Disclaimer: This story is 100% fictional and may contain references and scenes of consensual sex between males. Any resemblance to real people or situations is purely coincidental. If your country or state does not allow such material to be read or you have come across this site by accident, please leave now.
Important Notice: Nifty is a free site and relies on donations from authors and readers to operate. If you enjoy the site, please consider making a donation at ( http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html )
Author's Notice: This work is copyright by the author and commercial use is prohibited without permission. Personal or private copies are permitted only if complete including the copyright notice.
Written by: Nicky Smith Edited by: JD Kaster
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: FATEFUL MEETINGS
TREY'S POV
"So, this is the room you share with... Drake," Calvin said as he looked around my room. I didn't miss the spiteful way he said Drake's name nor the sneer on his face when he said it.
"Yeah, it's the same room that you all dropped me off in 6 months ago," I said sarcastically without looking up from my laptop and the paper I was working on.
"Yeah, but we didn't know that Drake was your roommate then," he said with all the spite I'd expect from my family and friends regarding Drake. I guess it was dumb to think that just because I'd decided to put the past behind me and move on from what Drake had done to me that everyone else in my life would do the same. I guess it should be touching that they felt that way.
"Well, you know now and have known for the last six months so I have no idea why you're acting all brand new about this," I said before going back to my paper.
"I know you and Drake are besties now, but I still hate the guy and it would be nice if you would stop being a buzzkill and let me have my nice hatred in peace," Calvin said and I almost laughed.
"By all means, hate in peace," I said with an exaggerated hand wave.
"Thank you," he said before dropping down on Drake's bed.
"Wait! Don't sit on his bed! How will you hate from there?" I joked, but he was ready for it, too ready...
"I can jerk off on his bed and cum on his pillow," he said with an arrogant smirk.
"That's disgusting," I said while trying to keep any mental images from forming, lest I have to end my life.
"So, all of a sudden a guy jerking off and jizzing is disgusting to you?" He asked with that said arrogant smirk. I don't know where he'd gotten it from but I decided that I didn't like it.
"It does when that guy is my little brother," I answered with a scowl.
"You do know I do it, right?" He asked with a serious look on his face but I could see the mischievousness in his eyes.
"I don't care to know," I said honestly before continuing work on my paper as I again fought to keep disgusting images from forming.
"Sometimes I do it in your room, on your bed," he said and my head snapped up and I looked at him to see a smug smile on his face.
"That had better be a lie or else you will just have to die today," I said in my most intimidating tone.
"Whoa, if looks could kill," he started with wide eyes.
"Then you'd be a dead dude," I finished for him as I eyed him with a serious glare.
"I was just joking," he said with his hands up like that would save him from my ire if he had been telling the truth.
"You'd better be," I said and gave him one last serious look before returning my attention to my paper. It was probably a futile effort with Calvin around.
He'd decided to drop in and pay me a visit over the weekend since Alex was spending the weekend with Wayne and his family, minus his step-father, and Anika was busy helping her mother plan her sister's wedding. That made me think about how the plans were going for Zane and Nicole's wedding.
"So, is this what you're gonna do all day? Sit in your room on your laptop?" He asked as he looked at me with a bored look.
"No, it's not. Later I have to go to the campus library to look up some stuff," I said without looking at him.
"Boring," he said before letting out a big sigh like he was so put out.
"Well, dear little bro," I started sweetly before I changed my tone. "Your dumbass knew what I was doing before you decided to bring your ass down here and bug the hell outta me since you had nobody else to spend the weekend with. Also, I really like being your last choice of somebody to spend time with," I said, perhaps too harshly. Maybe I had gotten stressed out again.
"Geez, somebody got a bug up their ass," he said and maybe he was right. I was thankful though that he ignored any potentially dumb gay joke that could've popped into his head. Wouldn't have been Zane.
"Well, I am very busy here and while I don't wanna say it, being that you are my dear little brother, you're bugging the hell outta me," I said as nicely as I could.
"Well, excuse me," he said before he started pouting. I immediately felt guilty for taking my stress out on him.
"I'm sorry," I said after closing my laptop. I could spend an hour or so with him as I'd been working since 5 am. This was after only getting 4 hours of sleep beforehand.
"Fine, I guess we can spend a little time together. Besides, I have to find you somewhere to sleep," I said as I stood up and stretched my tight muscles.
"What's wrong with here?" He asked as he stood as well. I tried to ignore the brief spike of jealousy I felt at seeing him bigger and quite a bit taller than me.
"Well, we don't have an extra bed or anything," I said and he rolled his eyes.
"What's wrong with your bed? It's not like we haven't shared a bed before," he said with his arms folded.
"Are you joking? Have you seen all of you?" I asked as I gestured to his big body. He just rolled his eyes again.
"Oh please. You act like you haven't shared that bed with Bear, who's bigger than me," he said, and while true, that was different.
"That's different. I had an incentive to do so which I don't have with you, you know, being my brother and all," I said but he just scoffed.
"Yeah, right," he muttered. His bringing up Bear did give me an idea though.
"Excuse me for a second," I said before grabbing my phone and heading for the bathroom. I closed and locked the door and sat on the toilet seat cover and dialed Bear's phone.
"Hey lover," he said in his deepest and sexiest baritone when he answered.
"I need you to do something for me," I said ignoring what his voice did to me as I didn't have time to do anything about it.
"What would that be, my love?" He asked in a completely unfair manner. He really didn't play fair.
"Well, my brother came down because he had nothing better to do and I can't spend time with him because I have a heavy load right now," I said and tried to snuff out the guilt I felt pawning my brother off on someone else. Some people didn't have the luxury to be able to do so.
"And you want me to take him off your hands," he said sounding amused.
"Please. I would spend time with him but I'm beyond swamped right now," I pleaded with him. It probably would be better to take a break and spend time with him but I was already overloaded and I needed to get some of this work off of me before I could breathe.
