Date: Sun, 26 Feb 2006 19:18:49 -0800 (PST)
From: Tiffani Chin <eliteecrew@verizon.net>
Subject: Jumping Over My Mountain, Chapter 1

Disclaimer: This story is copy right protected. Please do not post it on
any other website. If you are not 18 or male on male action offends you, do
not continue further. Email me EliteECrew@verizon.net for any kind of
feedback.


Jumping Over My Mountain


(Crew's point of view)

***

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, shit!"

I saw the guy in front of me lose his balance and crash in slow motion, his
board knocking around carelessly. His foot popped out of the straps and was
haphazardly swinging around. I shifted my weight to maneuver my board
around him, who was now splayed out on the snow. I deftly passed the guy
and cut to the left sharply, spraying up snow as I did so. I felt my
stomach muscles tightening and that familiar burning that comes from
overexertion beginning to creep up on me. I ignored it however, and
continued down the mountain at lightening speed, enjoying the blur of
people as I passed them.

My muscles were limber and relaxed and I was in the state of mind where I
didn't care about anything but just having a good time and snowboarding, as
I listened to the Green Day lyrics blasting through my IPOD headphones.

"I walk a lonely road, The only one I that have ever known, Don't know were
it goes, But its home to me and I walk alone, I walk this empty street, On
the Boulevard of broken dreams, Where the city sleeps, And I'm the only one
and I walk alone"

"I walk alone, I walk alone, I walk alone, I walk a..."

I was coming closer to the end of the mountain and I felt my earpiece
headphones slipping slightly out of my ear, but luckily my hat and my
Oakley goggle straps held them in place. Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken
Dreams" continued to blast in my ear.

"My shadows the only one that walks beside me, My shallow hearts the only
thing that's beating Sometimes I wish someone out there will find me, Till
then I walk alone"

I reached the clearing at the end of the slope and I shifted my board
horizontally and snow flew out from under the board as I came to an abrupt
stop right before a group of young kids. I took in large gasps of air,
slightly exerted from my fast run down. I yanked my hat, goggles, and
headphones off, Green Day slowly fading away. I tucked my Ipod snuggly in
my Northface jacket pocket. Suddenly I heard my name being called from
behind me.

"Jamison! Jamison! Hello, Earth to Crew Jamison!!!!"

I turned swiftly around in the direction of the voice calling out to me. I
spotted Skyler Chin and his brother Storm walking beside him. I waved to
both of them as they came closer.

"Hey Crew," Storm said smiling. "Just came down the slope?"

I grinned back. "You know it. Although, I'm feeling a bit winded and I
might have to go home and crash soon."

Skyler chucked. "Getting old, are ya? Man, the big 2-0!" His twin snickered
and joined his brother in the laughter.

I smirked. "Whatever, you're not that far behind. You guys will be 20 in
like, what, 6 months?"

"Hey, hey, hey, now! That's 6 and a HALF months!" Storm exclaimed
emphasizing "half".

"Yeah," Skyler chimed in. "We're still in our teens, as in nineteen. While
you're officially an adult. Have fun with that, sucker!"

I laughed along with them, my melancholy mood rapidly dissipating.

***

Skyler and Storm Chin were two of my closest friends, even though I had
only met them two years ago, right after I turned 18, when I became a
snowboarding instructor. I remember my first day there. I had spoken to the
old manager who had hired me and he told me to go to the baby slope and
that the twins would give me some pointers on how to instruct lessons.

"How will I know who they are?" I asked.

Brady, the manager scratched his white beard. "Trust me you'll know who the
twins are. Just look for two people who look exactly alike and are doing
anything BUT work."

With that he turned around in his swivel chair and continued to rifle
through papers.  That didn't really help me much. What did they twins look
like? Why did he assume that I or anyone else for that matter would
instantly recognize them?

I shrugged and treaded over to the base of the slope and instantly knew who
the twins were. They were wearing the same uniform jacket as I was and
matching black pants. But that wasn't what caught my attention. I
immediately zeroed in on their loud cries and exaggerated actions.

They were pretending to be ninjas and were using their snowboards as
dueling weapons. They were hardly impressive since they were both slipping
and sliding over the snow with their snow boots.  The twin on my right
raised his board over his head and swung it around remarkably fast,
alternating hands quickly. Then with a loud "hi-ya!", he chucked the board
at his brother, who ducked just in time. The snowboard sailed over his head
and landed behind him in the soft snow. A small crowd that had formed to
watch their live action show laughed.

"You shit, that almost hit me!" the brother on the left exclaimed once he
returned to a standing position.

The one on the right just shrugged and laughed. "Yeah, well I wanted to try
something new and keep you on your toes. You should be thanking me for
helping you to sharpen your dull reflexes," he said with a serious
expression on his face. Then two seconds later a large smile appeared and
laughter was spilling from his mouth again.  The guy on the left jumped on
top of him and they both tumbled to the ground, of course laughing.

These must be the infamous twins. Now I understand why Brady said I would
spot them easily. I cleared my throat. "Hey guys," I said loudly in an
effort to get their attention over their loud laughter.

Immediately, the one on top rolled off and both of them stumbled to their
feet.  "Hi, I'm Crew Jamison. I'm new here." I smiled and stuck out my hand
and they both shook it.

"Hey newbie, how's it hanging? I'm Storm." He was the one that lunged at
his brother.

"And I'm Skyler." Skyler being the one that threw the board. "So, you're
J. Crew then? Do you shop there as well? Hey, you could like wear their
clothes and get a free endorsement deal or something because your name
represents their store. OH! And then you can get use free stuff! I love
free stuff, but then again J Crew is too preppy and polished. Maybe for
Storm!" he exclaimed as if all these ideas just suddenly came to him.

Storm was shaking his head. "Dude, one thought at a time. Jeez, you must
have ADD or something."

"Oh, didn't Mom tell you. I finally got my meds in the mail yesterday,"
Skyler said and he burst out laughing again. I really liked his laugh
though; it was more of a loud cackle and giggle, which sounded
obnoxious. But to me it was a great, full of life laugh.

Storm looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Don't mind him. He can't stay
serious for more than a second and all he does is laugh." He straightened
his shoulder. "Obviously, I'm the older one."

Skyler loudly snorted. "Yeah by ten minutes. Its cause your fat ass
couldn't wait to pop out of mom's hole." Then he started to laugh again.

"Don't ever repeat that phrase again, gross!" Storm cried out. Skyler
cackled. "And my ass is not fat. We weigh the same, remember? If my ass is
fat so is yours!" Storm shot at his twin. Skyler only continued to laugh
and I thought I saw tears running down his face. Storm shot one last dirty
look at his twin and then turned to me with a friendly smile. "So, is this
your first day?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I've always loved snowboarding and I kind of need the
money, so I figure this is a good deal. I can work here, make money, and
snowboard. It's a win-win situation."

