This work is completely fictional and if there are any drastic similarities to real people or places, now or in the past, it is strictly coincidental. The following story takes place at a fictional college. There are strong acts of male-on-male sexual situations, and if you are easily offended by such actions, under age where your state prohibits minors from reading such work or looking for a story that is strictly platonic, then I would suggest that you not read this story.
I hope you all enjoy. Reading is fun! So I hope you have it.
Tangible Dream
Chapter I
"No! Don't stop! Right there! Right there! Oh my God baby, I...I...I...can't take it anymore!" I yelled in sheer delight. My Legs were thrown over his shoulders. He buried his face into my inner thighs hitting my spots in the most vicious of ways. His strong hands gripped my ass and pulled me closer to him. His tongue traveled into the crack of my ass. "Baby don't. Please! I can't take anymore. You're going to make me cum and I'm not--", he plunged his fast, velvet tongue deeper into me. He never listened to me when I told him to stop. He liked me to cum before him. He was also always certain to make sure I came again, right after he did.
"Let that shit loose lil' daddy. You know I love it when you squirm with me in this ass," His voice was a hushed deep whisper, yet, commanded total attention. He knew I was all his. He dove in into my ass with his tongue with an ungodly fever -- if that were even more possible. He was licking every inch of my hole; biting my ass with just enough force to have me moaning in sheer ecstasy. I squeezed and released my cheeks just the way he liked it.
"Baby, please!" I shouted as his mouth continued to eat me out; his hands never lessening their grip on my ass. Every inch of my being belonged to this man; and I was more than happy to release over the deed of my body to him.
"Baby, you just taste better and better every time." I loved the way his low deep voice sent my body into trembles. I jacked off my dick as he continued to make love to my ass with his wet and warm tongue. I was sweating heavy and the load of pre-cum had lubed my eight inches of thick dick perfectly.
My hand squeezed my rod till it turned red and begged to let lose its stirring hot sticky white liquid all over the bed. The faster I stroked, the faster his barrage on my hole became. To say I was in complete ecstasy at that moment would be an egregious understatement. He grunted, moaned and bobbed into my ass making it perfectly clear that he was in total control of every movement my tight body made. With my other hand I grabbed the back of his head and plunged him deeper into me.
"Oh...my...god. I'm bout to cum. Look at me. I want to see you look at me." I managed to gasp between breaths. He stopped his feast and slowly raised his head. The very thought of him looking at me in my eyes had me wanting to cum more then anything else. His face slowly began to look at me and I knew I couldn't hold it any longer. Those steel grey eyes burned into me and I feel into the darkest pits of them. This was it. I couldn't hold it any longer...
"Zerick! Wake up fool!"
I opened my eyes in shock. I was drenched in sweat. My dick was hard as a rock and pulsating with pre-cum under my covers.
My eyes stung, trying to adjust to the bright rays of sunlight shining into my dorm room. "Damn.", was all I could manage to let slip out of my mouth, barely above a whisper.
"Damn dude. You had that dream again, huh? Did you see his face this time at least? Like seriously, you need to jack-off more or something before you go to sleep. This is like, what, the umpteenth time you've had that dream? You `bout to be late for practice man, and you know coach been getting on your ass bout showing up late" my dorm roommate, Kellen, said to me.
"Naw. I didn't. I never do. Fuck man! What time is it?" I asked.
"It's 8:12 man. There's a vitamin water and a muffin on the shelf. You might want to hurry." Kells --as I and everyone else on campus calls him-- told me as I threw on the first pair of sweats I could find.
My dick was still on rock, but I didn't care too much and actually liked the feeling of it struggling against my sweats, not wanting to be caged in its cloth confinement. I threw my sweat soaked shirt to the floor and put on a tight fitting tank-top. I just happened to look up at the thermostat and it read a chilly 71 degrees and shook my head. What a dream, I thought. I threw some deodorant on and tossed some Listerine into my mouth. I grabbed my duffel bag and hit it out the door.
"See you later man. Thanks 4 the food." I managed to say as I chewed down on the muffin which almost scorched my tongue -- shit was hot!
Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you on time tonight at Starbucks. That way we can hit it straight to the Kappa party afterwards, aiight!" Kells yelled out to me. I was already half way down the hall and I heard it as a whisper. I only had 8 minutes to make it across campus to practice before coach ripped me a new ass.
I'm on the track and field team. I'm the current NCAA men's 200 meter sprint and men's long jump champion. I attend Mavis University on a full ride athletic scholarship. A crazy amount of scouts wanted me back when I was a senior in high school; however, Mavis went all out to get me. I was getting offered cars, money, women, etc, to attend the University. I thought these little perks were only allotted to football and basketball players. Mavis University, or just MU, however is one of the highest ranked schools in track and field, as well as their swim team, in the whole nation. But they are also one of the top ranked academic schools in the nation, even giving Ivy league schools like Princeton and Dartmouth a run for their money. The school likes to keep it that way and made sure to pull out all the stops in order to recruit the best and brightest.