"Babe, you don't have to make such a case with me. I'll be happy to spend time with your brother while you work," he said and I was eternally thankful for him.
"Thank you," I said and breathed a sigh of relief even though I needn't have worried about anything.
"Is there anything else you need?" He asked being his extra sweet self.
"That's all right now," I said and thanked him again. He told me that I didn't have to thank him and reminded me of the promise he'd made to do everything he could to help ease the burden of this endeavor of mine. He told me he'd be over as soon as he could before we ended the call.
I went back out into my room to find Calvin on my bed looking at what I'd been working on with a confused scowl on his face. He asked if this is what he had to look forward to in college. I told him he didn't have anything to worry about as only smart people had to deal with stuff like this. He laughed before grabbing a pillow and pelting me with it. This, of course, led to a pillow fight, but a manly one. He won obviously but I gave as good as I got.
Bear showed up about 15 minutes later. He took one look at me as I answered the door and frowned. He asked to speak to me privately in a cold tone. I was confused but told him to follow me as I again headed into the bathroom.
I closed the door and before I could blink he pushed me up against the door, locked it, and devoured my lips. The kiss was forceful and amazing, but it didn't last long. He pulled away from my still hungry lips and shot me a smoldering look before he dropped to his knees. I didn't even have time to register what was about to happen before he pulled my pants down and grasped ahold of my dick.
It got hard faster than I've ever known it to do, especially when he licked the head as it was filling up. When he was satisfied that I was hard enough he went to work giving me a mind-numbing, toe-curling, blowjob. It was excruciating and amazing at the same time. I was so pent up that I didn't last long with Bear's wonderful mouth and fist working my rod.
Once I'd blown my load, he cleaned me up with his lips and put everything back where it belonged. Then he stood up with a proud shit-eating grin on his face. I had to kiss him again to thank him for his stress relief method that I needed very much.
After a few more minutes of that, we separated and I offered him some mouthwash which he used. We then exited the bathroom to find Calvin leaning against my desk trying to look innocent and pretend like he hadn't heard what had happened in the bathroom.
Bear asked him what he had planned for the weekend. He told him that apparently, his plans were to sit around my room being bored out of his mind. He said this with a deep sigh sounding so very aggrieved. Bear then slyly winked at me before offering to rescue him from his boredom. He perked up at that and made to rush out of the room before he turned back to me. I waved him off and told him to come see me before he left. He rushed over and hugged me before he left the room.
I thanked Bear again and he responded by leaning down and giving me a deep kiss and telling me not to work too hard before he went to leave. He stopped at the door and looked back at me. I could see the worry in his eyes that he tried to hide. I waved him off and told him I loved him which he smiled at before this time walking out the door. With that taken care of, I could now work in peace.
BEAR'S POV
"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Calvin asked sounding much too excited.
"Well, I gotta go get a workout in then I gotta finish a paper," I said and his happy mood plummeted.
"You too? Damn, college sucks," he said, and I chuckled.
"Thems the breaks, kid," I said as I draped an arm across his shoulders and guided him in the direction of the Athletic Center.
We arrived about 10 minutes later and quite a few of the guys were there working out. Calvin seemed to perk up again at seeing all the equipment, at least I assumed that's what he was interested in. It could have been something else. After all, I'd heard of families with more than one gay kid.
"Hey, Bear, who's that?" Flynn asked as he sat up from the weight bench.
"This is the new man in my life," I joked and everyone that heard stopped what they were doing and looked at me. The funny part was that they didn't look all that happy to hear what I'd said.
"Say what now?" Kenneth said as he gave me a narrow-eyed stare.
"What the hell?" Calvin whispered.
"Just go with it," I whispered back. "Yeah, I have a new guy," I said to the guys with a cheesy grin. I then played it up by leaning over and planting a kiss on Calvin's cheek. I'm sure he was uncomfortable but he didn't say anything.
"You don't say," Flynn said. I noticed all the guys were looking at me now with not happy expressions. It could have been because they weren't happy with this new reminder that I was gay and on the team.
Maybe it was because they thought I had a type which was different from any of them so they were safe from any advances from me. Now they see Calvin, who was much more like them and they are wary of me. The weird thing was that I didn't think it was any of that. I had a feeling that they were actually pissed because they thought I was either cheating on Trey or had broken up with him. If that were true, it was weirdly sweet.
"Wait a minute, why does the "new man in your life" look so familiar?" Tyson asked as he got closer to Calvin. I didn't think about the fact that Calvin and Trey had a strong resemblance to each other. Although, this was a last-minute joke.
"Yeah, he does," Flynn said as he too looked closer at Calvin.
"Uh," I said. I didn't get the chance to try and keep it going.
"Hey, team," Deacon said as he came into the gym.
"Hey, Deac, meet Bear's new guy," Kenneth said unhappily as he gestured to Calvin.
"What?" Deacon said as he looked at Calvin. "That's Trey's little brother," he said to the guys like they were crazy. He had met Trey's family when we'd gone over to Trey's house the next day after Sean's party.
"I knew he looked familiar. He looks like Trey," Tyson said sounding proud of himself for realizing something was up.
"Ya got me," I said with a shrug.
"What are you up to Davidson?" Deacon asked as he looked at me. There was something in his eyes that I couldn't decipher.
"You're Trey's "little" brother?" Flynn asked as he walked up to Calvin.
"Yup," Calvin said now in full cocky mode complete with a toothy grin and a muscleman pose.
"Let's talk," Deacon said as he led us a bit away from the other guys.
"What's up?" I asked after we were out of earshot of the others.
"Don't you think that was a stupid thing to do given what happened between you and Trey last year," he said and I felt like a heel. He was right in that, even as a joke, what I'd just done was stupid. What's worse was that I used Trey's brother to do it.
