Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2013 22:47:41 -0800 From: Charles Wolfe Subject: The Ultimate Man- Challenge Ch 3 Hey everyone, I hope you all have been doing well. It finally comes to a point on figuring out what happened to Michael and Skyler in this chapter... As well as a guest surprise near the end. ===================================================================== Even though classes started on Thursday, the first part of my semester, and week for that fact, was actually spent shopping around for books and printing out my syllabi. I was only taking 5 classes this semester, a standard 15 units to keep me at an even pace to graduate on time. I still hadn't figured out what I wanted to do for my actual degree, something that I really needed to sort out by the end of this school year. I was leaning towards English, its writing component appealing to me but the historical aspect not so much. Last semester when registration opened up, I had signed up for German, a language class that I needed to fulfill my lower education requirements. My new English class this semester was focusing on poetry and its influence on today's society. It seemed like an interesting class to take so I figured why not? To meet my history class, I checked into American History from 1800- present, another meh class that I wasn't really looking forward. The one class I was not really looking forward to was public speaking and persuasion. While I may be a little outspoken at times, having to do it for a class seemed to take away all the fun of being in that mentality. As was to be expected Thursday and Friday were introductory classes describing what the semester was going to entail and us going over the syllabi. They were short classes, which were to be expected, so I was glad to get out early and focus on what I could do for the rest of the day. Most of the time it involved me going back to the room and crashing out for a catnap. This was probably one of my few chances to grab sleep before the semester really started so I wanted to stock up on the sleep as much as I could. The nights came and went by quickly, the main highlight being my talks with Kyle on the phone. He too had noticed that Darren wasn't overly impressed with me, and while he tried to remedy it, Darren was still cautious of me. I respected that and knew that it might take a while for him to warm up to me. Leon and Monty apparently enjoyed my company and wanted to hang out with me more, something that made me laugh when Kyle said it. They were really cool guys and I too wanted to get to know them more as well. Kyle and I saw enough of each other's teams but beyond that we didn't hang out with each other's friends, which was something that I wanted to do more of with him. Friday was finally here and I could finally look forward to the short weekend. Pike had scheduled a practice tomorrow so I was in my room getting things together. I wanted to make sure that I had everything washed and ready to go when I woke up, mostly so I could sleep in as long as possible. After filling my water bottle in the hallway, I headed back inside to toss it in the mini-fridge that we had all helped to pay for. Falling onto the short plaid couch that the dorm had given us, I mentally ran through the checklist in my head. My thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door, though I had managed to cover almost everything that needed to be done. Rising to my weary feet, I hobbled over to the door and pulled it open, the creaking of the ungreased hinges sending chills up my spine. `Gotta put in an order for that to be fixed,' I thought to myself as I looked to see who had knocked. At first I thought no one was there as the space out front was empty then I looked to the left and right to see where they had gone. It was on my look to my right that I jumped a little, seeing a guy covered in a hoodie literally standing right next to the door jam. "Oh shit." I yelped to myself as I tried to process who it was. Skyler turned to the side and looked at me with slightly sunken eyes. He was tired and I could tell that things hadn't gotten too much better for him since we last talked. It almost looked worse to be honest. His normally fiery orange eyes had lost their luster; his hair messed up as he lowered his hood. "Hey, I was wondering if that invite to talk was still open." He shifted to look at me, almost wanting to break down. "Get in here Skyler." I pulled him inside by his jacket and sat him on the couch. Grabbing my chair from my room, I pulled it out into our confined living room and sat in it, propping my feet up on the armrest furthest from him. "Before you talk, do you want Michael to be here?" I really thought this would have been a good time for Michael to be present, seeing how close Skyler was to falling apart. Skyler shook his head and just sat there silent. His gaze was downward, as if the floor could grant him the answers he wanted. His hands were still in his