His Undoing

by Grace, Aria

  “Don’t thank me. It’s what friends do.” He was warming up noodle soup in the microwave and gave me a sweet smile. I felt the connection growing stronger. While he was busy, I took the opportunity to really look at him. His broad back and shoulders were all muscle. He didn’t have an ounce of fat or softness to him but on the few occasions that I’d hugged him or touched his body, it didn’t feel hard. It felt...nice.

  “How do you get muscles like that?” I asked before I lost the courage. I’ve always been thin and wiry. I’ve never willingly worked out in my life but now I was realizing that I needed to learn how to protect myself.

  “Lots and lots of training. Why? You interested in bulking up?” He leaned against the microwave and looked me over. “I could help you, if you want.”

  “Well, I’ll never have a body like yours but it wouldn’t hurt to do some strength training and maybe learn some self-defense.”

  “As soon as the doctor gives you the okay, I’ll take you to the gym. They offer beginner krav maga classes that would be perfect for you. You can learn to take down any attacker, regardless of size.”

  As I was picturing the spectacle of me trying to fight off a giant like Brett, there was a light tap at the door.

  “Come in,” we both said at the same time. Maggie peeked her head in.

  “Are you up for...” As soon she saw me with my bruised face, her eyes teared up. “Oh my God, Mike. Are you okay? How did this happen?” She rushed to me and sat gingerly at my side.

  “It was kind of a freak attack. I think Zuckerberg heard about our app and got worried. Wanted to take out the competition,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “You poor thing. Are you in pain?” She quickly scanned my injuries and settled on my swollen eyes. “Can I get you anything?”

  “I’m okay. They’ve loaded me up with drugs so I’m mostly just tired. I’ll probably miss classes for a few days, though.” I was ahead in most of my work so I wasn’t too worried but I wasn’t looking forward to lying in bed for days.

  “I’ll talk to your professors and find out what you’re missing. Don’t worry about a thing.” After evaluating my injuries and getting the fake details about what happened, she quickly changed the subject to some of the people I’d met at the party. She spent the next thirty minutes chatting non-stop. Noticing that I was having trouble staying awake, Brett thanked her for stopping by and suggested I take a nap. Maggie assured me she’d be back the next day with a list of any work I was missing and said good night. I was asleep before she closed the door.

  I woke up just after midnight, dripping in sweat and breathing heavily. I jolted upright and quickly regretted it when I remembered the battered state of my body. Everything protested the sudden movement and I couldn’t bite back the loud groan that slipped out. I was having a nightmare that I couldn’t quite remember but the real nightmare of my life was bad enough. Once I realized that I was safely in my room, on the lower bunk, I moved my legs off the side to get up. Brett’s upside down face was inches from mine as he leaned over to check on me.

  “You okay? Do you need something?”

  “I’ve gotta pee. Maybe I’ll try to take a shower. I’m all sweaty.” I hadn’t showered in two days and definitely needed to.

  “That’s gonna be tricky. You don’t look like you can stand up for very long. Do you want to try...a sponge bath or something?” He looked self-conscious about suggesting it but I knew he was just being a good nurse. He’d assured my doctor that he’d help me with anything I needed and it wasn’t necessary to contact my parents. Friends help friends bathe when they are hurt, right?

  “Um, okay.” I stood up and immediately sat back down. I was dizzy from being on my back for so long. Brett slid off the top bunk and lifted me to my feet by my armpits. I felt like a toddler. After taking a minute to adjust to being upright, I was able to take slow, shuffling steps to the bathroom.

  Brett walked closely behind with a change of clothes and towels. He was probably holding his hands out ready to catch me but I was too humiliated to even look at him. I just focused on getting one foot in front of the other without face-planting.

  When I got to the urinal, Brett backed off so I could pee in private. He reminded me that the handicapped shower had a bench and a detachable hose that I could use for a sitting shower.

  I shuffled to the far stall and Brett helped me get my shirt over my head. Just raising my arms gave me a head rush. I swayed on my feet slightly so Brett pushed me down onto the bench.

  He pulled a plastic bag out of his back pocket and wrapped my cast to protect it from the water. The awkwardness of the moment fully sunk in when he began to unwrap the ace bandage holding my ribs in place. The expansion of my chest brought on a whole new kind of pain but I gritted my teeth and tried not to whine about it. He already felt inappropriately guilty.

