Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 16:41:28 EDT From: SLK2308888@aol.com Subject: I Wanna Be With You (college version) Ch. 3 General Announcements~ I just want to thank all of you who have responded to this story. Glad you guys are liking it so much! Also have to say "Wassup" to my long lost Soul Sista Kristina. Kyle on the screen, late nights aren't the same with out ya (Even if I don't rock your world!) = )~ This story is entirely fictional, the characters represented in the story are merely fictitious ones, who have been influenced by people that I know or experiences I've had. If you're under 18 or 21 in some states, you shouldn't be here (SCRAM before I tell your mommy! lol) If your 18 and older (cute and funny, email me! lol) go ahead and read! Enjoy the story! Any questions/comment/suggestions can be sent to: SLK2308888@aol.com with the subject heading of ~I Wanna Be With You~. Stick a fork in me. . . Cause I am DONE! = )~ ----------------------------- I Wanna Be With You By Rick ----------------------------- Chapter Three: Gladiator Ahhh the joys of the Internet. A slackers paradise if I do say so myself. I dunno if it's some hormonal deal but I am such an insomniac! It takes me forever to get some sleep so I log on for hours, talking to old friends and laughing my ass off at those wannabe people in chat rooms. It's really pathetic, and you know what I'm talking about too. Those people whose life is just so seemingly perfect it's revolting. Blonde hair, blue eyes, curves in all the right places . . . YA RIGHT! I've always wondered what these people really look like behind their "mask" that is the cyber world. As they make up half-truths and blatant lies, do they see their reflection off the glare of the screen? It's sad but true, I can make up the classic biography that I see spilling out of people's mouth, well let's take a male specimen for example, since they can't lie if their life depended on it! Somehow it's hard for me to see every single person in our calorie-infested nation to be physically fit. I mean let's face facts, not everyone was meant to be model material, yet almost every single person seemingly has a "swimmer's build." OK ya so does Shamu! But you don't see him making up shit about himself. Just because you don't talk face to face doesn't gives you free-license to invent something you're not. I know this sounds shallow of me but it's not. The Internet opens up the world to anyone and everyone. Now this technology can do a world of good, interacting with different people and the exchange of knowledge and ideas. But it also has its' dark side to it. Now I've heard those stories about stalkers and little kids being abducted and sure that makes me think twice about it, but when it hits close to home, the whole thing just floors you. Now I know I shouldn't be venting about this right now (you're probably waiting for the hot steamy sex aren't you?) but it's important. Consider it as my good deed for the day but I just don't want to see what happened to my younger brother happen to anyone you know. Well, let's just call him "Jake" since I'm pretty sure he'd freak if he knew I was writing about him. Jake's about a year and change younger then me. He's a little stud muffin, carefully groomed and raised by me of course, but he's super shy and sensitive. We get along really well for some reason, not that we don't have our fights once in awhile. I mean come on; we're normal people. Well, Jake really got into the whole chat room scene and what not. In a sense, not having looks your looks as your judge and jury really lets you be more open and carefree. So he was having a ball meeting cool peeps and supposedly "hot chicks" on the net. He values my judgment a lot, but when he asked me if he should meet some chick who was dying to hook up with him; I had my doubts. The little jerk decides not to listen to me! Well it's a fucking good thing I watch him like a hawk cause that little rendezvous with that "hot chick" turned out to be some sick pervert who probably would have done more then molest him if I hadn't been there to practically beat him to death's door. Heck I think I even slammed his head on death's door a couple of times! OK so I was sort of spying on my brother but hey it paid off! I'm not even going to lie, it hurt like crap! Jesus, they make it look so easy in the damn movies but shit my knuckles and hands were messed up for a week. Damn fucker even bled on my favorite shirt! Pissed me off! I actually paid for that myself, without the `rents credit card! So I was our little hometown hero. Saving the community from the clutches of evil. It could have been worse, I mean a lot worse. Sometimes I think what would have happened if I wasn't there to help my brother out? Would he still be here today? Would he try to follow in my footsteps? I don't think I want to know what could've been, I'm just glad he's OK. Of course being the center of attention and