I was a national champion and team captain of my track team and even spent two years playing varsity basketball. I was class president, head of the Black Student Union on campus --which there weren't many of us since it was such a prestigious uppity private school; you know, the ones where money and who you know gets you in first, than your brain. I was second in my class and pretty much "the man" on campus. The fact that my older brother graduated from the school and went on to the 2000 Olympics to win 2 medals in sprinting didn't hurt either. But you know what the crazy thing is? I'm not even a major fan of running. It's just in the blood. I mean it's cool and all; track is a hell of a workout, but I just happen to be good at it and it pays for my school; I've no deep passion for the sport personally. But hey, why not put use to my talents, right?
My real passion is writing. I want to be a famous author one day, writing about the world around me and how people interact. I'm a total sociology buff, hell it's my minor. Even though writing is my passion and do it every chance I get, it doesn't quite get me the recognition that my skills on the field do. So, suffice to say, it's no surprise as to why I'm late almost everyday to practice and conditioning.
"Your late Mathers" coach Burns yelled at me as I entered the stadium. "It's so nice of you to join us, your highness."
"Yo coach, why you riding me? I'm only four minutes late! You know the dorms on the other side of the campus." I retorted back to him.
"It's funny how everyone else seemed to make it here on time. Four miles! One for every minute you were late. Stretch and then get to it. After your finished come see me and we can have his majesty join the rest of the team, if it's of no inconvenience to him that is?" Coach laughed, did a slight bow and headed over to where the pole jumpers were warming up.
Damn that man got on my nerves. But I could never be mad at him. He was a good coach; he was a great coach actually -- tough, but great. He's not very intimidating when you just simply look at him. He stands 5'6, 147 pounds and looked liked a black middle aged Danny Devito. But the man's mere presence demands respect and attention wherever he goes. He was the main reason I chose to attend this school. I heard he was a great coach and he personally trained my older brother to make the Olympic track team when he attended.
I did my stretches over on the far end of the field away from everyone. Not that I'm vain or anything, but I'm an extremely popular guy at my school -- not necessarily because I was the little brother of an Olympic track star alumni of the school and because I was rather decent looking, though that did help -- and most everyone craved to be in whatever area I was. The thing many people don't know is that I've always been happy being the loner. Girls -- and guys, though they were more discreet -- have always been quick to throw themselves at me.
If you asked around, many would say I'm one of the most attractive guys on the campus. I stand 5'10, 170 pounds. My body was tight and toned due to my training; tight six pack abs, well defined chest, strong legs, a back that always seemed to stay in flexed mode and that V line at my waist that always seemed to get people a little hot and bothered when I'd lift my shirt up a little. I'm rather light-skinned with hazel eyes, complements of my Black and Korean mother and high cheek bones with a deep dimple in my left one and long jet black hair to my shoulders, compliments of my Black and Native American father. I even had a set of pearly white on me that my friends always joked could lead a ship home through a storm better than any lighthouse. Most would consider me a pretty boy. But I always thought of myself as pretty average. Okay, maybe a little more than average, but there were plenty of other guys who I found to be much more striking then myself.
I enjoyed being around people. They always fascinated me. Always "doing the most" People watching is one of my favorite past times (told you I was a socio buff). But for the life of me, I didn't really like being around any given group of people for too long. Even my team mates whom I love to death. Most who wanted to be in my company only wanted to be there because of my status, my looks or to make them selves look better. I swear, people are fascinating when you just sit back and analyze them.
I finished my stretching and knocked my four miles faster than I expected to. The whole time I ran, I couldn't stop thinking about the dream from this morning. It was always the same dream for the last three months; well maybe in a different setting here and there. It was with the same faceless man who only allowed me to see his warm but mesmerizing steel grey eyes. He'd come to me in the heat of passion, out of nowhere. I was completely taken by him. He'd kiss me deeply and sweetly. His body was identical to mines; cut and toned. He stood 6'3 with milk chocolate brown skin that was soft as silk. He had a tattoo of a cross on his left arm with the number twenty-five in the middle of it. His hands were strong yet soft when they touched me; hands that made me feel secure and weak at the same time. His scent could only be described as intoxicating. He'd always hold me and whisper in my ear that the mere sight of me in his eyes drove him insane with lust and passion.
He'd rip off my clothes --no matter the place or who was watching-- and kiss my neck while his hands played with my whole body, as it was his favorite toy (in one dream he even told me it was. Every time I became weak in the knees and was at his complete mercy. All I could do was hold on to him and enjoy his strong embrace and control over me. He'd pick me up, throw me over his shoulder, guide me by the hand or whatever else way he could think of to take me to wherever he wanted to go. He'd lay me down and proceed to make love to me in everyway and position possible.
I'd had this dream too many times to count and yet it was driving me crazy that the best love making I had ever experienced was not only in my dreams, but it was with a faceless man who's mocking eyes stayed with me like my shadow. I'd fallen in love with this faceless man of my dreams, and to be quite honest, I didn't find it strange.
