Date: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 22:06:01 -0700 From: Charles Wolfe Subject: The Ultimate Man- Chapter 17 Hey everyone, I know I haven't really been posting as much as I used to. I want to apologize on that and tell you that I am slowly getting back into the groove. I think I got a little burnt out writing it all (even though I had fun planning it out). Getting back on track though, what are your thoughts on Parker? He finally showed his true colors in the last chapter, and I look forward to seeing how he plays out.... =============================================================== After the stress of last weekend, waking up next to Kyle was possibly the best thing that could happen. The feel of his chest slowly rise and fall with each breath he took was so relaxing that at the sporadic times that I woke up throughout the night, it only took a few minutes of resting on him for me to crash back out. His heartbeat pulsating through his skin was equally engaging, the "bump bump bump" bouncing against my eardrum to create a matching heartbeat of my own. It was Monday morning, one week out from Thanksgiving. Kyle had ended up staying at my place, his clothes strewn about all over my floor. I knew he needed to get back to Fullerton soon so, gently rubbing my hand across his bare chest, I roused him from his slumber. With a slight groan, or moan, I couldn't really tell, he stirred, shifting around in the sheets to try and fall back to sleep. "Kyle. Babe, it's time to wake up." Yea it was still early being 7:30 in the morning but he needed to get active. Kyle rolled onto his side to face the wall, pulling the sheets closer into him to ensnare the heat. Feeling the slight chill on my bare back, I squirmed up behind him and into the sheets, furthering my effort to break his stubbornness. "I don't wanna leave." Kyle whined out childishly as he refused to move. Leaning over him, I rest my head near his ear and licked the lobe. "Come on, wakey wakey." I slither my right hand down the sheets to grip his chest, playfully clawing at his breast muscles. Kyle rolls onto his back in submission, finally breaking down to become more coherent. "Fiinne I'm awake... Happy?" He had a slight attitude but I knew he was joking around, the tone clashing with the smile that was starting to break his face. Becoming plucky, I roll onto him, our two bodies becoming one as we snuggle under the sheets. Pulling them close to us, I kiss him on the lips, "Yep! 100% satisfied. With this stud under me, why would I ever not be? Now cheer up, Thanksgivings a week away. Then you can sleep as much as you want." Kyle slid his hands down my back and gripped my bare butt, "Maybe but it depends on if someone still plans on coming over." It was more a question than a statement but with the way he was cradling me told me he wanted the company for the break. "That is... if you're still interested in coming over?" And there the question was. I chuckled slightly as I felt him move his hands back up my body, gently flowing them through my hair and down my ears. We had been discussing me staying at his place for a few weeks now, though nothing was really concrete till this moment. We were stuck in the whole "Is this too soon or just right timing" situation, especially since we had only been together for less than a year. "Yea I'm coming. Or at least I intend to, if it's still ok with someone." Kyle rolled me over, causing me to lose some of the air in my chest, then kissed me to replenish what I had lost. Moving up to kiss my forehead, Kyle murmurs, "It is. Plus it's about time you met my parents." Swallowing hard, I look up at him, his brooding shoulders standing over me. He was getting a little fuzz on his chest, the hair slowly helping to clean up where earlier years of acne had damaged the skin. Despite this all, I was still getting a slight hard on, the arousal of him bent over me seemingly erotic. Then the thought of his parents came to knock on my mind, killing any romance that was previously there. "Yea about that... They probably know way more of me than I know of them." We really hadn't talked about our families too much, the topic of our elders not something we really dwelled upon too often. Would they be accepting of me? Would I pass their tests as their son's boyfriend? This time seemed a whole lot more nerve-racking than when I went to see Michael's family. As Kyle slid off me to the cool air, he patted my chest and laughed, "You'll be fine. You've handled me well enough so far. Just imagine two older versions of me, one of them being a woman." Yea, that was much more reassuring... Getting up myself, I stretched my arms out as Kyle dressed himself. Grabbing his shirt near the door, I had it to him as I dress myself. Kyle gave me a 'what are you doing look?' as he finished cleaning himself up. "You think I was just going to kick you out without seeing you to your car?" Kyle shakes his