6 comments/ 33095 views/ 38 favorites Simplicity Ch. 01 By: lessthanperfect It's my first time giving writing a go outside of a schoolhouse, so please let us keep this in mind in the comments. Anyway, all characters are works of fiction and at least 18, unless otherwise mentioned, and any resemblance to any person is merely coincidental. Also, the setting is fictional as well. Let's get on with it, shall we? OoOoOoO Some days are weirder than others. Think about it, most days you get up, hopefully shower, brush your teeth, eat something, and get on with whatever it is that life has for you. Most days aren't spent rescuing puppies from super villains or climbing Everest to collect snow because you live in Arizona and just got tired of the heat. No, most days are rather simple and easy. We tend to call these days wastes and not worthy of mention or recollection. However, every day that I spent is his company was worth ten mountains and I was never much of an animal lover anyway. So, as I look over at him, calmly watching the television as he sips on a glass of scotch, I can't help but wonder how it is that I don't recall ever doing anything major to win his affections or any moment of consequence when I had to fight a vampire lord for his honor. Maybe we are a bit dull. Maybe we are a bit strange. I like to think that it's all a bit perfect. Before I start to ramble, though, perhaps I should start at the beginning. OoOoOoO I had just begun my freshman year at Beaverbrook State University and, as was my usual, I was running with the late crowd. OK, it was almost dark, but it was a long drive and I didn't plan on there being a candle store on the way so cut me some slack. So as the moon came up, I began my walk from the housing office to the dorms, dragging two suitcases with a bag full of candles over my left arm. Walter Longfellow Memorial Dormitory. Wow. Whoever came up with the names for some of these places needs to be locked in the broom closet and beat with mop until they come out with something that resembles an imagination. Digressing, I noticed as I was walking that I was getting a lot of stares. Now, I won't say that I'm a model or anything, but at 5'11 and a toned 170, I wasn't exactly ugly either. Plus, I've always been told that blond hair and blue eyes were major turn ons for most people and yes it's natural. Nice to see that I won't be lacking a date while I'm up here. It was about the time that that thought left my foolish brain that I began to hear the snickering. "Oh, fuck me." Apparently, in my haste I had left one of my SpongeBob boxer briefs hanging from my suitcase. Well, I never was good at making first impressions anyway. I could feel the blush rising up as I stuffed the rebellious yellow bastard back into its home. Stupid fucking idiot you are Bambi, fucking stupid! At least it was dark and not too many people were able to see that. No doubt I'd have a new nickname by midnight if they did. I eyed some tall redhead that looked nice enough and figured that I'd better ask directions off of somebody. Why not him? "Hey, you, yeah, you with the blue shirt, do you know where the Longfellow Dorm is?" I asked while waving the candles at him. "Yeah, right behind you." This came with him smiling and him pointing at an eight story building directly behind me, complete with most of the windows glowing from their residents who were actually on time. "Shit. Thanks for that man. I just got in and this map has a little coffee on it." "No problem, just don't get lost from here to there". And with that, he smiled and kept on walking. Fuck that thing is tall and I don't exactly see an elevator. What room was I in again? Taking out the crumbled piece of paper that the secretary from housing had written on I managed to read, despite some rather poor handwriting: Luke Gladstone Chambers: Walter Longfellow. Floor 8. Room 12. It fucking would, wouldn't it, and I still have a few boxes back in the car. As I trudged up eight floors of stairs I started to wonder what my roommate would be like. Lord knows that if he's a pain in the ass that I'd better find a way to get him to leave and not me. I don't want to be moving my shit down this behemoth more than I absolutely have to. Topping the last set of steps felt like winning the Nobel Peace Prize for mediocrity. Starting down the hall I really began to get excited about meeting the person whom I'd be spending the next year with. Room 9, room 10, what the fuck happened to the door on room 11, and at long last, room 12. Thank you God! Fumbling for my keys turned into a yoga session as I tried to not drop the candles or let go of my suitcases. Finally, I found them and opened the door with a great deal of nervousness. What if he's already asleep and gets pissed that I'm coming in this late. Classes don't start for another week from this Monday and he'd probably think I wasn't coming in until the next week, even though most people had come early for some weird welcoming concert they had planned for this weekend. Stepping through the door I was greeted with the sight of organization personified. He had apparently chose the side of the room next to the windows with an angular ceiling, since we were on the top floor, and to say that he liked to have things in their just place may be the biggest understatement ever made. A quick glance showed two medium sized bookcases on either side of his desk, which was positioned next to the one of the windows, and they were loaded down with books. His desk had a fairly new laptop placed in its center with a jar full of pens on one side of the laptop and another jar full of what appeared to be toothpicks and assorted candy on the other. Again this was all as neat as could be and seemed like they were placed with care. He had placed a small rectangular rug on the floor extending from the foot of his bed to, about four feet from the TV positioned on the wall. Beaverbrook may have skimped on an elevator but the rooms and facilities were nicely furnished, each having two desks, two beds, two closets, and even an in suite bathroom for each room. It's one of the reasons that I chose to attend here and not elsewhere. Then my eyes took in the man who, at the time, seemed quite the picture of your typical bookworm. He was sitting with his back against the wall on the bed with a duvet covering him from the abs down, reading a book and didn't seem as if he had noticed my arrival. Being as how he hadn't noticed me, I figured that I'd take the time to notice him. He had uncombed, rumpled dark brown hair which was strewn about his face and shoulder length in the back and was covering a good portion of the pillow behind his head. His jaw was angular and sharp, and upon it was a dark five o clock shadow. His chin had a cleft just below his slight, crisp lips and his nose was what you might call roman with a slight upturn at the end. Upon said nose was a small pair of wire frames that appeared to be reading glasses and not what I would picture as someone's constant eyewear. His eyes, or at least what I could see of them through his hair, were focused on his book and yet, still had a carefree and casual look about them. He had on a loose dark green sweater and I couldn't see below, but the duvet looked handmade and was different shades of purple and blue. All in all, he looked rather good to me, but wasn't what I'd call sexiest man alive, nor did he have anyone physical trait that I could see so far that made him stand out. "You going to stand there staring or would you like help with your things?" That made me jump a little. His voice was deep, but not like from the bowels of hell deep. Also, there was a soft southern accent in there as well, which was rather strange to hear in Vermont. The kind of voice that made me shiver and not from the usual New England cold. "Uh, sorry. Kind of zoned out there for a minute. Luke Gladstone Chambers, nice to meet you." The hair fell out of his face for a moment as he tilted his head to the left. He raised an eyebrow and the corner of his mouth curled ever so slightly. "Gladstone?" Holy flying, fucking, bat nuts. His eyes were hazel and seemed to be very expressive, as amusement seemed to make them sparkle and suddenly his entire face seemed to come into a new being. "Luke, either you have ADD or a slight hearing problem. Either way, just let me know when you'd like to pick this conversation back up." "Sorry, sorry, I don't know why I keep drifting off like that." Sure I didn't. "As long as you don't do that while driving, I think we'll be alright. John Wayne Anderson and yes my old man had a sense of humour not to be taken lightly. You can call me Duke or Jack, which ever you prefer." "And you're going to make fun of Gladstone, Duke?" "You got me on that one, but I'd wager that you prefer Luke." "Actually, my friends call me Bambi." "Bambi? I think you'd better leave the name jokes alone; you've got ample opportunity for someone to have a few comebacks at your expense." Well, Dukes got a bit of a vocabulary it would seem. "Yeah you've got a point." "Why Bambi though?" "Well, it's a bit embarrassing." "Wouldn't be worth telling if it wasn't." Well, may as lose my dignity in one fell swoop I guess. "Uh... well, I tend to cry at certain movies and Bambi was one of those. My friends picked up on this and it just stuck with me ever since. I don't mind though. Besides they never used it to hurt my feelings or anything." Stop rambling Luke. "As well they shouldn't. Going back to my original point, would you like a hand?" He said as he waved a hand at the suitcases that I still had standing by each leg. "No thanks, this is all I have for now. The rest is out in the car and frankly I don't think that