Friends - Lovers, Virtues - Vices

It was noon. It was a Tuesday. It was a stressful day. It was summer.
The high-pitched, loud whistle could be heard clearly in the whole of the huge and richly ornamented gymnasium. Coach Wolf had given them a hard time. Sure a wolf he was! All of the ten players were exhausted – and still had classes to attend to.

“Let’s call it quit, boys!” Wolf more then barked then spoke and instantly left the hall through one of the narrow corridors.

“All right, team! Tomorrow morning, 6 o’clock, running, got that?” Jake shouted while he wiped his wet and warm face with one of the fresh towels Nicky, a beautiful 19-year-old blonde girl had just distributed to the whole team. A mixture of grumbles and murmurs confirmed his statement.

“Good, then see you tomorrow!” Jake added, nodding to the whole group, letting them off to the showers.

“Shane,” he said indifferently and the red-haired stopped and was left behind by the group, turning around to face the team’s captain. “That was horrible playing today. Is something wrong with you?”

“Ah, well”, the young man started replying. “I have a horrible headache. Really, I don’t know where this came from. I’m sure if I just take a good night’ sleep, it’s gonna be over.”

“Good, cause we won’t be winning games with you playing like a sissy.” Jake said coldly, passing by Shane, heading to the showers. The other boy merely murmured something, before starting to move in the same direction.

To get a negative comment from Jake was… pretty negative. And Shane didn’t like it. But he was glad none of the other team members had been around. Wow, Jake had actually been considerate! But probably the others already knew, the captain had put on his instructive voice, the voice everybody had gotten to know well.

“Shane, you have to get to your lessons, you know…!” a voice seemed to be calling from somewhere far. Only now did he realize he was standing alone in the steaming huge common shower room.

“Fuck!” he hissed, turning off the water and running totally naked and dripping wet past a fully dressed and overtly grinning Jake. Frantically he was searching for his towel.

“Here,” a deep voice almost echoed through his mind, its owner standing right next to the trembling body of Shane, holding the object of desire, fluffy and orange, in his outstretched hand. “I got your towel.” he stated.

“Thanks.” Shane murmured, grabbing it and enjoying the feeling of warmth creeping back over his body. He felt eyes observing him. Instinctively he turned around, back to a still grinning Jake.

For a few seconds the merely looked at each other. Then, automatically, they took the last step which had been separating them making their lips brush together for just a short moment, eyes closing for just a second, letting their mind flutter for this very, very short instant.

“I’ll keep a seat for you…” Jake then whispered, smiling at his vice captain, moving out of the room.

Shane sighed.

- -

It was hot. And even the wholly opened windows didn’t make it any better. Professor Logey, a haggard woman of 45, was using her old copy of "Wuthering Heights" as a fan. It didn’t help. As soon as the speech held by two girls in front was over, Logey rose, smiling at her class and without further comment remarked: “Class dismissed!”

Many sighs of “Thank Gods” and “Phews” sounded through the lecture hall and the conversations and shuffling of furniture mixed – there was nobody who would have stayed in this room any longer on a voluntary basis.
It was Shane and Jake’s last class of the day.

“What’s your plan?” Jake asked as he was packing his belongings into his bag.

“I guess I don’t know. I have homework – as you also know. So I guess I will take care of that. You?” Shane replied, ready to leave.

“I guess I will take you to the library and we will do the homework together. So you have no apologies or excuses.” Jake grinned.

“Yeah, yeah,” the red haired complied.

It was usually like this.

Decisions, they belonged to Jake. They had always belonged to him. He had been brought up as a leader by his semi-wealthy father in the huge house out in the country, surviving next to three younger brothers. He had been the alpha Wolf, he had to be, otherwise he would have been pushed around by his nasty siblings, in this way he had had to cope with his father only.

He survived in the hard schools he was sent to attend, fighting to prove Darwin’s theory was right. He was the fittest, he was made to rule in this weird social hierarchy that had built itself up in schools, colleges, work. And people listened to him. For Jake this was a given fact, he wasn’t used to anything else. And for Shane, it had –become- a given fact as well.

It had been Jake’s decision for them to become friends, it had been Jake’s decision for Shane to take part in the same highschool activity clubs, it had been his idea for Shane to attend the same college, to join the team. It had been his idea to share a room. But the greatest decision, Shane was musing, watching his friend, no – lover, reading the chapter they should discuss for tomorrow’s class, the greatest decision had not been one of Jake’s.

A grin was slowly creeping upon his smooth face, eyes tentatively gazing at the figure of his lover, his mind wandering.

When had this all started? And how? He wasn’t so sure about the little details, scattered throughout their early history. In fact, he didn’t care too much about that. The important thing was that when Shane had crept into Jake’s bed, locking his arms around the warm teenage body, Jake had not protested. And when he had moved his head and pressed his lips against the partly opened ones of his best friend, Jake had kissed him back.

At the memory of their first sloppy and utterly clumsy kisses and touches – God, they HAD been bad kissers – Shane had to laugh, pressing his hand to his own mouth, not wanting to gain attention.

Jake looked up from the book, his eyes filled with mental question marks.
“What?” the black haired whispered.

Shane pulled himself together, leaning forward, coming closer to Jake with his body, whispering: “I just remembered our first kiss. In your bed, when I was sleeping over at your place…” He had to chuckle now. “Remember how I tried to jerk you off and got so nervous it didn’t work out AT ALL?”

“Shane!” Jake hissed. “Not here!” The captain instantly turned back to his book.

Shane merely grinned, looking around. Nobody was even walking by. His eyes turned to the exposed arm of Jake. The library was chilly, the air condition obviously worked here. More than necessary in fact.

Without thinking his fingers were brushing, were wandering over Jake’s left arm, making the latter turn his head back to Shane. Their eyes met.
“Goosebumps…,” Shane whispered, looking at the said phenomenon under his fingers, not stopping his movements.

The touch of Shane’s warm fingers on his icy skin was a blessing. Instantly Jake relaxed and for some minutes even forgot they were sitting at a table in the library. He sighed. He WAS cold.

He took a pen and jotted down on a small piece of paper:
“Continue homework at room?”
Shane smiled and nodded.

They didn’t say anything on their way to their dorms. Old, majestic buildings. Some friends and acquaintances passed them, a professor said “hi”. Then they were on the hallway, only a few steps separated from their room. Their own little universe where everything was… different.
Shane had to grin slightly to himself.

As soon as the door would close, Jake would turn into someone, many people would have killed for to see. He was sure. They’d been together for so many years and sometimes even Shane still wondered about the nature or their bond. Not, that he didn’t like it. He loved it. He loved Jake. HIS Jake.
The door fell shut with a loud thud.

The world did a spin of 180°, or so it seemed to both of them.
Shane’s arms, as if suddenly filled with a supernatural power, grabbed Jake’s shoulders and pushed the young man violently against the door. Another bang echoed through the corridor.
Jakes hands reached for Shane’s skin.

The red-haired pressed his lips against the soft ones of the grey-eyed man he loved and whom he desired and he was granted entrance straight away. His tongue passed into the hot cavern and found Jake’s quickly. Their kiss was hungry. Their kiss was needy. It was desperate, tongues twisting and twirling around each other, lips sucking, teeth slightly biting into their soft flesh.

The need for oxygen let Shane back away. Slightly. Green eyes met the greyish, Jake was holding onto the arms of his lover tightly, breathing lowly. And then, his voice more a pleading whimper than whisper, the black-haired breathed: “Fuck me, Shane…”

- - -
PS: If my language is strange at times, my greatest apologies! ;) I'm not a native speaker, but I LOVE challenges ;)