickly paid the fine and left the library in haste. Joseph abandoned the trolley of books he was putting away and walked up to a tense Theo who was muttering while he scanned newly returned books into the system.
"Hey man..." Joseph started. Theo continued to scan books, not responding. Angry clouds floated above his head.
"Look, Theo. You are hella stressed. I've noticed it. Everyone here has noticed it. I know this whole medical school thing has been driving you crazy, especially since you started looking after the Football Club and picking up that Library Science course, which I still think you're insane for doing." Theo still hadn't acknowledged the other man, but Joseph knew he was listening. "I hate seeing you so wound up. Come over to my place for a drink after work. We can watch a movie or play some video games. When was the last time you spent an evening relaxing?"
Theo paused scanning books and simply stared ahead. They stood in silence for a few seconds before Theo resumed scanning books.
"I don't know," he replied flatly.
Joseph sighed. "Please, just come over, okay? You're not even going to make it to the interviews at this point – you'll have run yourself into the ground." Theo again stopped scanning books and began to object to Joseph's last statement, but before he could, Joseph interrupted him. "And don't you even say it. Of course you're going to get an interview, don't be silly. You've got an amazing application. Don't second guess yourself. Now, you're going to come over for a drink. I won't take `no' for an answer."
Theo resumed scanning books and didn't reply any further but Joseph knew he had already agreed.
After closing up the library, Theo accompanied Joseph back to his flat. Joseph's flatmates were already settled in their own rooms, leaving the communal living room for the two men. Joseph retrieved two cold beers from the fridge and handed one to Theo and they both sat on the couch. As Theo took his first swig, Joseph could already feel the stress leave the man's shoulders.
"So, how are you feeling now?" Joseph said after taking a big sip from his bottle.
Theo closed his eyes, leaned his head back and sighed.
"I wish you never told me about medical school," Theo replied. Joseph felt an instant guilt that perhaps he was the root of Theo's agony. But that was quickly reversed when Theo turned to face him. "But yet I'm glad that I'm going through with it. The more I think about it, the more it feels right. I've finally got something planned for the future that I'm looking forward to. Thanks for that." Theo smiled for the first time that week.
Joseph watched his colleague as the smile appeared on his tired face. Despite the bags under his eyes, Theo was still a very handsome man. He watched as Theo's shirt stretched across his muscled chest as Theo rested his arm along the back of the couch. He had returned to closing his eyes and resting his head against the back of the couch. Theo heard Joseph move beside him and suddenly felt a hand rest on his chest and a pair of warm lips on his own. Theo's eyes snapped open as his colleague began making out with him. He was momentarily frozen as Joseph's hands swept down his abdomen and began rubbing his inner thigh, dangerously close to his crotch.
Before it went any further, his brain kicked into gear and his arms instinctively pushed back against Joseph with enough force to cause him to fall back towards the other end of the couch.
"What the hell are you doing?" Theo loudly whispered, aware that the other tenants in the flat might be sleeping.
Joseph sat up and scooted back towards Theo.
"I wanna help you relax, Theo. You've been so wound up." He placed a hand back on Theo's thigh. "Let me do this for you." He slowly inched towards Theo's bulge.
Theo threw Joseph's hand off of him, stood up and starting walking towards the front door.
"Joseph, don't ever do that again. You know I love Jake. Don't you dare come between me and him." He opened the door and left the building.
By the time he got home, Jake was deep asleep as usual. Theo suddenly felt incredibly guilty for not having spent more time with his boyfriend as of late. After he slipped into bed besides Jake, he debated whether to tell Jake what had happened with Joseph. Was this something that he was supposed to share with his boyfriend even if it literally didn't change their relationship at all? Before he could work himself into a complete knot, his fatigue caught up to him and took him along a bumpy ride into dream land.
TBC
Hey guys. Thank you for reading my latest chapter. It's a short chapter this time. I'm starting to wind things up as I've completed most of the story line that I had planned. I appreciate any positive feedback. Feel free to send me a note on kylenewton25[at]yahoo.com