I can make that walk right now." "Yeah, it is a bit of a trek. I'll give you a hand with the rest tomorrow then." "You don't have to, I can manage." "I know, but it's not like there is anything else to do tomorrow. Besides, if you've got more than a bag of cotton balls left to unpack, you're going to want the help. "True. Thank you in advance I guess." "No problem." With that, rather unusual introduction, conversation died out as I organized my things. Organized may be a relative term. More like I put the things that would fit in drawers into drawers and clothes in the closet and let the rest sort itself out until the morning. Throughout all of this, Duke remained silent and kept on reading his book. I had actually almost forgotten that he was there until he got up to head into the bathroom. I turned as he got up to see that he was about 6'1, but I couldn't really tell a body shape due to the baggy blue jeans that he had accompanying that sweater. He grabbed a dark blue t-shirt and a pair of gym shorts on the way, gently closing the door behind him. He didn't seem too weird as of yet, more like a bit strange and quiet. He was pretty hot, though in a nerdish sort of way. So far it would seem that I could've done much worse. While he showered I put up some band posters and set up my laptop on the desk on my side of the room. As I began to make the bed I started to wonder more and more about what those baggy clothes were hiding. Was he hairy? Was he fat? Perhaps he was just shy or maybe he couldn't afford anything better. All these things raced through my head like cars bound to eventually crash on a busy interstate. Another thing that kept replaying was those eyes. You couldn't really see them when his hair was in the way, but when he had tilted his head and given me access I was hooked. The amused look was fine, but now my mind kept trying to imagine what they would look like with the fire of desire in them. These thoughts weren't helpful to maintaining any dignity. I started to notice little Luke trying to get a little attention right about then and decided to sit down on the bed and fold my legs under me so I could sort through my CDs and DVDs. Wouldn't want to give myself away without words would we. Speaking of which, I'd better tell him that I'm gay when he gets back so we don't have to worry about that any longer than I have to. If one of us has to move because the other is a homophobe, then best to do so as soon as possible. I started to prepare myself for what could potentially be an unpleasant conversation as I heard the shower stop and the curtain be drawn back on what must've been a metal shower rod. God I hope that he's not a homophobe. That would really kill my dreams wouldn't it? The door opened and in walked a wet dream come to life. The blue t-shirt would be my nemesis for the time being as it got the distinct pleasure of clinging to a delectable chest. I could see a smattering of dark hair coming out the collar and his legs were somewhat of the same affair as the rest. It wasn't full on bear mode or the Woolley Mammoth reincarnated, but he was far from my nearly hairless body. And if he was shy then I don't know what for. From the clinging of wet fabric I could see plenty of wiry muscle that moved and flexed with each movement he made. His shaggy hair glistened from the water that remained after what seemed a thorough toweling. "Nice posters. I'm a Killers fan myself. You about ready to clock out?" He said this as he put his glasses in a case on his nightstand. I braced myself for what I was going to say next "Thanks and yeah I could use a bit of extra rest myself. Um, before you call it a night, I should probably mention that I'm gay." I never was one for beating around the bush. However his reaction left much to be confused at. He gave me a somewhat slow up and down glance and chuckled a bit. "Ok." Wait, that's it? "You're cool with that?" "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" "I don't know, I just didn't figure that it would go that easy." "Hope you didn't have a speech planned. I can go back out and come back in and act mad if you'd like." "No, no, I'm quite happy with this. I'm just glad that I didn't have to deal with moving my stuff again." "Glad I could make your day. Now, if that's it, goodnight." "Yeah, goodnight." To say I slept restlessly that night may be underscoring it. How am I going to make it a year with him as a distraction? My dreams were filled with hazel eyes, long hair, strong arms, and visions of the future. Simplicity Ch. 02 The next morning started earlier than I would've liked. I awoke to the closing of the bathroom door. Apparently Duke liked to shower before and after bed as well. The only reason that I didn't do so last night was because of how tired I was. That and little Luke had made getting out of the bed a little difficult. Speaking of little Luke, he wanted some attention this morning and staring at a once more wet Duke wasn't helping. "You ready to go get the rest of your stuff?" He asked as he bent over to look for something in his row of drawers. I could tell from this angle that his ass was toned just as nicely as everything else that I'd managed to see thus far. I wonder what it would feel like to grip both cheeks from behind. Ok, let's slow that train of thought down before I have to sit here for another thirty minutes. I really need to get laid or this is going to be a long week. "Sure, just let me get a shower and we can head out." I decided that I'd make a sort of dash to the bathroom while he was still looking elsewhere. Gathering clothes at a speed never before seen, I felt confident that I could handle things if given some time. What I didn't count on was the bag of candles that I had forgotten to unpack. Falling face first towards the floor, I just closed my eyes and waited for the pain. No use in fighting it and getting hurt worse. Suddenly, though, I was pulled upright and flush into a strong chest that I was now stuck against. I didn't know that chest hair could be this soft, almost like a thousand little feathers and god damn he smells good, like a forest, sweet and musky at the same time. Man, I hope he doesn't notice little Luke's not so subtle rise upon the scene. Slowly, I looked up into hazel eyes that were once more filled with amusement, except this time there was something else there that I couldn't quite decipher. After a moment or two he stood me upright by pushing me at the shoulders and started to smooth the wrinkles down out of his shirt as he began buttoning it, turning away from me. "You may want to watch where you place your feet as you go into the bathroom. There's a bit of a step up for some reason and I don't think I'd be able to run fast enough to catch you from over there." "Uh... yeah, thanks, I had forgotten about that bag." "Are those candles?" "Yeah, they are. I kind of have a thing for scented candles. My mother used to light one every night." "Used to?" "She passed away when I was six." "I'm sorry to hear that." "It's not that big of a deal anymore. For the most part I don't remember her, only certain things." "Like the candles?" "Like the candles." "You mind saying how it happened?" "She was mugged one night on her way home from work. She worked at the hospital on the night shift and someone liked here necklace I guess. My dad noticed it in a pawn shop few weeks later. The way he tells it, he nearly had to kill that pawnbroker to get it back. Now it sits in a box on his dresser. Sorry, I'm rambling again, I tend to do that." "Rambling just means that you've got a lot to say; besides I don't mind." I chuckled at that and walked on to the shower and yes, there was a large step up into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth as I let the shower warm up and started to think on where things stood. Am I attracted to him? There's still some half hard evidence of that. Now for the bigger question: is he attracted to me? So far I'm failing on that account. I don't even know if he's gay, straight, or has a thing for koala bears. Stepping into the shower was heaven in a nutshell. Time to make little Luke go away for a while. Grabbing the head and working my way down my modest six and a half inches, images of that chest and those eyes filled my mind and I couldn't help but moan as I thought of how those long fingers might feel in the place of mine. Grabbing a little of the conditioner I'd brought with me and squirting that on my hand, I worked my shaft fast and hard until I came against the tile wall with the thought of laughing hazel eyes and what I imagined to be an impressive package. Holy shit; usually I last a little longer than this. I may be eighteen, but that doesn't mean that I have a hair trigger, well at least not until now. I decided that some actual bathing might do me good and went about that while trying to get my knees to continue to support me. I don't get how he's managed to get under my skin so quickly. I don't even know the first thing about the guy other than he likes organization and sounds like a soft meandering love song. Ok, maybe that was a bit of a self serving description on the latter, but I do like his voice. It's slow and soft, enchanting even, without trying. I'm really getting into deep water here. However, there is hope. You see this is all physical attraction and more so deprivation. I haven't had a date since David, much less a lay, and that was nearly a year ago. Had to cut that off when I found the bastard with some other guy between his legs. Let's just say that I was pissed. Point is, there can't be anything special about him, and even if there were, I don't need to go and fuck my roommate just to have something go wrong and make