having that little 15 minutes of fame isn't too bad either! I guess it's my little "white knight" syndrome where I always have to be there to save the day, but it's good to know that you changed someone's life for the better. I've said my peace, go frolic in the land of the Internet. Blatantly steal music from Napster (hey it's free!). Chat away and spend hours procrastinating stuff that you should be doing. Just be a little more cautious of people you meet out there. Great! I just wasted another night talking to you guys when I should have been studying. Oh my God! What time is it? Shit, I have a study session in 10 minutes! I haven't even showered, and shit my hair! It takes forever to do my hair! Fuck it, I'm just going to have to go au naturale. Smelling like roses . . . errr . . . a corpse flower? Wet the hair a bit and style it with the wonderful multi-purpose tool, called your fingers. Then brush my teeth and I'm out of here. Everyone please, brush those teeth! I'm not a dentist or anything but seriously, if you think no one will notice your noxious breath, you're WRONG! Enough about dental hygiene I need to book it to class. OK only 15 minutes late, not too bad. Maybe if I sneak in real quietly and sit in the back no one will notice me. Phew! They're just going over stuff I already know I'm good to go. "Ms. Santos, Mr. Peterson just arrived. Maybe you can tell him the good news," Sandy announced loudly to the room and to our Student TA. Oh God, of course everyone has to look back at me. I don't like to make a big out of myself; it's just so weird to have people analyzing your every move. Melissa by the way, is the student TA and is super cool and super hot! "Congratulations on the highest score for the mid-term Mr. Peterson. Dr. Waldinger says you're the only one to ever get a perfect score in his 20 years of teaching this class." Oh Shit! Damn announce it to the class and ruin my life why don't you! I can see everyone envisioning my sad and painfully slow death. Now don't get me wrong,I'm proud of myself. Well I should be, I studied for it! The thing of it is, is that the class is graded on a curve. So I dropped everyone's chances for getting a better grade. I bet you Sandy was the one who convinced her to announce it to the class. Now everyone knows it's been me who's been getting the A's on the tests. Here everyone probably thought it was Ms. God-Almighty Sandy, ruining it for all of us. This class isn't some General Ed. Class with 300 people in it. Every single point counts and let me tell you, some of these people are cut-throats! Now Sandy has made it a point to single me out for slaughter unto the ravenous wolves of pre-med. students. "Let's get back to the review," Melissa gathers our attention. People slowly turn around though some make it a point to map out where they want to stick their daggers into me. "Et Tu Brute?" Melissa was rattling off some more information that I already knew. This was starting out to be a bad day already; I could feel it. Sandy annoyingly raised her hand to answer a question. "The answer is," she remarked snidely, "the class Myxini." "Ugh I beg to differ," Ha! The slut was wrong! "Lampreys belong to the class Cephalospidomorphi." "I think you're wrong," she smirked, like I could be wrong! "Well I KNOW I'm right," I reply back to her. If there's one thing I learned in this class, it's about those damn Lampreys! I mean everyone knows that those things are in the class Cephalospidomorphi, Superclass Agnatha, Subphylum Vertebrata, Phylum Chordata, and Kingdom Animalia. Domain Eukaryia if you're going to be picky about it. I mean everyone knows that right? Uh huh I thought so. "Maybe you can review your notes some more tonight Sandy," Melissa offered, knowing I was right. The crowd whispered excitedly, no doubt happy that I at least pushed her down a peg or two of her high horse. Sandy didn't say anything but she clearly did not appreciate being wrong, in front of the entire class to boot. OK, maybe this wouldn't be such a bad day after all. The rest of the session went by pretty uneventfully, I'm sure some people would still hold a grudge against me but then again they have low attention spans so the whole thing would probably blow over. Well, I had the guy's number in my pocket. I had deliberated calling him, and Jess was right. Why play those silly mind games when all it is a movie . . . and maybe dinner . . . OK so it was technically a "date" but still it's nothing. Right? The phone rang about three times and just as I thought I was saved from going out tonight, he picks up the phone. "Hello?" he questions. "Hey is this Jase?" "Ya, who's this?" "I don't know if you remembered me, the guy from the movies and the coffee shop . . ." "Rick! Of course I remember you. I'm glad you called, I was wondering if you might back out or something." "Oh me? No, why would you think something like that?" I lie through the skin of my teeth. "You know the whole `gay' thing