Storm nodded in agreement. "I hear ya, man. I've been boarding since I was
little and I loved it. So did my bro. He first got the job here when he
turned 16 and he practically forced Brady to hire me too, claiming he
needed help with his meds."

"No shit," I asked smiling broadly. I already liked these guys.

"Yeah, and the funny thing was I already had a decent job working as a
tutor and a cashier at a sports store, but Skyler would not let up on
me. He even came down to my jobs and started bad mouthing me in order to
get me fired. He even said I had herpes and warts and if I stayed around I
would infect everyone! Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore so I just quit
and joined him," Storm recalled. Skyler walked up behind him and wrapped
his arms around his brother and squeezed affectionately.

"Yeah, whatever, I did you a favor. That Samantha was totally hitting on
you and you know how dirty she was. You would have been infected with
something. You should be thanking me," he cupped his hand around his ear
dramatically. "Where's my thank you? Come on, I can't hear you!"

Storm quickly gathered up some snow in a neat snowball and smashed it over
his brother's head. "Hey!" Skyler shouted, shaking his head like a dog to
get the snow out.  Storm and I looked at him in amusement and started
laughing. It only took a second for Skyler to join right in.

***

"So you guys just got here?" I asked, coming back from my flashback down
memory lane. I didn't remember seeing their names on the schedule and I was
always made sure to check for them, even though we were kind of on a set
schedule.

"Yah. We weren't schedule to work or anything, but I wanted to get in some
boarding time. Unfortunately, Skyler was hung over this morning so we
couldn't get here until now. But I like snowboarding at night with the
lamps lit up. It feels more exciting."

I opened my mouth to respond, but Skyler jumped in. "You were hung over
too! You're always trying to blame me for everything," he accused Storm.

"Skyler," Storm said acting as if he were talking to a small child. "I had
two beers at the party. You had five beers, and a whole bottle of vodka."

Skyler pouted. "I didn't drink the vodka by myself. Dave was helping me."

Storm eyed his brother suspiciously. "I thought Dave was passed out on the
couch yesterday before we even got there."

Skyler ignored his brother's pointed stare and changed the subject. "You
leaving Crew?"

I nodded. "I have to. I have tons of work to finish up before Monday."

Skyler groaned. "All you do is work and more work. You have to schedule in
some time for fun," he said gesturing as if he were holding a planner and a
pen. "Life is too short to just do work all the time. I mean what if you
died tomorrow and you would die thinking, oh man, I missed a hot chick's
party."

Storm shot Skyler a sharp look. He draped his arm over my shoulder and
squeezed comfortingly. "Leave him alone Skyler. Not everyone wants to fuck
up their college career, you know. By the way, Mom was mad pissed. You got
an academic notice in the mail. Mom called last night and she said if you
didn't get your act together soon and if she doesn't see some results after
this semester she's pulling you out and sending you to work for Aunt
Jennifer."

Skyler groaned loudly. "I am not a fuck up! I just believe in living life!
Jeez, why is everyone on my back all the time? And what the fuck? Pulling
me out of school and forcing me to work with the Nazi Aunt?"

I smiled so hard my cheeks hurt. Skyler was such a character.

Storm shook his head, but smiled nonetheless at his brother's
antics. "We'll catch you later Crew. Good luck with all that work. Stop by
tomorrow if you want to get some lunch or something." He walked over to
Skyler and they grabbed their boards, heading in the direction of the lift
that would take them to the double black diamonds. Skyler waved and I
watched them disappear.

An hour later I stepped inside the one floor ranch I had live my entire
life in, only now I had ownership of it. I flipped on the switch and
watched as the kitchen was illuminated with light, but as I looked around
all I felt was emptiness. A wave of sadness washed over me and a lump
formed in my throat. I swallowed and pushed it away and instead grabbed my
books and my laptop and started to crank out that paper.

***

"Crap, I'm late!" I yelled to myself as I rolled off my bed and stumbled
into the bathroom, still half asleep. I scrubbed my face quickly with some
soap, dried off and just wore the sweats and shirt I went to bed with the
night before. Luckily, I kept my blond hair buzzed short, so no styling was
necessary.

I slipped on my sneakers, threw on a coat and grabbed my book bag, a bottle
of water, and a protein bar and ran out to my old 97 Honda prelude and
booked it.

I sighed with relief when I parked my car and there were still spaces
available. It was a thirty minute drive to campus, and even though I was
late, I made up for it by weaving and speeding. Luckily there were no cops
around to hand me a ticket. I really didn't need that right now. And I had
ten minutes to spare, so I walked leisurely into the building and took a
seat at the back of the classroom, resting my head on the wall and closing
my eyes.

I had always hated Monday mornings. No scratch that, I loved any day as
long as I wasn't dead tired. Yesterday I had worked at the mountain, and
since I had stayed up late the night before studying and writing my paper,
I came home Sunday night, and did more studying for some upcoming final
exams. By the time I made it to bed it was 1 am. My alarm clock woke me up
but not at the time I originally set it for. I couldn't even take my
morning shower that usually helped me to wake up.

My eyes popped open at the sound of the professor's voice. They felt so
heavy and my head began to ache slightly due to the lack of sleep I've been
missing out on for two years practically, ever since the accident. I rubbed
my eyes and took out my notebook and a pen and prepared to take notes on
the lecture.

"That's all class. Remember that the final exam will be chapters ten to
fifteen. Focus on the main themes and the vocabulary at the end of each
chapter. I'll see you on the exam date in this classroom." Professor Smith
then dismissed us.

I sighed with relief. I somehow managed to make it through this class with
legible notes. And I had already read all the chapters the Professor
mentioned, all I needed to do now was write out the study guide and I was
good to go.

I needed a break and some relaxation. Only two people could give me that. I
whipped out my cell phone. "Hey Storm. I need to chill. You free?"

"Yeah, I was just getting some pizza. Come over in about 15 and kick it."

I smiled. "Ok, I'll be over soon."

"See ya man."

***

I knocked on Storm and Skyler's apartment door and heard Storm shout for me
to come in. I was instantly hit with the smell of pizza and my stomach
growled involuntarily. Then it hit me that I had to eat was that stupid
protein bar. I walked into the kitchen and saw three large pies dripping
with oil and my mouth began to water. I looked at Storm. "How come you have
so many pies?

Storm smiled. "Hey, don't you know Skyler by now? He's a bottomless pit."