I told Kell's about it about a month back. He thinks it's just sexual repression. I haven't had sex since my freshman year of college and I'm a junior now. I convinced myself I would wait for Mr. or Miss. Right to come along since I'd grown weary of the mindless fuck sessions with pretty girls with no brains and fine dudes who were quick to drop their pants if the wind blew on them. I guess you could say I wanted more; I wanted a relationship and someone to call my own. I want someone who will love me for me, and I, for them. I know it sounds corny, but it's what I wanted and not to sound too cliché, but I always get what I want. However, I must admit it was becoming harder to hold on to my vow of celibacy --jacking off so didn't count when I decided this. I'm only male human!--and this repetitive dream wasn't helping matters.
I finished my four miles huffing and panting. My coach knew I hated long distance running. I'm a sprinter dammit! Thus, it became his favorite way of punishing me; my punishments were often. When I was done, I saw everyone gathering around coach. I walked over, wiping sweat off my brow.
"Ah. You made it. How bout we get here on time from now on?" Coach said to me. I just rolled my eyes. He and I both knew that wasn't going to happen. Coach continued on talking, "Ok everyone listen up. We have the UL Delta championships coming up in two weeks as you all know by now. We haven't lost this meet in twelve years and I don't intend for us to lose this one either. So we need to buckle down and up the training." Coach cut a sharp eye at me and then looked back to the rest of the team, continuing to deliver his speech of hard work and extra practice, when my girl, Lea, came and stood next to me, hanging over the stadium bleacher rails.
Lea was 5'5, 135, dark beautiful skin and had a smile that would blind you. Her hair was in braids -- this week at least. It was never the same for more then a week.
"Zerick, you gonna go to the Kappa party tonight right, boo?" she said to me while playing with her braids and chewing her gum loudly. She was wearing her hot pink short shorts that showed the bottom of her ass, her bright yellow spaghetti strap top that stopped right above her belly button, showing off her tight stomach and some bright yellow Nikes. Her long nails were painted neon green this week. Just by looking at her, you would be quick to type-cast her as the pretty but ghetto, air-head, loud mouthed, "hood-rat" chick. Hell, that's even what I took her as for when I first met her during freshman orientation. While the loud-mouth part was true of Lea, mama was anything but an air-head and "ghetto".
She did grow up in the hood and did have it pretty rough; daddy left when she was four, mom had to work two jobs to feed her and her two younger sisters, whom she had to practically help raise, and was given offers left and right by pimps and hustlers wanting her to get her on the street corners, convinced any man would pay top dollar to get a piece of her; you know the story. Despite it all, Lea made it out of the hood unscathed and went on to be first in her high school graduating class. To say the girls a genius is an understatement. She's Biochemistry major and wants to go on to do something that totally goes over my head; I know it has to do with nuclear power and third world countries. Girl's a genius!
"Yhea ma. You know I'll be there. Hell, the Kappa's still trying their best to get me to pledge. So you know I was first to find out." I responded as I tried to listen to coach and tried to keep my mind off my dream at the same time.
"Oh ok. You know Lisa gonna be there and gonna wanna have you all to herself, in a corner, all night. You know she's on a mission to get you. You the last brotha on this campus she ain't had yet." Lea pulled on one of her braids and looked at me with that "so what you gonna do" looks.
"I know ma! I mean she banging and all. Girl is fine. But she just gonna have to keep trying because the word "no" sure as hell don't register with her." Lea tried to hold back her laughter. "It's the truth."
"And one more thing." coaches voice came back into clear focus. "We have a new member on the team. He just transferred here from Kings University. I want you all to welcome Tori Morgan. He's the Southern Top-Teal Conference champion in the men's long jump and is the Southern division 300 hurdles reining champ. Hey Mathers! Pay attention will you? Looks like you got a new long-jump partner." coach said as he smiled at me reading my bored expression.
Despite the coach's introduction, I didn't bother to look at the new edition to our team. You've seen one runner, you've seen them all, right? Lea, being about the track pit, had a perfect view of the boy and you could tell by the body language of the girl track members gathering --well more like swarming- around the boy, that they thought him to be a hot piece of ass. I just looked at the crowed and laughed a little in my head.
"Oooh Z. He look good! I'm gonna have to go an introduce myself. He might need a date to the Kappa party" Lea cooed as she twisted her braid around her finger in a flirtatious manner and smiled her million dollar smile.
"Ha. Good luck with that Lea; by the looks of the girls on him, you gonna have your work cut out for you." I laughed and looked up her, only to catch her bending over the rails, her big chest squeezed together in her arms, giving off a little show --the girls a genius, yes, but she's a major tease as well.
Lea looked down at me, broken from her gawking, giving me a incredulous look, "Do you see what I'm wearing? Ha. I dare him not to pay attention to me over them chicken heads." She went back to her half bent over stance.
"Okay mama's. Well you work that out. I'll holla at you later." Lea merely shook her head yes to what I know she didn't hear me say and continued to play with her braid. I found the whole thing to be interesting; Lea is like me, and in that I mean that she tends to get what she wants. Nothing short of hell or high water will stop her. Let the chase begin, I thought in my head.