usually has guys paranoid that I'm going to hit on them or something." "I wasn't think that," (LIAR!) "I'm sure we'll have a good time watching the movie." "Ya, I think so too, Russell Crowe is one of my favorite actors." "Me too! LA Confidential was such an awesome movie!" I reply back. "I know, I got a copy of it if you want to watch it sometime," he responds. Well at least we were both somewhat of movie aficionados. That much we have in common. So I chat it up with the guy for another 30 minutes. He has some meeting to go to before six o' clock so I decide to meet him right in front of the Student Union where it would be held. Basically we arranged it so I would just drive and that I would chose the restaurant. I'm feeling like Thai tonight so I'll probably take him to Toi. For those of you who haven't had Thai food before, give it a try. I just have this kick for Asian food. The stuff is so unique but it's awesome. I know the whole Sushi bar has gotten all trendy but it's really good though. I haven't ventured too far off the raw fish and California Rolls, but I've definitely got a taste for it now. I'm all into different spices and flavors. I think it just entices the meal that much more then just your ordinary hamburger and French fries. I go for a little walk, OK so I was going for a Frapucchino! (I told you I'm addicted to the stuff!) By the time I stroll around, do some window-shopping and head back, it's time for to get ready. Now I know this should have been a big clue that I was you know . . . the G word, but I think I probably spent more time grooming myself then any of my dates have. Seriously, I know this sounds stupid but I kind of have my ritual going on. First, I have to have some serious music to groove to. I mean I think men should be pampered just as much as women do, it's not as if we have it any easier. And for you feminists, I know you'll bring up the whole equal rights stuff and I know you handle the labor of kids, the housework, and heels, but who puts the damn meat on the table? Sexist Pig huh? On top of that I dissed all you vegetarians out there too! Well write your own story, this is mine! So after a hot steamy shower, a shave, and the grand task of perfecting the hair, it's time for wardrobe. Now here is where it gets time consuming. I mean clothing speaks a lot of the type of person you are. And the right accessories? Crucial! So am I gonna do the whole laid back Rick? Or maybe go a little bit South Beachish Rick? I even have formal tuxedo Rick for those special occasions. Since I know the guy dresses well I want to impress him a bit with my own taste in clothing so I opt for a low-key high-profile look. Black suit and dark shirt, and some killer loafers from J Crew. Try it out sometime, I tell you it makes you look slimmer and kind of classic without the whole white shirt and tie kind of deals. I love wearing ties too and the whole "Millionaire" look? Fuck I was doing monochrome for ages now. Had I known it would be this popular, I would have patented that shit a long time ago! I'm looking pretty tight tonight if I do say so myself. Toi is a whole in the wall type of restaurant but I've seen Quentin Tarentino there a couple of times so who's to say that some Hollywood director will see me and pick me up for the remake of "Gone With The Wind" or something. See if I look like trash I miss my chance, so why not look good when you can? The hair is doing good, maybe us studs can find some fly hunnies to hook up with tonight. Well, I guess for him it'd be a fly hommie but it's all good. A spray of the good cologne, L'eau D'Issey Miyake. Trust me fellahs, the ladies will love your for it; so save up and invest on that cologne! I put on a pair of those new Mission Impossible type sunglasses that Tom Cruise wore in the movie. Not to toot my own horn or anything but I think they look better on me then it did on him. Well for four hundred bucks they better look good! Off to the Rickmobile! Now if there is anything I have that I cherish the most, it's my car. I love my parents! God, who could think of a better present than a Mercedes Benz SLK230 on your graduation day. I actually cried when I saw it wrapped up in front of our driveway. I mean I have been obsessing over this car ever since it came out, but to have one of your very own, oh goodness that's heaven! I slept in it the very first night and watched with awe and amazement at the wonders of German engineering. For those of you not in the know, it's a hard top convertible that is just so fun to drive. It's my baby! I wash and wax it every single weekend. I don't care how horrendous the gas prices are right now, only Premium for my baby. Tonight it is just spotless, just the way I like my things to be. I put the top down and drive over to the paid parking somewhat near the Student Union. Parking here is a bitch! It usually takes an hour to find parking but the gods where shining down upon me today cause I just