I agreed. I once saw Skyler eat two Big Macs, two large fries and three
cups of super-sized sodas. Then he had asked Storm if he could have some of
his friends. I didn't understand how he didn't gain any weight ever.

"Hey can I take a quick shower? I woke up late this morning and I didn't
get a chance to before heading out."

"Sure, you know where the towels and stuff are. Help yourself to whatever."

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks man."

I walked further into their apartment. Even though the Chin brothers went
to Rutgers University, they didn't live in the dorms or even off campus
housing. They chose an apartment relatively close to their Mom's house and
to campus. They tried the whole dorm thing freshman year but didn't room
together and each had bad experiences with their roommates, so they begged
their Mom to let them get an apartment together instead of moving back
home.  "We need to experience the whole independent thing," Skyler
argued. "You can't deprive us of that!"

But then their mom shot back with "Remember that time when you didn't feel
like cooking and Storm had a late class, so you drove here to get some
dinner and then left. Jeez, this isn't a drive through Skyler."

I remember cracking up. I was over their house having dinner when Skyler
sprang that on their mom. After some more pleading, their mom caved in and
agreed to pay their rent and food expenses. Those twins had their mother
wrapped around their fingers. They each had their own expensive ass cars
and didn't have to pay their own insurance or gas money. But then again
their Mom was pretty loaded, she owned a chain of gyms and their father,
their parents were divorced and remained on great terms, was a doctor, and
although they didn't see him much, he made sure to send them a lot of money
monthly. I rarely felt jealous of them because they never made me feel
beneath them and I usually benefited from their wealth, but I was jealous
of their closeness; between them and their mother and even their father who
they didn't see very often. I would give anything to have my family back
and that closeness that I desperately craved since I had lost it two years
ago.

I shook those negative thoughts out of my head. I came here to chill and
relax with my friends so I could recuperate for my final exams. I turned on
the hot water and stripped. I stood under the water spray feeling the
warmth spread through my tired and aching muscles. I closed my eyes and
basked in the enveloping steam.

(Helaku's point of view)

***

"Storm, how much do you think I eat? Are you trying to tell me something?"
I joked.

Storm smiled. "Well I was in the process of ordering when my friend called
and asked to come over. So I needed one pie just for Skyler. And two pies
for the three of us."

I laughed heartily. "Yeah, Skyler is known to clean out the fridge." I
heard the shower running when I took off my coat. "Is Skyler in the
shower?"

As if on cue, Skyler burst through the door. He inhaled a deep breath and
broke out in a grin. "FOOD!" he screamed and brushed past Storm and I
without a word or a glance in our direction and plopped down at the table
and tore a large slice off. He bit off half the slice in his first bite
alone. I stared in amazement.

After Skyler swallowed and he finally spoke to us. "How come so many pies
Storm?"

"I needed enough for Helaku and Crew," Storm explained.

Skyler's eyes lit up, in a way that was so adorable. "Crew? He's coming?"

"No, he's already here. He's in the shower."

Skyler lost interest in the conversation and continued to eat his now
second slice of pizza.

I watched quietly as Storm shuffled around the kitchen, getting plates and
cups for us two have. I marveled at the differences between the brothers.
They're facial features and body types were exactly alike, but other than
that, they were polar opposites. Both standing at an even 6 foot, Storm had
short hair with a little extra on the top so he could spike it up if he
chose to, and Skyler and that longer, shaggy style that was becoming
increasingly popular and the tips were dyed blond. Both were pretty muscled
up and cut, weighing an even 190, from their natural athletic abilities and
sports they involved themselves in. I had even seen them with their shirts
off multiple times. God, they were so hot.  They had no fat on their
bodies, just muscle and skin and the occasional rib bones that pop out in
certain angles. Their six packs were insanely defined and their biceps
super toned with veins running down their forearms.

Even their personal styles were completely different. Storm, contrary to
his name, was more poised, mild mannered, and wore nice sweaters, shirts,
and jeans, typically from Banana Republic. Skyler on the other hand wore
bright colors and paired funny combinations of shirts and sweaters and
funky hats that only he could truly pull off in own his unique style. It
had something to do with his `I don't give a shit about what you think
attitude'. Storm was serious and had just gotten out of a relationship with
his girlfriend of two years, yet they were mature enough to remain
friends. Skyler dated or hooked up with a different girl every other week
or sometimes he just partied with his buds, choosing to live without a
"ball and chain" until he was like, and I quote, eight years old.

They had pale, creamy, smooth zit free complexions, without a trace of
scar, proving that good skin was something they always had based on awesome
genetics. Perfectly arched eyebrows sat on top of large dark brown eyes
surrounded by surprisingly long eyelashes and even white teeth. Hell, if
the twins were gay, I'd jump into bed with them and have a crazy all out
threesome with them.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I was gay. I remembered telling Storm
when I first met him when he joined the recreational basketball team. I
wasn't out to the entire campus or world and didn't flaunt my sexuality,
but I preferred to be honest and upfront, especially with friends. That was
just my style. And for some reason, I got the vibe that Storm would be ok
with my being gay. I turned out to be right.

His response? "That's cool man. No big deal. Wanna play some one on one?"

I was a little shocked, although pleased. Most people needed time to
process it, but he seemed to just brush it off.

"Sure." And that was how our friendship began.


My thoughts were interrupted rudely by Skyler's large belch. Storm glared
at him. Skyler shrugged and gave him an impish smile in return. "You're the
one that loaded up on the Pepsi," Skyler pointed out.

"Only because you start crying if you don't have your soda; for heaven's
sake Skyler, it wouldn't hurt for you to drink a little more water."

"Hey! I was not crying because of the lack of soda. I told you, I had
allergies and I swear some pollen got in my eye."

"It was December. Not exactly peak allergy season."

Skyler crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. Storm just shook his
head.

"Crew!" Skyler yelled out smiling, a half chewed up slice of pizza hanging
out of his mouth. I grimaced slightly and turned around.

My breath instantly caught in my throat. Fucking Damn! I've seen my share
of hot guys and even dated some model types, but none of them can compare
to the image I saw in front of me.

He wore clothes that looked suspiciously like Skylers. He wore a bright,
snug blue t-shirt that clung to his torso and chest, which weren't overly
developed. He reminded me of a young teenager that was naturally thin and
muscular without having to work out in order to get massive pecs, which in
my opinion were a little gross. The blue shirt also brought out his
eyes. The jeans hung low and slightly loose around his hips and were an
inch too long. He was definitely shorter than the twins in that case, I'd
say about 5'11 and he looked wiry and very lean, not bulky, probably
weighing in at 160. His dirty blond hair was buzzed short and he had rosy
cheeks that stood out against his pale complexion, as if he were
perpetually cold. His sexiest feature? His full red lips were naturally
formed in a pout, with the top lip being puffier than the bottom. The
gorgeous creature walked over and took the seat across from me and next to
Skyler.