pocket pouch, shifting back and forth nervously. I dropped my feet to the floor and scooted the seat towards him. Resting my right hand on his shoulder, I moved my left to his chin and lifted his face to look at me. "Dude you need to talk. You look like shit. What's going on? I won't tell Michael anything you don't want me to." Skyler hoarsely coughed out "You promise?" I could see he was getting antsy; possibly debating on whether coming here was such a good idea after all. I was surprised at that admission, as if he had something to hide that was worse than Michael cheating on him. "Yea Skyler. I promise. You mean just as much to me as he does." "I fucked up Chris. It wasn't just him that cheated on me. I cheated on him. I cheated on me. I didn't want him to find out, and he still doesn't know. He can't know. He'll hate me. I'm not so much mad at him for cheating as I'm madder at myself for screwing with some other guy as well. I compromised my trust with him and he doesn't even know it." Skyler brushed off my hand from his shoulder and turned to look away in shame. There it was. Fuck. I wasn't expecting this. This is awkward. I mean what do I say? Skyler continued to talk, though not at me but to me. "I look at him and I see myself. I am disgusted that I could do such a thing to him. I mean I know he feels just as bad as me though I feel it soo much worse. He at least had the balls to tell me he messed up. I can't bring myself to tell him." Blinking my eyes and trying absorb it all, I pulled back and just sat there. It took a few seconds to process it all. Michael had had sex with another guy during summer break and felt guilty so he told Skyler. Skyler apparently had sex with another guy as well but hadn't told Michael. "Why haven't you told Michael this? He needs to know this Skyler. He feels like shit for what he did." Skyler glared back at me as if it was so easy. "Cause, cause, I'm scared Chris. This relationship stuff is crap. It's bullshit."A small tear dripped down his pale cheek. "I'm scared he won't take me back. I know I wouldn't take myself back after what I did." "Skyler, you need tell him this. All of this." I moved back towards him, knowing it was best Michael heard all this from him. This was way more than I could ever relay to Michael. I am thankful that Bryan and Zach weren't here because this would have made for a very hush hush moment, me basically forcing them to not speak a word at all. Skyler crossed his legs on the couch and leaned back to look up at the roof. "How? It's so much easier said than done." "You just said it all right there." I was being as serious as I could but it managed to get a slight chuckle from him. "Look, if you want, I'll be there when you tell him. But either which way, I think you need to tell him this. Not only for his sake but yours. It's eating you up inside and everyone can see that." Skyler dropped his head back to look at me and caught my eyes in a direct stare. "You would? You're up for being there when I tell him?" He was very cautious that I would do such a thing. "Yea I would. I'm here for you. Both of you." I tap his leg as I rise back to my feet to stretch. Was this really happening? Michael will be furious when Skyler tells him, I know he will. I was just standing to stretch my legs but Skyler took it as his chance to leave, something that I think he had wanted to do for a while. Quickly rising to his feet as well, Skyler moved to me and hugged me, breathing heavily. My arms were down by my sides, the surprise hug catching me off guard like everything else in this conversation. Slowly, I moved my hands to his back and held him close, or at least long enough till he wanted to leave. "Thank you." He whispered into my ear as he moved past me towards the door. Watching him as he exited back to the hallway, I confirmed out to him, "Anytime Skyler. Anytime." He gave a small brush wave as he left the room, heading back to his own. Falling back to the couch, still warm with Skyler's body heat, I realized this complicated everything. Well this semester will be fun for the two of them. Was I really the best one to give relationship advice to them? I mean I had just gotten mine back together at the end of last semester. ***** Waking up Saturday morning I had a feeling today was going to be a great day. Zach was already shuffling around outside my room, the movement stirring me from my sleep. Grumbling at the early rise, I slid out of my bed and tossed on some clothes for the practice. Even though it was right near our halls, for some reason Zach wanted to get there early today, as if tossing around now could make up for all the times that we hadn't practiced throughout summer. Opening my door, I saw that he was waiting for me by the door. "Gimme five minutes ok?" I grabbed my bag and slipped into my shoes. Slipping past him, I made my way to the bathroom to do a quick brush, then hurried back to grab my cleats and Frisbee. He was growing impatient as the time was