happened to spot someone pulling out right in front. Right away I could see some demonstration or rally next to the Union. I walked in for a closer look and saw Jase up on stage. This guy is just full of surprises, apparently he's the leader of some gay and lesbian club on campus. I guess this was some type of caucus to discuss gay rights and equality. Now I'm not some big advocate for gay rights, but I do feel strongly in Freedom and Justice for all. It's something our forefathers fought for, and it's something that should be given to all people, no matter what color, race, nationality or sexual preferences. Not to be critical or anything but a lot of the people there were really flaming. I really don't have anything against gays and lesbians, they're great people, but I don't know! Some, not all, act very flamboyant! Not that it's bad or anything but they just remind me of the cheerleader clique and you know how I feel about them. God, and the butch femmes! Jesus sometimes I think they wear jockstraps to hold up their "balls." I know the whole idea of two girls going at each other is every mans' fantasy, but I guess I will always carry that misconceived notion that men should be manly men and women should act like ladies. Jase is actually quite a talented orator. He brought up many valid points and argued very logically. He just has this commanding presence that demands people to pay attention. I was really moved by what he was saying. The crowd dispersed soon after, and I waited for Jase at the side as he talked with a couple of stragglers who were impressed by his words. "Jase," I call his attention. He looks at me and gives that irrepressible grin that had all the girls (and guys) swooning in the audience. "Hey glad you could make it," he responds, covering the distance between us with big confident steps. "Well if you would have told me you were speaking I would have come earlier," I reprimanded him. "Dude, I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd be interested in this kind of stuff. I guess that should teach me a lesson in making assumptions," he apologized. "It's cool, you were great up there. Definitely working the crowd." "You think so? I was so nervous, I didn't know what to say." "No you riled them up big time, you'd make a great politician." "Gee, thanks! Well I guess we better get going if you want to catch the movie," he stated. "Slick, I parked nearby," I reply leading the way. Before we could get very far, one of Jase's friends from the college newsletter yells for us to wait. "Hey Alex what's up?" Jase asks. "Dude, we need a picture of you for the newsletter. I think the board is going to fund your idea for a Unity Day!" he explains. "Really?" Jase beams. "So what do you think?" Alex asks me. "Well I think having something like that would be great. If people took the time to understand different backgrounds and cultures, we would live in a more accepting and open society. I mean, It doesn't matter who you love; we're all humans. In order to establish Freedom and Order in our country, we have to raise the conditions of Equality," I remark, highlighting some of the issues I felt strongly about. "Exactly!" Jase exclaimed patting me on the shoulder. Well, who am I to be representing the gay and lesbian community, but hey I spoke the truth. It doesn't take a homosexual to know what's right and wrong. "Can I quote you on that?" Alex asked, furiously jotting down all that I had said. "Sure I guess," I reply. "All right, how about you two in the picture?" Alex suggested. Jase and I shrugged at each other. "OK, but hurry we were going to watch a movie," Jase remarked. He and I stood reasonably close together and waited for Alex to focus the camera. "Come on, you're acting like strangers. Jase put your arm around his shoulder," he coaxed. Jase obliged, forcing us to move closer to each other. "Thanks you guys," Alex stated after shooting a couple of shots of us. "No problem, tell me what happens in the board meeting. We should be home around 11 or so," Jase commented. "Sure thing Jase, see you two lovebirds later!" he yelled as he ran away to the Journalism department. "Hey! We're not going out!" Jase tried to yell at him, but he was already too far away. "Oh so I'm not good enough for you now?" I question in a mock hurt voice. "It's not that you jerk!" he exclaims jokingly "Dude, it's OK," I reply. "Sorry it's just that I don't want you to get some rep by association. You know what I mean?" he questions. "So where's your car?" "Your standing in front of it," I reply with amusement displaying my car with my arms Vanna White style. "Shut up! This is not your car!" he states excitedly, looking all around the car. "You're right, this isn't my car. Too bad, cause I was going to let you drive it . . ." "Shut the fuck up! Dude, I'd kill to drive in this, are you sure you wouldn't mind?" he jumps up and down excitedly. Well . . . shit it was sort of like a hypothetical statement. I