the rest of this year intolerable. I just need to get some action and I'll be fine. I mean, come on, I'm the definition of a twink. That may sound self-defacing, but I don't see it as such. In fact, I take pride in my looks, they've served me well. I'm not a whore or anything. Most of my relationships tended to go at least a few months. At the same time though, I was never more than a week or two without someone to keep me company. Walking out of the bathroom, a sight greeted me that I certainly didn't expect. Duke was in his rolly chair by the window, with his feet propped up on one of the bookcases, reading once more with a toothpick in his mouth. What had stunned me were the candles arranged on my desk by colour and size, each looking as if someone had spent hours on their placement. Maybe I wasn't a hair trigger after all. "Figured I'd do something while I waited; hope you don't mind." "Not at all, thank you. Sorry that I took so long." "You were only about fifteen minutes." Well fuck. "Oh, well are you ready to go?" Without a word he closed his book and grabbed his keys from his desk, placing the book in its stead, as I started to gather my things. Also, it appears I was right about the glasses theory. He only grabbed the case and slid them in his interior jacket pocket rather than put them on. He locked the door behind us and we started our walk out to the parking lot. Guess now's my chance to delve into the mystery that is Jack Anderson. "So, where are you from?" "South Virginia, little town called South Boston. Doesn't look a damn thing like Boston before you ask." "I thought that you were from somewhere down South. I'm from Milwaukee. Have you ever been there?" "Can't say that I have." "It's a great town, if a bit on the large side for me." He just gave a grunt at that and we continued on in silence. In fact, we remained in silence, with the exception of a few attempts at small talk made by myself. I was beginning to think that I'd done something to piss him off, except he didn't seem angry. Instead, he was down right calm, as if he was just watching and not participating in life. I didn't like that. It was quite unsettling, and if you want to talk about unsettling then you should see the way he would look at people from under his eyebrows, almost like he was sizing them up. Again though, none of it was menacing just mannerisms, which I later came to learn, were unique to him. That day passed innocently enough. He didn't want to go to the concert and I eventually gave up trying to convince him, and so I went alone. Figured that I could find a little entertainment to settle my nerves and christen my new college years with a bang. At least that was the intention. The band sucked and I didn't manage to find anyone that tickled my fancy, so I reached in my pocket for my phone so that I could at least play a game of solitaire while I tried to think of something else to do. That was about the time I remembered that Duke and I had traded numbers and I took notice of the fact that I wasn't even ten o clock yet. So I called him as I walked to a coffee shop that I'd noticed on the way over to the common. The voice that greeted me was both slightly amused and questioning. "Bored already Luke?" "You know it Dukey." "Did you seriously just call me Dukey?" "I can go with Jacky or Johnny if you prefer." "I take it plain old Duke is out of the question." "Unfortunately so Dukey, it would seem that someone already claimed it." "Who?" "He starred in a few movies back in the day and I think he might object to the possibility of my getting the two of you confused, so Dukey it is." "But it sounds like you're a two year old running to tell me that you managed to shit in the pot." I nearly coughed up a lung laughing at that. "Oh dear God... you just gave me all the reason I need to keep using your new name Dukey." "Some of us are just blessed I guess. Did you want something besides my self-respect Luke?" "Yes, meet me at that little coffee shop just to the right of the common." "No please? And which way is the right?" "I'm sure you'll manage. See you soon Dukey" I heard him try to say something, but I turned him off before he could finish what was bound to be a refusal as I walked into the little café. He can't say no if I don't give him a chance right? I ordered up an espresso and grabbed the corner booth as I waited for my lanky country boy to come round. Ten minutes and two espressos later saw the entrance of my new roomy and part-time obsession. He was dressed in a pair of somewhat tight blue jeans, black boots, a red flannel shirt, with a black leather jacket, a black stocking hat, and a light blue scarf. His hair was hanging out of his hat and partially hid one eye while falling down his shoulders in the back. I was suddenly very happy that there was a table to hide my lower half. He made a quick glance about the room before spotting me, which he indicated with a nod of his head. If I didn't know any better I'd say that he way on his way to some sort of deal. He wouldn't make a good spy. He got a latte and a cinnamon roll from the waitress before joining me on the opposite side of the booth. He glanced down at my empty cups and then at the one in my hands before cocking his head to the side and laughing. "Should I be concerned that you're going to bounce away before I can finish mine?" "Not if you drink fast. Besides, this isn't even a lot." Those hazel eyes held disbelief in them now and his jaw might need someone's assistance in being useful again for it now hung helplessly open. Eyes off of his lips Luke, eyes off of his lips. "Just what is a lot?" "Four or five." "Do me a favor and slow down, for my sake. I don't want to have to explain to the good people around us why you won't stop shaking." "Don't worry, I don't start shaking till the fifth one." That earned another chuckle. We talked about the basics: how are you liking college life so far, hobbies, favorite movies, and the like. This is where I should explain. You see, I meant to say that I talked about those things. Duke merely sat there sipping on his latte while nodding, all the while staring directly into my eyes as if he could see into my soul. That may sound exaggerated, but his gaze was the definition of penetrating. He'd just calmly hold your eyes, no matter the tale. You would get the same stare for telling him how you stubbed your toe that morning as you would for recounting the time you cured polio. It was unnerving. At first I thought that he was just being polite, feigning listening while daydreaming. However, I soon got the sense that he just preferred to listen rather than add anything to the conversation. The waitress eventually came over to tell us that they were closing since it was one o clock and we were the only people left. We gathered our things and left with the night shift, some glaring at us for making them stay this long. As we walked back to the dorm I decided to broach the question that was bothering me. "Duke, do I talk too much for you? Because if so, I can tone it down." He waved a hand dismissively and said "Not at all. You're quite interesting; I just didn't feel the need to interject." "Are you sure?" He stopped, turned towards me and spoke slowly. "Luke, talk all you want and I'll listen. If I should ever grow tired of doing so, you'll be the first to know. Until then, say what you like when you like." Turning back to the dorm, he left me standing there a bit awestruck. I felt as if I'd just been comforted, yet he didn't seem as if he had been going for that. "Are you coming?" I ran after him and we walked the rest of the way in silence. Still, it was a comfortable silence, the kind where it didn't feel as if anything needed to be said. We got back to the dorm and laid down to sleep like normal. Same routines, same pillows, and same room. There was a difference in me though. I felt determined to discover more of the mystery that was Duke and even allowed myself the privilege of some less than g rated dreams as I nodded off. OoOoOoO Thanks for the comments on the first chapter and any in advance for this one. I can't promise that the next ones will be any longer but I will finish the story. That's pass time writing for you. Anyway, thanks again and enjoy. Simplicity Ch. 03 Thus began one of the happiest points in my life. I was on top of the world for what seemed to be the longest of time. I knew that the other shoe had to fall sometime, but I just wanted to enjoy it for the time being. Duke and I became something akin to brothers. We were inseparable. We spent many nights and days like the one at the café and even though he was going for a law degree and I a doctorate we didn't start getting into special classes until our junior years, and so it worked out that a lot of our basic classes, the ones that everyone has to take, threw us in together. We were an odd pair, him the tall silent southern gentlemen and I the constantly rambling blonde twink. Many people assumed that we were together, which only served to make me wish for it to be just so. Still friendship is a start isn't it? Not all relationships are built off sex, at least that's what people have told me. I never really tried that method. For all of his observing, I did some of my own. I came to learn the many traits and mannerisms that made Duke, Duke. He was quiet, extremely so, unless he was talking about something he felt passionate about in class or, in rare cases, at some of the parties that we attended together. I'd never met anyone that could carry on an intelligent debate inside a frat house with three glasses of scotch in their system before I'd met him. He also tended to read non-fiction unless it was poetry, to which his