Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2003 05:51:42 -0800 (PST) From: Virtual Insanity <virtualinsanity78@yahoo.com> Subject: Wade & Christian 9 Disclaimer: This story is intended for adult audiences. If you are not an adult 18+, 21 in some places, please do not go on. I have been writing for some years, but this is the first time I have shared my writing with the public. The copyright belongs solely to me. You can read it here on Nifty, print out a copy for yourself or a friend, but anything else you have to ask me - virtualinsanity78@yahoo.com To Sean and Nate, true inspiration delivered to my e-mail box every couple of days, who could ask for more? *********************************************************************** Chapter Nine Keisha paced back and forth like a caged animal. Christian sat on a puke-orange plastic chair in the semi-crowded bus station, his long legs splayed out in front of him, watching her. She was chewing on a nail nervously, her eyes darting periodically towards the bus terminals. "You do know that he's gonna take one look at you and figure out that something's wrong," Christian told her and she stopped pacing and stared at him. The look she gave him made him smile. "I have never been so fucking scared in my whole life," she exclaimed, her chocolate brown eyes clashing with Christian's. "I'm so scared, I'm shaking," She held up one hand up so that he could see her visibly trembling. He stood and grabbed her hand, brushing it soothingly with his thumb. "It's gonna be over in no time," he told her, offering her the enoucragement of his proximity. "What do I look like dumping somebody?" she asked, pressing her face against the solid, comforting warmth of his chest. "Everybody always dumps me." Christian laughed. "Name one man, hetero or bi, who has ever dumped you," he challenged and she shrugged. "He's gonna fucking flip out when I tell him," she said, leaning back to look up at Christian. "I mean, you've never seen Mannie get mad. He can spazz out so bad sometimes." "The Marines probably taught him some discipline," Christian told her. "Damn, I hope so," she said and looked worried. "If he tries anything, I'll keep it under control," Christian comforted her with quiet confidence. She nodded trustingly, her eyes boring into Christian's. He bit his lip and looked around nervously. "I just have to tell you one thing before he does," Christian said. Kiesha looked at him questioningly. "Oh God," she said when she saw the serious look in his eyes. "What?" "I don't want you to get mad," he said, holding her close when she would have backed away. "If you do get mad, I don't want you to flip out." "Don't fuck around, Christian, just tell me," she said, her face serious. "He sucked my dick," Christian said and Kiesha's jaw dropped. She pulled away, but Christian didn't let her go far. "Kiesh, listen to me," he said when she pulled back. "Hear me out." "When?" she demanded to know. She wounded him with piercing pools of liquid hurt. "That night when you brought him over and then left to see your grandmother," he told her. "I didn't know what to do. Just being around him weirded me out. There was just something about him that seemed kinda crazy, kinda off, you know? So, I didn't want to be alone with him. You were gone for like two seconds and he was all over me. I tried to tell him to back off, but it was useless. I had never had someone that close to me before and he was persistent." She stared at him for a moment, her shoulders slumped. "I had been pining away after Wade forever and then Mannie just kind of pressed in," he told her. "He said that I could pretend that he was Wade and he'd...pretend that you were me." Christian looked closely at her face, gauging her reaction, reading the pain that ran across her pretty features "Anyway, I was scared to tell you cuz I didn't want to lose you," he admitted. "I know that's fucking shitty as hell, but I thought maybe I could just hide it and not say anything and never be alone with Mannie again...and it kinda worked. Then Reggie's bonfire came up and he was all crazy to meet you and I was so glad when you two fell in love. I thought the whole Mannie things was officially over. But knowing that he's going to walk through that terminal any minute and try to win you over again made me feel like I had to tell you this." "It's okay," she whispered quietly. "I don't want you to hate me because of it," he pleaded and she smiled at him. "I don't hate you," she assured him. "You can't lose me, Chris, we're stuck with each other, you should know that by now. As far as this thing with Mannie goes, I'm glad you told me. It will help me to be more firm about how I feel. He was a slut when he left here