ARCH HUNTER

Lukas - My Best Mistake

Chapter 8, everyone. I hope you enjoy it. I always appreciate your comments, so give me a shout if you have a minute to spare - archhunter420@gmail.com

Chapter 8 - The Lonely Genious

***

Kamil lived in a pre-war tenement house. It was an impressive and generously ornamented three-store kamienica. I followed him inside and we reached the first floor by climbing the old, squeaky, wooden staircase. There, Kamil fished out a bunch of keys and used the heaviest one to open the large, oaken front door. The clang of the key in the lock echoed and I almost expected a swarm of bats to fly over our heads. I had a hard time imagining the boy growing up in this place

The impressive doorway led to an even more impressive interior. I was a little overwhelmed by the spacious hall. The ceiling hung high, about 1,5 meter above my head. Most of the furniture looked like it could be one hundred years old. It was expensive, well-preserved woodwork and even the chandelier in the hall was made to look like it could hold candles instead of electrical bulbs. Kamil slipped off his shoes and motioned at me to follow him. I felt a little intimidated by the surroundings and hoped the boy's room would be cosier.

It was, but not in a way I expected. His room was huge and was furnished in the same way as the rest of the house. There was a hardwood floor and an expensive-looking rug on it. Then there were wooden wardrobes and cabinets and even an upright piano in the corner. His desk was a breeze of modernity thanks to the PC and a printer that stood next to it. There was also a hi-fi system. Other shelves were occupied by books and toy models.

The only thing that didn't fit the classic style was his single bed. It was properly made and tidy but it looked rough and very simple. All in all, it didn't look much like a teen boy's room.

"That's my room!" Kamil said as he jumped on his bed and pointed me to the office chair by his desk.

"It's fine, I'll stand," I replied, feeling a little uncomfortable. I came closer to the window. He had an awfully good view of my usual parking spot. Damn. "A nice room," I added, turning back to my host. "You have it all to yourself?"

"You mean if I share my king-sized bed with anyone?" There was a healthy dose of sarcasm in his voice as he smiled at me and patted his bed cover.

"Yeah, a stupid question," I admitted. "So, do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"An older brother. He doesn't live here anymore."

I observed his features as he emphasised almost everything he said with a smooth hand gesture, a smile or an eye roll. I cleared my throat.

"You sure, umm, that your parents..."

"I'm sure. They won't be home for two more days. They're abroad."

"Oh. What do they do?"

"Mom's a singer. Dad's her manager and producer."

"Any chance I know her?"

"Probably. I mean, she's been famous in the '70s but you must've heard of her."

"In the '70s..." I said slowly, running calculations in my head. If she already had a career over 30 years ago, then...

"Yeah, she's old," Kamil said as if reading my mind, "and dad's older. I was an accident baby. My older brother is 32.

"Um, can you tell me who she..."

"Maybe, if you're nice to me," he winked.

"Sure, we can have a nice talk."

"Then you won't mind if I keep trying to nice-talk you into doing other nice things?"

"You can try, but you'll fail," I said, carelessly walking around the room. "You play?" I asked stopping by the piano.

"Yes, a little," he replied, jumping to his feet. "Come on, open it."

I opened the clap and noticed the manufacturer sign. Steinway. I knew next to nothing about pianos but I knew it could have been worth more than all my belongings combined.

Kamil jumped on the stool and rolled to face the piano. He wiggled his fingers and hit the first note.

I didn't immediately recognize what he was playing but somewhere deep, my brain knew because it gave me goosebumps all over my body and my heart raced. His fingers moved swiftly over the keys and I could tell he was very good. My parents sent me to a music school when I was little but after several lessons, the piano teacher said I had wooden fingers. I also had problems focusing and made almost no progress over a few months. I guess my fingers are fine hitting computer keyboard keys instead.

Kamil kept playing. The original was a full rock band song and I wondered if this interpretation was his own. He was just past the middle of the song when he punched the keyboard in random places and stood up.

"Nevermind, I won't bore you," he said, "but I like playing."

"It was Radiohead," I mumbled. That got his attention.

"You know it?" he looked at me. Now that we were standing next to each other, I saw I wasn't much taller than him. His eyes were at my nose level but because of how slim he was, he seemed small.

"Do I?" I asked rhetorically, "I butchered that album every day for two years a few years back. I... loved how you played it. And it's so cool you know it."

"Yeah, I'm listening to it all the time."

It was unexpected. Radiohead wasn't particularly huge or even well-known in Poland and you had to do some digging to get their records in the early Internet era.

We chatted about music for a little. Kamil showed me his CDs collection and there was a lot we had in common. We sat on his bed and talked about some albums we both liked. After all, I was only a few years older than him. Okay, seven years, to be exact. I hated to admit it, but I was having a great time talking to the boy. I almost regretted I had to friend-zone him.

He had other plans apparently, and just when I was in the middle of explaining why I thought Frank Zappa was better than Joe Satriani, he moved closer and took my hand gently. Then he looked me in the eyes in such a way that my dick pushed on my underwear, begging to be released. I shivered.

It took all my will power. I took away my hand and stood up.

"I gotta go..." I said.

"You two are that close, then?" He said, resignation in his voice.

Damn, he was smart. Cute, smart and talented. And we shared so many interests. I had way more luck than I could handle.

"Yes," I just said.

"Can you tell me the story?"

I hesitated. Every minute spent with Kamil was testing my will power.

"Well, okay, I guess."

I told him everything. How we met on a train and how Lukas stayed with me for a few days. How we learned we're into each other and about our first time, skipping the spicy details. Then I told him how we'd reunited in Warsaw and about my progress with getting my parents to adopt the younger boy.

"Wow," he said after I finished my story.

"Yeah."

"It's... fucked up."

