Relapse (Short Story)

Part 3

Aren yawned from the seat beside me. “Wow, this guy is so interesting I wanna stab him in the eye with this spork.”



“Gee, you’re not being sarcastic, are you?” I said.



He looked so real and solid tonght that I felt like I could touch him if I laid my hand on his denim-clad thigh. I swore I even smelled the CKOne cologne on his long black coat. I had a moment when I wondered why he hadn’t taken it off, but I knew it was crazy to even wonder. I blinked him away and tried, once again, to focus on Lyle’s latest dating-disaster.



And failed.



“I’d rather watch a One Tree Hill marathon than listen to this douche.”



“Aren –!”



“Excuse me while I attempt to blow myself….”



“You know,” I said, “silence is golden, but duct tape is silver.” I could almost see him pout.



“Why you gotta be like that, Bren?”



I laughed under my breath and took a sip of my Bud. I really had missed him – that elementary-kid mentality and all. Whatever the connection we’d made last night, he was haunting me with a vengeance. Before now I occasionally felt him nearby or hear his voice at random moments, but he’d gained strength somehow. He was with me everywhere I went.



For a long while, he left me alone to talk with my friends. Since this was my night off, Lyle and Joe took me to a bar near campus where a couple of local bands were playing, one of which was the band Cole played guitar for – another guy my eyes tended to follow. I had been looking forward to hearing what kind of music his group played, but his band was leaving the stage when we arrived. I never even got a glimpse of him.



Aren surprised me when he suddenly spoke again. I was already so used to feeling him around that I’d momentarily forgotten about this bizarre situation. And the all-important fact that he was no longer among the living.



“Hey, is that the guy you had lunch with yesterday?” he asked.



My eyes darted to Brey sitting at a table along the far left wall of the room. He’d propped both boots on the empty chair beside him and was taking a long pull from his own bottle of beer.



Aren whistled when he turned to face a friend on his left. “Well, look at that, now. He’s a real pretty boy in this light. Think I could even do him."



“Aren, so help me –!” I looked up at Lyle to make sure he, Joe and Gary were too busy talking to notice when Aren guided my hand between my legs.



“We’ve seriously gotta get you some, Bren. How long’s it been now? ‘Cuz you got all hot and bothered over your own hand last night.”



I exhaled a frustrated breath through my nostrils. “That was because you were doing it, little jerk.”



“Mm, s’that right?” I almost moaned when my hand slipped low between my legs to massage my testicles through my jeans. “Then imagine how much better it’ll feel when you really find someone.”



I set down my beer with a heavy thud and stared into the dark opening at the top.



“Hey, you out of beer?”



…and stared….



“Bren?"



…and stared…



“Bren, what’s wrong?”



“Doesn’t that bother you?” I finally asked.



He didn’t answer so I knew he didn’t understand what I was getting at.



“Me wanting to be with another guy,” I said. “Doesn’t that bother you?”



He snorted. “Dude, you’re still alive. I’m the formaldehyde-basted turkey here.”



I grimaced. “That’s fucking sick.”



He chuckled. “Yup. I’ve checked into the wooden Waldorf.”



A small smile broke past my frown. “Aren!”



“Rigga bell if mortis wakes up!”



I had just started to laugh when he caressed up and down my sac with gentle fingers. My grip tightened around the bottle.



“I just want to see you happy,” he said. “And well satisfied. Nothing gets me off more than that.”



Though I couldn’t see him now, I felt a cool breath on the shell of my ear as if he had breathed across my skin. This time when he spoke I could almost see his mouth inches away from me.



“And what about that one guy from earlier?” he murmured. “I saw you watching him in class today.”



I was so focused on what he was doing to me that it took a few seconds for his words to sink in. “Hm?”



“That guitarist. You’re interested in him, too, aren’t you?”



I frowned. “Cole?”



“Sssh, that’s really his name?” I could almost imagine the sneer on his face.



“Look, I have a hard time even picturing him with a woman,” I said. “I never see him talk to anyone but his band members. He’s actually pretty scary.”



“Hah, yeah? Well let me tell you, the crazy ones are the best fucks.”



I started to smile.



Then it hit me. “Hey!?”



Aren laughed when all the guys turned to look at me. I gaped at all their staring eyes and felt my whole body flush with embarrassment. I jerked my hand away from my crotch to wave their attention away.



“Sorry,” I said, “I need another beer.”



Lyle laughed. “Sure, man, no prob.”