"Nice outfit, dude," Skyler called out, only it came out muffled from his
full mouth.

"Yeah, I was late this morning, so I wore the same sweat I went to bed
with. I needed something fresh."

"I wouldn't consider his clothes fresh," Storm said. "You would have been
better off raiding my closest," he added.

"I do laundry frequently," Skyler shot back.

"You mean Mom does it when you bring it back to her."

"You're being mean to your little brother," Skyler pouted, sticking his
bottom lip out.

Storm ignored him and focused on Crew and me.  "Crew this is Helaku,
Helaku, this is Crew," Storm introduced.

Crew looked at me with his enormous bright blue eyes, framed by long blond
eyelashes. He smiled and his eyes sparkled, and dear God, he had dimples in
BOTH his cheeks, along with a slight small one in his chin. Super turn on!
His full red lips parted, revealing perfect, even white teeth. His eye
color and red lips reminded me of the Irish actor Cillian Murphy. But Crew
was much hotter. I shook his outstretched hand and it was soft and slightly
damp, probably from the shower he had just taken.

"Helaku? That's an interesting name? Hawaiian?"

God, even his voice was perfect. It was deep and had a slight easy going
drawl to it that sent shivers down my spine and a bead of sweat to form on
my forehead.

I somehow managed to compose myself and give a normal reply. "No, native
American. It means `full of sun'. By the way, you can call me Hela."

He smiled and nodded his head. "Very cool. I love names in different
cultures that have special meanings." He eyed me curiously, no doubt
wondering about my mixed features. "What's your last name?"

I found his inquisitive tone and tilt of his head downright adorable. I
felt like taking him home with me tonight. "McAdams."

"You're Irish?" he asked in surprise.

"Only half. My Dad. My mom is Native American."

"Yeah, I thought you looked different."

"Different?" I furrowed my brow mockingly. "Different bad?"

Crew shook his head quickly. "No, different good." He started to blush as
soon as he said that and I tried to think of something to say to alleviate
his embarrassment.  I found out that was unnecessary however, when we were
saved by Skyler's second largest burp in his entire life.

"I'm done," he announced, patting his flat stomach.

I stared at the empty pizza box in amazement. If I hadn't seen it with my
own eyes I never would have believed a guy as thin as Skyler could have
eaten an entire large pie in under fifteen minutes.

Skyler ran his fingers through his hair. "Thanks for dinner, Storm. I'm
gonna go get some ice cream for dessert with Sarah."

I shook my head. The boy wanted dessert. Holy shit.

"Who's Sarah? Is she that girl from the Rutgers snowboarding club?"

"Yeah. She's really cool," Skyler said.

Storm snorted. "As if you'll still be interested in her by next week."

"Hey," Skyler protested, "this could be the one." There was a small pause
as everyone started at him. Then he broke out into laughter. "Yah, that was
a good one. Good times."  Then he grabbed his coat, wallet, and phone and
was out the door.

Then Storm stood up. He had packed away an unimpressive six slices,
compared to his brother. "Sorry guys, but I have to jet also. There's this
study group that I want in on. Need to maintain my GPA so I can flaunt my
superior academic status over Skyler and continue to be Mom's favorite."

"I don't think you're in any danger of losing your edge, bud," Crew chimed
in. I smiled at him. God, he was so sexy.

"Alright, I'm out. Finish the pizza if you want, before it gets cold. If
you can't, put it away. I'll be home later tonight. Just let yourselves out
when you're done." He turned to look at Crew. "You have your first final
tomorrow?" Crew nodded. "Well, if you feel like staying here to do your
work or study, you can. I mean if the food coma hits you on the drive
home."

Crew smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, man. I'll consider it."

Storm waved to me. "Later, man." I waved in response.

Once he was gone, I returned my attention to the beauty sitting in front of
me, who was now eating a slice of pizza, slower and much more neatly than
Skyler had been doing only moments before.

"So, are you a sophomore like Storm and Skyler?" I asked trying to start up
a conversation.

He swallowed and I stared transfixed by his Adam's apple bobbing
around. "Yeah, I'm a sophomore but I go to community college. I plan to
transfer here by junior year. I'm already in the process of the paperwork."

"Well, you seem very together on that." I didn't know exactly how to
respond. So I decided to just talk about myself. "I graduated last
spring. I was on the basketball rec team with Storm."

"That's cool. So you graduated last year, huh? What do you do now?"

"I bartend in the city. It's not the traditional job you're supposed to go
after acquiring a college degree, but it's something I really enjoy."

Crew raised his eyebrow. "So you bartend at night then?"

"Yeah, I work almost every night. My Dad thinks it puts a strain on my
health, being surrounded by smoke and having a different sleeping pattern
than everyone else. That's why he tries to encourage me to work in his law
firm."

"When you say encourage, I assume you mean pressure."

I smiled. "You got it. He thinks I'm going through a phase and stuff, but
he just doesn't understand that I'm not interested in a typical desk,
office job where I have to sit still and stuff. At the bar I get to
socialize, meet new people, and have a great time and make a decent
living. It's an honest living, and I find nothing wrong with that."

Crew smiled at him, showcasing those dimples again. Thank God I was sitting
down already, or else I would have fallen on the ground. Why was this guy
so damned beautiful?

"I agree with you. As long as you're happy and making an honest living,
being able to support yourself, that's all that matters. I think it's great
that you're not giving in to your Dad."

That's it. I'm in love. "Thanks," I said smiling shyly and then took a bite
of pizza.

"So what did you major in?"

I rolled by eyes. "Law and Politics. I had to give that to my Dad at
least." I paused to drink some Pepsi. "But in all fairness, the classes
were interesting and I do have a knack for it, I guess it runs in the
family. And even though he pressures me like crazy, he's a damn awesome
Dad. He's way more supportive than most Dads."

"How so?" Crew asked curiously.

"Well he didn't kick me out of the house when I came..." I trailed off,
suddenly uncertain if Crew would be as open minded as Storm was. Just
because the two of them were friends didn't guarantee that Crew held the
same views on homosexuals.

"When I came to him and had to tell him I almost got kicked out of school
and getting caught with alcohol on campus," I improvised. It was partly
true. I had got caught with alcohol on campus, but only with the RA, who
ended up joining me in getting shit faced and plastered.

Crew frowned. "Well, I didn't think that would warrant him kicking you out
the house."