and he's probably going to be a slut for the rest of his life." "Don't hate him, Kiesh, he loves you," Christian protested and she pursed her lips. "He's got an odd fucking way of showing me love," she said. "That's true," Christian told her. "And I definitely think that being with him would be a bad choice, but there's something wrong with him. He's seriously messed up in the head about being bi. I can't even begin to analyze what's going on with him." "I don't care, Chris," she lifted her face and told him firmly. "I could care less about what's going on in his head. Hooking up with him has caused me nothing but pain and I've got to cut him off. Completely." *** Christian rifled through his refrigerator and came up with three cans of soda, then stood awkwardly for a moment. He didn't want to go back into the den. Mannie and Kiesha were sitting on the loveseat, Mannie blissfully unaware of the fact that she was about to crush his heart into tiny pieces. He looked good. Mannie had gained weight and muscle in the Marines, cut his long, dark locks into the standard buzz and learned how to stand tall. He also looked happier than Christian had ever seen him, at peace with his feelings for once in his life. Christian did not want to witness the demise of Mannie's dreams, but he had promised Kiesh that he would support her. He heaved a big sigh and headed back into the den. Christian set the cans in front of them and sat himself down on the sofa, trying to fade into the background. Kiesha caught his eye and he gave her an intent look. Get it over with. Now. "I've got to tell you some stuff," Kiesha said, turning to Mannie. Mannie had picked up the can of soda and was in the middle of popping the cap. "What?" he asked, taking a sip. "You might not want to hear it," she told him, taking the can out of his hand and sitting on the coffee table. "It's not easy for me to say." "What?" he asked, trying to grab one of her hands. She pulled it away. "There was a time when I would have done anything to hear you tell me that you love me and that you want to be with me," she began. "But that time is not now. I've met someone else...and I love him." Reggie was silent for a moment, his dark eyes intent on Kiesha. He swallowed hard. "Who?" he asked quietly. "Reggie Donovan," she said quietly. "Reggie Donovan," Mannie repeated, then stared at her incredulously. "The football player Reggie? That huge guy?" "Yes," she said proudly. "He's my boyfriend. He loves me, Mannie, the way you never could. He took me home to meet his parents. I have dinner with them. They love and accept me...the way normal people do. I never have to worry about if there's some sexy guy that wants to fuck him. I'm enough for him." Lakiesha spat the words out angrily. Mannie's face was ashen and tight. "No fucking way did you love me," Mannie told her. "You never loved me. All of that talk about loving me and wanting to be with me was a big, fucking lie." "I never lied to you," she hissed at him. "Then you fall in and out of love the way I fall in and out of dicks cuz I'm gone a few months and now you're in love with the king of brain dead jocks," he shot out angrily. "Don't talk about Reggie," she shot to her feet, yelling. "Don't even try to make him seem like less than he is. Reggie loves me. He is devoted to me." "I thought you were devoted to me," Mannie was on his feet too, yelling back and Christian stared helplessly at the rapid descent the conversation was taking. "I was devoted to you, but how did you pay me back, Mannie?" she asked. "By sucking my best friend's dick the minute I turned my fucking back. That's the kind of love I don't need. What did I get for my devotion besides hurt and belittled? I moved on to someone special, to someone who could love me completely." "I could love you completely," Mannie told her, his voice raw. "I do love you completely. Why the fuck do you think I enlisted in the Marines? So that I could get my shit together. So, that I could have money in the bank and discipline in my life. I was tempted down there and you wanna know how many guys I fucked around with, Kiesh...not one. Not one guy. I put your picture on my nightstand and I thought about you all the time..about you and your dreams. College, the house and kids. I was going to do it all for you. I love you." She was quiet. She stared at him, at the wild desperation in his eyes. She began to bawl quietly. "I love him, Mannie," she said through her tears. "You hurt me too much. I love him." Mannie nodded. In the space of seconds, something within him changed and it was visible for both Christian and Kiesha to see. In the span of less than a minute, Mannie had lost all hope for his future. "Yeah," he said, putting on a