really didn't think he'd want to. "Drive slow," I begrudgingly caution him as I hand him my keys. "Dude this is so fucking tight!" he states as he gets into the car. "We gotta drive with the top down," he begs me. I push the button, which sends the hard top into the trunk. Traffic wasn't too bad and with the top down and two good-looking guys in the car, I could tell that chicks were definitely checking us out. The movie theater wasn't too far so we got there in time. Jase even parked far from the other cars just so no one would ding my baby. What a man! I was able to sneak past him and pay for our tickets, but he made me concede defeat for dinner. Jase is such an easy going kind of guy. Usually it takes me awhile to open up to people but with him it was if we were already old friends. Needless to say the movie was excellent. Russell Crowe delivered another great performance in this movie. We talked about it all during the drive to Toi. I let him drive again since he was just so in love with my car. Thankfully it wasn't too crowded so we were able to get my favorite table. There is just something about this place that is so cool. It's not even the funky ass art on the walls, more of the total ambiance of the place I suppose. We both got this spicy curry dish that we both thought was excellent. All in all it was a great meal. It's funny how we had so many things in common. We're both very dedicated to school and towards our futures. We both grew up in white suburbia and were part of the so-called "in" crowd during High School even though we didn't intend on it. He was just so multi-faceted, and I could tell he still harbored some sadness about how his parents found out about him. He wouldn't give specifics but it was definitely ugly. Things had gotten better with them but it was still a touchy subject. He kept asking me about myself, which personally I find boring since I haven't been through half as much as he did, but he listened intently about my family and myself. I don't know how it happened but we stayed and talked in the restaurant for 3 hours! I didn't even think time went by that fast, but I guess it was just so easy to talk to the guy that we lost track of time. I didn't have class tomorrow and neither did he so I asked if he wanted to chill in my apartment for a bit. My roommate Jeff, an old high school buddy, was probably cramming in the library and wouldn't be back tonight. "Wow you've got a great place," Jase remarked. "Thanks," I reply. I was trying to go for the whole contemporary modern look. "Something to drink?" I ask. "No, I'm good." He replies. "Sit," I offer him a chair. I turn on the sound system and head over to my room to hang up my coat. I return to see him flipping over some scrapbooks from high school. "Who's this?" he questions pointing to Jess, sitting on my lap. "Oh that's my best friend Jessica," I reply sitting beside him. "You two would make a good couple," he remarked. "That's what everyone else says. I don't know, we tried it out but we're just better off as friends." I reply. "Sure could have fooled me," he remarked, showing off a picture of her and me making out at some party. "Well I told you we tried it out," I remark shyly. We didn't talk about anything in general but we had a good time. Dido was softly playing in the background, which always puts me in a good mood. It was three in the morning before we realized how late it was. I offered to take him home, but he wanted to walk. "I had a really good time," I say as I walk him to the door. "I'm glad I got a chance to know you better, I haven't had this much fun in a long time," he admitted. "Same here man, I'll call you tomorrow and maybe we can do something this weekend," I suggested. "I'd like that," he agreed with a grin. "Well goodnight." "Night." We just stood there, I wasn't sure if I should give him a hug or a handshake or what. I guess he wasn't sure either because that awkward moment sent us into a fit of laughter. "I'll see ya later bud," I say as I give him a short impromptu hug. He reciprocates and pats me on the back and whispers "Night," before walking away. I watched him as he turned the corner and slowly went back inside. I close and lock the door behind me, turning around to lean my back on it. For some reason I was getting that short of breath feeling and I could feel my heartbeat racing above normal. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. The night was too perfect; the chaos in my life seemed to still into oblivion. I hadn't felt this way in a long time, not since Jessica and I parted ways. Maybe it was the moon, the music, the moment but I felt something stir inside of me that is scaring the shit out of me right now. All I know was at that moment before he left, I . . . I wanted him to kiss me . . .. "Houston, we have a problem!" To Be Continued?????? Hope you guys like it, send me some email at: SLK2308888@aol.com with the subject heading of ~I Wanna Be With You~.