getting close to practice time. As we walked to the field, I shook out my cobwebs, realizing that Bryan was not with us. "Where is Bryan?" After being awake for the last 15 minutes, how had I missed his absence? Zach snorted as we reached the grassy field, "Take a guess." A slight sneer overtook his smile, the knowledge of where he was amusing both of us. Tossing the disk to me, Zach tested my awareness with a quick flick. I was still out of it so it was of no surprise that I dropped it, my hands not clapping down onto it hard enough. Off to the parking lot I hear a familiar voice, "I hope that's not how lazy you've gotten Chris!" Looking for the voice, I see that it is Pike with Sarah and Rachel. Pike flicks a disk of his own around his index finger as they all walked towards us. Picking up Zach's disk, I smirk at him and forehand the disk towards the trio, Rachel and Sarah both battling to grab the disk before Pike could. Pike shrugs his shoulders as the girls fought over the floater disk. Pike, almost with precision accuracy, managed to flick the disk into a manageable grip then backhanded it into the air, and like a shotgun shell taking out a skeet shot, knocks the floater disk out of the air. "Yea, you know better than to have floater disks Chris." Pike chuckles as he walks up to us. Rachel and Sarah retrieve the disks and walk over to us as well. Having not seen each other for the summer break, we all shake hands and hugs. Sarah was the first to notice that our normal trio was now a duo, "Where's Bryan?" Zach and I look at each other knowingly, and then both respond almost with the same statement, "Courting a prospective player." We both had amused smiles on our faces as the meaning got through to them on what we actually meant. Pike raised his eyebrows and only muttered out "Uhuh... right. Let's hope he gets lucky and completes the deal then." Rachel and Sarah had smirks on their faces as they shook their heads. At around 9, most of the players had arrived and Pike gathered them into the group. There a few new faces but it was only one or two players. Pike went into his authoritative stance, gathering everyone's attention and captivating them with his pre-season speech. "Glad to see most of everyone has returned as well as a few new faces. We won't embarrass you newbies yet but there will come a time when you have to spill your guts for this team." The two new guys smiled cautiously, wondering what they got themselves into. Pike continued as he picked up a disk and twirled it around on his index finger. "This year a good number of us are graduating- what is it Rachel four? Five?" Rachel nodded at the somber thought that her as well as a few others were leaving. "Any which way, we need to do a massive push for new players this year. I know we managed to get a few good players last year but to keep this up and running, we need talent." Pike broke us off into groups at that point, wanting to see who practiced and who hadn't over summer break. Not knowing where the new guys were on their Frisbee skills Pike put them at the lower end of the groups, figuring he could move them up as he saw fit. "Ok we are going to try something new this year. To make our stacks easier to understand, whenever I call `Beach', it means cut from the back. Whenever I call `Frisbee', front. It's super simplistic but hopefully the other teams don't learn from it." It felt great to finally be able to get back to this regimen of training as Pike always seemed to know how to effectively push us to the brink of exhaustion without killing us. I knew I had lost a step over the break but after switching drills to a box cut where we run out behind cones and then back, it was bad. I could blame the early morning dew for making the grass wet and slippery but for the amount of times I fell down there was no excuse. One of the many joys of living near the coast is that it is normally always cool in the morning but as we approached winter, the norming dew was getting more noticeable, the water almost hanging in the air. Picking up the disk where it was on the grass, I literally had to shake it quickly towards the ground to get the water and grass shards off it. Normally during the heat of the day the grass doesn't stick as well as it is. Backhanding the disk to the next player, I watched as it cut through the air, the white plastic almost making its own waves through the condensation. Brushing off my knees as I waited for my next round I watched as we practiced. The two new guys seemed to know each other, which is pretty much how most of our players join. Very rarely do we have players come out by themselves. I did manage to get one of the players' names, Hanson. It was an interesting name but it seemed to fit him though as his surfer hair hung baggy over his head. He had some skills and from the definition of his body, he was definitely a runner, possibly a challenge for me when it came to the runner on the team. At around 10, during one of our breaks, Pike