"You're right. I wasn't thinking. It was a last-minute joke that I didn't take time to think through," I said feeling even worse.
"It's fine, just be careful what you do for a while man. Trust is a hard thing to fix when broken and even a seemingly harmless joke like that could ruin all the hard work you've put into trying to fix it," he said before giving me a pat on the back and walking towards the locker room.
"Thanks, man," I said to his back. He gave me a wave as he walked on towards the locker room.
I mentally slapped myself around a bit before heading back over to see Calvin on the weight bench with Flynn spotting him. I was surprised to see him benching 200 pounds. The dude was already a mini beast.
I felt my competitive spirit stir within me and I got into a lifting contest with him. I won of course as I could bench press over 400 pounds and Calvin hadn't gotten that far yet. He stalled at 325, barely getting the bar off the rest before giving up. I felt proud that I was still the strongest guy in Trey's life, for the time being anyway, as Calvin was still young and could easily catch up and pass me.
I got my workout in and then got ready to head back to my room to finish the paper I had due Monday. I left Calvin with the guys who promised to look after him for me. I felt bad about pawning him off on them, especially since Trey had entrusted him to my care, but he seemed stoked to stay with them and they weren't busy and was all for it so I agreed.
I headed back to my room and started to do my paper but that guilt kicked up again. I had to tell Trey what I'd done for some reason so I texted him and told him where his brother was and apologized for leaving him with the guys. He told me I was being silly and apologized to me for not considering that I had work to do too. He then told me that Calvin was a big boy and that he'd be fine so I should stop worrying about him and do my work.
I apologized again and apologized for interrupting him with his work. Then I told him about my stupid joke and apologized for that. I was desperate at that point that he knew everything and that I wasn't keeping secrets. It took him a while to respond and I was worried until he finally responded with a row of rolling eyes emojis. He told me to rest my mind because it was sure to overheat with all the overthinking I had to have been doing. He told me to relax and do my work. I told him to get back to his and we exchanged I Love Yous before I got to work.
When I was done a few hours later, I had to track down where the younger brother of my beloved had gotten off to. I found out that the guys were all in Kenneth and Tyson's room playing on Kenneth's cousin Toby's PS4. I went down and joined them and made a night out of playing football. What can I say, it was in our blood.
I heard somebody talking to me but I just assumed it was just a dream so I rolled over and tried to drift back into dreamland as I was having a very good dream involving Trey that I'll keep the details of to myself. Something told me to open my eyes though and I opened them to see Calvin's face mere inches from my own with a wide grin on his face. I jumped from being startled.
"What the hell?" I asked as I jolted to sit upright.
"So, what's on the agenda for today? A party I hope," Calvin said much too happily for the morning. I thought about how Trey was in the mornings and how his morning moods mirrored my own right now and almost smiled.
"Don't you have to go home today?" I asked after crawling out of bed and stretching.
"Nope. Spring Break starts for me tomorrow. Well, it's technically already started," he said with unwavering pep. I briefly wondered if the kid was on something.
"Just great," I mumbled. "And let me guess, you're gonna spend it here," I said and he nodded giddily.
"I'm all yours," he said and such a thing said by his brother would have led to something. With him though it left me wondering if I was getting old at just 20.
"I'm gonna go take a shower," I said as I dragged to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, I turned on the shower and waited for the desired temperature before I got under the head. I let the water run down my body to wake me up. I'd been up late last night as had Calvin but apparently, he could bounce back quicker than I could. I got out of the shower and dried myself off before wrapping a towel around my waist. I left the bathroom to find Calvin standing by the door, next to Artemis.
"Bear, this girl came to see you," Calvin said, but he didn't sound happy about it.
"Hey Artemis," I said as I glanced back and forth between her and Calvin. He was doing the same between me and her.
"I see you got all dressed up for me," she said with a smirk. It was at that time that I remembered that I was essentially naked save for the towel covering my bits.
"Yeah, how do you like it?" I asked a bit hesitantly. I had a weird feeling that I should pay attention to Calvin's reaction to Artemis.
"Looks good, I guess. Does nothing for me though," she said with a mildly uninterested look.
"Maybe if my boobs were bigger," I said and she tried unsuccessfully to suppress a slight giggle.
"Maybe... naw, you'd still have a dick and that's a no-no for me," she said after looking like she was thinking hard on the subject.
"Sorry, can't get rid of that," I joked, but I was serious at the same time.
"Huh?" Calvin said looking confused.
"By the way, who's this kid that's been eyeing me, not nicely by the way, ever since I got here?" She asked in her no-nonsense manner.
"I haven't," Calvin started before he came up short of what else to say.
"Yeah, you have," she said to him before turning to me. "So, who is he?" She seemed like she was asking but I could tell she was almost demanding.
"Since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you," I said sarcastically, but she just gave me a fake smile. I told her that it was Trey's little brother which raised an eyebrow cause she'd met Trey once and now she was meeting his huge "little" brother.
"You know about Trey?" He asked and to say I wasn't hurt by his behavior would be a lie as I knew what his deal with Artemis was now. I guess I deserved it though.
"Yeah, plum. I met him once and he's cute, for a guy, and seems smart but not as woke as I like my Black men," she said, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the "woke" part as Trey was very "woke" to me.
"Oh," he said still being standoffish. I don't know why he hadn't picked up on the fact that Artemis had almost blatantly told him that she was a lesbian and therefore not interested in me.
"Now, you explain why you're looking at me like I shit on your shoes or something," she said as she eyed him with folded arms. That was very like her, to go head-on at a perceived problem.
"That's a long story," I answered for him before turning to him. "Calvin, Artemis is a lesbian, in case you hadn't picked up on it yet," I said with a smile even though underneath I still felt a bit hurt by the unstated accusation.
