MICHAEL
I said something impulsive and now I regret it. I told Alison that I wanted her brother to join us on our date.
I could hardly think when I was around him. And we only hung out for a few hours and we barely talked. Why did I think it was a good idea to spend a whole evening with him?
Maybe it was a good idea. I must be overthinking things, and maybe once I spend more time with him, I won't feel flustered anymore. I mean, what am I feeling flustered about in the first place? I had no idea.
Alison and I decided to meet them at a Steakhouse for dinner. The plan was to eat some dinner then hit up the local bar to have drinks and play pool.
"Um...do we really have to do all that? Can't we just have dinner and go to the movies?" I asked Alison.
"Oh come on, we won't be able to talk during the movie, so that would defeat the purpose of spending time together," Alison said dismissively.
That was the idea. I felt like I'd say some awkward, and Jacob would think I'm a total loser. The less we talk, the better. I can at least stuff my face with food at the restaurant every time I want to stop talking.
We arrived at the restaurant at eight pm and got us a booth then waited for them.
"Jacob is late as always," Alison said. "I wonder who his date is."
I wondered too. What kind of guy was he into? I could hardly contain my curiosity. I ordered us some drinks and appetizers and waited impatiently.
Alison said something to me, so I tried to turn my focus back to her, but my eyes kept lingering towards the front entrance. Jacob and his date could enter any moment.
Then I saw him. He was wearing blue jeans and a tight black t-shirt that showed off his biceps. Next to him was a guy in his early twenties who looked like he could be on the front page of GQ magazine. Oh great, here comes another guy who's better looking than me.
"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. Francis was having a crisis," Jacob remarked.
"What kind of crisis?" Alison asked.
"He couldn't keep his lips off mine," Jacob said nonchalantly.
"Eww, Jacob! Spare us the details." Alison giggled.
"Yeah, let's not scare them off before we finish hanging out. You must be his sister Alison, I'm Francis," Jacob's date smiled at Alison then looked at me. "And you must be Michael." He extended his hand toward me, and I took it.
"It's nice to meet you," I said politely, but my stomach felt like it was twisted into a knot. There was something about this guy I didn't like. Maybe it was the way he was looking at me. He had a smug expression on his face. Or maybe it was his fake smile.
Jacob sat across from me and gave me his dimpled smile. My heart started racing again. Oh, there we go again. I was getting nervous over nothing. I gulped my drinks down and tried to calm down.
"Thirsty much," Jacob said and smirked at me.
"Ah...yeah. Should we order?" I let out nervous laughter and signaled the server to come over.
"So Francis, Jacob told me you were a med student?" Alison asked.
"That's right. I'm only on my first year, though," Francis said. "I can't wait to start my residency. I am planning to be a Pediatrist."
"Aww that's great. You must love kids," Alison chirped.
Francis laughed. "Yes, of course. I love kids."
Jacob looked at me. "What about you, Michael? Do you like kids?" He gave me a crooked smile.
"S...sure," I said awkwardly and looked at Alison. "I have to go to the bathroom," I said and stood up, then strode away from the table.
I asked one of the servers where the bathroom was, and she pointed toward it. So I went inside and turned the faucet on.
My ears and neck felt hot. Maybe I was starting to get sick, I thought. Ugh, I hope not. I was on my spring break in College, and it'd be a shame if I have to stay in bed the whole time.
I heard the door open and Jacob walked in. He looked at me intently then stood behind me.
"Are you alright, man?" he asked.
The hair on my neck stood up as he was standing so close to me. I felt his warm breath on my skin.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I drew a sharp breath.
He placed one of his hands on my shoulder. "You don't look too good. Your neck is all red. Maybe we should call it a night."
And miss the chance to hang out with him...
The thought made me upset.
"No, no. It's nothing serious. I am fine, really. Thanks for checking on me," I said and chuckled to show him how fine I was.
Jacob wrinkled his forehead and looked at me for a second as if to decide whether he should believe me or not, then shook his head. "Alright, if you say so. Maybe you're just hungry." He put his arm around my shoulder and drew me closer. "Let's get some food in you." he chuckled and patted my stomach with his other hand.
The closeness of our bodies was unbearable. I felt like I couldn't breathe, but I didn't want to tell him to let go. What if he thinks I am rude? I'm sure whatever this was, it'll pass.
Jacob was right. I was feeling better after I ate. I probably had low blood sugar or something.
"Let's get out of here. We are going to the bar Francis and I had our first date at. It's pretty nice with pool tables and live bands," Jacob announced.
"Sounds good to me. Are you ready to go, Michael?" Alison looked at me.
"Yeah. Just a warning, I am terrible at playing pool," I said.
Jacob lightly punched my shoulder from across the table. "You're in luck. I am a pro at pool so just stick by me, Kid. I'll show you the ropes." He offered me a friendly smile.
"I look forward to it," I said and exhaled sharply.
JACOB I looked at Michael and wondered what was wrong with him. He had been acting kind of strange, and his face and neck kept turning red. Maybe he was getting sick. Earlier, when I went to the bathroom to check on him, he said he was fine, but I wasn't convinced. So I decided to keep an eye on him. But he seemed to act normal the rest of the evening after we arrived at the bar. I ordered us a round of drinks and split into two teams for the pool. "Michael's on my team since I promised to teach him how to play," I announced and slapped him on the shoulder. "Go ahead and steal my boyfriend, why don't you?" Alison rolled her eyes. "I know how you feel, sister," Francis joked. "Is that okay with you, Mike?" I looked at him and winked. Michael gave me a shy smile. "It's cool." We played a few rounds, and wow...Michael wasn't kidding when he said he was bad at it. He was absolutely terrible.