"You don't know my Dad," I stated weakly. I was such a shitty liar. I have
to become a better liar. Note to self, practice lying starting tomorrow.

Thankfully, Crew accepted his answer with a shrug and continued to eat. "So
what's your major?" I asked, not quite ready to stop talking to this angel.

Crew swallowed and I was once again blessed with his Adam's apple bobbing
up and down. "Well I haven't declared anything since I'm gonna be
transferring anyways. So I have most of the core requirements out of the
way, and I'm taking the introductory courses to my majors. I'm double
majoring," he explained.

My brow shot up. "Wow, I'm impressed. What two majors would that be?"

"History and Exercise Science and Sport Studies."

"Wow, those two are pretty different. What made you decide to do that?"

"Well, I love history and I figured if nothing works out after graduation I
can go get a masters degree and become a history teacher. Or Plan B, I
could be a personal trainer and have a degree that backs that up and work
for Storm and Skyler's mom."

"You really have it all planned out, don't you?" I asked, amused.

"Not really. It's more like a rough outline. I'm sure some things will get
changed along the way, but at least I have a direction to work towards,"
Crew responded aiming those baby blues in my direction again.

"You're brilliant man. You should become a guidance counselor. I wish I had
you back in high school." And boy did I wish I had him back in high school.

Crew blushed. He got even hotter when he blushed. "Thank you." So polite
too. Yummy.

"Ah, I'm done. I can't eat another bite," I said grabbing a
napkin. Compared to the Chin twins, I had a pathetic three slices. And I
was the tallest and heaviest out of all of them.

 Even little Crew ate more and was still going strong. "Well I'm still
starving. All I had today was a protein bar, I didn't have time for
anything else and I had back to back classes otherwise." He stared at me
pleadingly. "Come on, don't watch me eat. I hate eating alone. Have some
more, please?" He widened his eyes and stared at me unblinking and his
lower lip stuck out slightly.

Oh shit, who the hell could resist that face, even when he wasn't trying to
give me the puppy-eyed look? I sighed and pretended to be doing him a huge
favor. I picked up a slice and took a bite slowly, exaggerating the action
for his benefit.

He smiled happily, as if he was a child that got his way. Beautiful, he was
simply beautiful.

I was sad at the end of the night when he went to go home, saying he had to
prep for finals.

When I got back to my apartment, just a few floors up above Storm and
Skyler's, I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes. I dreamt of Crew's full
red lips, smile, dimples, and blue eyes.

(Crew's point of view)

***

Winter Break. One full month of no school. Was there ever a more beautiful
concept that that?

Even better, I told my boss, Brady, at the mountain that I could work
everyday until school started back up. He knew about my tight financial
situation and agreed. Plus I never went on vacation and I was one of those
extremely reliable people. Winter break couldn't get any better than
that. One month of snowboarding. If I died right now, I could die a happy
man.

Finals were over and I could finally relax and not read another textbook
until the next semester started. And my brain was completely maxed out
after all that studying I did all semester. But I checked my grades and I
had gotten straight A's and would have a nice solid easy transition to
transfer to University.

The only things that could possibly bum me out are the holidays. But even
without my family around anymore, I still managed to have lots of fun every
year, all thanks to Skyler and Storm. I spent Christmas Eve snowboarding
with the twins and then attended their large holiday party with friends and
family. Then Christmas Day I had dinner with the twins and their mom,
something low key and quiet. It was a tradition of renting movies,
Blockbuster is always open, and loads of Chinese takeout, and Dunkin
Donuts. We had a donut eating contest, guess who won that one? I'll give
you a hint, Skyler packed away an amazing dozen chocolate cream filled
powdered donuts all on his own, much to his mother's dismay.

"You're not eating healthy enough Skyler. I worry you're not getting enough
nutrition. Pizza and donuts shouldn't be diet staples," Mrs. Chin said
shaking her head at her son disapprovingly.

Skyler rolled his eyes and took a huge bite of another donut. "Come on,
Mom. I was naturally blessed with a fast metabolism; why not take advantage
of it now before I become middle aged and fat?"

They were my family now and a damn good family at that. I may as well
change my name to Crew Chin and proclaim myself as their brother. That
would be a twist. I am the complete opposite of Asian looking. We repeated
the annual Christmas tradition this past Christmas day, which happened to
be yesterday. This morning, despite Skyler's tired grunts, the three of us
decided to start snowboarding right away. We were all working here full
time for the next month, however, for different circumstances.

So, now here I am, December 26, a bright sunny day despite it being winter
and I was in my favorite place, sitting on the lift, waiting to reach the
top of the black diamond slope. I sighed in contentment. As soon as I got
here, I split up with the twins, wanting to get in a run of my own before
beginning the lessons. So, I prepped my IPOD was searching through the
songs. I was in the mood for something fun, since I was determined to be in
a good mood. I came upon Weezer's Beverly Hills and highlighted it. The
lift ride was almost over and I stuck in my headphones and secured them
with my goggles. Then I pressed play and jumped off the lift, ready for the
rush I always got from snowboarding.

I followed the curves of the trail swiftly and shifted my weight from side
to side perfectly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a snowboarder get a
tad too close to me, so I twisted my hips sharply and created some distance
between us. Going at fast speeds downhill and colliding with someone only
created injuries. It didn't help the guy though, because after I
efficiently passed him, he slid on his butt. I smiled and continued on my
way, with the Weezer lyrics blasting in my ears.

Along this trail there were some bumps created to make it more challenging
so as I approached one, I prepared myself for a jump. I tightened my
stomach muscles and lifted my legs along with the board and sailed in the
air. I landed solidly and smoothly, continuing along as if I never jumped
at all. Yeah, I'm so awesome. I know it. Can't deny what is true, now can
ya?

By the time I made it down to the bottom of the slope and to the area where
the lessons were taking place, I easily spotted Skyler and Storm. For one
thing, Skyler was jumping up and down and waving at me frantically, and
Storm was talking to someone who looked really familiar, only at this
distance I couldn't make out who it was.

I steered myself in their direction, returning Skyler's wave. I stopped
right in front of Storm and the guy he was talking to, who had his back to
me. I sprayed some snow on his legs when I turned my board. He spun around
to face me.

I gave silent thanks that I still had my goggles on that looked like
mirrors outside so he could see my eyes. Everyone said my stupid eyes gave
everything away. It was the same guy I had met at the twin's apartment two
weeks ago. Helaku McAdams, or Hela, gorgeous, manly, Hela with the high
cheekbones and defined jaw. Sexy.