"Oh, okay," he said before walking over to the couch and plopping down.
"So, what, he doesn't like straight people? If so that's interesting," Artemis said and I almost laughed.
"No, as I said, it's a long story," I said, but she just rolled her eyes.
"Well, since I'm not privy to the "long story", I'll just be taking your part of our presentation and get going on my way," she said as she eyed me impatiently. She could spin a mood on a dime.
"Sure..." I said before I headed to my room to throw on some clothes. I then looked through my schoolwork on my desk to find my part of the presentation Artemis and I had to give in our Black Studies class.
She was pretty clear that I was to be seen and not heard in this presentation so I reluctantly obliged. I was enjoying the class and wanted to take a more active part in it. I enjoyed learning so much about Black culture and Black history that I shamefully didn't know. It gave me a deeper appreciation and love for the Black people in my life, especially Trey. I understood where Artemis was coming from though so I complied.
I headed back into the common room and handed her the paper. She skimmed it and tried to hide her surprise for how well researched my part was. I devoted as much of my time as possible to do this research because I wanted to impress her. I wanted her to see how serious I was, and in truth, I wanted Trey to see how devoted I was to learn about what I didn't know or think to ask about Black people.
She finished skimming the paper and put it in the bag she had slung across her. She didn't get on her way though. Instead, she walked over to the couch and sat down next to Calvin, very closely I might add, and asked what we were up to today. Calvin didn't respond as he was distracted looking through his phone.
I told her I didn't have any plans and Calvin chose that time to complain about how bored he was and that Trey and I were buzzkills who were already old. I told her that he was just mad because his girlfriend and his friend were busy without him. He responded by flipping me the bird. I smiled as I enjoyed joking around with him like this. It made me feel like we were brothers or something, although I guess technically I was his big brother or would be anyway.
She told us about a carnival being held in a few days near campus. I knew what she was talking about and I knew where it was being held as I remembered there had been one the year before. Calvin perked up at this and I knew I was going to the carnival.
I asked Artemis if she was going but she just laughed and said that that was for kids. I rolled my eyes as she was most likely bullshitting me. She grilled Calvin for everything about his life for a bit before giving him a pat on the head like a little kid. He didn't seem to mind though. She then stood up and said she was leaving before doing just that with nothing more said.
Deacon dragged his ass out of his room, yawning and scratching his balls in nothing but his underwear as he headed to the bathroom. It was a good thing he didn't do that while Artemis was here, or maybe he had waited until she'd left.
Calvin looked at him and snorted before going back to his phone. I joined him on the couch and pulled out my own phone to see if I had any texts or missed calls. I had no missed calls but a few texts: one from my mother, one from my sister, one from Jessica, and one from Trey.
I left my mother's text for last and looked at Trey's first. He was checking in about his brother. I told him everything was fine and that I wanted to see him when he was free. He said he could make time for me but I told him to continue his work as I had plans for him in a few days. He wanted to know what my plans for him were but I told him to wait as patience was a virtue. He responded to that with a few rolling eyes emojis.
Jessica wanted to know if a vanilla and coffee cheesecake was a good idea. I told her it sounded fine and that I wanted to taste it if she had any left. She promised to save me a piece and bring it up when she made it as she wanted to me, Trey and Miriam to try it.
Deacon came out of the bathroom and headed over to the couch before dropping down next to Calvin and grabbing the remote to the TV. He yawned as he flipped through the channels. I asked why he was so tired and he said that he had been having trouble sleeping lately. I asked if it was anything serious but he said everything was okay. I studied him for a few moments before deciding to trust that he was right and went back to my messages.
My sister was complaining about our parents, our mother in particular. I just rolled my eyes as she was feeling her rebellious nature. Maybe I should have read the rest of her texts though.
I opened the text from my mother which had an attachment to see a picture download on my phone. It was yet another pic of her and Prue but this time Dad was in it as well. They looked like happy grandparents. I had to close the text quickly before I was moved any more by it.
"You okay?" Calvin asked after a few seconds.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I said and I could hear the thick emotion in my voice so I knew that Calvin and Deacon could. They proved me right as they both regarded me suspiciously.
I excused myself to my room to compose myself. My heart felt like it was constricting. I tried unsuccessfully to shake off what I was feeling. I pulled out my phone again and went to my photos. I pulled up the folder I had of pics of me and Trey and looked through them. Seeing Trey's face calmed me down and reaffirmed my devotion to him. It was perhaps a shitty thing to do but I needed my relationship with him to work and that didn't include Alicia and her baby in the picture.
I couldn't stop myself from looking at the pic again. Looking at the bright smile and beautiful eyes of the child in the picture that was mine moved me almost more than I could bear. I was shocked when a drop of water fell on the screen of my phone. It confused me until I felt my face and it was wet.
I tore myself from the image to see another text from my mother under it. it said "Having fun with my granddaughter. Wish you were here". She was really pissing me off. I repeated what I'd done with the first pic she'd sent me and deleted the text. Then I replied with "Have fun" followed by a few emotionless face emojis. She replied with one word: disappointed. Too bad because she'd have to stay disappointed.
Tyson sent me a text asking if I was down for a quick game. I had some energy to burn off so I told him I'd be there. He told me to bring Calvin if he was still with me. I changed into a tank top and some jersey shorts and grabbed the same for Calvin. I went back into the common room to find him and Deacon huddled up playing some mobile game on his phone.
I told Calvin and Deacon the plan and Deacon said he'd already gotten the same text from Flynn but that he was bowing out as he was meeting his girl. I tossed Calvin the clothes I'd gotten for him and told him to go get dressed. When he was ready, we left to go meet the other guys.
