Chapter Six
Jake’s
inner voice nagged him on the walk over to Rose Hall. He’d parked at his dorm
and used the walk across campus to clear his head.
So
many thoughts bounced around. The loudest one centered on the fact he was about
to be alone with Michael. That terrified and excited him simultaneously.
Ultimately,
even if this was a big joke, it was still a spectacular day. The guy he’d been
crushing on had kissed him multiple times. He wanted those warm, soft lips back
on his. Michael even showed up at the park to make sure Jake had his address.
Who does that? It was a costly way to deliver a message.
It
was late on a Saturday night and the sound of conversation, laughter, and music
filled the second floor. Not unexpected, but more than Jake wanted after a day
of sensory overload. Several doors were open, and people milled around, going
from room to room. Jake was certain that everyone scrutinized him, wondering
why he was there.
The
inner voice encouraged him to bail out, but he stuck with it until he stood in
front of room 219.
Jake
anxiously ran his fingers through his hair before giving two sharp knocks on
the door.
“Hey!”
Michael’s enthusiasm was evident in his wide smile as he stood in the doorway.
“I wasn’t sure you’d show up, but I’m glad you did.” He stepped aside. “Come on
in.”
“After
you turned up at the park, I had to come.”
Jake
entered and immediately loved what Michael and his roommate had done with their
room. It had a comfortable feel, with lamps casting warm glows rather than the
harsh light from the overhead fluorescent bulbs. They also covered the plain laminate
floor with rugs, and lots of shelves and cabinets lined the room for storage. A
laptop stood open on the desk with Fire Island paused.
“It
was worth the cost of admission,” Michael said as he closed the door. “It was
cool watching you. Do you do that every day?”
“It
depends. Some days I’m in the Lair, some days I’m out in the park.” Jake held up
the paper bag he’d brought. “I have food if you’re hungry.”
“You
didn’t have to do that.”
“There
are always leftovers once the park closes. The staff gets first dibs, and they
donate the rest to shelters in the city.”
“Well,
I can always eat. What do you have? We can spread it out here.”
Michael
went to the desk and closed the laptop, piling it on top of a few books before
moving everything to a shelf above.
“That’s
a great movie you were watching,” Jake said. He set the bag down and opened it.
“Yeah.
I leave it on a lot for background because it’s so funny, and I love Noah and
Will’s story.”
“Me
too! I love how they are all I hate you at the start, to the big gesture
at the end.”
Jake
hadn’t expected to go from talking about superheroes earlier in the day to a
romantic comedy. Just one more thing to love about this guy.
Michael
peered over Jake’s shoulder. “Something smells good.”
“That’s
the chili.” Jake pulled out a container and opened the lid, so more of the
spicy aroma could fill the room. “I’ve got the makings for some chili cheese
fries.”
Next
he pulled out something wrapped in foil, and a zip-top bag with shredded
cheese.
“I
also snagged a couple of giant cookies, one peanut butter and one
snickerdoodle.”
Michael
took the peanut butter and examined it. “When you say giant, do you mean for a
giant? This could be an entire meal.”
Jake
snickered. “You do not know how many stomach aches I’ve witnessed from parents
letting their kids eat those in one sitting.”
“That
would’ve been me when I was younger.” Michael turned to another shelving unit
next to the desk. “Let’s put the fries on here so we can pour the chili over
and heat it up?” He held out a plastic plate.
“Perfect.”
Jake dumped the fries on the plate, and poured the chili over them. “How much
cheese?”
“Can
there be too much?”
“We
agree on that.” By the time Jake finished shaking the cheese onto the chili, it
was completely coated.
Michael
raised a cabinet door to reveal a microwave. He took the plate from Jake and
put it in. It beeped as he set the timer and hit start.
“Where
did you get that cabinet? It’s better than anything I’ve ever found for my
room.”
“I
made them.” Michael kept watch on the melting cheese as if what he’d said was
the most normal thing.
“Incredible.”
Jake took another look around the room and noticed more shelves, cabinets and
even the headboards for the beds.
“Diego
and I never found anything to make the room the way we wanted it.” Michael
stopped the microwave, pulled out the cheesy chili fries, and set them on the
desk. “Before Christmas break, we took measurements, and I built everything
with my mom. We installed it when we came back.”
“You’ve
got serious skills.” Jake ran his hand over the headboard on the bed nearest
him, admiring the smooth finish.
“My
mom’s a furniture maker, so I had an outstanding teacher.” Michael opened the
mini fridge that was tucked into the same unit the microwave was in. “What do
you want to drink? I’ve got water, root beer, and Pepsi. There’s orange juice
too, but I don’t think that goes with this.”
“OJ
definitely doesn’t go. I’ll take a root beer.”
Michael
pulled out two. “Root beer for the win! Diego mocks me for keeping a stash. Not
everyone appreciates it.”