"I know."

"... and beautiful," the teen added.

"Well..."

"Trust me. I'm jealous."

"Then you understand that I can't..."

"Yes, now I do. Tough luck."

"Yeah... You are awesome, Kamil. In other circumstances, trust me..."

"Sorry for trying to rape you, my hormones will be the end of me one day," he chuckled.

I felt sorry for the boy and sat back on the bed next to him.

"You know," I patted him on the back, "with your looks I can't imagine it would be hard to find someone."

His eyes were watery when he looked at me but he was smiling. An overly emotional teen; I couldn't relate enough.

"Would you believe I'm still a virgin?" He wiped his nose with his hand.

"Yes and no," I replied, "I mean, you are hot and smart and funny but you're fifteen. I had my first sex when I was eighteen."

"It doesn't make me feel better," he chuckled.

"So can you tell me who your mom is now?" I changed the subject.

He told me. Of course, I knew her. She had a short-lived career in Communist Poland but thanks to a few big hits she continued touring and appearing on TV from time to time to this day.

"So, they do that often? I mean, leaving you here alone for so many days."

"These days, yeah, pretty often. Until recently they'd rather hire a nanny but they decided I'm old enough to stay by myself now. During school days I'm hardly home anyway. I have some after-school activities, you see. Piano lessons, acting lessons, English, French, calligraphy..."

"Damn, dude. Sounds like they're pushing you pretty hard."

"What? No!" Kamil protested. "I begged them to sign me up for each and every one of those. At least I get to spend some time with adults. And learn something."

"You really do like hanging out with adults. Am I not too young for you?" I joked.

"You're fine. And yeah, whenever my dad is home, he has his friends visiting like every day. So I'm used to that. And other kids, I rarely can relate to them."

"You wouldn't like Lukas then."

"I don't like him already," he winked at me.

"Shouldn't you find someone as good looking as yourself?" I suggested.

"But you are," he said, "and most of all, you're pretty smart and funny and that's what turns me on more than anything."

"Want me to fuck your brains out?"

"See? I told you so!" He laughed heartily.

***

I didn't have anything better to do so I decided to stay a little longer.

We cooked dinner. Go figure, Kamil was a pretty good cook. He was very open-minded about it and once he had assured me his parents won't miss that bottle of white wine and a handful of dried mushrooms, we made delicious, creamy risotto and drank the rest of the wine.

Then I asked him to play more Radiohead on piano and he did. Then I told him it was about time I got back to the hotel. He asked me if I saw Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I didn't but I wanted to see it with him so he opened another bottle of wine and we watched. Their living room or rather the TV room was a little work of art. It had a fireplace, an ancient handmade ebony table and exotic plants. I expected a polar bear rug on the floor but there was only a regular Persian rug. It probably cost a fortune anyway.

We got ourselves a little tipsy but I stayed alert and when Kamil lied back and placed his feet on my legs, I almost slapped him. But he seemed to be paying attention to the movie and he didn't push it any further so I let him be. The teen smelled nice and I enjoyed watching his toes wiggling inside his green socks almost as much as I did the movie.

He had no trouble convincing me to stay overnight and understood when I didn't agree to share a bed. I slept on his bunk and he went to his brother's former bedroom which was now a guest room. It was a good wine... I thought to myself before I fell asleep.

***

"I want to be an actor," Kamil said as we were munching our morning toast.

"You will be a great actor," I said with conviction and suddenly remembered something. "Say, didn't you happen to play in a TV commercial or something? I had a feeling like I'd seen you somewhere."

"No, but I had a small role in a soap opera two years ago... my dad got it for me. But let's change the subject because I want to forget about it. I want to be a stage actor."

"Oh. I've been to the theatre twice. But I'm impressed. And you're talented so I don't doubt you'll make it."

"And what do you wanna be, Matt?" He asked.

"Me?" I took a sip of coffee. "Well, I already am that. I'm a programmer."

"Oh. Not my cup of tea. What do you program?"

"This and that. Currently, security solutions for internal banking systems."

"Sounds dull. But it's probably not."

"Security systems are dull but how they're made is not. When I was younger, I wanted to make video games. Video games are exciting for me but I realised I enjoy playing them more than making them."

"I get it. So even if you like something very much, it doesn't mean you want to spend your whole life doing it."

"That's a smart way to put it," I nodded.

"I can put it even smarter, look. Even if you like someone very much, it doesn't mean you want to spend your whole life doing them."

I almost choked on my coffee. His bright eyes were expecting praise.

"You're a genius, Kamil."

"Kamil, the lonely genius," he said and sighed.

***

We exchanged numbers and emails and he gave me one last boner when he shook my hand by the door. That's right, another boner just by shaking his hand. I was proud of not giving in to my primal instincts. I wanted to make love to Kami's body and soul but it didn't change the way I was feeling about Lukas.

But when I was back in the car, it got me thinking. I loved Lukas more than life and he was the most precious living being I have ever met. But what exactly did we have in common? He didn't understand a single thing about good music, computers, cooking or practically anything I cared for in my life. After the early flame is gone, will we even like each other? Or have something to talk about? Just take that Kamil boy. In just a few hours, we discussed life, love, music, movies, cooking and philosophy. Even if you like someone very much, it doesn't mean...

"Matt!" I almost got another heart attack when Lukas opened the car door.

Lukas jumped into the car and assaulted my face. We kissed for almost a minute. I mean, I missed him too, but I didn't expect this much excitement. We were being careless. But I was so in love.

"Matt!" He said when he finally let me go.

"Lukas?"

"I'm getting adopted, Matt!"

***

Thanks for reading. Lukas - My Best Mistake pt 9 is on the way. I always appreciate your emails, so let me know what you think! archhunter420@gmail.com.

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