new-adventures-with-older-brother-22

Subject: New Adventures with Older Brother Part 22 Disclaimer � This story is a work of fiction, and depicts incestual sexual action between teen boys. If you are uncomfortable with that, or live in a community where that material is forbidden, please stop reading. Don’t forget, Nifty is a great resource, so please fty/donate.html I got a lot of mixed responses about the twist this story is taking! I’m glad so many of y’all are invested enough to care that deeply about my story! Email any comments or critiques to ail . I’m always enjoying the feedback from readers. Chapter 22 � Phoenix Down Sleep did not come easily last night. Nothing did… I laid around listless in our… Shit… My bedroom. Fucking damn it… MY Bedroom, just… watching the night slowly pass by. I heard my brother storm back out to his truck and the squeal of screeching tires as he drove off. Deep down, I knew he wasn’t going to come back. Not after… Well, all of that. The yelling, the fighting, hell… Me fucking punching him. I knew better than to expect anything after that: my brother is a nice guy (well, was…), but he is also a prideful one… A disrespect on that level? Of that caliber? He was not going to take lightly. Which is why he probably drove off. Scared of what he might do. It would only make everything worse… Well, worse than it already is. I can’t… I can’t believe he’d up and fucking leave like that though. After everything we’ve gone through. All the good and bad, he’d just give up and take the easy way out. Wouldn’t take any of my ideas or suggestions, just thought “hey, fuck your world, I’ll take what I want and ditch because it got complicated.” * THUD * FUCK! I punched the wall, still fucking angry… but that was a bad idea. My entire hand was still sore from colliding with Be- HIS jaw… I can’t even say his gawd damn name! He’s like my fucking Voldemort now. It just hurts… Everything hurts… I winced, tears pooling in my eyes… Damn it! Shit, I know I didn’t help it, hindsight is fucking 20/20. But I felt cornered… I felt I had to fight for what we had. Even if it meant hurting the person I love, I had to. No way I was going to give up, even if I had a sliver of a chance of keeping my brother… my boyfriend… my best friend… my… fuck… My thoughts kept swirling in my head, filled with new words, new promises, new ways I could keep him. Then I double back, hating his guts, like a sexy modern day Judas Iscariot. Stabbing me in the back for some fucking silver. Well, dollars, but still! Money over his own flesh and blood and heart and soul… I tossed and turned, anger and regret flooding through my every thought and vein like black tar, sinking and drowning everything in it’s assured destruction of everything in me. My body yearned to go to the bottom bunk… to HIS bunk, but… I can’t. There’s nothing there to keep me warm, nothing there to sate my growing, consuming, eternal desperation… Damn it all to hell. Damn him, and damn everything! * KNOCK KNOCK* “Honey?” Mom broke me out of my fit of despair, and I realized it was 7 in the morning… This day is just going to suck. I don’t thin k I can run on fumes at this point… “Ugh… Yes, mom?” “I’m gonna make breakfast, did you want to help? You always love flipping the pancakes.” Do I want to? Or stew in my anger? Let my anger ferment?… Bake it into an anger pie? Break some anger eggs, make an anger omelet? Damn it… I’m hungry. Whatever, I’ll mope later. I come out of our-… MY room, and greeted with the sizzling of bacon. Thanks Mom… You know the best medicine is always food. “Oh… You look awful.” “Sorry… Rough night.” I looked down at my bare feet, just… “It’s fine, sweetheart. Go get a bowl and the pancake mix and get that ready for me, I’m about to start the eggs.” So we stood there, working on our breakfast, silent to the elephant in the room. Hell, the fucking giant whale that ate the elephant in the room… Part of me feels compelled to fucking spill my guts, but… I can’t. Mom will get suspicious if I seem so broken up. It would be a trap, or at least, I don’t know how much I could contain if I open the floodgates… Finally, the food was all ready. Mom set out 3 plates… then awkwardly coughed and put it away, realizing what it meant… “Go grab some forks, I’ll get the syrup and OJ.” We sat down… It was weird. Mom was doing