Joe turned to crook a finger at the nearest waitress.



“Thanks,” I murmured.



“Wow,” Aren said, “better be careful or they’ll think you’re ridin’ the crazy train.”



“Hah, says the voice in my head.” I ordered another beer and discreetly finished the last few swallows of the one I already had. As I turned to take my third bottle from the waitress, I realize Brey’s eyes were following me. Again, my face flushed and I instinctively looked away.



“Hey, hey, what’s this?”



“Aren, go away.”



“Look, he’s coming.”



My head jerked up. Brey, with beer in hand, zigzagged his way around the tables to come up behind me. He casually put an arm around the back of my shoulders and I tried not to react even as my heart started to race. From what I’d noticed, it was unusual for him to be this touchy-feely with anyone. What about me had sparked his sudden interest?



“Hey, guys,” he said. “What did you think of Cole’s band?”



“We missed them,” Joe said. “Got here too late.”



“Ahh.” Brey grinned and took the seat Aren was no longer in. “Cole’s like another person with that guitar. A shame you guys missed him.”



“Damn, we’ve gotta get here early from now on,” Lyle said to me. “You do eighty on the way here next time.”



I snorted. “How about you do eighty, and I’ll drive myself?”



Everyone laughed.



I noticed Brey was smiling, too, but I don’t think it was because of the slightly humoresque remark. This smile had a more personal tinge to it. Like he was thinking something dirty. I couldn’t help wishing it was something about me.



For most of that night, Brey hung out with us. Several of his friends came and went throughout the night as well, making the whole thing a pretty fun evening in spite of my disappointment of having missed Cole’s band. I even spotted Cole and some of his band members drinking at the bar. But while his crew visited other friends at some of the other tables, Cole was happy to stay alone in his bar stool. He didn’t even look up at anyone. He was happy holding his drink and gazing absentmindedly at the band now on stage.



“Isn’t that right, Brenden?”



I jumped and turned to look at Joe who was now talking and had, apparently, been talking for a while now. “Yeah, that’s right,” I said.



Lyle just grinned like he knew I hadn’t been listening, but I was grateful he didn’t say anything. I just gave him a sheepish grin and waved my empty bottle at him.



“Think I’m gonna get another beer,” I said, rising from my chair. Though I knew I’d already had a few too many already, I just needed to take a small breather somewhere away from Brey. Being this close to him for so long was too much. I kept imagining he was coming on to me: the way his leg pressed against mine, a couple brushes of his shoulder on mine, the few times he spoke close to my ear that made me shiver – though I knew he’d done it just so he could be heard over the hard metal from the speakers on stage. Regardless of whether they were intentional or not, I was aroused by each little thing and needed to cool off.



“Hey, I need one, too!” Brey said, “how about you guys?”



Lyle burped and shook his head.



“Nope, I’m good,” Joe said, holding up one hand.



“Ah, just us then,” Brey said, and he started to get up. I clamped a hand down on his shoulder to hold him down in his chair.



“Hey, don’t worry about it,” I told him, trying for a friendly smile. “I’ll get it for you.”



Brey turned his head at an angle so that I was the only one to see that dark, personal smile again. Again, his eyes looked darker than normal – like that time in my car.



“I can’t have you doing that, Bren,” he said. “Let me buy the drinks.”



“Really,” I said. “It’s okay. You don’t have t-to –” I stammered when he palmed my ass and gave it a good squeeze. Since we were both sitting along the wall, I was the only one who knew what was happening. At a loss as to what to do, I just gaped at him. Was this really happening or was I just really drunk?



“I want to help,” he said, giving me a sharp eye. “It’ll be my treat.”



My mouth opened and closed. And without thinking, I elbowed his arm away and rushed away from the table. I had to be drunk. Or maybe he was. Maybe he wasn’t aware what he was doing.



“Don’t worry; I got it!” I said over my shoulder.



Brey tried to grab my arm but I pushed past him. I had to get away before something happened …for which I’d get the blame later on. Brey seemed like the type to hurt someone just to save face given that he was one of the most popular guys at school. No doubt his friends would ruthlessly taunt him if they ever found out about this.



Nearing the bar, I looked back to find that Brey’s good-natured smile was long gone. He wasn’t even listening to the conversation at our table now. His arms were tightly crossed and he was watching me like he was planning something once I returned. I bit my lip so hard it hurt.



I was just about to face forward again when I ran into a wall that grunted on impact. I gasped and took a step back.