"Hey Crew. Long time no see," he said grinning at me widely. He had a small
space between his two front teeth and his nose became even longer and more
pointed when he smiled, but I liked it. I thought it gave him more
character. He turned his hazel green eyes on me, which stood out against
his dark tan skin, most likely from his mother's Native American side. His
dark brown, almost black hair glinted in the sunlight and it was styled in
a faux hawk. Overall, I loved his look. Total badass which I wouldn't mind
ravaging me.

"Hey, man. What are you doing here?"

"Well after two days with my Dad and my soon to be Step-mother, I could
really use the break from family and have some fun with friends. So I
accepted their invitation," he said pointing at the twins.

"Yeah and it's about time you learned to snowboard. How can you be twenty
one years of age and never stepped foot on a snowboard? I thought you rich
kids lived to snowboard or at least ski," Skyler interrupted.

Helaku glared at him. "I don't care much for winter sports."

"So what sports do you do then?" I asked. I enjoyed teasing Hela. He got
cute when he got irritated.

He turned to me and it looked as if his green eyes softened. He looked down
at the ground as if suddenly embarrassed. "I did gymnastics when I was
younger and then competitive fencing. My Dad said it would make me
smarter."

"That's awesome, man. I always thought gymnasts and fencers were cool," I
answered. He smiled warmly at me. "So you never snowboarded before? Are you
taking a lesson?"

Hela nodded. "Yeah, a private lesson. You're my instructor."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?" I usually didn't do private
lessons. I liked being with kids and Skyler always had group lessons
because he was a giant kid himself. Storm was the one who usually did
private lessons, because he liked to instruct people one on one in order to
maximize the learning process.

"Yeah, I saw the people who were going to be in the group lesson. And there
was a really good looking girl and I'd like to meet her," Storm replied.

I fought back a grin. I didn't think Storm needed much to get anyone's
attention. His appearance was pretty striking.

Storm mistook my serious expression and lack of a rebuttal as annoyance. I
felt Hela's worried gaze on me.

"Come on man, please? I'd like to have a date for our New Year's Eve
party," Storm reasoned, which was his way of begging, although he never
mastered the whole begging thing, whining aspect. He was too reserved and
diplomatic about it.

I smiled. "Of course I don't mind. I was just surprised." I turned to
Hela. "So did you just pay for one lesson?"

Hela shook his head. "I didn't think I could master this sport with one
lesson. So I paid for three and I might do more if necessary."

"This guy," Skyler rolled his eyes. "Such a stiff. I say you should just
wing it and have a good time. Go all balls out."

"No, because if he did that he could hurt himself or worse, he could hurt
someone else. It's irresponsible," Storm argued.

Skyler snorted and rolled his eyes, his hair flopping into his eyes. "Ok,
Mr. After School Special. Jeez, take a load off will ya?"

Secretly I was pleased with having six straight hours with Hela. It would
give me more time to get to know him, as a friend of course. No guy as hot
as him would ever be gay and even if he were, he would never want to be
with someone as inexperienced and awkward as I was.

I smiled at Hela. "Ok, do you want to get started then?"

Hela turned his piercing eyes on me and nodded. He stepped closer to me and
I secretly took in a deep breath. I was 5'11 and Hela towered over me at
about 6'2 and was much heavier than I was. His broad shoulders, probably
from his younger days as a gymnast help him to fill out his coat
deliciously and his legs looked long and strong. I had to look away before
I got too aroused. My snowboarding pants weren't able to strap down my
goods as effectively as my jeans would have.

"Ok, then, follow me. We need to find an open spot." With that I led the
way, carrying my board with my right arm. When I located a sufficient area,
I swiveled around and came face to face with Hela. I didn't realize he was
following me that closely. I took a step back reflexively, but he took
another step forward, staring intently at me. I looked away.

I gestured, "This area is good. Put down your board and let me explain some
basic guidelines." Hela just continued to stare at me. I waved my hand in
front of his face. "Hela?"

He shook his head as if shaking himself out of his trance like
state. "Sorry."

"No problem." I placed my board on the ground, with the bindings touching
the snow. "First thing, always place your board this way on the ground when
you're not using it. If you leave it on the ground on the smooth side, it
will just slide down the mountain and you'll never be able to catch it."

"Okay, let me show you how to stop or at least remain stationary when
you're getting ready to go." I bent down and strapped my feet into my
board. Hela copied my actions, or at least tried to. When he turned his
board over, it started to slide and he just caught it in time. "It would be
easier if you sat down to strap your feet in," I offered.

Once he got himself settled in, he tried to stand, but couldn't seem to
find his balance without slipping a little and falling back down again. I
chuckled and he shot me a dirty look. "Laughing at me? Not everyone can be
a pro like you?" I started laughing after he said that. "Here, grab my
hands. I'll pull you up." He grabbed tightly onto my hands and I leaned all
my body weight backwards and gave a heavy pull. Hela helped a little by
pushing on his legs and he shot up easily, but he was a little unsteady and
somehow landed on me, his arms wrapping around my torso. And I leaned into
him in order not to lose balance and fall backwards. To other people, it
would appear as if we were hugging.

"You ok?" Hela asked quietly.

"Yeah, I just didn't expect you to push up that way. I was surprised,
that's all." I tried to pull myself from his grasp, but his arms were still
wrapped around me. "If you have your balance, you can let go of me know," I
joked. Hela smiled but there was something else in his eyes, but I couldn't
read it before it disappeared.

I firmly grasped his wrists. "Hold onto me and turn your board so it's
horizontal and lean backwards. This will keep you from sliding further." He
did as I said and finally wasn't slipping around anymore. I missed the
warmth of his arms around me.

"Okay, by leaning your weight backwards you won't go anywhere, but it only
works if the mountain is going in a downward direction. If you were at the
bottom of the mountain and the slop is going in an upward direction, you
need to lean on your toes to remain still. If you leaned on your heels, you
would fall backwards," I explained patiently.

"Okay, so here's the first thing you're going to do. I want you to board
down in a straight line and then lean on your heels to stop. Try that for
me," I ordered.

Hela looked nervous. "Um, ok."

"Don't worry. Board in my direction and I'll be there to catch you in case
you can't stop properly. Here, let me demonstrate first," I reassured.

I angled my board vertically and slid slowly downwards and when I started
to gain more speed, I abruptly did a heel turn and came to a stop. Then I
jumped and twisted around so I was leaning on my toes. "Your turn," I
announced smiling.

Hela was chewing on his bottom lip, but he slowly prepared to board towards
me. He slid down like I did and when I saw him gain speed; I yelled "lean
on your heels!"  He did that and snow sprayed on me as he came to a perfect
stop but then he started to slide in a different direction. I grabbed onto
him and dug my toes in further to support his heavier weight.

