Among the Shadows: Part 1, Chapter 2
Over the remaining weeks of the semester, I spent much of my free time with Kyle, who turned out to be a senior like me. Any time not spent in classes was spent together. I found him just the right amount of charm and humor, and, well, I had to admit I was attracted to his handsome rugged look and his athlete's toned body. I enjoyed his company and hoped he felt the same way. Since he had been spending his days with me as well, I could only assume he felt similarly.
Time seemed to pass by quickly just being together. An affable person, Kyle had been persistent in getting me to try some video games with him, and I finally assented. He turned on the Xbox and tried to teach me how to play a first-person shooter game. Initially, I tried to quit the game to let Kyle play by himself and suggested I would just watch him. Instead, he insisted that I was no trouble at all and that he liked to watch me flounder around. I wasn't too thrilled about his admission, but every mistake I made gave us something to laugh and bond over. There was never any malice or frustration in his demeanor, and Kyle had been a wonderfully patient teacher throughout. Although it took a few hours to get my character to stop looking at the sky, eventually we found a configuration in which I could at least manage to navigate my controls enough to follow his character around. While I did not contribute much to the game's mission, I had enough fun watching cinematics for the story. Afterward, we chatted about other games, video and board games alike, until it was quite late.
After the long night with Kyle, I returned to the dormitory at 4AM. I tried to quietly shut the front door without waking Susie, but it seemed she was smarter than I was. Alas, trying to be quiet proved pointless tonight.
"So... how was lover boy?" Susie asked cannily.
Feeling guilty just by being caught in the confrontation, I spun around to face her. Aside from the rare team project and the like, I had never had male company over, and I had never spent the night away. Tonight was a first (even for a partial night), and Susie had, of course, noticed my absence at bedtime. Watching my movements carefully, Susie lounged on the couch underneath a blanket, and in an afterthought, turned on the lamp beside her as if to better study me. Her mussed hair indicated that she had been napping there until I got home. She stretched her arms lazily as she raised her eyebrows suggestively at me.
Instantly, my face turned red, which in turn gave her the proof that there was indeed a boy, no matter how much I tried to deny it. A good friend, Susie had seen something was up from the beginning. I argued that it was still early in the relationship, so I hadn't wanted to say anything yet. Kyle and I had not discussed being exclusive. Besides, I hadn't been intentionally keeping anything from her: there was hardly any free time for anyone else to get the news.
Of course, Susie insisted on all the details immediately. She was annoying and insistent, and pragmatically, I should have ignored her in favor of going to bed, but incredibly, I was still elated about how well the date had gone. Susie brewed some tea, and against our better judgment, we stayed up even later discussing whether or not he reciprocated my feelings.
"He sounds dreamy!" Susie was far too enthusiastic for the late hour. She asked excitedly, "When do I get to meet him?"
"We haven't really been dating, so I don't know yet. We've mostly been hanging out at his place, or on campus," I explained, sleepily wondering if I had been repeating myself. Saying it out loud made it sound especially boring, albeit relatively normal. I wondered if we would still be together after graduation. "I'll let you know if it progresses any further." I couldn't really tell her much, and I knew she was disappointed.
Unhappy with the lack of development, Susie frowned. "Damnit!" she exclaimed. She leaned back on the couch as she stretched. "I was hoping to live vicariously through your love life. I guess I'll just have to settle for Revenge." The TV series was Susie's latest craze, and she'd had me watch the season with her on her second time through. Susie liked to drool over one of the actors on the show. Although we both loved to watch movies and TV shows and often related situations in our lives to the Hollywood screen, we didn't necessarily share the same tastes in genres. Or actors.
"Alright, time for bed," Susie finally announced, going to the kitchen to rinse out her cup. "Dream about Crash-Kyle!" As if purposely timed, she gave a long yawn. We were both tired, and we should have just had this conversation at a more reasonable hour. The sun would be up soon. Birds were already chirping for the morning.
"That is hardly a romantic name," I chastised. I moved to the kitchen to rinse my cup out also. Our apartment featured open area kitchen, dining and living rooms.
Susie wobbled her lip in response. "But I need to come up with a cute name for him," she complained. She liked to give terrible labels to her crushes, dates, and boyfriends, and had begun doing the same for mine. "Collision Crush, Crushing Crash, Quick Kyle," she suggested eagerly. I wrinkled my nose at her. Those suggestions were even worse, and she knew it. If I didn't stop her, she would keep going. And they'd grow steadily worse. "Culpable Kyle, Call Me -"
"Okay, okay, I'm going to bed," I interrupted her, laughing.
Unhappy because she didn't get to unleash her creative genius, Susie pouted, but assented. "Hope Casanova Kyle crashes your dream," she wished me goodnight, blowing me a kiss as we both went to our separate rooms. That last name wasn't half bad.
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