Chapter 22

As I left the store, bag in hand, I couldn't wait for the next few hours to pass by. I had a great feeling about tonight, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let anything ruin my mood. I continued to browse around the mall for a while, being careful to avoid any book stores they had. I knew that if I set foot in any of them, I would lose track of time, getting lost in any and every book I would pick up, causing me to possibly miss out on tonight, something I definitely didn't want to have happen.

I decided to grab something lite to eat, this way the alcohol from tonight wouldn't hit me full force, causing me to possibly get drunk off just one drink. Making my way to the food court and checking out what options, they had, I couldn't help but get disappointed at the lack of healthy options. I didn't want something fried or covered in grease, but it was looking like my options were slim. They didn't even have a sandwich shop in here. Figuring I could just get something high in protein, I walked over and stood in line at the nearest Chinese food vender and ordered a few different types of meat, then looked around, trying to find the best location to sit down and eat.

Spotting a table a little ways away from everyone else, I made a bee line directly towards it quickly, as to make sure no one else could get there before me. Happily taking my seat and digging into my food, I watched the people walking around, some aimlessly, others that appeared to have a desired location, a purpose even.

"I should have brought a book with me." I muttered to myself, taking another bite of my food. I saw Emmy speeding by and debating on waving to her but decided against it. Figured at the speed she was moving she either wouldn't see me, or wouldn't be able to break from her pace and route to come and sit with me, but shortly after, I saw someone else I knew walking by.

Standing up and calling out his name, I watched as a smile crossed his face as he began making his way over to me, pulled up a chair, and said it was good to see me. I hadn't seen him since his warning about Axel, something I wanted to thank him for, one that I should have taken more to heart.

"How've you been, Kyle? It's been a while." I said smiling in his direction.

"I've been alright, Hunter and his goons got suspended for vandalizing my locker, so I haven't had to deal with them lately. Thanks again for standing up for me, I don't remember if I ever apologized for brining you into my mess either, so I'm sorry as well."

"It's all good, turns out I should have listened to you trying to protect me as well."

He looked up at me, confused, and was getting ready to ask what I meant before I cut him off and broke down everything that happened between Axel and myself, being extra careful not to mention anything about Kavaar.

"Holy hell, that's rough." He stated, a little blown back by everything I just presented to him. "He and I had a few issues too. We dated for almost three months, only for me to find out he was sleeping with two girls. When I called him on it, he blamed me, saying it's because I wouldn't put out."

I could hear the scoff before I even knew it was coming. Axel really was a piece of garbage, and I walked right into it, hook, line, and sinker. At this point I could only imagine how bad their break up was if he reacted the way he did when we weren't even dating. We talked about a few other things, how school has been, cars, music, until he broke from his sentence and pointed out across the mall, called him out, then turned around, said he would be right back and jumped up from his chair and walked off into the crowd. He was only gone for less than a minute before coming back into view, Mute following right behind him. I was a little shocked to see him here, even more so that Kyle ran to grab him after I made him aware of what happened before with Axel at my house. I mean, I did want to see him and clarify that I still wanted to be friends, I was just worried about the one-sided conversation that would take place when I finally got the chance.

Smiling and taking the seat directly across from me, I cracked a dumb joke about how we just kept running into one another, thankfully not literally as I recounted bumping into Emmy with them, getting a laugh from Kyle, and a small snicker from Mute. Asking the generic question as to what he was doing here, Kyle sat forward and began to talk.

"Apparently, Shylo here is going to get his hair chopped off fairly short."

I felt my head jerk in his direction, eyes wide with shock. His hair was so long and well taken care of, and I couldn't believe he actually wanted to get rid of it. Voicing my thoughts on the matter, he lowered his head sheepishly before pulling out a few pieces of paper from his notebook and placing them on the table for us to see. He had already picked out the styles he was interested in, then motioned for us to choose which one we thought would look the best.

Honestly, he couldn't go wrong with any of them. Though I was a bit surprised, I still wanted to help him out, so turning to Kyle, we started going over which one we thought would look the best. The two of us agreed on the one towards the far end of the table. A simple cut, one that would allow his face to be in full view but hang just low enough to be above his eyes, making it so that they would be the first thing anyone could notice.

Smiling and nodding his head in approval, he picked all three pictures up, setting the one we chose at the top, got up from his chair, and waved goodbye, making his was to the salon. Kyle and I sat there for a little while longer, exchanging simple pleasantries, but I could tell there was more on his mind. He had this habit of starting a sentence, then saying never mind and changing to some simpler topic and ran with it instead.

Cutting of his current sentence about the different colors in the latest bar graph he made for his math class, I asked him to just say what was on his mind. I didn't mind the simple conversations we were having, but I couldn't stand when someone clearly wanted to talk about one thing, but decided to change it and not finish after already trying to bring it up on the first place.