I decided to head over to the long jump area and start getting my stride together for the up coming meet; I could wait to meet the new guy later when his bevy of admires were done trying to get to know him. Besides, if he was so good at long jump, we'd be working together soon enough as coach stated earlier.
I sat down by the sand and did some more light stretches. My brain was on the Kappa party and debating if I wanted to go or not, despite the fact that I told Lea I would. Jason would be there and I really didn't want to see him after what happened between us last week. It was all a huge misunderstanding, but he was still filled with rage towards me; and to tell the truth, I couldn't blame him. I had fucked up royally and just didn't have the balls at the moment to face the pied-piper. I shook the thought from my head and got up to start my jumps.
"Excuse me. Your name is Zerick right?" A familiar deep and pulsating voice from behind me said aloud. It freaked me out a little that not only had I not managed to hear anyone approach me at all, but the voice was close enough to me that I could feel its cool breath on my earlobe. I don't know why, but my legs buckled just from the sound of it and my eyes closed in a trance. It all happened in a split second before I turned around to face the familiar voice I couldn't quite recognize from where at the moment.
"Oh shit!" was all that managed to slip from my lips.
I stood face to face with him but all I could see were his eyes; those warm steel grey eyes that seemed to be boring into my very being. His tall figured hovered over me, our shadows intermingling. I looked at his arms. On the left one was nothing but veins running along his toned muscles; and on his right arm, there as plain as day was a cross with the number twenty-five on it. I couldn't breath. I was staring at the man in my dreams. This couldn't be real.
"You are Zerick Right? Zerick Mathers? His grey eyes stayed latched to mines and I tried my best to snap back to reality.
"Ummm. What? Uh, yhea. I'm...I'm Zerick. Tony right?" My chest was beating a thousand miles a minute and focusing was becoming harder by the second. My mind raced back and forth at the unlikely reality of what was standing in front of me.
"Naw man. It's Tori. But that was sort of close." He let out a warm, light laugh that I can only describe as having me feel like a little girl being serenaded by her favorite singer. "Zerick...yo, Zerick You okay man?" He was still looking me dead in my eyes, yet I was somewhere else completely. Scary how that place involved him being there in my imaginary world, despite him actually standing not inches from me in real life.
"Yhea. I'm good man. I just felt a little dizzy for a second. Stretched too fast I guess." I was anything but good, but I just said the first thing to come to mind. It was corny and totally non-believable, I know, but Tori just gave it a little laugh and let me keep true to my little weak excuse. Focus, I yelled to myself in my own head. "Sorry man. Tori. I won't mess it up again."
"It's all good dude. I get it all the time. I just wanted to introduce myself to you, that's all. Tori Morgan. Coach said we might be spending a lot of time together, you know, with us being long jumpers and all." Dammit! The way the boy spoke was like air over silk; smooth and effortless.
"Nice to meet you Tori. You got my name right. Zerick Morgan. But everyone just calls me Z. You can choose whichever.
"I get a choice, huh? I like choices." He flashed a magnificent smile at me that I damn near had my eyes bugging out of my head. "I'll just go with Zerick since everyone else calls you Z."
"Umm. Yhea that's cool. So I can see you like to be an individual. That's good. We desperately need some more on this campus."
"You could say that I am." Tori looked me up and down for the quickest second then gave a quick smirk. "So, as all the ladies were so kind...well more like eager I guess, about this Kappa party tonight. Are you going?"
I stood there looking at Tori with a puzzled look on my face. Maybe I was just going crazy or looking into things too deeply, but the tone in which he talked to me was as if he had known me my whole life and we were the best of friends. "I'm thinking about it man. I'm not sure yet." I managed to say it pretty cool despite my legs still feeling like Jell-O.
"Your girl, Lea I believe it was," he said smiling at her name "said you were most definitely going" Again, he looked me up and down in the quickest of glances and gave me the same smirk. I smiled. Not because of the glance --well maybe that had a little to do with it--but because Lea managed to get this boy to remember her name and leave an impression in what I'm sure was a matter of one or two minutes. She was good.
"Oh is that right? Well, if you already knew I was going, what was the point in asking me then? I raised my eyebrow, despite myself.
"I just wanted to here it from you kid." He stated as we gave me a quick wink.
"Morgan! Come over here for a second will ya?" Coach yelled across the field. Tori gave me one final split second up and down then took off at a cool jog towards the coach on the other side of the field. His stride was just as smooth as his speech. I stood with my mouth partly open just watching him run away; the man from my dreams.