“Sorry! Sorry!” I said. “I …!” I trailed off when I met Cole’s golden eyes. As shocked as I was to run into him, I was awed by that gold color. Did he wear contacts? That, coupled with his short, white-striped black hair made him look like a well-established rock star. His hair parted in the middle and hung down both sides of his face so that the right half was cast in shadows. He was wearing navy blue fatigues, a white tee and a black, long-sleeved sweatshirt that he’d tied around his waist. He was extra hot tonight.



I expected him to coldly warn me about watching where I was going since I knew he didn’t like to be touched, but his expression never wavered from its usual stoicism. He was his usual composed self.



“Sorry about that,” I said again.



“S’alright.” He turned back to his glass with utter disinterest.



The man next to him got up and I immediately took his stool. The moment my ass met the wood, the stiffness went out of my whole body. My neck and even my shoulders were starting to ache from my having been tense for so long. I hadn’t realized how anxious I’d been sitting there beside Brey.



I glanced at the side of Cole’s face when he tipped his head back and drank from his scotch glass. The silver snake ring wrapped around his ring finger caught my eye as the diamonds sparkled in the light. Of the three rings he wore, that one was the most interesting. For some reason, I was feeling completely at ease around this guy. Something about his presence was almost soothing and it relaxed me to the point that I almost forgot what I’d been so tense about in the first place.



“So what are you running from?”



I blinked and leaned backward to see if someone else was sitting on his other side. Was he talking to me? It wasn’t like him to talk to anyone outside of his group.



“Me?”



From the corners of his eyes, he studied something behind me. “Brey giving you shit?”



The mention of Brey’s name sent another shiver though me. Even now that I’d cooled a little, I was still aroused by his touches. My boxer-briefs were damp even now.



“N-nothing like that,” I said. “I just wanted to chill here alone for a while.”



“Mm.”



After that, neither one of us spoke again. I was happy to sit with him to watch the last band go on stage for the night. And no one bothered us. Lyle was too scared of him to come, Joe outright hated him and Brey … I didn’t know why Brey never bothered me though he was still staring through small gaps in the crowd like he was thinking of jumping me in the parking lot. I forced myself to keep my eyes averted. Would he leave me alone if I pretended not to notice?



The last hour came and went before I knew the bar was about to close. I’d had quite a few more drinks since leaving my table and now I was feeling…pretty good. I was hesitant to go back to my group and face all the questions and the weird vibes from Brey – who I didn’t even see anymore. He didn’t seem to be anywhere in the bar, but I knew that didn’t mean he wasn’t still here.



The bar manager got onstage and announced the closing of the bar. I sighed and set my half-finished beer on the bar top.



“Guess I better go find my posse before they up and leave me,” I said, and, smiling, slowly slid out of my stool. My legs felt damn wobbly the moment my feet touched the floor. The room tilted and spun, and I had to hold on to the counter for a moment to get my balance.



Cole’s hand suddenly wrapped around my wrist as I stood there. I gasped and looked up at him. He didn’t look at me though. It was almost like his hand had reacted on its own and he wasn’t even aware that he was holding on to me.



“Cole?”



He finished his drink with his other hand but never answered. He didn’t need to. He clearly didn’t want me to leave. So I let the muscles of my forearm go slack in his grip, my way of telling him that I would stay. Feeling my lack of resistance, he allowed me to slide out of his grip. Then I stood there not knowing what else to do.



I watched bouncers were corralling people out the front doors. Lyle looked back from the doorway to find me, but too many people impeded the view between us. Would he wait for me outside or would I be cab-hunting tonight? I prayed I had enough in my wallet for the fare but little enough that I wouldn’t be robbed. I couldn’t remember how much I’d spent on drinks now.



“Cole!”



I turned when the frontman for Cole’s band waved to him from the back exit near the stage. The other band members and their friends were already dragging equipment out to a vehicle in the back.



“You coming with us or you gonna hang back again tonight?” the guy asked.



Cole waved him on and finished his drink.



The guy sighed, shook his head and angrily swung around so that his long black coat flailed out behind him when he moved. Apparently Cole even kept his friends at an arm’s distance. How special was I to be deemed worthy enough to accompany him after hours?



Just like with Brey, I thought. Again, what was suddenly so different about me that I was getting all this attention from guys who normally never even turned their heads in my general direction? Was this as sudden as it felt like or had all this been gradually building up and I just hadn’t been aware?