her best to not talk about it. The weather, work, summer plans… Anything to avoid the phantom pain. I felt appreciative at least… I couldn’t begin to voice how I feel. “Any plans today?” “Not really… Might just stay home…” “Okay. Well I have a half shift today since Doc wants to spend time with his kids, so I’ll be home around 2. Please call me… Just… Don’t feel bad, okay?” “I’ll try, mom.” “Good… Just don’t… Don’t beat yourself up over what happened. Keep yourself busy and happy. Okay?” “… You’re right, Mom. Thanks.” “Good, now behave. I’ll be back soon!” She gave me a sweet kiss on the forehead and headed out, leaving me alone…. Alone… _ _ _ _ _ * BZZZ * Ughhhhh… * BZZZZZZZZZ * Fuck…. Ugh, no… * BZZZZZZZZZ- SMASH * Stupid alarm. Fuck… Gotta get up, I guess. “Get up off the bed, pal… You got a schedule to keep” I tell myself, trying to motivate the parts of me that are just too damn exhausted to deal with. I peek out the window, but lo and behold… It’s the afternoon at some shitty motel in El Paso. Fuck… I try to pick apart what happened last night… Spent all night and most of the morning driving till I reached this city. My body felt like it was on it’s last legs so I just found some cheap motel and just… passed out. Thank gawd I didn’t hurt myself, at least… I was so (well, still am) pissed as fuck… Everything that went down, just… Sigh, can’t worry about it, I still got like 13 hours left in my drive. The drive is just… long. Frodo would have looked at this fucking trek and said “Fuck no, you can keep your gawd-damn fellowship, I’m gonna stay in the shire and eat all the shit.” Guess I’ll try and sleep a little more then head out. Tried to call my Pa, but I hesitated… I wasn’t in any mood to talk to anyone. I felt empty and exhausted. Should I give up and admit I was wrong? But… I’m not wrong. I made a choice that I thought was good for me. He couldn’t fucking accept it. And lashed out like the crazy selfish cunt that he is. My eyes flooded with the color red again. I felt pissed. Super fucking pissed… Treated unfair and without any sign of respect from my own gawd damn family… STOP IT! Ben, calm down… Just, can’t let it get to me. It’ll only make everything worse. Focus! Guess I’ll just pop in a CD and scream lyrics for another 6 hours on the highway till I lose my voice. Wouldn’t that be a relief… _ _ _ _ _ The next few day pass like a haze: a very dreary, depressed, angry haze. I try to start a few games but all they do is remind me of… well, shit. My eyes glaze over everytime I open a book. It’s like I’m stuck in a dreadful purgatory, with no way out. Mom tried a few times to get me to come out, but other than food, nothing really motivates me to move… It’s like there’s a hole inside me, and nothing can fill it, no matter how much I cram into it. It’s… pure torture. * KNOCK KNOCK * Ugh… What does she want now. I get up to open the the door, but unless its lasagna, I’m not interes- “Hey buddy!” Staring back, I see a familiar smirk peeking back at me through the crack in the door. I’m a little stunned… “Are you going to open the door or should I just stand out here like a jackass?” “Hey, Harry…” I let him in and flee back into the safety of my bed, not very şişli travesti eager to chit-chat… “I see you’ve been spending your summer vacation well.” His voice was drenched in sarcasm, but I could tell where this was going. “It smells rank in here. Do you just jack off and sleep now? Have you heard of a fucking shower?” “Meh.” I know we saw each other like barely 6 days prior on a very fun sleepover, but it feels like years away now. I don’t even know what to talk about. I just want to wallow… “Alrighty, well let’s try this a different way… ” He climbed up to my bed and laid next to me, humming a little tune as he interrupted my shitty sanctuary. “I heard you were being a Sad Susan, so I was asked to come by and get you out of your funk. With force, if necessary.” “Ugh, nooo… Just stop.” I turned away from him, hiding under my blanket. “Nope. Your mom called and said you might need help, and I got nothing better to do, so… Might as well help a friend in need.” “Mom… called you?” “Yep. Now you don’t want to disappoint her, do you? Or make me look like a failure.” He gave me a big smile. “I just… I don’t feel good.” “Tough titties, Army. You aren’t going to let yourself rot