head as he grabs his bag, moving over to button up my shirt as I jump into my long dark pants. Kissing my neck, he moves to open the door as I slip on my sandals. Walking him out of my dorm and into the chill November air, we both shuddered slightly as the ocean breeze hit us. It was nowhere as cold as Sacramento but still I was not a fan of winter, the cold unbearable at times. Kissing him goodbye, I watched as he drove off to Fullerton, then scurried back side where my warm bed awaited, the smell of Kyle lingering to the sheets. Lying there under the sheets, I reached over for my phone and shot a quick text to Ally, seeing what her plans were for Thanksgiving. I was also partly guilty about leaving her alone for the holiday, something we hadn't done in a long time. For as long as I can remember we had always spent Thanksgiving together with the Watson's. It didn't take her long to get back to me, though her response kind of surprised me. "I've been meaning to talk with you about that. I'm most likely going to be with Pike. That ok with you?" I was half surprised half relieved that she already had plans as it allowed for me to be able to stay with Kyle a little easier. "Yea. Kyle actually asked if I wanted to stay with him for the holiday. Wanted to make sure you were ok w it as well. haha" Ally shot back a quick text, "Yea, go ahead. We always have Christmas ;-)" The joys of the holidays being so close was that, and she did have a good point about this, we could still have the ability to see each other. After classes had passed and practice was over, I scanned through my to do list before the holiday and saw that I needed to fill out the study abroad application. Going online, I saw that it really wasn't too stressful of an task, the pages going much easier than expected. Once I was done, I looked at my phone, wondering if Kyle had done his yet as well. Picking it up, I apprehensively shot him a text, "Hey have you done your Study Abroad application? I just finished mine." Kyle responded a short while later, the response not what I wanted to hear. "Noo..... not yet.... Sorry..." His response was kind of coy, the short four words not doing much to ease my concern. Realizing that I couldn't do much more at the moment, I sighed heavily and feel back asleep. As the week continued on, I kept hounding Kyle to do it, my worry growing ever so slightly with each passing day. When Saturday arrived, I knew I would be able to spend time with him, my plans to sit him down and force him to do it coming to form. But first I had to deal with practice. Even though Thanksgiving was a few days away, Pike wanted to put in one last practice to ease his concerns about the last tournament. He was nice enough to keep it short, only doing half the drills as normal and then two scrimmage games. It was nice having it be as relaxed as it was, though I knew it was partly because Pike had things he needed to do as well. After practice had ended I walked with Bryan and Zach back to the dorm, the three of us making small talk on what all we were going to do for the break. Feeling my phone vibrate in my pocket, I pulled it out instantly, thinking it was Kyle wanting to talk about tonight. Instead, and much to my disgust, I saw that it was Parker, a short brief text asking if I wanted to hang out. Immediately, and without a second though, I dismissed it, wondering in my head why I kept his number in my phone. After showering, I made the trek over to Kyle's dorm, navigating the southern LA traffic in all its glory. As was to be expected, I ran into a few pockets of traffic but the drive over was nice and smooth. Pulling outside his dorm, I called him and waited for the door to open to let me in. There were a few times that I wished we lived together so I didn't have to deal with this and this was one of those times. Waiting patiently, I looked around the courtyard and was surprised by the lack of students. Most had probably already gone home but there were still a few days of class left before the Thanksgiving Break. Snapping me out of my thoughts, Kyle opened the door and pulled me in, literally, by the hand. "Get in here, it's cold out there." Working our way up to his room, I knew what I was going to do once he opened his dorm room door. I was going to plant his ass down and force him to do the application, unless he had some very compelling reason not to. As he creaked the wooden door jar, I snuck in behind him and bee lined it for his computer, catching his attention before he could shut the door. "What are you doing?" He was slightly shocked at my attempt to pull up the website but once he saw the page load his face went sour as he realized what I was doing. "Kyle, you need to do this application. Time's running short on getting them in and I really want you to join me." Realizing his hesitancy for the first time, I stood off the bed and approached him near the door. Gently caressing his hands, "Unless