As we played, maybe a bit too roughly as it was just a friendly game, I felt the tension and stress from my mother's latest bit of emotional manipulation fade away and I felt right again. The nagging feeling in the back of my head persisted though. I'd just have to live with that though, as my relationship with Trey was very important to me and I didn't trust yet that adding this child, my child, into the mix wouldn't affect it.
TREY'S POV
"Wake up sleepy head," I heard in an annoying voice who's owner I wished would vanish from the face of the Earth for daring to interrupt my sleep.
"Go away," I mumbled before pulling the sheet over my head to block out the bright sunlight.
"Okay, I'll just tell Bear that you don't wanna talk to him," I heard in a smug tone that could only belong to Drake Franklin.
"Fuck off," I said before trying to go back to sleep. Then what he'd said registered in my mind and I sat bolt upright. I heard Drake snicker.
"Yeah, I figured that'd get you up," he said before lifting my phone to his ear. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't call here waking us up so early. We were up late last night, very late," he added dropping his voice into a husky tone that was very much a turn-off coming from him when he said, "very late?".
"I will rip your fucking dick off and shove it down your damned throat motherfucker," I heard much too clearly which meant that Bear had to be almost if not downright shouting over the phone.
"Gimme that, jackass," I said as I snatched my phone from his hand to his snickering.
"I'll leave you to talk to your other man sweetheart. See you in the shower," Drake said loudly as he headed for the bathroom.
"Moron," I mumbled as I stalled putting the phone up to my ear as I wasn't up to having Bear shatter my eardrum with his loud ass cursing.
"Trey," I heard in Calvin's voice.
"What?" I asked as I finally brought the phone up to my ear.
"What's up with Bear? He's going ballistic about plans to do unspeakable things to Drake. I'm down with some of them but even still," Calvin said and I rolled my eyes.
"Put my dumbass boyfriend on the phone," I said already annoyed with the situation.
"A'ight," he said before I heard Bear's voice get closer.
"What?" Bear asked very aggressively.
"Are you done being an idiot?" I asked with another roll of my eyes.
"Tell him to stop doing that," he demanded. It almost pissed me off that he was ordering me around like that. It may have been the only few hours of sleep though.
"Why? Sean does stuff like that all the time and you don't explode like this," I said because he was annoying me with this stuff.
"I do, I just do it in my head. Besides, he's not your friend like Sean is. He hasn't earned it," he said and I almost "awed" at him because that was almost sweet.
"What did you call me for this early in the morning?" I asked not that I minded in the least.
"Oh yeah, get dressed because we have things to do today," he said and while I could use a break, I wanted to keep at this pace I was on.
"I can't," I said and hated myself for it.
"You can and will. I won't let you get burned out Trey. I love you enough to know that you need a break and that's what I will provide today. Now, get dressed in some comfortable clothes and shoes and be ready in an hour," he said and I couldn't stop the smile that his words put on my face.
"I love you too," I said and I could practically hear the smile on his face over the phone.
"Get dressed," he said before the call ended. Again, with the orders. This one I didn't mind though.
I got up and managed to get Drake out of the bathroom without incident and took a long shower to try and revitalize myself for whatever Bear had planned for the day. It worked for the most part but I could still feel the fatigue nipping at the edges.
I left the bathroom to see Drake getting dressed for something. I asked what he was up to for the day and he said he and Serena were going to a carnival not far from campus. That sounded nice but I apparently had plans with Bear.
As if on cue there was a knock at the door. Drake went to answer it before I could move as I was still pulling on my socks. It was Bear who stared him down with every ounce of malice he could muster. It didn't seem to phase Drake though who reached up and pinched Bear's cheek before he could react then retreated from the room to safety.
"Did that fool just pinch my cheek?" Bear asked with a shocked and pissed look on his face.
"Ignore him. Karma will punch his ass in the face at some point," I said before going back to putting on my socks and shoes.
"Yeah, well, I hope she's wearing some brass knuckles when she does it," he said sounding much too serious.
"You think Karma's a woman? How progressive of you," I joked to get him to lighten up.
"Well, I kinda have to be. I'm a white bisexual male in a relationship with a Black man. I think it's a requirement," he said in probably his most naïve voice.
"You'd be surprised how often that's not the case babe," I said before I beckoned him to me. He walked over and leaned down to plant those glorious lips on my own. The kiss breathed more life into me.
"You two done fucking yet?" Calvin asked as he came into the room.
"You wanna say that any louder Calvin? I don't think the whole dorm heard it," I said before I stood and went to close the door as my idiot brother left it open.
"Oops, sorry," he said looking genuinely sorry.
"You ready?" Bear asked ignoring what had just happened.
"Yup," I said after grabbing my wallet, cell, and keys.
"Then let's go," he said before he turned and led the way out of the room.
We headed downstairs and left the building walking. I was curious where we were going but Bear was quiet while Calvin talked about what he'd been doing since Bear had rescued him from a boring spring break cooped up with me studying, writing papers and doing research.
We walked until we left campus then I remembered what Drake had told me about the carnival and guessed that's where we're going. I perked up at that as it'd been years since I'd been to one.
It took a few minutes before I saw the telltale signs of a carnival. I must have been extremely focused the last few days because I missed the assembly of carnival rides not far from the school. It couldn't have been done overnight otherwise I was not about to get on any of 'em.
As we arrived at the carnival grounds I noticed one of the most unmistakable signs of a carnival, noise. The noise of the rides and the noise of the already assembled crowd was very loud. I loved it.
"Well, we're here," Bear said as he turned to me. He looked really happy and it was infectious. He also looked like what he'd done was a big surprise, like I couldn't see the big ass carnival we were headed towards.
"Oh, a carnival. I'm so surprised," I said in a fake surprised voice.
"Ass," Bear mumbled and turned away from me as Calvin laughed at us.
"What do you wanna do first?" I asked my two large guys.
"Well," Calvin started but he was interrupted by the approach of Bear's new friend Artemis.