I slowly sat down on the ground, finally giving way to my shaky legs. I was breathing harder than I though I was and I couldn't help but feel dizzy. I stared at the grass and thought about what I just saw. Tori, the man of my dreams; one in the same? After A second of contemplating it, I started laughing out loud. It was an absurd idea. Granted, they both had the same eyes. But so what? Lots of people have grey eyes and have the same exact physic as the man in my dreams; six-three, a solid 190 pounds of toned muscle, skin the complexion of dark maple and those same damn grey eyes. I had to admit the tattoo was a little freaky; lots of people have crosses tatted on them. I wasn't quite sure of how to convince myself of a logical reason why both had the number twenty-five inside the cross however. It was spot on. But, I merely waived it off as being a coincidence. Besides; the man in my dream had his tattoo on the left arm and Tori's was on the right. My whole rationalizing the situation to myself wasn't really working, but I was determined to hold on to it as truth; at least until I could think it over some more when I was alone and more calm. I broke out of my trance and gazed in the direction of where Tori had run of to. He wasn't there, nor was the coach. "Get it together Z." I whispered to myself.
Slowly I got back up and continued to laugh --namely just to make myself feel like I wasn't going nuts--and decided to get some jumps done a couple of sprints knocked out before coach called it a day.
I spent the next forty minutes jumping into the sand, trying to outdo my previous leap and pushing off the blocks in short 100 meter sprints. It was oddly humid that morning and a good eighty-seven degrees already. Suffice to say, I was sweating bullets.
Around halfway through my routine, I was stripped down to nothing but my shorts that I was more than happy to have realized I left in my bag. Sweat was falling down my bare chest and abs and giving me the appearance that I had just ran though a water fountain. My abs and chest muscles flexed tightly with every step I took, slowly walking back and forth to cool myself down. My hands were placed on my head, naturally flexing my finely toned biceps in my arms. My shorts were halfway down my ass and exposing my tight black 2xist underwear which hugged my firm but rather supple and stacked --at least that's what I'm always told-- ass perfectly; they never seemed to ride up even with all the running. Maybe the last part was a little P.I. huh?
While most of the girls had become acclimated to the guys running around half-naked, many of them still couldn't help but stare hard at me and some of the other guys' bodies when we went without a shirt and allowed our shorts to ride low on our asses. I found it rather enjoyable to watch the girls' lust after my body like it was some type of chew toy to be gnawed on and used for their own enjoyment. Hey, if you got it, flaunt it right? The guys were just as guilty of ogling the girl when they would hit it around the track in their sports bras and tiny shorts that left little to the imagination. Damn near the whole team were a group of flirts; and I was among them.
I let the girls get their little looks in and then decided to call practice quits. I looked around the track field once more hoping to see Tori, but he was nowhere to be found again after we finished our brief conversation. For some odd reason I felt a little unnerved at the fact that he wasn't on the track. I really wanted to see him again. I quickly shook the feeling from my head.
I walked to the locker rooms to take a shower, perking my ears up a little at the many little conversations that members were having to one another -- and you guessed it; many of the conversations were about Tori; How attractive he was; wondering if he was single or taken; trying to figure out if he would join one of the major frats on campus, or if he already belonged to one; and most interesting, if he was going to be the one to out show me in long jump. I can't lie, I was rather interested in some of topic, but I just laughed at it and kept walking to the showers. What is it a bout someone new that drives people into a frenzy?
When I stepped into the lockers, I wasn't surprised to find it completely empty since everyone was still out on the field. I stripped down to my birthday suite and walked over to one of the showerheads. Just as I turned on the shower, I realized that I didn't have any other clothes to change into when I got out. Personally, I didn't matter to me; if I had it my way, I would take my shower and walk back across the campus to my dorms, naked and smiling; I had no shame in my game. However, some people tend to frown on that thing so I couldn't indulge that thought for too long. And I refused to put my sweaty clothes back on once I got all fresh and clean. So I decided just to truck it back to my dorm and shower there. As I was getting dressed, Tori's smiled and eyes stayed plastered to the front of my brain. I didn't bother shaking it from my mind this time and actually smiled to myself enjoying the visual.
While caught up in my little mental smile fest, I heard some rushed whispers from the back of the locker room about 10 rows down from where I was sitting. Funny, I didn't even hear the back doors open. I must have really been into my thoughts.
"I think this is a bad idea. We shouldn't do it like this" One of the whispered voices of a guy was barely audible enough to hear despite the room being completely empty from voices other than his own.
"What the fuck? So you just gonna back out of this shit now, man? After all the muthafuckin time we spent planning this shit. What the fuck man? Stop being a little ass pussy all the time and man up, shit." The second voice, while not talking completely out loud, wasn't as reserved in keeping his voice to the hushed whisper level of his partner. What struck me as odd was that despite his words, he sounded more panicked and unsure then upset. He sounded as if he was trying to convince himself of his own words.
"I'm not saying I'm backing out of it. I'm just saying that maybe this isn't such a good idea. Do you know whose stuff we're potentially messing with? And what if they --"
You think I don't know? I'm the one who worked this shit up from the jump! They got this shit coming to them and your ass better be right there beside me when it goes down. I'm not letting them get away with this shit."
"Man, your not thinking this through!" The first voice began to rise a little but was still at whisper level. "Did you even think about how we're gonna get out of there afterwards. You haven't told me. The place is gonna be packed wall-to- wall and you know they're gonna be all over the place. You only thought about getting it done. We should wait." The soft voice came out as a tortured plea.