did make the two new players introduce themselves. Hanson had already made himself known to the team, the more outgoing of the two players. His friend though was more reserved, a bit quieter when he spoke. He was shorter than Hanson but not by much. His short hair gave him a slightly cute look, his golden tan eyes shining brighter than his personality. I was surprised that his name was Dustin, a name that didn't seem to fit him. Off to the side I noticed a body emerge. It stood there for a while before I actually gave it the attention it wanted. When I looked over to the parking lot, I was surprised to see Kyle standing against his car drinking a cup of coffee. He was wearing a light grey jacket, its gunmetal color clashing against his light blue car. Waving off out to him, I wanted to run up and see what he was doing here but Pike called us to practice. It was approaching the end of practice and Pike had split us up into two teams for the scrimmage. We had a good 6 on 6 team; each of us about equal in our skill sets. As we competed against each other, I noticed Pike observe Kyle and slow down. Jumping in front of him to catch the disk, I flick it off to Hanson before Pike can effectively put up a force. In the end, the novice players beat the experts, something that gave Hanson and Dustin something to be happy over. I could tell though that Pike, Sarah, and Rachel all were occupied watching Kyle from time to time. After the scrimmage was over, I jogged up to Kyle and kissed him on the lips, "Hey babe what are you doing here?" I pulled him out to the field and towards the team. Pike was just about to give his normal ending speech but as he saw Kyle approaching he cut it short, instead telling of when the next practice is. Kyle held my hand as Pike concluded, allowing us to dispearse from there. "I came to surprise you but I didn't realize you were having practice. Bit early for you guys to start or is this how it has always been?" He looked around as everyone shifted away to their bags. They occasionally looked over to us but didn't really say a word. Zach came up and let me know he was heading to the room, shaking Kyle's hand in the process. He was getting bettter at being ok with us but I could still tell he had his reservations about my relationship with another guy. Moving to grab my stuff, I spoke to Kyle in the process, "It was Pike's orders. At least for the next few weeks to get us ready for the first tourney. Afterwards I hope he loosens up a little." As I took off my cleats and shifted back to my runnning shoes, I noticed Pike move towards us, his arms crossed guardingly. "Hey Kyle, here to spy on us?" He had a smile on his face but his stance showed a little bit of seriousness to it. I was wondering if, like when I went to Fullerton to watch Kyle, my team was going to watch him in the same manner I got. From the looks of it so far, it began to appear that way. Kyle plays along with Pike, moving his hands in an animotronic manner. "Nah, I just caame here to 'watch'." He made the quote signs over the word "watch", chuckling in the porcess. "I actually came here to surprise Chris. How was your break?" He extends his hand out to greet Pike. Pike leaves it hanging there for a few seconds before shaking it. "It was great. Short as usual but great. Don't you start school soon as well?" Kyle nods his head, "Yea, this tuesday. It feels weird it already being here. It should be a good semester though." He takes a step back to show respect to Pike. Pike sighs, "Yea, it's my last year here so I'm making it the best I can." It was at that point that Sarah and Rachel came up to steal Pike away, not before commenting, "You make it sound like it's already the end." They laugh as Pike rolls his eyes. Taking Kyle away from them, I drag him towards the dorm. "Really? Why are you here?" I laughed as we started to calm back down. Kyle wasn't the one to surprise me but maybe it was something I hadn't known about him. Kyle slipped his fingers in between mine and stated, "It's my last weekend to really hang out before the semester starts and I wanted to spend it with you." He was so sweet when he was sincere, the tenderness in the grip he had on my hand and the way he spoke showed such affection I felt lucky to have him. As the warmth shifted through our bodies, I cooed out to him playfully, "Well then it's probably best we start it with a bang." I turned him around quickly, surprising him in the process. Kissing him on the lips, I pull him in close and squeeze his body. Kyle pulled back and with a twinkle in his eyes, stated outright, "It is never too early to start celebrating. Plus I did shut out the morning sex last weekend and have been meaning to make it up since then." We both laughed as we entered into the hall. ===================================================================== I think we can all guess what might be coming next... ;-D I hope that you all enjoyed that chapter and let me know what you thought of it.