favorite authors were W.H. Auden and A.E. Houseman. He never read any aloud but I would sometimes read some of the titles off of the shelves when I was bored. He loved history and that was about the only thing that I could get him to talk about with him actually saying more than two sentences. I learned more about the Second World War, the Civil War, presidential terms, Lyndon Johnson's weird quirks, and other random trivia than any man should ever have to be subjugated to. Weird part was, as anti-history as I am, it never bothered me. That's not to say that I was extremely interested in the subject matter, merely listening to him talk. Toothpicks were a constant at pretty much all times and I rarely recall seeing him without one. I found out that his two favorite colours were blue and purple, and that Richard Nixon was his favorite President. All of his political views were mostly conservative except for certain issues. For example he was for gay marriage, yet disagreed with the way the economy was being run under the current administration. He liked the idea of government healthcare, though felt as if we were going about it the wrong way. He called the extremes of both parties "straight jacket cases" and insisted that no side was completely right and that he was likely as wrong as everyone else. He also had humility going for him. He didn't value his own self that much, telling me once that "I'm no catch, merely the fish that jumped in the boat." I had a hard time believing this and told him of such. "Duke, you've got tons going for you and you don't even realize it. You're smart, kind, and not exactly ugly if I should happen to get a vote." While I started to worry that I was giving away to much information, he just blushed and tried to wave me off. "You're just saying that because you haven't been on so much as a night out for coffee with anyone but my boring ass since we got here. I'm not that great, you're just developing Stockholm syndrome." "So what, just because my love life has been slower than average doesn't mean that I'm blind or being corrupted by osmosis. You're better than you're giving yourself credit for Duke and I vow to make you see that." "That'll happen right about the time that my ass grows wings and flies around the moon." It didn't seem as If I was going to convince him of his good qualities just yet. Then came my concern with his social life, or rather lack thereof. The only person that he seemed to talk to on a regular basis that went beyond grunts and short answers was me. I never once heard him on the phone with family or friends from back home. I'd always meant to ask him about that, but still hadn't figured out a good way to do so. For some strange reason it seemed as if I was the only one he really talked to. Part of me felt sad that he was so closed off and, jealously, a bit happy that I had him to myself. However, this is not to say that we were open books with each other. I had things that I didn't really want to talk about and, at times, you could see his eyes drift off somewhere else when you'd broach certain subjects such as family. That had to be a sore spot. He also wouldn't talk too much about what his home was like for him. The most he talked about Virginia was in relation to the beauty or the people and places that he missed. "You know something Luke?" "What's that Dukey?" "I was just thinking of a little hot dog joint the next town over back in Virginia. Those crazy bastards would put soy sauce and mayonnaise on the hot dogs. Sounds like shit, I know, but they'd drive you crazy to have another." Little things like that, but never anything that revealed anything more than a tourist's travel guide would and I don't recall ever once hearing him call the place home. It made me want to know why. I'm what you'd call a people person. I like crowds and conversation is my forte. I usually keep a group of friends around me at all times, yet it wasn't until recently that I realized that I never had any close friends. The groups that I've been a part of were always based on convenience. No one ever went out of their way for the other. I started to pull away from that. With Duke, it was as if things changed. For some reason I couldn't get enough of the man and for his part he seemed to at least tolerate my presence. That may not sound like a compliment, but Duke never showed affection that well. He'd smile or chuckle at a joke and would be cordial with all, but intimate with none. If he didn't like you he'd just ignore you. The most I ever saw him show any affection was with the occasional hug he would give me and to be fair I usually forced him into those. Every now and then he'd hug me as a greeting or farewell. He couldn't hide his heart though. More than once I witnessed random acts of kindness perpetrated by him with the complete absence of any expectations of recompense or thanks. More than once I'd seen him drive a stranger back to their dorm after a few too many. More than once I'd seen him go out of his way to help others. There was this one time when we came across a tall blonde and a short redhead with a large stack of boxes by the library's rear entrance. "What would you say that they're doing Bambi?" "I don't know. Should we ask them if they ne-..." Before I could even ask if we should interfere he was crossing the street to see for himself. "I guess that answers that." I said to myself. With his usual soft baritone, he asked the ladies what they were doing. Turned out that the library had gotten a new shipment of books and Stacey, the blonde, and Becky, the redhead, were the only volunteer workers that the library had on staff at the moment. The boxes at the door were the only ones that they'd managed to drag to the door thus far. "We'd be happy to give ya'll a hand." An hour later we had the truck unloaded, the boxes in a storage room, and two enthusiastic college girls begging for our numbers. "There aint no need ma'am, we were just heading for a coffee anyway and Luke and I don't mind a little extra work, do we Luke?" "Not at all." "Now come on, Becky and I can't just let you do all our work without doing something for you." Enticed Stacey. This was accompanied by a volley of eyelash batting and her impressive amount of cleavage being thrust towards us. She's not exactly subtle, is she? Becky wasn't as forward, but she was eying me up quite a bit. "We certainly appreciate it, but Luke here don't bat for your team and I'm a confirmed bachelor myself. However, you're more than welcome to join us." Becky instantly transferred her attentions to Duke. Strange, that. I'd heard the bachelor comment myself and felt my mood sour a tad. That had to mean that he was straight, otherwise he would have listed himself in with me. "Oh, we'd love to", chimed Becky. As we walked, Duke went back to his quiet self despite numerous attempts at flirting by the newest additions to what was once our two man entourage. That left me to make the small talk which, much to my satisfaction, diverted their attentions from him somewhat. I'm a little jealous and nervous, and at that point a little annoyed, so fucking sue me. I found out that Becky was a junior studying interior design and from New York, while Stacey was native to Vermont and here for her final year of a sports medicine degree. Stacey was clearly not the brains of the operation, which isn't to say that she was stupid, only less smart than Becky. Occasionally they'd try to get Duke to talk only to be rebuffed with a short answer to whatever question they'd asked. When we arrived at Stan's, our café from before whose name I'd discovered on our second visit, they headed for the ladies' room while Duke and I ordered. I took the opportunity to ask the question that I'd been dying to for the past ten minutes. "If you're not interested in a date then why did you invite them along?" "Seemed rude not to. I probably wouldn't have if I didn't have you here to distract them." I wasn't sure if I should be a little pissed that he'd pawned them off on me or thankful that he wasn't interested in their obvious offers in the slightest. "We could always eat quickly and feign a reason to leave if you don't wish to deal with them further," said Duke quite formally. What is he, a butler? "No, and what's with the butler speak?" He shrugged and replied, "Seemed funnier in my head. Get ready, here cometh the queens of subtlety." That earned a laugh that I couldn't suppress in time. "What's funny", asked Stacey. Shit. "Uh-" "Fellow over there dropped his bagel." And in slides Duke with the save. "Oh, well at least we can chat inside and away from the cold in here", she said through what had to be the world's biggest smile. We all sat and talked for about a half hour before Duke and I got up to head back to our dorm. Not before trading numbers, though. Thankfully, they seemed to get the hint that Duke was genuinely not interested by the end of our time together. They weren't that bad once they stopped flirting. Becky was smart and provided some interesting conversation. Stacey was spontaneous enough that the subjects changed often. Duke even came out of his corner a bit. This was a sign of things to come for us. They became an added component to the two man band that we were, creating a mixed sex quartet. We'd go to plays together, museums, study groups, a few concerts, and everything in between. Duke remained quiet, but not as laconic as before. Stacey was a big partier and typically dragged the rest of us to which ever sorority was having a block special that weekend. We drove the girls home each night and they'd kiss us each on the cheek before we left. We were never really close, just friends for a season I suppose. That's how