"Naw, fuck that. Tonight is the only night. You think I'm gonna let what they did just fly? Huh? Hell fuckin naw! Listen, just make sure you get the shit from out of the back and take it to --"
Suddenly, loud whisper guy stopped talking, and I realized why; my bag had fallen off the bench and hit the floor with a flat thud at that very moment. I had slowly been pushing it off while leaning in closer to hear what the two guys were saying.
"Yo! Who's up in here?" Loud angry dude called out. I heard foot steps approaching me and I went into panic mode. Not that I was scared of whoever these dudes were, but I didn't want to get caught ear-hustling on what was obviously not a conversation I don't think they wanted others to be apart of. Besides, with what they were seemingly talking about, seems like they weren't adverse to confrontation. Fuck! I was stuck thinking what should I do? I looked around trying to think of something. Just then, two dudes --whom I sufficed to be the ones talking by the skeptical looks on their faces--walked around the locker to where I was sitting.
"Aye yo man. What's up?" I looked up and pressed the pause button on my i-pod --I plugged the ear buds in my ears with a flash before they got their and was all to happy to know I also got I had it in my bag without remembering until that moment--and was shocked to see the guy who asked the question was someone I knew. His name was Hampton. Everyone on campus called him Hammie and with good reason. The guy was by no means the most attractive person you could lay your eyes upon; he had a huge head with little ears that was only overshadowed by his large 6'5 240 pound frame. He played on the football team and was actually pretty agile despite his size. But as to why everyone called him Hammie was because the man had a nose that looked just like a pigs; scrunched up and round; not to mention the fact that the dude literally squealed whenever he laughed.
"What?" I stated as I removed my left ear bud and looked at them with confusion. I pressed the pause button and looked at them with the most puzzled and "duh" look I could muster. "Aye, what's good with you Hammie? Where you come from?" I gave him dap, and he returned it a little hesitant.
"How long you been in here Z?"
"For a short minute I guess. I was going to take a shower, but I ain't got no clothes to change into."
"Ain't the track team still practicing?" Hammie still continued to look at me with a puzzled look, as if trying to figure out if I was holding out or lying to him. I stifled a laugh; Hammie wasn't the brightest tool in the box and watching his face trying to figure anything out was hilarious. But I managed to keep a straight face.
"I took off early man. Leg is killin me. Just been in here jamming and making sure coach don't find me, you feel? The rest of the team should be in here in a second actually."
Hammie looked me over and just shrugged, most likely convinced that I was too busy listening to my music to hear him and his boy's quick conversation.
"Z. This my little cousin Markus. This his freshman year. He's actually thinking about joining the track team. Maybe you can put in a good word with coach Burns."
In my attempt to convince Hammie that I knew nothing about his conversation, I hadn't even paid attention to the boy named Markus. I'm a little shocked I hadn't. The boy was a babe. He was a shorty, standing at about 5'6, but had a pretty built and solid frame; he had to be about 165 of toned muscle. He was fairly light skinned, pink full lips and had these pretty brown small eyes that had a strange sadness to them, as if he'd just lost his loyal pet dog. Without realizing it, I crooked my neck to look at him with a strange and intrigue. He was a college freshman, and though the boy had a nice build that showed through hit fitted shirt and basketball shorts, the boy looked as if he could only no older than fourteen. Fifteen tops. "It's nice to meet you Markus. How do you like the campus so far?" I finally spoke to him in a much softer voice than I expected to come out of me. I guess I didn't want to scare the kid. Seriously, the boy looked like he was about to start balling at any given moment.
He gave me a quick nod and responded in a soft but full voice that easily made me realize it was him who was trying to convince Hammie out of doing whatever it was they were planning on doing. "It's cool I guess. The Cafeteria is big." He looked at the floor the whole time. I found his response to be rather odd. Who comments on the Cafeteria when asked how they like a school as massive and vibrant as Mavis? Well, I suppose Hammie would, but this kid seemed to look a little brighter than Hammie; hell, a five year old absorbed in a television show looks brighter than Hammie.
"What do run? Your cousin right in saying your thinking bout joining the team?
"Um. I use to run 200 and 100 meter in high school. But I don't know." He continued to stare at the floor with his hands behind his back and his shoulders hunched over; he was clearly uncomfortable.
"Ok Mark. You mind if I call you Mark. Well if you do find out what you don't know, holla at me ok. I'll see what you got."
Markus looked up at me at me last statement with a face that was a mixture of curiosity and interest. He just nodded okay. I couldn't help at smile. The kid was too adorable.
"Yo, Z. We bout to bounce. I'll see you around." We bumped fist and Markus followed behind his cousin like a little sad puppy, but managed to give me a quick smirk before he turned to look at Hammie's back and follow out the front entrance to the track field.
Weird. That was the only real thought I gave to the whole situation at the moment. It wasn't my business whatever they were talking about, no matter how crazy it sounded. Besides, Hammie was always getting into shit on campus. A college Junior --how he made it that far and for that matter, how he even made it into the school remains a mystery to me still--and the guy acted like an eighth grader in classes and on the field. The dean of discipline and him were on a first name bases.