in this lame bedroom just because your big bro ran away. Trust me, I know how it feels. Riley is leaving in a month for who knows how long, and I’m gonna be stuck alone at home with no one to fight with.” “But…” “No buts. Accept that it happened, and move on. We all want what’s best for you. Ben did what was best for him, that doesn’t mean he stole your agency or ran away. I told you, he’s a big boy, let him be one.” He grabbed me and held me in a close, tight hug. “I love you, so let’s help get your groove back.” “I’m not a middle age lady named Stella,” I smiled though… Harry was making cracks in my bitter bedrock. “There’s a sequel now. ‘How Armando Got His Groove Back 2: Eletric Boogaloo.'” He smirked. “Nice try. How do you propose we do that?” “Well, we’re too young for bar hopping and clubbing, and I doubt you want to meet guys in the personal ads, so…” I felt stunned. Finding new friends? Yeah that sounds great. But… Meeting new guys with romance in mind? That made me… very anxious. And a little guilty still. I know, I feel betrayed and vindictive as hell, but… Harry looked at me deep in my eyes. “Why are you so beat up about your brother being gone anyway? You’re acting like your first love fell in a well and Lassie couldn’t find them.” “I…” I was at a loss on how to explain how I feel. Especially in a way that Harry wouldn’t immediately suspect us of being together. Sigh. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m your buddy, not your therapist. Sound good?” “… Thank you.” “Don’t thank me. You still got a job to do, dummy. Operation Cheer Up… START!” He got up out of bed and started walking around the room, trying to find something to entertain himself with. He fumbled around in the dresser, pulling out tons of scrap paper. “Are these-?” “All the notes we passed in class? I thought they were funny, so I kept them.” He unfolded the first paper, then just busted out laughing. “Remember this one?” I peeked at it, and saw an exchange we had about our English teacher. I said she looked like someone took a dried up turtle and put it in a floral dress, but he says she looks like Freddy Krueger as a Suburban Mom. Holy fuck, I forgot all these dumb notes. We spent a while, just looking through like the 3 or 4 dozen notes we swapped. Most of them were just mean insults. “Sometimes I wonder if Brady’s parents are cousins. There’s no way he could be that dumb,” or “Mr O’Drake wears so many frilly ascots. Is he gay, or did he rob a gay mans estate sale?” We were kind of sassy, but hey, when you’re bored… Harry found one at the bottom of the stack, smaller than the others, and as he looked at it, his eyes grew big and a smile cracked across his pale face. “Ahhh! Armyyyyyyyy! You kept this a secret from me?!” “Huh?” “It reads: ‘Lee, call me. 281-” “SHUT IT!” I snatched it from his hand. “Oooooh, you sly devil, you have a guys number already! You little skank! Guess you already had your groove back.” He giggled to himself. “No… I never called him.” “Never? Who is he? Was he ugly?” I stared out the window, nostalgia flooding in from that silly night. Seems crazy now… “Remember that night we went to that first show together?” “Yeah. The one where Ben got super fucked up and threw up on things.” I nodded, but hearing Ben’s name made me flinch a little… “Well, the drummer of the opening band came up to me at the bar, and talked to me… We flirted a little, and he gave me his number.” “And you never fucking called him?” “I was… I was busy, you know? School, theater, stuff like that.” “Nah, you were probably scared. Pussy!” He punched me on the shoulder and laughed at me. “Maybe. He was cute. He’s a year older, plays in a band… Seemed way out of my league!” “A dead fish is out of your league, you idiot!” “Hey… Tuna loves me.” “At least someone does.” “Fuck you!” I smiled, feeling a lot more at ease. “Well, I’m going to play Cupid…” Harry took out his cellphone and started dialing the number. “NO!” I lept to take it out of his hands, but Harry easily pushed me to the ground and sat on my back to pin me down. “Shhh! It’s ringing!” My heartbeat starts freaking out hard. Damn it! Harry is such an asshole sometimes. “Hello?” A voice erupts over the speaker. “Well, Army… Don’t be rude.” Harry whispered as he gave me his biggest shit-eating grin as he put the phone to my ear, and I just sighed, defeated. “Hey! Is this Lee?” “Yep. Unless this is for girl scout cookies, I don’t want any!” “No! No no no… I’m Armand- Shit, I mean, I’m Army. We spoke a few months back, you gave me your number?” “Hmmm?” “We flirted a little at a show. You liked my shirt because it was a band you liked… Uhh… ” I racked my brain for more details that would trigger his memory. “You… made fun of me for being short.” “OH! Now I got you. Dark hair, short, cute, glasses. What’s up, man?” His voice sounded happy at least. Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea. “Well…” I didn’t know what to say. Fuck fuck fuck, he’s just going to think I’m as lame as I really am. Harry punched my arm again and sternly mouthed “ASK HIM OUT.” What do I got to lose… “What are you doing tonight?” “My schedule says it’s pretty packed. Get some taco bell, watch some porn, and pass out.” I giggled. “Sounds like a busy night.” “Funny guy! If you wanna get dinner, I think I can pencil you in.” You could hear his smile over the phone. My heart started to relax. This isn’t a train wreck that I was expecting, at least. “Really? Wouldn’t want you to miss Back Door Sluts 9. Heard it’s really good.” “Ehh, I’d rather make time for a cute guy…” We joked for a while more on the phone before getting a time and place set. Harry just rolled his eyes and just motioned for us to hurry, but fuck him, he made me do this, he’s gonna suffer through our corny jokes. Settling on Asian food at a delicious and cheap hole-in-the-wall. * THWACK * Harry punched me hard on the shoulder, urging me to finish this off. “Alrighty, Lee, see you tonight!” “Later, Short-Stuff.” * Click * A big smile exploded on my face, and Harry mirrored it. “See, I fucking told you!” “No one likes a show off, Harry!” I gave him a big tight hug though, appreciative that he cared, in his own way. I felt fucking… Well, too many things. Happy? Very much. Guilty? Of course. I kept and hid that guys number for months… Anxious? Like fucking hell, beylikdüzü travesti but Harry will help me. Relieved? He said yes! Also… Hungry? The idea of some General Tso’s chicken is making me salivate. I love trashy fake Chinese food. Can you blame me? Hopefully Mom can take me. I know that’s super embarrassing, but I don’t have any options. “Did you want me to take you to your fancy new date?” Harry suggested outloud, as if he read my mind. “You got a car now?” “Sort of. Once Riley officially moves, she’s leaving her car here so I can use it!” “Damn, that’s great!” “Plus I can pick you up for class too, since I need someone to talk to and get breakfast tacos with.” “You are the bestest friend a guy could ask for. School rides, breakfast tacos, and being a great wingman? From a gay Canadian bully-nerd, who could have guessed?” We planned out the evening around my sudden new date. Harry would drop me off, I would eat and be charismatic and probably spill a drink on myself and die of embarrassment during the date, while he would be a few blocks down at some Guitar store for an hour. Can’t believe this is happening… _ _ _ _ _ I pull up to my apartment, tired after another day of training and working… It’s been almost a week since I got into this new city and haven’t had a chance to fuck around or do anything. Hell, I barely have time to make myself a damn pack of ramen and climb into my half-assed bed. Thanks, Pa, IKEA is definitely my idea of comfort. Fucking asshole. There’s not a damn thing to do in this place. I have to wait for a paycheck for what Pa considers “luxuries.” Like a fucking TV. The dickhead can sit at home and watch futbol all day, but me having something to do in this hell hole is too out of the question. I wanted to kick his ass so bad, but I couldn’t… He has this whole damn job and house situation to hold above me. I hate being the bitch in this scenario. Even my food situation is just trash. Cheap shit… Ramen, Spahgetti-O’s, Wolf brand Chili, and tons of bread and deli meats. I miss Ma’s cooking already… I sit down on my… Whatever those Swiss bastards called it… A Recliner with a fucking umlaut in the damn name, and just sigh loudly, alone, in this gawd forsaken apartment. But the universe, probably out of pity, decided to give me some company… * RING * It’s Ma… Do I answer? Do I want to answer? We haven’t spoken at all since I left… I don’t know. Fuck. Might as well. “Hello?” I hear her voice crackly over the speaker as I get up to start making dinner. I hesitate, like a sour frog called guilt was stuck in my throat. “Ben… I know you’re there, I can hear your heavy foot steps. You walk like an elephant.” Fuck, I smiled. I can’t help myself. “Hey, Ma…” “There you are. How’s everything? You move in fine?” “Yeah,” I put some water in a pot and set it to boil, and I lean against the wall of my super tiny kitchen. It’s like a closet with a fucking oven… “Pa decided he would help me, then left after helping with my bed only… Asshole.” “Well, that’s your father.” She giggled to herself. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.” “Eh, it’s fine…” I look at the boxes, the weight of their desire to be free and sat on or have shit shoved in them hitting me in the gut. Guess I won’t be able to do anything fun this weekend. Gonna be busy building a bookcase despite having no books and a tv shelf despite having no TV. “How’s work?” Damn it, Ma, I don’t wanna talk. I wanna wallow… “It’s good. I’m learning a lot and I’m picking up on shit pretty fast. My boss said he thinks I’ll be good to start doing stuff on my own starting next week.” “I’m proud of you, honey. I knew you’d be good at it, you always were pretty good at technical stuff. It’s a great fit.” “Yeah…” Silence laid itself over the phone… I knew she wanted me to ask, but I couldn’t bear the thought… I can’t even think about him… It hurts too much. The whole drive over here was… fucked. Super fucked. I just couldn’t escape my own rage and bitterness and shame, no matter how many states I drove through or how fast I drove. HE was always on my mind… “Well, I hope you meet some new friends and get settled soon, I know this is tough on you. Your brother…” A gunshot through my heart. Fuck. “… He’s been silent this whole week. I had to ask Harry to help because I couldn’t get him to do anything. But that did the trick.” Good ol’ Harry, being a better friend and brother than I could to him. “I hope Army finally gets the guts to ask him out. I’m tired of watching them skirt around it! Though, they were talking about dinner together and giggling alot like some Catholic School Girls at their first dance, maybe he’ll stop moping around the house and actually have some fun!” Wait… what?! “Ask him out? You… know?” I was stunned. “That my son is gay? Yeah, I’m old, not blind, honey.” She giggled to herself again, seemingly proud of her keen skills in observation. “Surprised y’all didn’t tell me, since apparently you knew too.” “He… didn’t really seem eager to tell anyone else.” I felt so uncomfortable talking about him. “Anyway, Ma, I gotta go, but I appreciate the call. I’ll hit you up this weekend, let you know how it’s going.” “That’s fine, honey. Have a good night.” * Click * Ugh. Maybe Harry wasn’t the best choice as a helper if… he just up and… replaced me? Harry would be better than me. Smarter, funnier, not a total asshole… No, that’s unfair to think like that. No one is being replaced or acting out of spite. Well, my feelings are, but I’m a jealous asshole. But Harry has 0 interest in my brother, so I doubt it means anything. Still… I feel this heat in my chest. I can’t stand it. But I have no dang distractions! No TV, no games, no music, not even a fucking spare dollar to rent a damn movie from some run down Blockbuster! Why does it keep feeling that I made a terrible choice? Threw everything away just to end up eating ramen and watching paint dry because I just had to make this choice suddenly, with no prep. Just the clothes on my back and some underwear in a bag. This is so damn stupid! Why did I let Pa sucker me into this! Feel’s like a badly furnished prison… Fuck! I’m just so pissed! I gotta- * THUD * OW! Fucking damn it! Stupid fucking IKEA bed frame is hard as fuck. Can’t even punch a hole in some gawd damn furniture. What is wrong with me… I need a paycheck… And to get laid… And to get a gawd damn TV. Anything to get away from this shit… _ _ _ _ _ My nerves felt like they were anticipating a fucking earthquake. Hell, I felt the whole works. Pit in my stomach that also had very hyper butterflies, my hands had little tremors as gripped and fiddled with my clothes to make sure I looked presentable, I kept blinking too much… I hope I’m not sweating too much! Harry said I looked fine, but it’s getting worse by the second. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Would it be too much to run and catch up with Harry so I can just go home? Oh, there’s a big cardboard box there… Maybe I can hide inside it! Those are always safe to hide in! Then I can just… sneak away, run away from all this and- “Army?” Fuck, I’m caught! I should have jumped in that box… “Oh, heyyyyyyy….” I turned to face my captor. It had been half a year since we last saw eachother, but I recognized the goofy crooked smile and the deep dark eyes first. His hair is a little longer, styled a little more spikey in the front. Still tall and still scruffy, Lee held out his hand like the first time we met and I shook it, strong and sturdy, trying to hide my nerves. Though he probably felt my sweaty-ass palms. Fuck, this is such a bad idea… But I istanbul travesti look at his smile again, back into his deep eyes, his handsome face… And I feel a little calmer. Maybe the fact that he didn’t stand me up? Or the fact he’s still distractingly handsome. “Dude, it’s been a while. How’ve you been?!” “Great, great. Just finished up my sophomore year. You?” He started walking into the restaurant, and I had to remind my legs to actually function. “Just fine. I just got done with my Junior one. And my band’s been getting some good gigs. No more wedding parties for these losers.” He laughed to himself, deep and bass-y. “Oh man, the food smells so good!” “I know!” I smiled, blushing. The hostess led us to a nice booth in the far corner, and we sat, trying to find time to look at the menu inbetween just staring at one another… This sort of magnetism that draws our eyes to just look and smile. “I’m surprised you reached out after so long… Thought you were just being nice, then tossed my number in the first trash can you found. I mean, I wouldn’t blame you.” He looked down, trying to play off his insecurity with some self-deprecation. I felt bad… “No! No no, that’s wrong. I’ve just… It’s been a busy time. You know? School especially.” “Ha, no surprise you’re a huge nerd. At least you’re cute.” He blushed away as he said it. Guess flirting doesn’t come natural to him. “I’m surprised you said yes, honestly. You’re in a band, don’t you get a lot of guys asking you out?” “I think I told you this before, not a lot of guys ‘out’ in this scene. And if they are, they aren’t good ones. It’s not a pretty scene sometimes, but hey, it’s home.” He shrugged. “Guess that makes you one of the good ones?” “Aww, maybe. I’m not a druggie nor do I sleep around a lot. So yeah… maybe.” I watched him put his finger to his lips, thinking. “Well, I mean, I’m a lazy pothead a lot of the time, but that’s not bad.” “Oh really?” “That doesn’t bug you… does it?” He gave me a stern look… Guess that’s been a deal breaker for other guys. I never thought about it before. Drinking and smoking all seemed like stuff cool kids and functioning adults did. Never really put a lot of stock in all that D.A.R.E. and war on drugs shit. “Not unless there’s a reason it should?” I honestly wasn’t sure. Lazy pothead can range from smokes and likes to watch TV to literally stays in bed all day, I guess? “Nah, but some people think I just lay in bed all day, smelling like shit.” Right on the nose there, big guy. I laughed to myself, and I think he knew that’s where my mind went, since he gave me a big smile. “See? Can’t escape that dumb stereotype.” The night went on like a normal nice date. Questions were asked, embarrassed answers were meekly provided. Food came and went, he paid for both of us like a sweet gentleman. It was delicious too. I had some General Tso’s chicken on some lo mein, like a basic bitch, while Lee ordered some sweet and sour chicken, also like a basic bitch. Even after they took away our plates and were sternly suggesting dessert, we just ignored them and kept on talking. ” – And that’s how my band wrote our first song, talking about jacking off in public bathrooms.” “Oh, that explains the title ‘White Stalls and Empty Balls.'” I giggled. Something about the juvenile pop-punk songs that are still upbeat and catchy makes it fun. “I remember really like your set when y’all performed. It was really fun.” “Thanks. It was like our 2nd or 3rd time performing in a real place with other real bands. Usually