things went for quite a while. Christmas came before I knew it; I was set to go back to see my dad in Milwaukee and Duke was to go home to his native Virginia. However, my dad and I weren't the picture of familial happiness. He'd been bitter ever since my mother's passing and he still wasn't exactly fine with the homosexual thing. Duke knew all of this from our many conversations. He never asked, I just rambled like I usually do. We were packing up our things to prepare for our trips just before we were each due to leave. To be honest, I was packing while he sat beside his suitcase on his bed; I may have been caught up watching his ass while he packed and thus he was finished while it looked as if I hadn't even started. I really need to get back in the dating pool before I snap like a twig from all the pining. Oh, who am I kidding? I've been so caught up in Duke that I hadn't even tried to date this semester. The biggest problem isn't that I haven't drawn interest, it's that all the other men that I've come across all get mentally shot down with one screening question: "How do they measure up with Duke." And just what did I get for my observations? Not a damn thing, that's what. I still don't know if he's gay. I had managed to convince myself that his bachelor comment was just a ploy, to ward off the girls' advances, in an attempt to hold onto hope that a new existence would spring into being. Also, I'd given up on the idea of trying a fling or two. For some reason it just didn't appeal to me. Looks like I was stuck pining for a while longer. Speaking of the devil, I glanced back over my shoulder to find him standing behind me looking almost nervous. The hell? Since when does Duke get nervous? "Something wrong Duke?" "Uh...are you and...shit... are you and your dad gonna be... well...good with each other for the...uh, break?" Wait a minute, Duke was asking something personal and looked very much concerned despite the nervousness, and was he stammering? He was too adorable not to; I pulled him into a tight hug to ease his mind a bit. "Thank you and I'm staying with my grandparents, not that loon." I pulled back to look him in the eyes and he looked relieved, if still a bit pensive. "Glad to hear it, but if you need anything, remember that you can always call." He's just full of surprises today. Wait a minute... a thought suddenly occurred to me. "Duke, are you going to be alright going home?" A bit of surprise overtook his face before his usual mask fell down as it did when I mentioned something that he didn't want to talk about. Still it was rare that I saw him surprised. Was he surprised that I had asked about him? He broke out of the embrace that I still hadn't relinquished and turned back towards his bed. "Yeah, I'll be fine", came the mumbled reply from over his shoulder. Well shit, that ruined the moment didn't it? I was a little hurt that he didn't think that I'd ask about him. Must rectify that immediately. I must drill it into his head that I care, that he's not alone, not only to increase my chances, but because I do find myself caring about him and don't want him to feel as if he's all by himself. "Hey, Duke. You be sure to call me if you need it too." With a slow turn of the head to glance at me from over his shoulder, I could see a small smile and hear him say, "Sure thing Bambi." I couldn't think of anything else to add. I finished packing and we hugged as we parted ways in the parking lot, him to his ragged truck and me in my little Escort. As I drove to the airport I tried to think of ways to get him to open up more. I'd seen a new side of the man that I quite liked and I'll be damned if I'm going to stop now. I made my way through security on auto pilot and wished more than anything that I could peer into a magical crystal ball and see just what made him tick. Here's a New Year's resolution for you: find out if Duke is datable. That can't hurt me. If he's straight I back off, if otherwise I'll try and get myself an interview with Duke and Jack Emotional Services Incorporated. Unfortunately for me, Vermont in the winter is quite snowy, who woulda thunk it. My flight got canceled, but not before four miserable hours spent sitting in the terminal and a strenuous phone call to my grandparents explaining that I'd be fine on my own for one Christmas and a less pleasant call to my dad in which his reply of, "Fine", was less than touching. Resigned to my fate, I trudged back to my car and drove back to the dorms feeling less than ecstatic. I wonder if Duke managed to get out of the city. I remember him telling me that he couldn't afford the plane ticket and was going to drive the thirteen hours down instead. Just how deep is the snow? Maybe he'll wreck. Oh God, I should call and make sure that he's ok. No Luke, he'll just think you're bugging him because you got stranded and knowing Duke he'll turn around so that I won't be alone. I'll give him a few hours more before I call, that way he's be at least halfway and won't be able to turn back just for me. So that's how it worked out that I was sitting on my bed watching the Weather Channel as I checked the weather reports on my laptop for the entire east coast when I should've been in Wisconsin. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and reached for my phone. "Yes Luke?" I should be mad that he doesn't sound surprised to hear me calling. "Afternoon Duke, how's the trip so far?" "I'm just outside of Wilmington Delaware, so on schedule. How goes Wisconsin?" "Not so good. They canceled my flight due to all of the snow, so I'm back at the dorm watching TV. Doing fine though, I might even try to read one of your books if you don't mind." "Of course I don't mind and just why the hell didn't you tell me that you didn't make it home? I'd have turned back." he said with a large amount of annoyance in his voice. "That's exactly why I didn't call you until now. I'd say that Wilmington is a bit far to pull an about face. Anyway, i just wanted to check in, you have a nice Christmas Dukey." "I will have my revenge Bambi, you'd do well to take note of that." I like the sound of that. "I can't wait, now put the phone down and drive you idiot, I know that that was a horn. Take care Duke." "Merry Christmas Luke." With that I sat my phone down to charge on my nightstand and skyped my grandparents until i fell asleep. OoOoOoO Thanks for reading and all your comments. I know that the chapters aren't lengthy, but if it doesn't read right to me than I omit it. Some ideas suck and I try to be cognizant of my own shittier ideas. Thanks again and enjoy. Simplicity Ch. 04 Christmas day started slowly. I was on Skype with my grandparents, watching as their nephews and nieces' children opened presents. I was never really close with my cousins, but we saw each other for the major holidays. They were all nice and we got on fine. That lasted for about an hour before I had enough of watching the action through a laptop camera and made my goodbyes. I didn't have a Christmas tree or any presents of my own, just the lights that I had hung around the windows while Duke drew a wreath on the dry erase board on our fridge. Looking at that now gave me a sense of loneliness. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't liking being alone. So I distracted myself. The cleaning did get a bit out of hand, I'm willing to admit that. The floor was spotless and shining after an hour's scrubbing. I changed all the light bulbs for reasons that elude me. My bed had always squeaked badly so I sprayed a can worth of WD-40 over all of the springs. It was around noon that I'd started to move on to work on cleaning out the fridge when there was a knock on the door. Who the hell stays over the break willingly? I opened the door to find Duke, holding a box with wrapping paper, smiling a small smile, toothpick hanging from his lips. I don't know whether to hit him or hug him. I settled for the latter. "What the hell are you doing here you jackass!" I said, a bit muffled, through his scarf. He patted me on the back and said, "Figured I'd give you some company rather than leave you here alone." Something told me that that wasn't all there was to it. "How'd things go back home Duke? You only stayed for a day." He separated us, looked in my eyes for a moment, and patted me on the head as he walked by me and into the room. "Actually, it was more like half of an evening. I pulled in the driveway at four and left at nine. Pretty good compared to what I was expecting." "What exactly happened Duke?" He turned and gently nudged me towards my closet, "Put some clothes on Luke, we're going out." Now that I stared at him a bit more I could see that his eyes were red and his sluggish movements lacked their normal grace. "Jesus Duke, why don't you at least sleep for awhile? Then we can go and do whatever you want." "Not tired." He said without looking at me and handed me his keys as he walked out the door. I hurriedly threw on the first set of clothes that I could find and started after him. I didn't catch up with him until I had made it to the bottom of the stairs; he was already half-way across the common. As I pulled alongside of him I started to wonder why he gave me his keys. "Duke, just where are we going?" "To the truck." He added succinctly. "Ok, let's try why are we going?" "Hungry and I'd like the company." "Alright I guess." I didn't know what else to say. Duke drove an 87 Dodge Power Ram W100, painted black with chrome trim, four in the floor, and don't ask me what the engine was because I never was a car guy and despite the few times he's told me I never manage to remember. When we got to the parking lot he got in the passenger seat, which caused me to be even further