I smiled at him. "Good job. You're a natural."

Hela graced me with such a large and genuine smile, I wanted nothing more
than to jump into his strong arms and hug him. But since I was a sane
person, living in a largely heterosexual world, and didn't want to get a
beating, I refrained. Instead I told him to un strap his feet so we could
try it again.

***

Six hours later, and at the end of the three lessons, Hela had mastered
stopping and doing both heel and toe turns and could even complete a full
rotation on the slope. He refused to go on the lift though, promising to go
his second time. He didn't want to be too overzealous on his first day.

So we searched for Storm and Skyler. Us three finished work at the same
time. I spotted Storm chatting with a tall, leggy blond girl, who I assumed
what the girl he wanted to ask to his New Years Eve party and right beside
them was Skyler talking to a young boy with white blond hair.

I approached them and the blond girl was in fact the hottie Storm was
interested in and her name was Kate and the little blond boy turned out to
be her younger brother, Ryan who apparently was in awe of goofy
Skyler. After Kate and Ryan went to meet back up with their family, Storm,
Skyler, and I all looked at each other and said in unison, "IHOP!"

(Helaku's point of view)

***

"So how come you guys aren't going somewhere for winter break?" I asked the
twins as we took our seat at IHOP.

"Well, normally we would, but dumbo over here," Storm pointed to his
brother, "messed up this semester and has to take a winter course. I could
have gone by myself, but unfortunately, it wouldn't have been the same."

"Yeah, he's just saying that as an excuse. The truth is, he doesn't have
any other friends. All he's got is me, his own flesh and blood," Skyler
said, but then let out a grunt as Storm elbowed him sharply.

"But aren't you working full time with us? How are you managing winter
session also?" Crew asked curiously.

"I'm doing courses at night. I couldn't bear the thought of morning
classes, because that would mean would have to give up my snowboarding
time, and that just wouldn't fly with me," Skyler explained. "But winter
session totally sucks. It's like three hours every night five days a week!
That's absolute torture!" he exclaimed.

"Well, you have to take this writing class. I still can't believe you
failed it," Storm said disapprovingly.

Skyler rolled his eyes. "I could have totally passed if I went to class."

"Then why didn't you?" I asked amused.

He shrugged. "I had better things to do...like sleep."

"Well you better not mess up this time, Sky. Your GPA will be totally
ruined and Mom seemed pretty serious about pulling you out of school and
forcing you to work with..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Aunt Jennifer, otherwise known as the Nazi," Sky
replied rolling his eyes.

"Why do you call her that?" I asked curiously.

"Because she's insane! She's a cool Aunt and everything, really interesting
to talk to and always has funny stories, but she's insane about
working. She works people very hard and is tough on our cousins. I'm so
glad she didn't end up being my Mom," Skyler said.

We all laughed at his last comment, except Skyler, who looked entirely
serious for once.

"You know Storm, if you wanted to be an awesome big brother," he stressed
the big, "you could be a doll and go to my class for me and help me pass
the writing course."

Storm guffawed. "Hell no! It's not my responsibility to make sure you
pass. Especially when you're perfectly capable of doing that yourself," he
stated firmly.

"Jeez, can't you help a brother out?" Skyler asked rolling his eyes, but he
dropped the subject.

"So when does it start? Tonight?" Crew asked.

Skyler nodded. "So I have to fill up on food to get me through the class, I
need my energy," he proclaimed, closing his menu and searching for a
waiter. "Waiter!" he yelled out, waving his arm.

Storm swatted his head. "Be patient," he hissed. "Stop acting like an ass."

Finally, a cute young waiter, probably around seventeen or eighteen walked
over and asked us what we would like to have.

Skyler jumped in first to place his heavy order. "I'll have the mozzarella
sticks, chicken finger platter, onion rings, and chocolate chip pancakes,
with no whipped cream please, I'm trying to watch my figure," he said,
prompting not only laughter from us, but from the waiter also.

"I'll have the chicken stacker," I said when it was my turn, but I noticed
the waiter was writing my order down but his eyes were focused intently on
something else. I followed his gaze and my eyes fell upon Crew.

Holy shit! The waiter was checking out Crew.

"And what will you have?" the waiter asked in what I can only say in a
flirty tone.

"Um, I'll have the cheeseburger, with bacon and cheese, and a sprite," Crew
said smiling at the waiting, flashing those gorgeous dimples.

The waiter's smile widened. "Sure thing." Then he reached out and took the
menu from Crew, brushing his hand slightly and then grabbing the rest of
our menus without taking his eyes off of Crew.

I felt a flash of anger and had to fight the urge to grab Crew and yell,
"He's mine!" I only hoped that Crew didn't find the waiter's light brown
curly hair and dark brown eyes attractive.

"I'll be right out with your order," the waiter said, talking to all of us,
but looking directly at Crew. Then he smiled and walked away.

Skyler immediately started to crack up and we all looked at him
questioningly. "Did you just see that?"

"See what?" Crew asked, confused.

I continued to stare at Skyler curiously. Did he also notice the waiter
hitting on Crew?

"That waiter was totally scamming on you, bud!" Skyler said cackling even
louder. So I wasn't the only one that had noticed that, and Skyler wasn't
even gay.

"What?" Crew gasped. "No, he wasn't!"

"I hate to say it, but I think Skyler's right," Storm chimed in. "He barely
took his eyes off you even when he was taking our orders and he was
constantly smiling at you."

"You're wrong!" Crew protested.

Skyler rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Angelina Jolie."

I raised my eyebrows. "Angelina Jolie?"

"Yeah, he has her lips, only more red," Skyler pointed to Crew.

I looked over at Crew, who was rapidly turning red, and stared at his
lips. They were full and had the same pouting shape as the actress. He
placed his hand over his mouth as we all stared. "Stop it, you guys. I
can't help how my lips are!" he whined like a child.

"Why didn't he hit on me?" Skyler suddenly burst out, surprising everyone
yet again.

"Why would you want him to hit on you?" Storm asked.

"Because I'm shit hot and he didn't even notice me. Everyone notices
me. Hell, is he crazy? Maybe I'll ask him out," he said.

Storm turned to look at his brother. "Sky, bro, is there something you want
to tell me?"

Skyler opened his mouth to respond, but then the waiter showed up with a
tray full of food, all of it being Skyler's. "Yes, my food first. I'm
starving!" Skyler said excitedly digging into his mozzarella sticks. Storm
snatched an onion ring before Skyler's slap caught his hand.

"I'll be right back with your order," the waiter said once again turning
his deep brown eyes on Crew.

"See?!?" Storm and Skyler yelled at the same time. This only caused Crew to
blush even deeper, the red shade traveling up his neck to his cheeks and
even to his ears.