Cole finally stood and tossed a pocketful of money on the counter a long while later. I knew he’d decided to leave when he .



“Come on,” he said and started toward another door behind the bar.



“Um!”



He stopped when I didn’t move.



“My coat’s over there.” I pointed to the royal blue sweat jacket still draped over my seat at the table.



He gave a single nod and waited for me by the door. Then I rushed to follow him to the back parking lot where his silver Camaro was parked. I knew it was his because it was the only car left. His friends were already gone and everyone else had long since left. We were the last ones to leave.



“Where are we going?” I asked. “Do you know where I live?”



He unlocked the car and slid into the driver’s seat. I was left to wonder about his intentions as I got in then let him drive me away. He was adamant about not talking to me as we aimlessly wondered the immediate area, taking seedy little side roads and dark alleys. I closed the vents on my side and took off my jacket. Was he looking for something? He was carefully studying the road like he was lost.



“My place is back that way,” I said, finally pointing at the road that would lead me home as we neared it.



“I know.”



“Then what –?” I grit my teeth when he made a sharp right turn, taking us into yet another dark alley. This one wasn’t even lit at each end by any light. Someone could easily be murdered in a place like this.



"Oh shit," I thought. “Aren, where are you?”



I was getting nervous over Aren’s sudden absence from my head. I couldn’t even feel him. Though I was still buzzing, I had sense enough to know danger when it was near. I didn’t know Cole well enough to be riding with him through in dark places like this. I felt that he was planning to do something and a case of nauseating nerves rampaged through my stomach.



“Cole, man,” I said, my hand over my mouth. “Gonna throw up!”



Thankfully, he jerked the car to a stop at the middle of the alley and cut the engine. I fell out on my hands and knees and lost all the drinks I’d downed that night on the black, puddle-soaked road. It cleared my mind and the ache from my stomach. It didn’t help my anxiety a bit.



I slowly stood again, holding on to the car for balance as I rose. Cole was leaned against my side of the car with a bottle of water in hand. I assumed maybe he’d taken it from the trunk, but I didn’t hesitate to take it. I swished and spit a couple of mouthfuls on the ground then finished the rest in a few gulps. Cole silently stood next to me the whole time.



“Thanks.” I tossed the bottle against the building across from me and wiped

my mouth on the back of my hand.



“Better?” he asked.



I nodded. “Yeah. I think so.”



As gentle as his voice was, I still flinched when I saw him reach for my face. He plucked a cluster of my blond hair away from my lips. Then he traced the back of his index finger down the side of my cheek. I was dumbfounded by the gentleness of the gesture and I knew my open-mouthed expression showed it.



“Cole?”



His head lulled sideways. Before I knew it, he’d planted his lips on mine. My heart stuttered in my chest and for a long moment I forgot to breathe. I had to take a shuddering, almost gasping breath against his mouth to keep from passing out. I couldn’t believe Cole was kissing me! Cole Riston! And more than that, he’d just initiated the whole thing.



Oh God. He was so warm. The small scar on his lower lip didn’t detract from the moist, softness of his deceptively full lips at all. I never knew just how plush they were until now. Closing my eyes, I eagerly opened to accept his gently probing tongue in my mouth and his knee as he wedged it between my thighs. I smoothed my hands up his taut chest, over his broad shoulders and to his nape where I fisted his silky hair to deepen the kiss.



Surprisingly, he tasted sweet from the cola he’d had earlier, but I didn’t detect even a hint of alcohol. I never would have believed Cole wasn’t a drinker. I’d just assumed he’d liked mixed drinks.



One low, almost imperceptible growl was all the warning I got before he wildly tore the shirt from around his waist and used his hips to shove me into the side of the car, pressing and grinding his hard cock against my hip. He licked the side of my neck, a small, soothing gesture before he set his teeth in and sucked hard enough that it hurt.



I moaned and could only hold on to him as he took control, unzipping my jeans with one hand and cupping my ass with his other. The way he dug his fingers between my cheeks was making me crazy. How could such a quiet, seemingly sedate guy hide so much raw passion? He’d thoroughly shocked me by his controlled roughness.



My pants undone and loose around my hips, he pulled his mouth away from my neck. My skin burned and ached where he’d marked me, and it felt so wonderful that I thought my legs would buckle where I stood.



“Get back in the car.”



My heart dropped. I jerked back to look at him. “What?”



He took a step back and met my eyes. I shivered when he ran his tongue over his top lip.