confused as to why he wouldn't want to drive. "Aren't you going to drive?" Again not looking at me, rather out the windshield, "Bambi, I just drove twenty-five hours on more coffee than you drink in a day, which is saying something. I've had enough of the road for awhile." Very true. "Ok, then where am I driving to?" I asked as I fumbled with the drive column and the mirrors to get them suitable to my height. I hope I don't fuck this up; it's been awhile since I drove a clutch. "Joe and Dan's Steakhouse." That was on the other side of town, yet it was about the only place left open on Christmas. "You sure you don't want to rest first? That's about an hour's drive from here." Beaverbrook was on the outskirts of the city. "I'm sure, now let's go before Christmas comes round again." I didn't argue it further and drove out of the parking lot with the feeling that the big truck was going to try and drive itself. It didn't take long into our journey before I noticed Duke asleep against the window. We were sitting at a stop light when I was going to try and ask him how his trip went once more when I saw him drooling on the seatbelt. I told him to stay and rest, but no instead the stubborn ass has me driving this huge thing to the other side of town because he wants apparently wants a steak. My attempts at being angry quickly subsided the more I took glances at him. Truth be told, I'd drive him to California if he asked me to. Still, I was concerned as to why he was back. When we got to the steakhouse I had to shake Duke to get him to wake up to which he merely wiped his eyes and got out, heading towards the entrance to Joe and Dan's. We got a booth in the back corner, to the left of the bar, Duke on one side and myself on the other. I ordered eight ounce filet, medium, while Duke got a twelve ounce rib eye, rare. We were waiting for our food when Duke broke the silence. "Did I ever tell you about my family Luke?" My eyebrows shot up at this and I looked into his eyes to see him once more looking at me, but it seemed as if he were looking elsewhere in his mind. "No Duke, I don't think you ever did." "There's a reason for that. I'll tell you if you'd like to hear it." There was no need to ask that question. "Duke, I'll listen to whatever you want to tell me." The waitress came and sat our plates down before taking her leave. I was still staring at Duke as he chopped up his steak into small cubes before eating any of it. He then glanced at me and then back at his plate before eating one of the cubes. He finished chewing before he spoke, waving his fork in the air all the while. "I pretty much grew up with my father's parents. Walter and Meredith Anderson were their names, took me in after my mother died while giving birth to me and my father shot himself two years later. They told me that he just couldn't handle the grief after she left. Said that he dropped me off one night, saying that he had to go see about a friend of his and would come round for me in the morning. He drove down to the river and put a .45 in his skull, a bottle of bourbon in one hand and her picture on the dash of his truck. I don't really remember him though, just pictures." He ate a few more bites of his steak, drinking a bit of the scotch that he must've ordered when I wasn't looking. He kept the class in his hand as he started once more. "They ran a tobacco farming empire in Virginia and some of North Carolina. I worked the farms with Papa on up through my teens since I was tall enough to reach the leaves. Hell I was driving tractors when I was twelve. They watched over me as if I was their own. Now, we never played ball or anything like that, hell the man was sixty-eight when I was born. No, I learned that there was more than one way to bond with someone." He took a long sip from his glass and downed a few more cubes of bleeding steak. "He'd read to me every night after he got back in from the fields, even after I was long past sitting on his knee, everything from Kipling to Tennyson, Auden to Yeats, and several more in between. He told me of his grandfather's Civil War service and some of the tales that were passed down to him. Said that my father used to find them a bit boring, but that he was glad that I liked to hear it." "On rare occasions he'd tell me about his own service in the Second World War and of how he missed those that he'd been there with. He told me of my grandmother's parents, how they didn't want her to marry a tobacco farmer because it would wind her up in the poor house. Sometime he'd even tell me about my mother and her family. I eventually told him not to though, brought up things that I didn't want to think on." Duke had lost all of his normal flowing hand motions that normally accompanied his speech and was rather talking at different things in the room as opposed to me. Only occasionally would he meet my eyes, seeming altogether nervous. "When I was fifteen I had my first realization that I was gay." My eyebrows are probably lodged in the ceiling somewhere, meanwhile my heart is beating faster than it's ever beat before. He didn't seem to notice, just played with his hands some more. "I tend to accept things as fact and go on, so I never really questioned my feelings, just went with them." "I was helping my grandmother dry the dishes one evening when the neighbor's daughter and son hopped out of the truck with their father and they started talking to Pa by our fence posts near the front gate. She said 'what do you think of young Susan over there?' I told her that she seemed nice enough. She just nodded and went back to the pans. A few minutes passed before she slid in, 'I get the feeling that you'd prefer Henry to her though.' Needless to say I dropped the skillet that I was drying." He started laughing heavily at this. "I eventually got my courage up and said 'Yes ma'am.' To which she simply replied, 'Walter thought so, but I figured I'd see for myself.' Then she hugged me and we went back to cleaning. I'll never forget that day. She didn't make a big to do about, just hugged me and went on. That was it and yet, it mattered more to me than I could ever say." He was becoming more wistful as he went on, eyes gleaming in the glow of the table lamp. "When the cigarette industry tanked, most people lost everything. Not us. Walter had seen it coming and sold the majority of the land we owned, putting the money in secure stocks up in New York City. He made more money doing that than we ever did farming. We lived the same as we always did though, just minus the farm work. Instead he'd take me to soup kitchens and Habitat for Humanity sights for work instead. It was a good life." He was looking a bit pale and I thought I saw a tear roll down his cheek, but he turned his face away from me for a minute. He wiped his eyes and pressed on. "Walter died of a heart attack this past 12th of February and Meredith followed him on March 23rd from what I'd imagine was a broken heart. She had always told me that if he went, she wouldn't be far behind." He stared at the table for what felt like an eternity. "I was eighteen and thus all the property was signed over to me. I finished out high school and decided to head north, and so here I am." He looked up and locked eyes with me as he toyed with his glass. "You wanted to know why I'm back so soon. Well, the house sold back in October, I paid someone to move all the things into a storage complex, so I went back just to see the place one last time and have what I didn't need auctioned off and the rest shipped up here to be nearer to me. That only took two hours. I spent the rest of the time at the cemetery, staring at headstones. I paid my respects and headed back here." Abruptly, he laid a hundred down on a sixty dollar bill before getting up and heading for the door. I followed him, ignoring my mostly untouched food, to see where we were going now. I found him already sitting in the truck when I opened the restaurant doors. I got in and started to drive off, back to the dorms. "You know, this truck was Walter's. I never drove it when he was alive, said I'd wrap it around a tree." More laughter. "The first time I took it out after the funeral I drove like a little old man with feet to short to find the gas." He was beside himself at this point, tears rolling as he laughed vigorously. He eventually stopped, falling asleep against the window. The ride back to the dorms was left quiet only interrupted occasionally by little mumbles from Duke. He woke up when I sit the speed bumps leading into the campus's parking lot. He mumbled something I didn't catch when we got out, I handed his keys back to him and we walked back to the dorm, actually talking for a change. "Aint the snow up here nice Bambi? We had snow back home, just never this much. It used to look strange to peer over the endless horizon of fields to see nothing but white, only to be broken by a few deer looking for food." We stopped on the landing to the last flight of stairs to look over the parking campus from our added height. "This is nice too, not the same, but nice." Turning, we headed towards our door, Duke flicked a penny at the door before ours, as I noticed he did every time we passed that door. "Why do you always throw pennies at their door?" He smiled and said, "I keep thinking that eventually they'll be able to buy a new door." We got inside our own room, he went over to his desk, and I went to sit on my bed. He picked up the box he had from earlier and brought it over and laid it in my lap as he sat down, putting an arm around me and resting his head on my shoulder as he did so. I slowly undid the lime green ribbon, my favorite, and took the lid off of the blue box. Inside was hand knit, lime green sweater, which was folded around something else. "I'd called ahead last month and asked an old family friend to stitch this together for me, to which she happily obliged. Although, this did cost me an hour of tea time with several little old ladies from Ms. Trudy's sewing circle." I looked to my left to see a smile on Duke's face shining with a glint that I'd never seen before. "Luke, I want to thank you. You're the first real friend I've had in a long while. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate your listening to me and putting up with the water works. I know that you're always free with how your feeling, always wearing your heart on your sleeve. I'm just not built that way. Walter always said that a man has only one person that he can share anything with who he knows won't use it to screw him over and that's himself. I guess sometimes I listen a little too much." "Duke, I don't mind one bit and I am always willing to listen, anytime. And thank you for this, you didn't have-" He cut me off by placing his hand on my mouth. "Unfold the sweater Bambi." There was a picture of my mother inside a hand carved frame; I was already beginning to cry. "I did a little hunting and pecking through November and found a lovely older couple named Lyn and Clive Jenkins, mother and father to a Lucille Jenkins Chambers, mother to a Luke Gladstone Chambers. A long phone call and a few postage stamps later and I had a picture. Another call to a fellow back home who does some carving and I had the frame. Long story short, Merry Christmas Luke." I'd never been more touched in my life. I hugged him tight and managed to get out several thank yous through the tears. I don't remember falling asleep, I do remember some strange dreams involving my mother hugging Duke at a Christmas party, my dad was even smiling. It was weird, that was how I knew it wasn't true. I woke up to find that I was in my bed, under the covers and Duke was likewise in his. I just sat and stared at him till the night was through. OoOoOoO I have no comments for this one other than thanks for reading, per usual, and i hope you enjoy. Simplicity Ch. 05 A talkative Duke is a strange thing. It's a bit like watching a toddler take its first steps. You're happy to see it happen, nervous as all hell, and above all ready to see it run. Patience never was a virtue of mine. Some things must be learned the hard way I suppose. His emotional stability and social being was born anew; well, with me anyway. He was still quiet with everyone else, but Duke was more open with me than I had ever thought possible. The more time I spent with him the more he talked about himself and the fucking deeper I fell. Sort of like said toddler when it finds the stairs. Now I know there's the question of, "What the fuck are you waiting for?" but here's the thing: I've gotten this close to him, I can't fuck it up now, not when I'm his only relief valve for his emotions besides those damned books of his. Those toothpicks in the trash can were plenty proof of the human body's ability to deal with problems or rather ignore them. He used to go through boxes a week, now I only see him chew one if he's trying to concentrate on a book or school project. There's just no way that I could risk all that now. And so, I went through life as if nothing was awry. I kept my feelings under wraps, despite the growing closeness between us. I suppose you could also say that I was using that as an excuse not to put myself at risk, but I have a very clever retort for that: fuck you. Digressing, Duke had never been showy with any endearments towards me, but now, he would hug me with the least provocation and would lay his head in my lap as we watched movies on his bed. I don't think I can properly explain the difficulty involved in hiding an erection with someone's head that close to the evidence. It's a bit torturous. I got to the point where I was getting desperate. I had to jack off after almost every encounter with him. Little Luke was screaming for the real thing and his feelings were continually hurt with the constant denials that I gave him. Thank god for lotion or I would've had a serious chafing problem. It got to the point where nearly everything that he did left me awestruck and staring. I never knew that someone could look so enticing while making a sandwich or trying to figure out why the microwave was on the fritz. Duke even asked me if I had a sleeping disorder after he caught me staring off into space for the third time in ten minutes during a movie one evening. "Jesus Bambi, I'm going to start force feeding you Nyquil before you go and start passing out on me, at least that way you'll sleep in the bed and not in your head while you should be doing other things, like oh say walking, talking, and generally doing the things that people are supposed to do when they're awake." See, no more grunts. I should be happy about that, yet I find that hard when he's prying. "I'm fine Duke, just nervous about finals is all." I said as I got up off of the couch, anxious to flee for some much needed seclusion. He followed. Of course he fucking followed. Fate would never be so kind as to allow him to lose interest so easily. "But finals aint for another 3 months Luke. Just what's been going on with you lately?" "Nothing, I've just been pre-occupied." That wasn't a lie when you think about it. A look of comprehension came over his face and I got a little worried. Now I know what the deer feels like, except I've got green eyes as opposed to headlights. "What's his name Luke?" What?!? "Fucking nobody Duke, don't even go down that road!" "And why the hell not? Come now Bambi, you haven't dated a soul since day one. Surely a man of your charm shouldn't be without a date for this long." "What about you? You've been here as long as I have." "Now, now Bambi, deflecting the question won't make it go away." He was shaking his head back and forth as if he were talking to a little child, having to explain why cookies were only allowed at certain times in the day. I wanted to hit him or perhaps kiss him. Best to depart soon. "Drop it Duke." I called out as I was scrambling out our dorm's door. "Okay, but the second I find out who it is I'm going to give him the, 'I'll kill you if you touch my daughter' speech." I heard him call out after me. I grant him that that was funny. I came up with, "Oh, fuck off", after some effort at breathing, though I doubt he heard it. I did at least manage to dodge the bullet of his dating game, for now at least. It was about a week after that that things changed. Duke had gone back to guessing who my supposed crush could be. I was less than enthused. "Scott Bernstein." "No Duke, let it go." "Kyle Landerhorn" "There's seriously someone named Landerhorn around here?" "Yes, and according to my source's he's got quite the horn" "Jesus Duke, and just who are these sources?" He began waving a finger at me."Now now Bambi, a good journalist never reveals his sources." "You're not a journalist and I've heard you say on a number of occasions that you hate the media." He ignored that. "Anthony DeCardo." "He has an odor problem Duke!" "Hey, I don't know exactly how high your standards are. Besides, Stacey tells me that most people get over the BO once they get in his bedroom." "One that's gross, two you just broke your rule, and three how does Stacey know?" "I didn't want to ask and as you said I'm no journalist. So who is it?" I didn't answer him, but went into the bathroom instead. Figured that I'd take a long shower and give Duke time to get tired of his little game for the day. Turning the shower on, I stepped in and immediately reached for the shower gel. All this questioning had made little Luke get excited. I decided that I wanted to draw this out some. Slowly, I worked a hand up my length while the other played with a nipple. Images of a muscled tan chest came to mind and the pace quickened. The hand on my tool went southward still until it came to my entrance. Slowly, I circled a finger around the edge until I was squirming for it. I slid one finger, to be followed by a second and a third while leaving my cock alone. It was weeping with fluid as I rocked back and forth on my hand while the other continued to play with my nipples. Finally, I pictured what I always pictured in times like this: hazel eyes and a cheeky grin. I came so hard that I barely noticed that I'd accidently moaned his name. No worry though, there's no way he could've heard me over the sound of the shower. Finished with my little venture, I toweled off and looked in the mirror. I will admit that it wasn't hard to see why Duke thought something was up, my eyes had bags under them and I looked dead tired. Oh well, no time for it now. I opened the door to find, to my amazement, no Duke. Going to my dresser to grab a shirt and some shorts, I found a note: 'Gone to the Library-Duke.' Well that was weird. He never leaves without actually telling me beforehand and now he usually he takes me with him. Maybe he forgot something there and will only be a minute. Good enough though; he was probably gone the second I closed the door. I decided to sit by the window and wait for him to return. Minutes turn to hours and hours turned to panic. He'd left at noon and the sun had set an hour ago. Where the fuck was Duke? He hadn't answered my texts or picked up when I called. What if he's hurt? I grabbed my keys and made for the door. About half way, I heard a key in the lock. In walked Duke with a nervous look upon his face. At the same time there was an emotion that I couldn't read in those hazel eyes. "Where have you been Duke, I've been worried sick!" He just slowly walked towards me, eyes never once leaving