The waiter returned with the rest of our food and when he got to Crew he
asked for his number. Crew looked flustered and didn't know what to say, so
I leaned over, put my arm around Crew's shoulder. "He's taken," I told the
waiter pointedly. The waiter looked surprised and looked between the two of
us.

Before he had a chance to react, Skyler thrust his hand out for the waiter
to shake. "I'm Skyler and I'm available."

***

Later that night, I was hanging around Storm's place; Skyler went to class
and Crew tagged along after some insane begging and whining on Skyler's
part.

Storm threw me a bottle of water from the kitchen and a few seconds later
he joined me on the couch. "So, you like Crew?" he asked. The drink of
water I had been taking sloshed down my throat and a little up my nose. I
sputtered and started to cough.

Storm smiled at me and handed me a napkin. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle
you."

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully once I had gained my composure.

"Don't play like that. You were pretty obvious tonight at dinner. Staring
at him and then getting all pissy when the waiter was hitting on Crew. I
saw it right away," Storm said matter of factly.

"Was I that obvious? Do you think Skyler and Crew noticed?" I asked in a
rush.

Storm held up his hands. "Calm down. Skyler I am positive didn't notice
anything. He never pays enough attention to one thing unless it's presented
directly to him, like that waiter. Otherwise, he kind of floats and gazes
around like a mentally ill person. And Crew I doubt noticed anything. He's
kind of..." he trailed off looking for the right word.

"Innocent?" I offered.

Storm smiled. "More like naive, but innocent works, too."

I sighed. "Ok, I admit it, I do like Crew. Who wouldn't? He's amazing."

"Yeah, he's a pretty cool friend," Storm agreed.

My shoulders dropped. "Unfortunately, all we'll ever be are just friends,"
I said in a dejected tone. I was met with silence and I looked up to see
Storm drinking his water.

"What? You think there's a chance he may be gay?" I asked curiously.

Storm shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I don't really know. I haven't
known him for that long, only about two years, and in those two years, he's
gone through a lot of stuff trying to get his life in order, so there
really wasn't much time for him to date. Plus, you know Crew, he's a
workaholic."

I narrowed my eyes. "Get his life in order? What do you mean?"

"It's personal, and it's not my place to say," Storm said. "But he went
through a really rough time and wasn't into the social, dating scene."

"Did he ever mention a girlfriend or something from back in high school?"

Storm pondered about that for awhile. "No, he never spoke of any
girlfriend. Come to think of it, whenever we were hanging out as a group,
talking about girls or trying to hook up with them, he never really joined
in. I guess I brushed it off figuring he was a little shy and reserved."
"I wish he were gay. I would definitely treat him right," I said firmly.

Storm eyed me carefully. "You really like him, don't you?"

"Yes." I groaned and flopped down on the couch and let out a cry of
exasperation. "What have I gotten myself into?"

***

After taking a long nap, I headed off to work, at the G Lounge in New
York. G Lounge was a gay bar that opened up in 1997 and I really loved
working there. They always had cool events and holiday events and even
better, the bar was located in New York's gay Chelsea area so no chances of
my head getting bashed in any time soon.

My shift started at 8 and I would stay until 4 AM. It was around 12:00 and
the DJ was spinning some house and my body was moving to it while I ran
around fixing drinks.  The Lounge was exceedingly crowded tonight and I
could feel the sweat building around my shirt collar and my hair beginning
to flop from the moisture, heat, and smoke. Luckily, I had gel in the
backroom so I could style my hair back into the faux hawk.

"I'm going on break!" I yelled out to Julie, the bartender closest to me
when the crowd had died down a bit. She raised her hand in acknowledgement
and I went to the backroom and towards my locker. I got my gel and headed
over to the bathrooms. I splashed some water over my slimy face and
instantly felt refreshed when I did so. I squirted a generous amount of gel
onto my fingers and ran them through my hair a couple of times. When I was
satisfied, I ran back out to the bar.

As soon as I got there, a guy around my age walked up and handed me a water
bottle. I took it and looked at him confused. He smiled at me. "You looked
kind of tired and in need of a drink, so I got you one," he said.

"Oh, thanks..."

"Mark," he introduced.

"Helaku"

"Helaku? What an interesting name? Any special meaning?"

"Full of sun," I answered automatically. I knew this guy was hitting on me,
but I didn't feel up to flirting like I normally did. Maybe it had
something to do with Crew. "Listen man, thanks a lot for the drink, but I
have to get back to work." I started to turn around when I felt his hand on
my wrist.

"When do you get off work?" he asked.

"Closing, at 4, but then I have to divide the tips and clean up."

"Would you like to get together than for a really early breakfast?" Mark
asked.  I eyed him. Now that he was closer, I realized this guy wasn't my
age at all. If anything, late twenties to early thirties and he was good
looking. He had brown hair and eyes and a warm, open smile and a beefy
body, but he wasn't really my type. Hell no one in this bar was my type
anymore, unless a 5'11, blond haired, blue eyes, red lipped, dimple cheeked
snowboarder walked in.

I looked at Mark in the eye. "I'm sorry, I can't. My boyfriend expects me
home," I lied.

Mark smiled. "Hey, that's cool, I understand. Had to try though, you're one
gorgeous man."

I smiled. "Thank you. I appreciate the compliment."

"Have a good night," I called out as he drifted back into the crowd and
music.

I shook my head. "Jeez, turning down men for a non-existent relationship
with a straight guy. I really am fucking out of my mind."

***

"So you turned down a potential hook up or a night of gay sex for Crew?"
Storm asked in astonishment. I was helping him set up the twin's apartment
for their New Years Eve party later tonight and I found myself telling him
about the Mark who had hit on me at the bar only five days ago.

I sighed, "Yeah, I did. Mark was cute and everything, but I just couldn't
bring myself to say yes or even get excited about going out with him."
Storm stared at me in shock.

"I guess you think I'm pretty dumb, huh? Holding off my life in pursuit of
a guy who is most likely not gay and doesn't have a clue how I feel about
him?"

Storm looked like he was thinking about what he wanted to say, but all he
came up with was a simple, "yes."

I sighed heavily. "Well, I can't help how I feel. What am I supposed to
do?"

"Tell him how you feel. Be honest and that way you can set yourself
straight. You no longer have to kill yourself wondering if he might like
you back. And then you can get on with your life," Storm reasoned.

I frowned. "What if he ends up hating me and never wants to see me again? I
don't know if I can bear that. I'd rather live in silent agony, than risk
never seeing him again."

Storm shook his head. "Man, you have it bad."

"Don't I know it."

***