MICHAEL Shit... I didn't mean to react the way I did when Jacob touched me. And judging by the look on his face, I knew I had offended him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to..." I started to apologize, but he interrupted. "No, it's okay. I understand. I shouldn't have touched your face like that. It was just a natural reaction, and I didn't mean anything by it," Jacob smiled, but he still looked hurt. "No Jacob. I'm serious. I didn't hate it when you...uh...checked my temperature," I let out a nervous chuckle. He smiled at me. His green eyes were sparkling under the moonlight. "So you liked it?"
MICHAEL I haven't seen Jacob since the day I almost died. I needed an excuse to see him again, but I didn't know how to bring it up to Alison. I wanted to thank him properly. But I couldn't tell her directly that I wanted to hang out with him. For some reason, I felt awkward asking. I got another chance to see him after a week or so. I guess you could say the opportunity practically fell on my lap. Alison came over to hang out with me in my dorm, and we started to make out. She slipped her hand inside my shirt and caressed my body while I had my fingers tangled inside her hair. She moaned against my mouth as I skillfully sucked on her lower lip. Alison always praised me for being an amazing kisser, but I swear I didn't practice on apples. It came naturally to me. "Michael... it's about to be three months since we started dating. Don't you think we should go on the...um...the next level?" Alison said in a hoarse whisper after I broke the kiss.
MICHAEL "Isn't this beautiful?" Jacob said and pointed at the antique bookshelf in front of us. He had stars in his eyes like he had just discovered the national treasure. To be completely honest, this was the ugliest thing I've ever seen in my entire life, but I kept my mouth shut. "Oh...yeah...gorgeous!" I said instead. No reason to hurt the man's feelings. "I'm thinking two of us can easily carry this to the truck. You look like you work out," he said and looked me up and down. Oh, so he noticed. "I can handle it," I said. I may have overestimated my strength just a little bit because I spent the next few hours regretting my life decisions. Moving the ugly shelf turned out to be a major pain in the ass. I was sweating, wheezing, and wishing for someone to put me out of my misery even though I was only lifting one side while he lifted the other. I wondered how he was doing. I somehow managed to live w
JACOB I only wanted to mess with him. Michael seemed to be the kind of person who was easy to tease. I mean...his reactions were adorable. After spending a few hours with him, my suspicion of him being homophobic disappeared. There was no way he had an ounce of hatred in his heart. When I was roughhousing with him, his reactions were just as expected. He was having fun and taking it lightly, not disgusted by me because I was a man who flirted with him. What I didn't expect was the response I got from between his legs as I pressed against his body. What in the hell happened? "Hey, Michael...did you just..." "I GOT A GO TO THE BATHROOM!" Michael shouted and pushed me off of him, then ran inside the bathroom at speed I didn't think was humanely possible. I was too stunned to react fast, so I just sat on the ground for a hot minute, then slowly got up to check on him. I got to confront the kid. Maybe it was nothing
ALISON Michael had been acting weird lately, and I can pinpoint the day it started. He had been acting strange and distant ever since I invited him to the family dinner. It seemed like he was nervous the entire time and couldn't wait to leave, especially around my brother Jacob. That's right. He had been acting especially weird around Jacob. At first, I thought it was because Jacob was scaring him. But that's not it because he jumped at the opportunity to help Jacob out when he asked. Why would you be so eager to help someone you scared off? Was he trying to kiss Jacob's ass? But why? It's not that we need his permission to date! He brushed me off when I tried to ask and was all flustered. "Do you think Michael has been acting different lately?" I asked one of my best friends, Lisa, as she took a big bite of her sandwich. Lisa was in the same class as Michael and me, and sometimes, we had lunch together. She always tol
MICHAEL Oh crap. I think I might've messed things up with Alison. She invited me over for a nice dinner. And then, she was all over me wearing that sexy outfit, but I... I couldn't do it. I wasn't turned on by her this time. I think I need to go ahead and accept the fact that I wasn't attracted to Alison anymore. But why? It wasn't that I didn't think she wasn't pretty anymore. She is still one of the sexiest girls I've ever met, but somehow that didn't matter to me anymore. My mind was somewhere else. Where was my mind, you ask? Somewhere where it shouldn't be. I kept thinking about Jacob. I still remember his warm breath fanning my skin when he leaned over. The way his bright green eyes bored into mine. I've never seen such beautiful eyes. At least not on a man. And when he almost kissed me, I was excited. Not disgusted or embarrassed. The anticipation was giving me butterflies in my stomach and I eagerly waited for our lips
MICHAEL I felt that familiar fluttery sensation in my stomach as I felt Jacob's presence behind me. Why did he have to surprise me all the time? And how did he walk around so silently? I thought he was a former army range and not a goddamn ninja. "Jacob, hi. What are you doing here?" I let out a nervous laugh. I looked him up and down. He looked damn good. Or maybe I was crushing on him even harder now that I found my newfound feelings for him. "It's the weekend and this bar is popular. What are you doing here all alone? Where is Alison?" Jacob asked. "She is busy," I lied. "I see. Well, I'm glad you're here. Now I don't have to drink alone." He chuckled and ordered us more drinks. I was already tipsy and usually went home before I got too drunk, but I wasn't about to give up the chance of getting drunk with my first man crush! "Ni...nice sweater. Is that cashmere?" I said. God, Michael...could you be more awkward?