"Hello all," she said as she reached us.
"Hey," Bear said as he turned to look at her.
"Wait, I thought you said this was for kids," Calvin said and I guess he had already met her.
"Well, maybe I'm a kid," she said with a smirk. I'll admit that she had me worried a bit but after I met her the first time, and she grilled me to find out how "woke" I was, I liked her well enough.
"I see you've met my brother," I said and she shrugged.
"Yeah, I have. He's cute if you like that type," she said with a bit of smugness. It wasn't malicious though.
"What type?" Calvin asked and she snorted.
"Men," she said and I snorted.
"I'll have you know that men are great," Calvin said, likely not realizing how what he'd said could be taken.
"Really? I didn't know you were part of the family," Artemis said with an amused smile.
"What family?" Calvin asked with a confused frown. Bear walked over and planted an arm across his shoulders.
"Dude, "the family"," he said as he gestured to between me, Artemis, and himself. Calvin still looked confused for a few seconds before it seemed to dawn on him and he shoved Bears arm off of him.
"I'm straight thank you very much," Calvin said proudly. I just rolled my eyes.
"Really? Aw, drag," Artemis said and Bear laughed again.
"Surprise," I heard from behind me as someone's hands covered my eyes.
"What are you doing here?" I asked as I recognized the voice as Miriam.
"The same thing you are," she said as she removed her hands from my eyes.
"Oh, you're here to kick Bear's ass at some carnival games too?" I asked and turned to give him a wink. He flipped me the bird in return while Calvin and Artemis snickered.
"No, I'm here to have some fun," she said before she walked over and pinched Calvin's cheek.
"I didn't know you knew them, Miri" Artemis said to her, which surprised me as I didn't know that Miriam knew her. Bear looked surprised too.
"Yeah, I've known these guys since the beginning of high school," she said and Artemis nodded.
"Well, I'm gonna go find some rides to get on," Artemis said and Miriam said she'd go with her. Calvin looked like he wanted to join them so I shooed him off and that left me and Bear alone, other than when Drake passed us with Serena who was in the middle of a candy apple. They both waved and Drake winked at Bear suggestively. Bear flipped him off but surprisingly didn't engage further.
We walked around and looked at things. Carnivals and State Fairs, in my opinion, were different as Fairs were bigger but this carnival seemed to be huge. Bear and I looked at some games and I saw a game that I wanted to try if only because I had a sneaky idea.
"Let's play that, make it a competition," I said as I steered us toward the basketball game.
"Uh babe, I don't mean to sound insulting but, I'm a jock, and this is kind of a sport," he said but I just shot him an innocent look and strolled up to the game operator.
"Three please," I said as I went to place the $3 down on the counter. Bear beat me to it though and I chose to let it go.
"Are you sure?" Bear asked as the guy handed me the ball.
"Ladies first," I teased as I handed him the ball. He looked at me with a sinister grin before he took his shot, and missed. He looked shocked but rebounded and tried the second shot, which also missed. He made the last shot which meant that he could only get one of the crappy tier three prizes. He chose a tiny plushie fish. It was cute though so I took it.
"My turn," I said and Bear plopped down another $3. I took the basketball and immediately noticed it felt different from a real basketball. I looked at the hoop and lined up my shot. I did the angles in my head and shot and got nothing but net. Both Bear and the attendant were shocked. I'll bet I wasn't supposed to get that shot as I'd heard that a lot of carnival games were rigged.
"Luck," Bear mumbled.
"Keep thinking that babe," I said as I took the basketball. As I lined up my shot something told me to pay attention to the attendant. I looked and saw him leaning against the wall trying to look nonchalant. Then I remembered that these games were supposed to be rigged.
"Having some trouble," Bear taunted.
"You know Bear, I've heard that carnival attendees sometimes rig these games so that nobody can really win," I said loud enough for Bear to hear as I looked in his eyes with intent. He caught on quickly as I'd hoped he would.
"You don't say," he said with a cold tone as he turned a sharp glare on the attendant who noticed as I heard an audible gulp from him.
"Yeah, but you don't have to worry about this guy. I got a good feeling about him. I'm sure he'd never try anything tricky like that, especially with you here," I said intently as I glanced back and forth between Bear and the attendant. He seemed to get the point as he stood back from the wall he was "casually" leaning against.
"I'm sure you're right," Bear said as he nodded.
I then took my second and third shots which I also made. I chose from the tier one prizes and got a big stuffed dog. Bear tried again and again only got one in, the second one which earned him a pokemon keychain which I also took. I went again and made all my shots and chose a big stuffed Bear as my prize. I planned to give the stuffed animals to my sisters when I went home to visit again.
"How did you do that?" Bear asked as we walked away from the temporarily reformed, I'm sure, attendant and his basketball game. We each carried one of the stuffed animals, him, of course, carrying the bear.
"It's all about angles. I couldn't replicate that on a basketball court though as so much other stuff would be going on," I said and he nodded.
"I'm very impressed. I'm dating a situational jock," Bear said and I laughed as he seemed very interested in that part and was kinda leering at me in public.
"Down boy," I said as I gently bumped into him.
"That's not gonna do it," he said with a mischievous grin.
"Then let's feed the beast so that his appetite is sated," I said and he let loose a low growl.
"You keep that up and we're gonna have to find a porta potty," he said in a low husky voice.
"Look, a pie eating contest," I said dramatically while ignoring his increasing horniness.
"What about it," he asked, cooling down a bit.
"We're gonna do that," I said with a giddy grin.
"Trey, angles aren't gonna get you the win here. I'm a really big guy with a big appetite," he said and I snorted because he was definitely correct about that, in more ways than one.
"And eating contests don't really work the way that most people think they do," I said before I left him and headed for the pies.
"Well, aren't you the Mr. Smarty Pants today," he said when he caught up to me.