"Well..." he started, still a little hesitant. "I was wondering if you were actually gay? I mean, after everything you told me, I kind of figured you were, but wanted to hear it from you, I guess."

I could feel myself chuckling at his question. The issue is, I still wasn't entirely sure. I mean, I knew I liked guys, obviously since as of this morning Kavaar and I agreed to give our relationship a shot, but I never really questioned if I could like woman or not.

"Honestly, Kyle, I'm not sure. I think I'm gay, but it's something I am still unsure of."

"Oh...well, are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

The question was asked a little more earnestly than liked. I mean, I was hoping that he wasn't going to ask me out, even though I would be flattered if he did so. It's not that Kyle wasn't attractive, he was fairly lean, with some muscle definition, but he was just a friend to me, nothing more, nothing less. Besides, there was no way he would actually ask me out after everything I just told him that happened with Axel, right?

Wrong.

"Because...I mean, if you're still not sure, I can try to help you find out. If you want to that is, we could go out and get some dinner together..."

Shit.

I couldn't tell him I was dating at the moment without him asking questions. I didn't want to risk anyone finding out about Kavaar and myself, but also didn't want to hurt his feelings by telling him I only saw him as a friend. How the hell do I keep ending up in this situation? Why is it that EVERYONE I have met has turned out to be gay?

"Look, Kyle. You're a cool guy and all, but I think after what just happened with Axel that I think I should stay away from dating at the moment."

I didn't even believe the lie myself as I spoke it, but from one look at his face I could tell he didn't either. I figured the best option was honesty, so I came clean, letting him know that I see us as friends more than anything else and much to my surprise, he agreed with me, stating that he mostly just wanted to see what my answer would be.

Chuckling slightly to himself he let me know that he was going to finish shopping for a bit but asked to get my number so we could actually set up a hangout. I let him know that I don't do much aside from read books so if he was wanting to do something, he should probably already have something in mind when he hit me up. After agreeing and setting off, I figured I should do the same, as it was already close to eight at night and the mall would be closing soon.

Walking out to my car, I made sure to set the bags of new clothes in the trunk before getting in the driver's side door and making my way back home where I could shower, change clothes, and head out to meet Kavaar at the bar. I could feel my anxiety rising higher and higher by the time I made it home and stepped into the shower. I was beyond excited, but still wanted to be careful, as to make sure we were not seen together. Making sure to grab my bags from the trunk of my car, I set off inside and went directly to the shower.

After a thorough wash down and observation of my body, I was happy to see the bruises were mostly healed up, aside from a few very visible ones that stuck out on my chest from where my body hit the steering wheel. I didn't even have to touch one to know they still hurt, but otherwise was still happy with my current condition.

After finishing drying off and heading off towards my bedroom, I pulled out my new clothes and proceeded to put them on. The shirt was still fairly tight, showing the muscles I worked hard to get, and hopefully, Kavaar would appreciate as much as I did. Pulling out the new faded blue jeans to fit lightly over my lower half, I made sure to examine myself in the mirror and adjust my hair accordingly.

Pulling out my phone, I checked the time and saw it was a quarter till nine, so I decided to shoot him a text, letting him know I would be on my way in roughly fifteen minutes or so, and that it would take about ten minutes for me to get there.

"Sounds good. I let my guy at the door know who you are and what you look like, he's one I can trust so no worries there. I look forward to seeing you tonight, L."

Responding that I would be there as fast as I could be, I dashed downstairs towards the door, but quickly realized I had to run back up and get my wallet and keys from my bedroom. It was an issue I always had, getting too excited about one thing, then completely forgetting just about anything else. Rushing back down towards the front, I did a double check through my pockets, making sure I had my keys, wallet, and phone.

After confirming I had everything I needed and setting off down the road, I pulled out my phone the second I put my car in park to make him aware I was here. The lot was packed with easily seventy to eighty cars here, not to mention those that may have gotten a ride with others.

Walking towards the door and greeting the bouncer, he looked me up and down, stamp in hand ready to mark me as being under twenty-one, before asking what my name was. Responding with Leo, I watched as a smile crossed his face before turning around and motioning for another person to take his place.

"Follow me." He stated with a rough voice, someone who seemed to have more smoke in his lungs than air itself.

Two other guys suddenly appeared, surrounding me on all sides, carefully escorting myself indoors so that I wouldn't be seen.

"He's been nervous, pacing back and forth the whole time waiting for you to arrive." One of the men said someone what blandly. "I've worked at this company for almost nine years and never seen him like this. What's the deal?"

