Chapter 14TheoAsherTheo
Theo
Asher stood in the doorway of my bedroom, clearly nervous to cross the threshold, so I walked over, took his hand in mine, and led him to the bed.
“Sit down. Just chill, okay?”
Asher nodded his head, his shoulders scrunched up and tense. How could I convince him that it was okay? That he didn’t need to feel weird about staying with me?
I stood before him, trying to think of something to say. My hands were firmly planted in my jeans’ back pockets. If I didn’t put them somewhere, I might do something weird like pull him into my chest and hold him again.
I finally found something to say. “Is it cool that I’m putting your stuff away?”
Asher shook his head, blinking like he’d been lost somewhere before he said, “Yeah! Totally. Thank you. I’m sorry,” he rose to start unpacking, “I should help.”
He went to reach for something in his duffle, and I stopped him by clasping his hand in mine. Again. “No, I want you to chill. Okay? ”
He looked at me, his green eyes radiant and shimmering. Did they always look like that? Maybe they looked a deeper shade of green because of the crying. They were like two emeralds staring at me, and I couldn’t stop looking at them.
The greenish hue started pulling me closer. Their allure was almost impossible to resist. Asher’s hand in mine felt correct.
It all felt right. His presence in that room with me, rather than in that awful place, felt like things were clicking into place, and the world was righting itself.
Oh my God.
I laughed awkwardly, and he did too. Our hands parted, and he began smoothing out his hair with his hand.
“Thanks,” he said. “I feel bad. I should help.”
“Nah! I got it!” I busied myself with putting his stuff away because my heart rate had accelerated to a near-fatal pace. I made sure to face my drawers and wardrobe and not him, which just made the atmosphere in the room even heavier.
I needed to find something to say. Got it! “Hey, I gotta tell you something.”
Asher, sitting on the bed, rubbing his hands over his thighs, looked up at me. My eyes stopped falling into the green of his and zeroed in on the bruises. The rage from before began bubbling inside me, but I turned it off with some deep breathing. “Do you need more Tylonel?” I asked.
“Huh?” he asked. “Oh, no, I’m good. Your mom gave me some.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m good.”
Silence. Fuck what was I supposed to say?
“I feel like what you wanted to tell me didn’t involve Tylonel,” he said with a smirk .
Right! “Sorry. I—” I stopped because I needed to think through this.
How would Asher react if I told him I paid his PCSHL deposit?
Things had changed since the last time I tried to tell him.
Now, he was sitting in my room with a busted face, and feeling awkward because he had this asinine notion that he was putting me out. Okay. Shift in strategy. “So, PCSHL…”
He immediately stiffened and looked down at his hands, “Dude, don’t worry about that. You need to play. It’s an amazing opportunity, and I don’t want you to feel weird or something because I’m staying with you.”
“You’re playing, too,” I blurted out.
His eyes shot up, widening as he let the words sink in. “Please don’t tell me you paid the deposit.”
I knew he’d react that way. The impulse to shake him and tell him it was okay to ask for help was palpable, but he’d been through enough for one evening.
I sat next to him on the bed, bracing myself for his reaction.
“Look. I thought it was fucked up that there weren’t ways to waive the fee, so I emailed them and asked about it.
They replied, saying that there is a way, but they just don’t advertise it.
” I felt awful lying to him, but I was afraid he’d make me call them and ask for the deposit back if he knew I paid it.
“They said they just need proof that the deposit would be a financial hardship. So…so, I forwarded the financial aid letter you sent my mom, and they confirmed that it was adequate.” Asher was silent.
Actually, he was frozen. “Plus, you know, you’re living here now, so you won’t have to work as much.
My folks would much rather you play than work at the restaurants. I’m sure of it.”
Silence.
Fuck! My gut started to coil, waiting for the tongue-lashing he’d give me, but it didn’t come. He just stared at me .
“You did that for me?” He asked.
Okay, that was a better response than I’d expected.
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I should have asked you first, but I just got excited when they said they could waive it with some proof.
I knew Mom had your letter, so I just did it without thinking.
” He said nothing. “I’m sorry. I fucked up, and I betrayed your trust. Fuck, dude, I’m sorry—”
Before I could say more, Asher’s arms were wrapped around me, pulling me in for a big hug. “I’m not mad, Theo. Thank you.”
My heart, which was in my throat the whole time I was feeding him my big fat lie, slowly traveled back down to my chest. This was good. He wasn’t mad. “You had me nervous,” I asked.
“Sorry. I’m just—” he released me and leaned back to look at me. His voice trembled, but he quickly cleared his throat and composed himself. “I just feel really lucky that you’re in my life.”
“I feel the same way about you.”
He let out a little laugh and said, “You’re a real one, man.”
Phew! We were back in normal territory, and it felt fucking awesome. We chatted about PCSHL while I put his stuff away. The jabs we usually threw at each other started up and, soon, we were laughing like we always do.