"Are you in or out, big guy?" I asked as I challenged him with a stare. We squared off seriously before a big grin appeared on his face.
"I'm gonna eat you under the table," he said and I couldn't help but laugh hard at the unintended innuendo. He looked confused for a few moments before he caught on and chuckled himself.
"Let's do the pie thing first then we'll talk," I said through laughter.
"Okay," he said and swatted my ass before heading on up to the platform where the contest would be held in a few minutes.
We both entered the contest and the lady attendant offered to keep our stuffed animals for us before handing us each a poncho to keep us clear from pie innards. We donned them then were led to the last two empty places.
The contest was announced and then the bell was sounded. I dived in and found that it was more difficult than I'd realized to do it. I looked and Bear was almost done devouring his first of 5 pies. That spurred me on and I kicked it into high gear. I knew my swallow game was better than Bear's was so I used that to my advantage and before I knew it, I was eating the last bit of my last pie and the bell went off.
"We have our winner," the male attendant of the contest said before he came over to me. I looked around and saw that Bear was just starting on his last pie and our other three competitors were at various stages of eating the 4th pie. I was given my 1st place blue ribbon and a gift certificate for two to a local Italian restaurant.
"How did you do that?" Bear asked while he was still chewing on his last bite.
"Technique. Didn't hurt that Blueberry pie is one of my faves, after pecan," I said and he shook his head. He was smiling though so I knew he wasn't mad.
We were given towels to clean off our faces. I was wary of using carnival towels but then again, I'd just eaten carnival pie so why split hairs. I cleaned off my face, neck, and hands. I wanted to lick Bear's face clean but realized that it probably wouldn't be the best thing to do in such a crowded public area.
When we were done, we reclaimed the stuffed animals and walked around some more. I was stuffed but Bear surprised me by stopping at a food stand and getting two chicken on a stick. He ate as we walked and observed things.
We saw Drake and Serena again at a whack-a-mole game. It looked like Drake was losing given the frustrated look on his face and the triumphant look on Serena's face. We ran into Miriam with that guy Richie that she seemed to hang with a lot. She said Calvin and Artemis were riding on the rollercoaster. We left her and headed in the direction of the rides.
"Hey there you," we heard. I turned around as did Bear and there was some guy who seemed familiar.
"Hey, it's the party crasher," Bear said cheerfully and it dawned on me where I'd seen this guy before. He's been talking to Bear at Sean's recent party.
"Only my family calls me that," the guy said but he seemed to be joking as he was smiling as well. I wasn't for some reason.
"So, what are you doing here? Are you following me?" Bear joked.
"Well, I don't live that far from here and I've been coming to this carnival every year since they started having it," the guy said and Bear nodded.
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Bear said before turning to me. "Trey this is Mike. Mike, this is Trey," he said as he introduced us.
"How do you do?" I asked politely as I shook his offered hand.
"Pretty good, and nice to meet you," he said while we shook hands.
"I met Mike at Sean's party a couple of weeks ago," Bear said to me and I nodded then he turned back to Mike.
"I see you've have been doing good at the games," Mike said to Bear and Bear started to look proud. I had to change that.
"Actually, I've been doing good at the games," I said and he actually had the nerve to look shocked.
"Really?" He asked sounding like he thought I couldn't even lift a book.
"Yes, really," I said with perhaps more snark than was needed. He didn't seem to mind though.
"Yeah, Trey's been kicking my ass all day," Bear said proudly after throwing his arm across my shoulders.
"Well, that's interesting," Mike said and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Yes, quite," I said still in snarky mode. I know that Bear noticed this time.
"Well, I don't wanna interrupt your "date" so I'm gonna go find me something sweet to eat," he said and what the hell? How did he know that we weren't straight let alone that we were a couple and think that we were on a date?
"What makes you think we're on a date?" Bear asked but he didn't look how I felt.
"I can tell," Mike said before he turned and waved as he headed in the opposite direction from us.
"How did he know about us?" I asked and Bear looked guilty.
"I sorta told him when we met at Sean's party," Bear said and I thought that that was stupid. I decided, after a long moment, to let it slide. After all, he seemed chill about it so we probably had nothing to worry about.
"Okay," I said and Bear looked surprised.
"Okay?" He said looking confused.
"Let's go find a ride," I said and left him standing there as we continued to the rides.
Drake and Serena came up to us while we were in line for the tilt-a-whirl and said they were leaving and that they'd take our stuffed animals with them. Bear seemed suspicious but I just handed off the dog to Serena and took the bear from him and gave it to Drake. He looked at it and at Bear before shaking his head. They left after gathering up the animals.
We got on the ride and it was pretty boring for me at first but seeing Bear enjoy it increased my enjoyment a bit. After getting off that, we headed for one of the coasters and got on it. I enjoyed it but Bear was looking a bit green after the ride was over. He recovered quickly though and I decided that we needed something cold to drink so we headed for the slushie booth.
"Hey, you two," said Bear's mother who appeared after we'd fought our way through a particularly thick crowd of people.
"Mom! What are you doing here?" Bear asked looking very surprised, so I guess they hadn't planned to meet here or anything which is what I'd been thinking at first.
"Looking for you," she said and something seemed off by her demeanor.
"How'd you even know we were here?" I asked since it was obvious, she'd had no prior knowledge we'd be here. I didn't care all that much that she was there though, it was just so sudden.
"I asked your roommate where you were and told him to keep it to himself," she said to Bear although she did look at me when she was talking so she wasn't ignoring me.
"Okay then, why were you looking for me?" Bear asked. He sounded very suspicious.
"You'll see," April said as she looked behind us like she was expecting someone to come from that direction.
We looked that way too but I didn't recognize any of the people headed in our direction and none of them looked especially like they were headed directly toward us. I guess Bear had the same thought as we looked at each other. We looked back at April and I was not prepared for what I saw.
