Date: Sun, 1 Oct 2023 09:14:03 +0000 From: Axekl L Subject: Unrequited Love - Chapter 7 Unrequited love - 7 This is my first attempt at writing a story. Please do not hesitate to send me an email with any of your thoughts/comments. I appreciate the feedback I've gotten already. I took a break from writing, but there will be more chapters to come! Please reach out to my new email address with any questions/concerns! I thought to finish this series as promised. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Casino Night David could not take his eyes off of Ace all night at the private casino. Ace's eyes sparkled. His blonde hair was now dirty blonde, and it had began to unravel. His blonde hair was usually vibrant and bold. He had dyed it from a pure blonde to a dirty blonde color. Along with the darker hair color, his hair was now cut, as mentioned previously. It was trimmed on the sides and long in the front. The group had been drinking all night and everyone was inebriated. Ace was happy that David had decided to show, but still, he decided to keep his distance. Ace stayed closed to Beth, Brianne, Avia, Jax, Marie, and the rest of the group the whole night, but he had his eyes on David as well secretly. With the final exam out of the way, David began to feel some relief. He had been drinking all night, and he had began to talk more with his peers. Three of his classmates in graduate school, Brad, Jane, and Audrey were with David. David had been drinking all night in the limo bus and connecting with everyone. He downed drink after drink. He went from Whiskey Sour to Whiskey Ginger. The limo bus was playing loud music and everyone was enjoying themselves as well. David had thought to think of Ace kissing him earlier as manipulative. He had come to notice that Ace liked being in the spotlight. Ace was open minded enough for him to not take a kiss like that seriously when he initiated it. He thought about the year to date, and he thought about Ace punching him. Ace's haircut was very nice. His luscious blonde locks were parted in the middle now instead of neatly styled. Avia had been fidgeting with Ace's hair all night. It often seemed as if she was deciding to pull it out at times. Her demeanor had changed at the casino. Her blue eyes looked vacant instead of bold and intimidating. It seemed illusive at times. She reminded Ace unintentionally of David, and it was the first time Ace could not get a read of her. -- David made sure to stay drunk enough so as to pretend he did not care about Ace letting people know about his sexuality. It was not up for discussion as far as David was concerned, as he was not ready to be open with everyone about it. It was like a wound that had just started to heal itself. Even though his closest friends knew about it, Ian, and now his mother, he was not ready to discuss it with everyone. -- Most of the group was intelligent enough not to listen to the rumors or what was being said by Ace. They did not let David know this though. In truth, he had never even had sex before. In fact, David had never been in a relationship nor had he ever had a boyfriend. Ace had been sexually active from a young age, which would surprise David to find out. Ace's hazel eyes began to shift towards the bar of the casino as if he was bored with the group that he was standing with. He seemed lonely even though most of the class was with him. His tan skin was very notable. It was always very notable. David had thought a lot about Ace and his image often. The fact that Ace was always in the gym, his hair perfectly coiffed, his clothes always new, and his skin almost always freshly tanned. Although David took good care of himself, and groomed himself meticulously also, it was not as high maintenance. David had started to get his haircut more often, almost as if learning to use it as a shield from people viewing inside. It was also to keep up with Ace's image. This was very difficult for David to do, considering with his depression. -- In an instant, Ace started glaring at David with lust in his eyes. It was across the room. David began glaring back but more effectively. This shocked Ace a little. David then turned to the bartender and said, "One ginger whiskey please." He said it in very calm voice in an attempt to hide how inebriated he was. -- Ace wouldn't dare approach David in public again David thought. David drank a whiskey ginger to himself momentarily until a larger group began to swarm around him again. Soon Ace joined with Avia. Ace mentioned having an after party at his place. David decided in his mind that he would not go. As he drank more alcohol, David would look at Ace more and more without remorse. He thought about his life after graduate school, and the fact that Ace most likely would not be in it. Ace was a very beautiful man to David, and David found him irresistible. David could stare at him for hours, Ace's beauty disarming him always. It was like ecstasy to look at Ace. David began undressing Ace with his eyes noticeably. And in front of the group. In truth, David was right. Ace had no intentions of staying in touch with David, and preferred to be someone thought of as out of reach. Avia began running her hands through Ace's hair one more time. She began to put one finger around a few strands of Ace's hair, twisting and twirling it in front of the group, her eyes as vacant as ever. She then turned to kiss Ace in front of the group, almost as to upset David. David did not notice at first. He soon got up and began to walk to a Casino game, still not noticing. A rage came over Avia as she noticed him out of the corner of her eye. She quickly went to grab David's arm, and said, in a biting tone, "wait." David turned in upset at her kissing Ace once he looked up. Ace now had his eyes on David also. Time stood still as Ace's eyes were open. Avia remembered that they were closed as Ace kissed David in the cold. He looked at David again with lust in his eyes. David looked at Ace with mistrust, finally seeing through him again as being "for show." Avia was letting David know, "he isn't yours." David said to Avia, "please let go of me." It was in that instant that she realized that her boyfriend was gay. Ace was erect once again with his eyes locked on David. Ace's eyes blinked softly while looking at David almost immediately. Avia changed positions while she was kissing Ace to cover it to prevent embarrassment from the group. David saw Ace for the first time as not belonging to him regardless. The realization of Ace's sexuality did not mean that he belonged to David. David, knowing this, kept walking. It was pointless. Ace, knowing this is as well, kept looking at David, with soft, subtle, convincing eyes. Almost as if under a spell. David in this moment, was teary eyed, his head deciding to walk away with his feet, but his heart doing the opposite.