It all felt right. He belonged with my family and me—not in that hellhole with a bunch of assholes who were too stupid to see how fucking special he was .
Asher
The moon painted Theo’s bedroom walls with a pale, blue light.
He lay next to me, snoring in the cute way he always did.
I’d grown accustomed to it at school, and now I almost felt like I needed it to fall asleep.
I’d even downloaded an app with different sounds to help me sleep, and I settled on the cat purr because it was the closest thing I could find to the sound Theo made when he slept.
His bed was, indeed, gigantic. There was plenty of space for us.
Which was annoying.
I wanted to be wedged between the wall and Theo’s great big body. I couldn’t get over the PCSHL news—what a fucking sweetheart. He was seriously the best.
I looked out his bedroom window from where I lay. The curtains were cracked, and I could see a sliver of the night sky. Stars twinkled, and I closed my eyes, sending them my silent gratitude for giving me such an amazing friend. Suddenly, Theo’s arm lay across my body.
I opened my eyes, staring at the big, muscular arm stretched across me. The veins in his forearms flexed as he pulled me into his embrace.
Is this really happening?
Theo nuzzled into my neck, releasing a satisfied sigh. Then his other arm wrapped around me. He turned onto his back, pulling me with him—my head now resting on his massive chest and his strong arms wrapped around me. I looked up to confirm he was actually sleeping. Oh God, it was intense.
Did I want it? YES!
But I was still silently freaking out. What if he woke up and was weird about it?
His scent soon calmed my silent panic. That spicy aftershave he used was just to fucking die for. Theo slept in gym shorts and no shirt, and I couldn’t help but drag my fingers over the smooth skin of his chest. God, he was so beautiful. I felt so safe in his arms.
His big, muscular arms.
The wind whistled outside. I looked out the window and found the scattering of stars in the sky. It was as if they were whispering through the wind that they had heard my wish.
Theo hugged me tighter, and I just let go. I’m sure we’d part at some point during the night. We’d wake up on opposite sides of the bed, as if the cuddle fest had never happened.
And that was okay. I was grateful. Because that feeling, at that moment, was too good to resist.
I fell asleep, his chest serving as my pillow and his arms wrapped around me.
Theo
I squeezed my pillow closer to me. The morning light shone through my cracked curtains, awakening me from the best sleep of my life.
For real, I slept like a fucking rock.
I quickly closed my eyes again, hoping to shield them from the blinding rays pouring in, illuminating the room.
The pillow I nuzzled smelled fucking amazing, and I pulled it in closer. The hairs of the pillow tickled my nose, and I backed away before I sneezed.
Hairs ?
I opened my eyes.
FUCK!
That was no pillow. I was spooning Asher, and his red curls were tickling my face. I froze, terrified of the fact that I was pressed so close to him. Did he know? Could he feel me?
I stayed very still, trying to sense if he was awake. His steady breath made my panic subside. He was sleeping, and I thanked my lucky stars.
I was about to remove my arms, which were latched around Asher, very carefully, when I noticed something that turned the panic back on with a vengeance.
My dick was rock solid and pressed into the crease of Asher’s ass.
Dear God!
Morning wood was trying to ruin my life. I couldn’t let Asher feel my big fat boner wedged between his buttcheeks. Even if Asher was gay, that was weird.
I tried to scooch back, but Asher hummed in his sleep. His body chased mine, and my dick nestled right back into the crack of Asher’s ass.
And it wouldn’t soften.
What’s going on?
My dick was harder than steel. I closed my eyes and tried to tame the beast.
Dude, you’re pressed against your best friend. Deflate. DEFLATE, I SAID!
My fucking dick practically gave me a middle finger and went right back to nuzzling up in my best friend’s butt.
It was bad. So, so bad. I had to pull back before he woke up. I tried to move my hips back first, but then my dick shot out in front of me, the loose shorts doing nothing to contain the wild snake, and the head was practically impaling Asher’s butt.
Fuck!
That wouldn’t do. I then decided to extract the arm that was underneath Asher’s body. I pulled it out inch by inch, hoping not to wake him, while my cock was still trying to make a new home in his ass.
Once that arm was free, I attempted to remove the next arm, but Asher had it in a deathgrip. I raised my top half and tried to pry my arm out, but Asher wouldn’t let go.
The situation was dire. My cock was still lethal, and Asher was latched onto me.
With a deep breath, I used one hand to hold his arm in place while I pulled the other out.
Freedom!
I scooted away so fast that I almost rolled off the bed and onto the floor. I rose to my feet and cursed my cock, still erect, practically tearing out of my shorts. I reached down and wedged the fucker into the elastic of the shorts. I grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over my head.
I needed this boner gone! I had to tell my parents the lie I fed Asher about the PCSHL fee before they blew my cover.
Think about Grandma’s curled toes or something! Get this boner down, man!
Grandma’s gnarly toes did it. The beast between my legs finally lay down to rest, and I ran downstairs to talk to my folks.