its like DIY places like someone’s basement or shit like that, so we were fucking nervous.” “I couldn’t tell. You came up to me and immediately started flirting with me, so I thought you were exuding confidence. Or maybe it was just all the sweat…” “Hey, I sweat a lot!” He put his hand to his chest, pretending to be offended. “You try drumming on stage, you’ll be drenched after 1 song!” “Maybe… Or maybe I got good stamina.” “Oh? I’d like to take that stamina for a test run.” Lee gave me a very sly wink. My heart beat loudly in my chest… Even the insinuation of dirty talk has got me on edge. I couldn’t even think of a clever response, I just stood there, sipping my drink like a dummy. Lee seemed to had noticed the awkward pause. “Just kidding… Maybe. You’re pretty cute, you look like a guy who has a sweet side and a dirty sexy one. Who knows.” He shrugged. “Like a slutty Two-Face?” I asked, unsure what felt right. Play along? Or reserve myself. “You’d look great in a half tux, half thong thing.” He laughed. “Half cut, half uncut?” “Nah, just full uncut.” I answered before I even thought about what I was saying. “Nice! I’d never met a guy who’s intact before. Hope I can take it for a test run.” There’s that wink again. “…” Damn it! Fuck it! Gonna have me some fun… “With how this date is going, it’s not out of the cards just yet.” I winked back. “Hey guys!” Harry popped up from around the corner and waved at us. Worst timing, there, bud… “Oh, hey…” I look at the wall and see the clock. “Fuck, Harry, I’m so sorry… Didn’t mean to make you wait.” “It’s fine,” He took a seat next to me at our booth, grabbing my box of left overs and opening it to take a bite. “I knew you’d probably get caught up flirting.” Harry smirked at me and turned to look at my date. “I’m Harry, by the way. Chauffeur for the evening.” “And I’m Lee, the date for the evening.” He gave a hearty chuckle, “Nice to meet you.” “Same.” Harry turned to me. “I see why you kept his number, he’s cute.” “Speak for yourself, Legolas.” Lee complimented back. Dear lord. “Hey! This is my date, get your own cute guy, Harry.” “Nah, if it wasn’t for me you’d never even had…” He looked at the absolute anger in my eyes, and changed course, knowing it wasn’t going to end well if he finished that sentence. “Fine! You ready to go?” “I think so.” I turn to look at Lee, who’s smile had not left his face this whole time. “Wanna do this again some time?” “Sure thing, Army boy.” He winked at me. “Let me at least walk my date out, though. That okay, Harry?” Harry sighed but walked away to the front door. Lee stood up and held out his hand. I grabbed it, warm and gentle… We walked outside into the warm night, the moon starting to peek out above us between the dark evening clouds. Lee took a deep long look into my eyes again, and I found myself lost again… I stood on my tiptoes and leaned my head up, and his lips joined mine in a deep kiss, filled with longing, remorse, bitterness, anger, and passion… I gripped him hard, as if I was losing balance. A rush of just pure lust poured through my body, like adrenaline… * HONK * Ugh, damn it Harry. I was having a moment. Such a cockblocker. “Get a room, you horny losers.” He shouted out from the driver’s window. “Sure. Wanna find a nice dark room, Lee?” I smiled, devilishly. “Noooope! Not gonna let you be a ho.” Harry stepped out of the car and grabbed me, shoving me into the back seat. “Nice meeting you, Lee.” “You too.” He waved at us as Harry got back into the driver’s seat. “Don’t forget to call me this time.” “I’ll think about it… Maybe.” I smiled as we drove off into the night, silence permeating through the car… Staring out the window, I couldn’t help but feel… weird. No idea how to describe it, but… It was off-putting. The kiss was wonderful, and the date itself was great, yet… I shook my head. Stop over-thinking it. You aren’t gonna be held back because someone decided to fuck you over. Enjoy the feeling of love and romance and courtship and a new found glory, not mope around because you got dumped! Yet… I look at the palms of my hands, and notice 4 deep red marks in them… What’s wrong with me? Hurting myself with my nails from clenching my fists too hard. Damn it, you fucking bastard… You leave for California, and take my fucking sanity with you… End of Chapter 22. Thanks for reading!