"Mom, what is this?" Bear asked in a strained voice as we both laid eyes on Steph, now standing next to her holding the hand of a toddler, Bear's toddler. I started to realize that the looking behind us was to distract us so she could set up her big reveal.
"You kept ignoring me so I had to do it like this," she said and I don't know why, but I became supremely pissed at her. Maybe I was feeling what Bear was feeling toward her.
"You didn't have to do it like this, especially here," he said through gritted teeth.
"Fine, I wanted to do it like this," she corrected.
"And Steph, you're in this too?" Bear asked his sister sounding disappointed.
"No, I'm not. I'm here against my will. I told you that she was getting unbearable and it's obvious that you didn't read my texts as you would have seen that I said that she was up to something," Steph said and April rolled her eyes.
"Well, I'm done with you so you can leave now," April said to her. She sighed and rolled her eyes before gently handing the kid over to April and stalking off.
While April and Bear back and forth, I couldn't help but look at the child whose hand she held. Before, all I had as evidence of what had happened between Bear and Alicia was his word and a picture. I could deal with that as I considered that as some intangible thing out there in the ether. Now though, I was in person looking at a living, breathing representation of what had happened between Bear and Alicia.
I looked at the child whose hand was held by the mother of the man I loved. This child who had Bear's blue eyes, had black hair in pigtails with pink bows, wore a pink and white floral jumper, had on pink and white kid's sneakers, and was standing on her own, was the flesh and blood of the man who I loved.
So many things were going on in my head. Chief among them were the feelings of betrayal. I tried to kill it; kill all the negative thoughts I was having. Thoughts about Bear, thoughts about his mother, thoughts about this innocent child that threatened to overwhelm me.
Nothing had changed other than the fact that I now knew what this child looked like in person. Other than that, nothing was different than it was just before we'd seen Bear's mother. That didn't stop the feelings that were starting to make me nauseous. Then the world seemed to stop for me when the unthinkable, at least for me, happened.
"Daddy," the little girl said in the sweetest voice and it was the loudest sound in the world to me. I looked at Bear and I saw it. I saw the moment that everything changed between us. I saw the moment that meant that I'd have to make a choice and sooner rather than later.
BEAR'S POV
Daddy? Did this just happen? Did this little child who I'd been avoiding for the last 5 months just call me Daddy? The sound and the word roared through me like thunder. I felt like my heart was beating much too fast. I wanted to touch her so bad. Then I looked to my left and saw Trey and it was like a dash of cold water.
I saw the storm raging in his eyes as he looked at me. I felt like I was being pulled in two different directions and I'd never wanted to curse out my mother more in my life. I don't think I've ever been angrier with her. I tried to speak, to open my mouth and tell Trey something because I could almost feel the weight of what was going on inside of him.
Then things got worse, although that may be the wrong word to use for this situation. Mom let go of Prue's hand and she toddled over to me like she was drawn to me. When she reached me, she reached her tiny arms up and wrapped them around my leg and my heart melted.
"Yes, that's your daddy sweetheart," Mom said sounding so proud. I looked at Trey and he looked like he was looking at some Lovecraftian Eldritch Abomination.
"Trey," I said as I reached out my hand to him but he backed away from me. He then looked at Prue, my mother, then finally me again before he bolted. I closed my eyes as my heart thundered in my chest because Trey had left me, just like I was afraid he'd do.
"Bear," Mom said and I turned to look at her.
"Don't say anything to me," I seethed while my child clung to my leg.
"Bear, I'm sorry that you're hurt, and that Trey is hurting. This had to happen though, and if Trey can't accept this then it's best if you find out now, because I'm not having you be a deadbeat dad to my grandchild. This is my responsibility as your mother, to make you live up to your own responsibilities. That child is your responsibility," she said and that was the final straw. I knelt down and looked at Prue head-on and saw my eyes looking back at me. I shook that off and gently guided her back to my mother before I stood and glared at her.
"Tell that shit to Alicia. Tell her whose responsibility this child is. The only responsibility that I have is to Trey, and you can kiss my ass, mother," I said and her eyes bucked so wide that I worried they'd fall out of her head.
I glared at her to get my point across before I walked away from my stunned mother and my oblivious daughter. It hurt to walk away from her but I needed to find Trey. I couldn't lose him. I needed to get to him and smooth things over, although that may be impossible at this point. I had to try though as I couldn't lose the love of my life.
To be continued...
**************************************************************************** Author's Note:
Here we are for another installment of The Chronicles of Trey.
In this chapter, things pick up heavily between Bear and Trey. Calvin comes for a visit. The guys go to a carnival where Trey proceeds to own Bear. Finally, April pays a surprise visit and drops a bomb on Trey and Bear's relationship. What happens next? Find out in the next chapter of the story.
I'd like to take the time here to say that starting with the next chapter, the notes will be minimal as to prevent any spoilers for people who may accidentally end up at the end of the chapter. Also, I wanna thank everyone who have read the story and have sent me emails. I know it seem trivial but sometimes, writers like to hear from readers to know that you are enjoying the story. Even more I'd like to hear any suggestions for the story. You may even see them added to the story if it doesn't conflict too much with my vision for the path forward in the story. If anybody wants to send me an email, you can send it to thestoryguy9783@gmail.com.
Until next time... Nicky **************************************************************************** Editor's Note's:
Well that just happened. In a way I can agree with April on wanting Bear to not be a deadbeat dad to the child, but the way she did it was not right. Ambushing them at a carnival when they were having a good time. Can Bear fix this, and what will Trey do when Bear does find him.
You guys can email your thoughts over to Nicky at the email above and If you happen to notice any error I may have missed let me know at jd.kaster1987@gmail.com.
Until the next chapter everyone,
JDK