mine. Okay, this is weird. What's going on here? Those eyes had me glued in place though, despite the closing distance. Once he came up to me he placed a hand on my cheek and my heart started to flutter while the stomach did jumping jacks. "How long Luke?" Oh, no. This can't be happening. "Duke..." "How long?" The jig was clearly up and I really didn't know what else to say: "Forever." With that, he once more curved those lips into a smile before placing them gently on mine. We shared a kiss that was slow, sensual, each second our lips sent all the love that they could muster at once. I was in heaven. Sensual heaven gave way to sexual conquest without any notice of eviction. Before I knew it, he had me in the air, holding me by my ass, as I held on to his neck and kissed him for all I was worth. He placed me upon the bed with a reverence that I'd only seen in cheesy romance movies. I wrangled his shirt off which only made him smile. I should've known that smile meant trouble. He grabbed my shirt by the collar and ripped it in two, sending buttons flying about the room. "Won't be needing those, will we?" I didn't have any words for that. He unbuckled and pulled his pants off, discarding my shorts directly afterwards. Duke went commando apparently, the evidence of which was now pressing against my thigh. More kissing as his hand snuck down my torso to find his biggest fan. "Holy Fuck that's good!" I started bucking wildly as he slowly slid his hand up and down, circling at the head. "Glad you approve baby, because you're stuck with me now." "I like the sound of that, now please, fuck me Duke." More laughter, the bastard. Rather than get on with it, he kissed his way down my neck. Stopping at each nipple he licked and sucked before giving each a small bite and moving on. He was planting kisses anywhere and everywhere. "Duke, please!" To my navel, my hip, leaving little bite marks all the way. Finally he made it to my leaking member. He positioned it upward before diving down nearly all the way. "Fucking, fuck, fuck, fuck!!!" This caused him to chuckle, which if you've ever had anybody's head down there before you know feels fantastic. He licked up and down the sides of my length, teasing the slit with his tongue before taking me almost all the way up to the hilt once more. I was trying my best to make this last, but I can only take so much more of this, to which I pulled his hair and told him of such. "Duke... I'm going to come!" That prompted him to come up and kiss me. I wasn't sure whether to be let down that he hadn't finished or ecstatic that it would last a while longer. "I've got a bit more planned first babe." It was then that I noticed the lube in his hand. "You ready for this Baby?" He slid in a finger, to be quickly followed by a second. "Yes, Duke, please!" I was writhing as I tried to fuck myself on his hand. Whatever happened, I was going to make tonight the best that it could be. "Oh how I love to hear you moan my name. It reminds me of just how you got so stretched out." And there's finger number three. "It's also how we got in this situation in the first place. You really should be a bit quieter in the shower babe." I'm not sure I can handle many more endearments, my heart won't hold out. I could feel him remove his fingers and place his large cock at my entrance. He was long and narrow, curving upwards at the end where the head was large and mushroom shaped. "I love you Duke." Hazel eyes glistened with unshed tears as he pushed in, to which I felt and saw the evidence of his feelings falling onto my chest. There was so much emotion swirling around within those glorious depths that I couldn't decipher which was which. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear that." Great, now I'm crying, but frankly I don't give a damn. Too much pleasure, too much feeling, and too much love. My heart wasn't built for this. I swear the little bastard's trying to make a run for it. Long, deep strokes that hit that special spot with every go had my body going into overdrive. Before long, I could feel that tingling feeling coming up through me. All this to him chanting, most of which I didn't understand, but I did make out a few things. "Fucking love you Bambi, all of you! Never going to let you go, never!" What started as tingling ended in an explosion as I contracted around him and he exploded deep inside me, all the while hazel eyes held me with something akin to awe. Slowly he pulled out and spooned up behind my while I tried to regain my bearings. I was reveling in how well our bodies fit together and, at that moment, wished for nothing more than for time to simply stop. I'm not entirely sure how long we laid like that. "Bambi?" "Yeah Duke?" "Do you remember back around Christmas when I told you that old saying Walter had?" I nodded a yes, willing my eyes to garner the ability to see through my head so that I might be able to possibly read his face. "Well, I may have left out a piece of what he said." I was starting to wonder what he was getting at. "And just what might this piece be?" "What he actually said was there are two people in this world that you can trust; yourself and the one you love. I've known for awhile that I'd loved you and I want you to know that I still love you and will always love you, for as long as you'll have me that is-" "Duke." "I know that I'm not exactly the easiest to get along with or the best looking-" "Duke." "However, I can promise that you'll never have to worry about my being dedicated to you or-" I'd had enough, so I rolled over to face him, kissing him to shut him up. "Listen you oaf, I've loved you since, well since probably the moment I set eyes on you if I'm honest. And I'd love to sit here and discuss our love and possibly recite Shakespeare, but I'm a wee bit tired at the moment." I began to fluff his chest as if it were a pillow, laying my head upon him with that complete. "But Luke I-" "Duke, I lov- "My words were momentarily cut off by a yawn. I shook my head to re-gather myself. "I love you, let's hammer out the details later please." I put my head down and closed my eyes. "Love you too Bambi." I drifted off with a smile on my face, his breathing soothing me all the while. OoOoOoO I now sit, curled into Duke's side as I toy with his hair which he now keeps a more modest length, reflecting on what life has brought me thus far. Duke achieved his status as an attorney after many strenuous years of law school. We lived in a small apartment, together just off of Beaverbrook Law School's campus, for a number of years. When that finished, we let the lease run out and moved to Milwaukee so that we could be nearer to my family. Sorry, Duke usually insists that it's our family. I like that. I didn't finish my doctorate; I found out that blood isn't my thing. Instead I studied business and finance. I keep the books at our law firm: "Anderson and Anderson." I suppose I should say thank you to Walter and Meredith for paying for the office building. Duke does mostly charity cases pro-bono. My dad and I never reconciled, though I'd like to think that secretly he came to terms and accepted me. Why? He left everything he had to me, along with a note saying "I love you, Luke. Understanding is overrated." in a safety deposit box. He always did like to speak in between the lines. I still miss him; I suppose that's only natural. It's been twelve years since we graduated, Duke's thirty-one and I'm thirty and things have been perfect as far as I'm concerned. Sure, we've had our ups and downs; who hasn't? We're not perfect. Duke can still be a pain when he wants to be and I suppose I can as well. That doesn't matter. We've always settled our arguments before we go to bed, and neither of us has ever stormed out of the house. Can't say the same for a few rooms though. It always ends the same, he'll call me bossy and I'll call him a stubborn bastard, then we'll have an angry bout of love-making till we're too tired to care about it anymore. We married just out of college, among the first to do so when the courts declared it constitutional. We didn't have a rally in the streets or anything. Just family, Stacey and Becky, and some kid who worked at the local pharmacy that we paid to video tape the whole thing. Duke said that Becky knew him, how I don't know nor do I much care. There's talk in the wind of us possibly adopting and I can't wait. I'd like to see how we'd handle a kid. Duke wants a boy and to name him Walter if we get one young enough to necessitate him being named. Frankly, I'd be fine with anything so long as he's healthy and doesn't mind the whole two dads' thing. All in all, I'd say we did pretty well. "Babe, you zoning out on me again? I swear, I am taking you to the doctor and have you checked out" "I was just thinking Duke." He began to stroke my chest, through the buttons on my shirt. "I think that I could find something to distract you further." "You promise?" "Damn straight Bambi." He said as he stared into my eyes with those enchanting hazel diamonds. "I love you Duke." "Not as much as me, baby, not as much as me." And he kissed me as I smiled, thankful for the memories. The world moves on, time as well, life isn't forever, but love might as well. OoOoOoO Thank you for reading and once more I ask for leniency in the comments, though I don't think that any were ever negative; you're far too kind. I will most definitely concede that the sex scenes aren't my forte, but I gave it my best effort. Yes, I know that I sorta proclaimed the marriage case making it through. Positive thoughts, right? Also, you'll have to forgive my attempt at poetry in the last line; couldn't resist. Thanks, once more, and perhaps I'll try this again sometime.