you don't want to go..."Do you NOT want to go?" Kyle gripped my hand and spoke softly, almost worrying me in the process. "Chris, of course I want to go. It's just... I haven't really told my parents." Pulling my hand out from his, I recoiled in shock, thinking he would have done that a long time back. "Wait, what? Why? Why haven't you told them yet? Dude you need to do that asap." Kyle returned with a testy tone, snipping out, "How am I going to do that Chris? Hey Mom, Dad, this is Chris, my boyfriend. Oh and by the way, I'm studying abroad in London next semester. Just thought I would let you know." He moved towards his laptop to look at the page, then back at me. Slightly stung from the words, I stood there silent for a second, processing it all. "Well you don't have to be so condescending. We've been talking about this for how long now?" Kyle kept up his defensive wall, attempting to deflect everything back to me as if this was all my plan. "No Chris, you have. I've been listening." 'Oh this is bullshit.' I thought to myself as I got frustrated with him. "Well talk then Kyle! Come on. Tell me what you think of it all." I really didn't mean to come out so harsh but I was getting annoyed with his stubbornness, a trait we both shared at times. Kyle shut up real fast, the shock now registering on his face. "Your silence is almost as if you don't want to go." Even though the lights were on in the room, the illumination from the screen displayed his concern over it all. "I... I don't know. I guess I'm just scared of it all. I mean I've never been out of the country, short of a small trip to Mexico when my family was in San Diego." Moving to sit down with him, I rest my hand on his leg to calm him down. "Look, if you do the application but back out later I totally understand. But I'll be there with you. It's not like you're going alone." Kyle looked at the webpage apprehensively, as if he were to sign his life away. Then he slowly began to fill it out, easing my concerns with each tap of the keys. After about an hour of filling out the pages, he finished and closed the laptop. "Happy?" Smirking at his snarky comment, I reply, "Yes thank you. See, that wasn't soo hard now was it?" His only response was giving me squinted eyes. Moving his laptop off his bed and onto his desk, he turned and looked at me, "This trip better be worth it in every way possible." I should have seen it coming but I was laid out beneath him so there was nothing I could do to protect myself. He pounced on me and started to tickle me, his form of revenge for whenever I got him to do something he was reluctant to do. ***** Monday went by really quick, most of the students anxious to get out of their classes and out to freedom. Tuesday was even more chaotic, the feeling of electricity in the air, the buzz of students shuffling around faster than normal to their classes, as if it were to speed up time or anything. As I packed up for my freedom, I remembered I had forgotten to call Tay and the Watson's to let them know I wasn't coming home for the holidays. Pulling out my phone, I quickly dialed in the numbers. Tay was quick to respond, his perky voice happy to hear mine. "Hey Tay, I meant to tell you and your parents a while back but Ally and I aren't coming home this Thanksgiving." I could tell from the few seconds of silence that he was slightly bummed but then he responded back, "OK sounds good. I'll just have to wait till Christmas then." We had chatted from time to time but I had a slight feeling that we were starting to drift apart, the whole post high school separation starting to take its toll on our friendship. I knew though that if I ever needed him for anything he would be there in a heartbeat. After hanging up and finishing my packing, I shot Kyle an "I'm done" text and waited on my bed, dozing in the warm room. As usual Brian and Zach had left the first chance they got, allowing me to leave the door open and use the dorm as I wanted. Kyle shot back an hour later that he was on his way, giving me enough time to get ready and head down stairs. With 5 o'clock traffic starting to form I knew there was a possibility he would get stuck so I took my time getting stuff in order. When Kyle did arrive, I quickly shot out the door and stuffed my bags in his back seat, doing anything I could to escape the nipping cold weather. Kyle leaned over and kissed me on the lips, the warmth of his fingers helping to heat up my chilled cheeks. "You ready for your vacation?" Shifting the car into gear, he pulled out of the parking lot and moved towards his home =============================================================== Definitely a change from the last Thanksgiving when Chris was heartbroken over Kyle. How do you think things are going to be when Chris meets Kyle's family and friends? Cause I can assure you that with what we have seen out of Chris's friends on protecting him, Kyle has the same level of support.