I gathered up my bag and walked out the back doors. I didn't want to walk through the field; what I told Hammie about avoiding the coach wasn't exactly a lie. This isn't the first time I've left practice early and coach was not happy at all when, I, or anyone else decided to make an early brake for it, unless they were dying; and even then, he might have made you run, jump or pole vault your own dying body to the hospital. He caught me once trying to bail, just ten minutes early, and all I can say is that after he was done with making me pay for it, he actually let me have a day off the next day, being that my legs couldn't move from out of my bed due to all the pain they were in. If you do manage to escape, you hear about it the next day, but for some odd reason, he doesn't go off the deep end. I guess it's his way of applauding you for managing to escape his un-godly hawk like senses.
I went out the doors and turned around the corner to capture the team filing in to coach telling them something I couldn't hear, through the chain-link fence that surrounded the track field. Taking no chances with wanting to get caught, I took off running and made it over the big grassy hill that separates the field from the West side of the campus. After clearing the hill, I took my time slowly walking back to the dorms, taking in the scenery. No matter how times I had walked the campus, it still made me smile from its beauty.
The campus was huge! However, despite its sheer size, it really felt like a small close town of its own. In a way, I guess it was. The school was built in the early 1900's, and although the school had undergone many renovations and up-grades over the years, it still had that old-school, classic feel to it. Many of the buildings were brick layered and looked like mini castles. They had a unique feel and presence about them. When you entered one or walked past them, you instantaneously felt as if you were getting embraced by knowledge that was far beyond yourself.
There were huge willow and oak trees everywhere on the campus that provided much needed shade from the, at times, unforgiving Texas sun. A huge water fountain of a lion --the school mascot-- could be found in the middle of the massive campus. Cobble stone paths ran all through the campus, leading you to classroom buildings or into the campuses little personal shopping center. Well, it wasn't that little actually. It had everything a student could need; a shopping mall; lots of little restaurants and clothing chains. There was a Best Buy and Apple store. The little town even had a combined three- story movie theater and bowling alley where most of the students found themselves trying to enjoy a Saturday night if they weren't too busy hitting the books.
Back on the campus, there were many statues of abstract art from the sixties and big grassy areas spread throughout the campus. Students could be seen laying out on a blanket, books open and studying or playing a game of soccer.
The only buildings that stood out from the others were the newly constructed five-story computer lab and the old astronomy building. The computer lab was a sight to behold: It stood as magnificent eye catching spectacle on the east side of the campus, nestled between the huge science and engineering department complexes. It's made completely out of glass and polished steel. It stood at a funky tilting angle when you looked at it from the outside and while very futuristic looking, it sort of clashed with the old school, classic look that was the majority of the campus. The student body of the year it was built, 5 years ago, decided on the design for the building. They wanted something that represented change. They definitely managed it.
While the computer lab was awesome and thanks to my professors assigning me a crap load of work every day, was a place that I visited very frequently, it was the astronomy building I was most enamored with. I found myself always walking through it whenever I would head back from practice. The place was nothing short of beautiful. It was built as apart of the original campus; however, it had the strange futuristic look to it that even made the computer building look as old as the other brick buildings around. The windows were all diamond shaped and tinted black. It was made completely of shiny steel and polished oak. It was built in the shape of a dome but elevated off the ground by a grand stair case that was also made of steel and polished oak wood. The entrance doors were massive--10 feet high and made of solid oak.
When you walked inside, you couldn't help but do a full 360 and marvel. The ceiling was large, dome shaped and painted completely black. The walls were a pearly white and had an eerie like sheen to them that almost made them look like solid barriers of mist. The floor was shiny black and has gold specks weaved in elaborate patterns throughout. The halls were wide and the soft orange lights were always dim; the echoes that manifested from the slightest steps were like thunderous and soothing drums playing its' own haunting beat. Despite classes being held in any given classroom at any given moment, there was a solace about the building that always made it feel empty; as if you were the only person in the whole structure. Even the professors that taught in the building seemed to be possessed by some type of calm serenity that the place seemed to emit upon anyone whom entered its walls.
I'm not really big into the stars and space, but the place had a way of making you feel really small; it made you feel as if there was so much out there in the universe that was so far beyond your comprehension. It humbled you. In the three years I had been on the campus, I can honestly say I've never seen anyone, inside of the building, walk around with even the slightest look of anger, confusion or irritation. It was almost a holy place in some sense. I spent several hours a week in here, sitting in an empty classroom, and just contemplated life.
Today I decided would be no different.
I decided to stop off inside and take a break. I needed to think in quite and I was pretty certain that Kell hadn't to his class yet since they were all in the afternoon.
I went to the back of the building --the familiar sense of calm that I normally experienced, once again flooded through me the seconded I entered--and found room A-55. It was always practically empty. Only one senior honors class met here twice a week in the evenings because the classroom was so small; it was roughly the size of three janitor closets and fit the twelve students who attended just fine. I always had a thing for small spaces, so it didn't bother me much.