“Get in the car,” he said again. “Because if I start blowing you here you’ll fall.”



I didn’t think he could’ve surprised me anymore than he already had. I fell down into the passenger’s seat with my legs still dangling outside and stared up at him, slack-jawed.



He laughed softly and kneeled in front of me. Nothing about this was going the way I’d imagined. I’d always assumed Cole was the type of guy to get more than he gave. Or, at the very least, that I would have to prove myself worthy enough for fucking by giving him good head. But this….



I still couldn’t bring myself to say anything as I watched him tug both my pants and my boxer-briefs off with one smooth motion. Cold air rushed against my hot thighs, sending a sharp shiver up my whole body. I cried out from the temperature shock. It hadn’t felt this chilly before.



“Wait,” I said, holding up my hand when headlights briefly flashed across the alley. “Someone from the bar might find us here.”



He gave a soft snort of laughter. “The only person coming here is going to be you, Brenden.”



“Jeeez-us.” I lifted my red face to the sky. I’d never gotten flustered like this before. What was with that?



Cole was anything but. He took my legs and slung them over his shoulders. When I could look at him again, the darkness of his eyes as he looked up the line of my half-nude body was enough to chase the cold away. My whole body flushed with heat as he moved his hand up my stomach and chest, pushing my shirt high up so that every part of me was exposed to anyone in the world who happened to pass.



“Ahh!”



My back arched when he put his lips to my head, wetting me more with wet kisses and languorous swipes of his hot tongue. His soft black and white hair tickled the insides of my thighs as he moved, and that sent a new surge of pre-cum through my slit. He eagerly captured the trails with the tip of his tongue, dipping just in the hole and lapping up every bit of semen from my skin as if he were afraid to let even a single drop escape.



“Mmm.” Cole briefly took most of my length in his mouth to suck me clean. My hips and legs both bucked. “You taste as good as you look, Bren.”



I looked down at him as that familiar name echoed in my head. Aren used to call me “Bren” or “old man”. I couldn’t remember there ever being a time he used my given name.



“Shhhhit!” I forgot what I was thinking when Cole really got to it, sucking half of me in his mouth and pumping the lower half of my shaft with his hand. He paused briefly to drip his fingers in my cream, then I was writhing in the seat as he worked a finger in my anus.



I held on to the headrest of my seat with one hand and splayed my left on the dash as he earnestly mouth-fucked me with all he had. My breathing became labored and was so warm that it almost showed in the cool night air.



“Ahh, I’m going to… I’m going…!”



I couldn’t even follow through with a coherent thought as he roughly thrust two fingers into my ass, massaging that sweet spot inside me while he sucked the other. He went on and on for the longest time until I came with a deep cry. I dug holes into the fabric of the seat with my nails. He was beyond the best. He was –



Just when I thought the spasms of my orgasm were easing off, he angled his fingers another way inside me that sent more shock waves exploding inside me from head to toe. I think my whole body tingled.



I did scream then – something I did only when I felt so good I didn’t realize I was screaming. Since Aren, no one else had ever made me come this hard or scream this loud. But was he better than Aren? I didn’t any man could be better than my long-lost lover.



I fought to catch my breath when he pulled back and laid a soft kiss on the inside of my left thigh. Then he leaned his temple against my leg and stared at me with a small smile like some disciple devoted to nothing but bringing me pleasure. Any other time, I would have wondered he was high or drunk to stare at me like that, but I was too weak and too satisfied to think about it.



My whole body was limp as he dried me with his shirt then pulled my underwear and pants back up my legs. I felt like I’d just had an hour-long body massage and now needed to collapse in bed to sleep for a few days.

It was the best head I’d had in a long time. But he was still hard when he stood up and pressed a lingering kiss to my lips. I wanted to unzip his jeans to give him some relief, but he grabbed my wrist and kissed the inside of it.



“Not tonight,” he said. “I’m good with just this.”



I frowned. “You can’t be serious.”



He just grinned, licked his lips clean and walked around the car to take the driver’s seat again. I was still staring at him in disbelief when he started the engine and steered us out of the alley.



“I only wanted a taste,” he said. “I need a new drug.”



“Hah?”



Neither of us spoke again as he drove me home. He was his usual quiet self and I was still too awed over what had just happened. I kept thinking any moment now I’d wake up and find myself in a bed with my arms and legs tied down in leather straps. I just hoped whatever drugs I’d been given didn’t wear off because I definitely wanted to relive this hallucination over and over.