quick smile. "Hey, I understand, you know. I was a fucking asshole to you for over a year, I don't know how you put up with me for so long. Chris, can you give me a ride to my place? Lakiesha, you'll understand it I don't want to hang out." She stood there, peering at him. "Mannie," she began, her voice full of emotion. Christian stood up. "Yeah, man, I can give you a ride home," Christian said, stepping in front of her. "Kiesh, why don't you go home and I'll come by later?" Her eyes met his and he gave her an intent look. She nodded, looked around for her purse and walked towards the front door. There was little that either of them could say to solve things. It was best if she left before Mannie cracked and Christian could see that he was on the verge. "Goodbye," she said quietly and disappeared. Christian listened until he heard her car start before turning back to Mannie. Mannie was standing silently where they had left him, his face a stony mask. "Are you okay, man?" Christian asked. Mannie began to shake. Christian stood awkwardly, watching. "No, I'm not fucking okay," Mannie told him in a quiet voice. "Why would I be okay? Every good thing in my life, I screw up." "You can get through this," Christian told him. "How?" Mannie asked. "She was the only person to love me that way and now that's gone. What do I have left? An endless line of dicks to suck? Guys who will fuck me blue in the face but won't even speak to me in the light of day?" "You don't have to do that," Christian implored quietly. "You don't have to use guys or let guys use you. You can fall in love with a guy, too, Mannie." "Yeah, right," Mannie said, paused and then turned to him. He moved closer to Christian. "What makes you think anybody would fall in love with me?" Mannie asked him, standing in front of him, raw and vulnerable. "Kiesha fell in love with you, didn't she?" "That hardly counts now," Mannie shrugged. "Yeah, it does," Christian told him. "Do you know how much that girl talked about you and everything you did or didn't like or what you thought? I thought I would go insane if I had to spend one more second listening to her go on about you. You had her wrapped around your little finger. She would have gone to hell and back for you if you'd let her. But you never did. You only let her come in so close before you'd push her away. "Somebody out there is going to love you just as much as she did, if not more, and all you have to do is let them in." Mannie stared at Christian for a moment. It had been months since the last time they had talked and in that time Christian had changed drastically. He was no longer the uncertain, quiet boy he had been. Something about him had changed. Mannie moved within an inch of Christian's face. "Can that somebody be you?" Mannie asked and Christian's face fell. He tried to move away from Mannie's persistent presence. "Uh - no, there's no chance of that," Christian said gently. Mannie pressed in closer. "Why not?" Mannie asked. "You're not pining away after that jock still are you? Because I have to tell you, Chris, you're absolutely priceless. Men would kill for a chance with a guy like you." "No," Christan said, putting his arms out to stop Mannie from pressing against him. "This would be wrong on so many levels. I don't feel that way about you for one. Kiesha is my best friend and that would be awkward for two...and I'll probably love Wade for as long as I breathe, but there's -" Mannie didn't let Christian go on. He pushed past Christian's arms and launched himself against him, pressing his lips to Christian's and ignoring Christian's shocked protest. He ignored Christian's lack of response. It had taken time to warm Christian up before, but Mannie was sure that he could do it again. "What the fuck?" The voice that came from near the entrance to the den was full of anger and unfamiliar to Mannie. He let Christian go and turned to see Wade Harrison towering a few feet away, vibrating with anger. "Wade," Christian began slowly. "It's nowhere near what it looks like." But Wade was in another zone entirely and before the words had fully left Christian's lips, Wade was flying across the room in Mannie's direction, as fierce and focused as a wrestler launching himself across a ring. Christian stared in speechless shock as Wade crashed into Mannie and they both flew a few feet back over the loveseat and onto the floor. *********************************************************************** Figured you guys should be mad at me for more than just taking forever to finish part 9. Comments...virtualinsanity78@yahoo.com For those of you who don't know, check out The Prick under the h.s. section for my other story...warning, it's very different than Wade & Chris.