“Other
than coffee in the morning, water and root beer are my go to drinks.”
“Even
more in common than I could’ve imagined.”
Michael
handed over the bottle. His fingers lightly grazed Jake’s as he took it. Warmth
spread through him from the slight sensation of the touch. Jake met Michael’s
eyes and Michael’s gentle smile only added to the moment.
“We
should eat before this gets cold,” Jake said, breaking the moment. He had never
felt this way before and while he wanted to savor it, he also didn’t want to
have the sensation overwhelm him.
“Yeah,
man. You can grab Diego’s desk chair and bring it over.”
Jake
got the chair while Michael set out paper plates and plastic forks. They each
got a helping of fries and sat down. They were face to face, with just enough
space between them that their knees didn’t touch.
“These
are good,” Michael said after a couple of bites. “The chili is kind of
perfect.”
“Yeah.
I really like it. It’s one of the main things I eat once it cools off in the
fall because it’s so good.”
“So,
listen,” Michael said. Jake wondered what was coming next because it couldn’t
be good. “I owe you an apology for this afternoon. I—”
“You
do?” Jake interrupted.
Michael
nodded. “Yeah. I told you that no one could see how built you were under those
baggy clothes as if what you were doing was wrong. That wasn’t right.”
“It’s
okay.”
“It
really isn’t. I shouldn’t have made a comment like that.”
“I’ve
worn baggy clothes for a long time because I don’t feel comfortable otherwise.”
Michael
opened his mouth but Jake went on before he could speak.
“So,
you’re next question is how do I wear that tight superhero costume? It’s just
different. I become Fire Force. I’m not just me anymore.”
Michael
nodded and munched on some fries.
“It
took a lot for me to be able to change in the locker room at the park, but
that’s gotten easier since I know my co-workers pretty well.”
“I
should’ve stepped out while you were changing before the party. But I also
really wanted to see you.”
“I’m
glad you stayed.” Jake locked eyes with Michael. “We got to kiss and I’ve
wanted that for a long time.”
“Me
too.” Michael kept his gaze fixed. “When I walked into lit the first day, I
noticed you. You were doing something on your phone and you smiled. You’ve got
this quirk to your smile, and the bit of a dimple that happens right here.”
Michael touched his face just to the left of his mouth. “It’s so cute. It gets
me every time. I hated sitting in front of you because it kept me from seeing
it as often as I wanted.”
Jake
didn’t know how to react. No one had said anything like that to him before.
“Oh
my, God. There it is.”
With
a nervous laugh, Jake buried his face in his hands. “Well, here’s the thing.”
Jake looked back to Michael. “I noticed you too. The very handsome guy with the
very muscular legs that, as far as I’ve ever noticed, are never in pants.”
Jake
saw no hint in Michael of the embarrassment he’d felt a moment ago from being
complimented. “I am very much a proud shorts and T-shirts guy.”
The
conversation paused as they ate more.
Michael
picked up the conversation again after they’d each had a few bites. “I thought
about tracking you down with the student directory, since I never talked to you
much in class because I could never get the courage up to do that. But that
seemed too much like stalking. I figured our paths would cross again, although
I always thought it would be on campus.”
“Maybe
it was just the right time for us to run into each other again. It could be the
start of a rom-com. The two guys who didn’t say much to each other when they
first met, get a second go around.”
“Would
you prefer a rom-com or superhero romance?”
“Romance
in a superhero story is hard since the love interest usually ends up in peril,
or worse.” Jake looked thoughtful for a moment. “Although there is a Superman
comic where the son of Lois and Clark, a Superman in his own right, has a
boyfriend whose also got powers. So...”
“Can
I kiss you?”
The
question came out of nowhere. Jake looked at the desk, at the food, down at
himself, at the door, before finally at Michael. He wasn’t sure what he was
looking for, since he knew the answer he had to give.
He
nodded.
Michael
took Jake’s hand as he stood. Jake rose, his heartbeat increasing. Michael
stepped forward, closed the space between them, and planted a soft kiss on
Jake’s lips.
Jake
couldn’t hold back a moan. He’d thought about the earlier kisses all during his
shift, and how they were doing it again. Michael was the best kisser.
Michael
continued peppering him with small kisses. Jake finally leaned in and went for
a longer one, smooshing their lips together as Michael ran his hands slowly
over Jake’s back.
Jake
pulled Michael closer, pressing himself against his muscular chest. Michael’s
body radiated heat as he deepened their passionate kiss.
After
a moment, Michael pulled back just enough to look at Jake while staying in
their embrace.
“Maybe
we should’ve made out before we ate the chili fries?”
“I’m
not sure it matters since we both ate them.” Jake stole a couple more kisses.
“True.
And chili tastes pretty good on you.”
“You
too.”
“Do
you think we could take this further?”
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