I didn't know how to respond. Between the overly loud music and the amount of people attempting to talk over it, I was surprised I could hear him at all. Simply shrugging my shoulders, we continued to walk in a straight line, before veering slightly to the left, going straight through a good chunk of the dance floor.

The flashing lights were almost blinding, I could hear a song I recognized from the radio as being one of the latest top forty hits, but didn't pay too much attention. Pink, blue, red, green, and just about every other color kept flooding my eyes from the light system directly above us as it continued to flash, trying to keep up the beat of the music playing overhead.

Though a little surprised to see a few white flashing lights as well, I chalked them up to part of the system and continued to walk with the guys around me, trying to cover me from being seen. It didn't take long to reach the area Kavaar had mentioned, completely closed off with non reflective glass all along the outside, I watched as one of the men reached over and opened the door for me, motioning for me to walk inside.

Following his silent command I was surprised at how quiet the room really was, sound proof barriers guarded anything that happened in here from reaching the outside, but also prevented the music from there to get inside the windows. The music that played overhead now was soft, a simple jazz guitar battling for supremacy over the saxophone that followed suit, engaging in an unwritten war with one another.

Standing behind the bar was Kavaar, a giant smile held tightly to his face as I grew closer, returning the smile in kind. I could see him reading my shirt, and felt an enormous urge to laugh at his, due to him wearing the exact same one. Reading over the words to make sure, I chuckled fairly loudly as both our shirts read "your favorite secret."

I didn't even see him at the mall, but figured he was able to snag his at a different location, nonetheless, we both shared a simple laugh at us wearing the same thing. His seemed to work a little better on him. I could see what he referred to as his "beer belly", but it only served to make him more attractive. I very much enjoyed his body. It wasn't super lean or muscular, nor overly buff like mine. I liked that he kept some meat on himself, something about that just made him even more attractive.

Smiling as I took a seat in front of him, I asked what he had in mind for us tonight, while he simply motioned for me to come around the bar to his side. Following his silent request, I found myself face to face with him, but resisted the urge to press my lips against his, instead opting to turn around and look at the numerous options for drinks, and asked what it was exactly we had drank the other day.

"That's actually why I wanted you back here, I figured I could teach you how to make a proper drink." He stated, smiling from ear to ear.

His voice was like velvet. Smooth, and even more calm than normal. I wanted to ask if he had already been drinking, but thinking back to what the bouncer had said earlier, I figure he might have taken a shot or two to help calm his nerves, and get himself to quit pacing.

Smiling and agreeing to his proposal, he came directly behind me, grabbing my arm from the back and directed it to the nearest bottle of rum, the very same one we drank together on our first night. Reaching out and grabbing it, I could feel his breath on my neck as we turned around, making sure to keep his body directly against mine.

I could feel myself becoming short of breath. Just having him here, directly behind me, his chest against my back was giving me chills, not to mention him leaning in and giving instructions directly into my ear. Following his commands to the letter, I poured just over a shot in a half's worth of rum into the glass, then filled the remainder up with soda, then turned around and presented it to him.

He took a moment, examining the drink thoroughly as to make sure it was poured correctly before setting it on the counter, leaning in, and pressing his lips tightly against mine. I could feel my labored breaths already leaving my body. He still tasted like cinnamon, letting his tongue dance across mine. I felt my body getting pushed backwards, till I hit the back end of the bar, taking his taste fully inside of my mouth.

I could feel his hands searching my body, caressing the outside of my shirt before slowing making their way inward from the bottom. His hands felt cool against my skin, slowly rising up from my waist to my chest. Drawing back slightly, I winced in pain as his hands brushed against the bruise on my chest, causing him to draw back and pull away from me.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked a little overly concerned.

I tried to play it off, like I was fine, but he wasn't having it, but decided I didn't want to leave him confused. Lifting up my shirt, I pointed directly to the dark bruise still sitting firmly on my chest from the accident.

I could see his eyes widen in shock, but quickly return to normal before placing his lips against it and kissing it tenderly, making sure not to put pressure as to not cause pain once again. I could feel the little hairs that hadn't been shaved off yet tickle against my skin as he pulled away, leaning me with chills once again.

"I was in a car accident not long ago, still haven't fully recovered." I managed to get out a little sheepishly. "Sorry about jumping back."

"You have no reason to apologize." He stated, taking a step back and turning around. He proceeded to fix another drink, then motioned for me to pick up the one I made moments ago. Grabbing hold and lifting mine to his, he was the one to make a cheers gesture, before making a statement that caused the in my body to run every which way possible, highlighting my face, and one other area slightly before my pants line.

"Here's to us..." he started, pulling me into our arms. "Here's to our first date, and hopefully, to many more."

Vote, Comment, Love me. :)