I entered the seemingly dank looking room only to be pleasantly surprised by its warmth. I wasn't sure why it always surprised me; the room was always room despite its droll and simple looks. The only things in the room was a huge poster of the constellations, an old mobile black board on squeaky wheels and fourteen small wooden desks, that looked as old as the school itself. The desks were closely placed together in a small circle. I sat down at desk six.
No, it didn't have a number on it, but I was bored one time and gave all the chairs numbers. I unknowingly made it a habit to never sit in the same chair twice until I had sat in all fourteen, then would start over again. I told you, I come here a lot. I'm also superstitious and for some odd reason I just believe it to be bad luck if I break the cycle.
I placed my bag on desk twelve, pulled up desk eleven in front of me and kicked my feet on it as I reclined in desk six. I let the warmth of the room wash over my body as I closed my eyes and placed my hands behind my head. I took a couple of deep breaths and let myself get carried away with my thoughts
He appeared again.
I suddenly found myself inside what I presumed to be an old abandoned theater house due to the massive stage I was standing on which was right above the orchestra pit. Rows upon rows of worn and dusty red velvet seats stretched from the bottom to the balcony levels of the theater. Large black velvet drapes lined the sides and were meticulously decorated with spider webs of all shapes and sizes. A large, beautiful and expensive looking chandelier hung above the bottom row of seats. Its shine and glisten no less dulled by the thick dust that had collected on it. The place looked as if it was a sight to behold before time and neglect took a hold of it.
He stood in the shadows on the side of the stage.
I noticed that the only lights that were on in the building were coming from the dimly lit chandelier and a soft yellow spot light that was pointed dead center on me.
Though I had yet to look at him face to face, I knew he was staring a hole into me; one mixed with passion and lust.
I turned slowly to the left side of the stage and looked at him standing perfectly still. I could only see those steel grey eyes --my eyes. I couldn't help but think it--stare back at me; the bottom half of his face was shrouded in shadow. I wanted to run into the shadows and pull him into the light with me. I wanted to see all of him. I wanted to see the man I loved only in my dreams.
As if reading my mind --and by the actions he took in all of my dreams, I very much believed he indeed could--he slowly turned his back to me and walked away at the same time my hand, of its own accord, reached out towards him.
I was in a trance with my arm stuck out in front of me. I wanted to yell at him to stop. I wanted to run to him and feel his hot body pressed against mines. I wanted to feel his warm lips kiss me again and give me that familiar feeling of the only two things that mattered in the world were, us together and in love.
I was infuriated in a quick second. He'd deny me his face. He'd deny me the ability for him to be anything more than a dream. He'd deny me real love outside of my fantasy world. But he'd deny me him when I was with him. Yet, here was, turning his back to me and walking away.
My blood boiled. I was shocked at myself. I was growing hot from anger. His simple little act had ignited something much hotter than a flame inside of me. He belonged to me and I wanted what was rightfully such; even if it were only for a second.
The anger in me peaked and suddenly, I was broken of my trance. I sprang after him like a mad man. He melted deeper into the shadows as I ran towards him. The stage felt a mile long all of a sudden. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, certain in the fact that when I did catch up to him, I wouldn't be able to stop myself in time and would tackle him full on. Apart of me wanted that to happen.
He kept the same slow gait, seemingly oblivious of my pursuit. It felt as if I had been running for several minutes, which was impossible; the stage simply wasn't that large for me not to have already reached the other side where he was. I continued my sprint despite it.
I reached out my hand again as if to catch him. He slowly turned around and looked at me in the eyes.
I stopped dead in my tracks and my mouth hit the floor.
Finally.
After all this time and all these dreams, I saw his face; his gloriously beautiful face. It was completely dark where he stood, yet his face shown bright like the brightest star in the sky.
"Zerick." His comforting voice called out to me and once again, I feel into the familiar trance like state he so easily put me into. I didn't even pay attention to the fact that I was out of breath and my legs were shaking. It didn't matter. All that did, in that moment, was that I could see him and he was calling my name.
"Zerick."
I felt a strong, yet gentle hand shaking me on my shoulder. I jerked up swiftly and tried to focus my eyes.
I blinked a couple of times and slowly looked up at the figure standing over me. Without thought, I smiled from ear to ear. The man of my dreams had followed me into my reality.
"Zerick. Are you okay, man? You looked as if you were having a nightmare judging by the way you were thrashing around in that chair."
I blinked again and again. I shook my head and focused on the face again. It was him. But it wasn't. What the hell, was all I could think when my mouth spoke, "Tori? What are you doing here?
With a slight laugh, he merely replied, "I came here looking for you Zerick."
End of Chapter I
I hope you enjoyed. Please, I don't take criticism badly at all, so feel free to email me with your thoughts. Whether they are good or bad or indifferent. I will finish the story and hopefully get chapters submitted fast as possible. However, I am a full-time student and work. So some may come a little later than others. Well Take care one and all. Later Days!