  Before I could object, he grabbed the soapy hand towel, extended my left arm and lathered it up. It wasn’t sexual but it felt almost sensual. I watched his hand move from my wrist to my shoulder, leaving a sudsy trail in its wake.

  He was careful to avoid the worst of my bruises while still getting most of my exposed skin clean. He repeated the process on my right arm while holding my casted hand close to his chest. It felt so nice to have him taking care of me. When he moved to my back, I couldn’t help but moan slightly as he almost massaged my tense muscles. After lightly passing every inch of my back with the towel, he handed it to me.

  “Do you want to do your chest?” I looked dumbly at the towel before I could process what he meant.

  “Oh, yeah, thanks.” I took the towel and quickly washed my chest and stomach. He adjusted the water so it was barely more than a warm trickle and brought me the hose.

  “Since you’re changing, it doesn’t matter if you get your pants wet but we need to keep the stitches on your head dry.” The gash above my temple required four stitches and there were three staples in my scalp. I felt like Frankenstein but was grateful that the doctor didn’t insist on packing my nose. The swelling was bad but a face full of gauze would have been worse.

  After a few awkward attempts at rinsing myself off, Brett grabbed the hose and sprayed me down.

  “So, how do you want to do the rest?” he asked, gesturing to my drenched pants.

  “I guess the same way. I can probably handle this part.” Gay or straight, I didn’t feel comfortable letting anyone see my private parts. Not even my dad or brothers had seen me naked since I was five.

  He looked skeptical but backed out of the stall. “I’ll be right out here so let me know if you need anything.”

  As soon as he pulled the curtain, I shimmied out of the sweats and underwear I wore home from the hospital. They were wet and heavy, easily falling to the ground. I sat back on the bench and used the towel to wash whatever I could reach without bending over. Fortunately, that covered the most important parts.

  The water was running cold so I quickly rinsed while walking to the faucet to turn it off and replace the hose. The short distance took more out of me than I expected. I grabbed the dry towel from the hook but moved too quickly and a shooting pain traveled the length of my torso. I doubled over and that was even worse. Brett must have heard the pained noises coming from my traitorous body because he rushed in just as I slid down the wall to the floor of the shower. The towel was still clutched to my stomach so at least I was covered.

  “Mike, are you okay?” Brett leaned over me to check the worst of my injuries.

  When he found no popped stitches or open scabs, he let out a deep breath. “You scared me.”

  “Sorry. Got a little dizzy. I’m okay now.” I positioned the towel like a drape across my lap and Brett just smirked.

  “Here let me help. You’re freezing.” He discreetly tied the towel around hips and lifted me off the floor. I was leaning against the wall while he grabbed my clothes. He picked up my boxer briefs and looked at me. My face must have displayed the horror I felt at the thought of him putti
ng underwear on me. “Yeah, you can just go commando tonight.”

  He shook out the dry sweats and kneeled in front of me. I put one hand on the top of his head and lifted my right foot into the leg of my pants and then the left. He pulled them up to the edge of the towel and braced my shoulders while I pulled them the rest of the way up without exposing my shrivledness to him. Damn cold water!

  Once he re-wrapped my chest and I was fully dressed, we walked back to the room. Feeling like I’d just run a marathon up a mountain, I collapsed into his bed. It was an excruciating hour but I felt much better once I was clean.

  Curling into Brett’s pillow, I inhaled deeply. Without my own body odor masking it, I could smell Brett all over his bed. It was a soothing scent to fall asleep to.

  Brett kept to his morning routine after walking me to the bathroom and giving me my meds. I slept until he returned to the room at lunch with a couple of burgers. My appetite was finally back and I was starving. He tossed a bag of chips and a Clif bar at me before heading out for his afternoon classes.

  I talked to Colin and Josh about what happened and promised to work on the app for a few hours until Maggie stopped by with dinner.

  “I hope you’re hungry because I brought a pizza.” She was wearing a snug, sweater-type dress and black tights. She looked amazing. I still didn’t know why she wanted to hang out with me but I appreciated the company.

  “I talked to your professors and have some stuff we can work on. Or, we can watch a movie. I brought the most ‘guy-ish’ ones I could find in Amy’s collection. Which means ‘Good Will Hunting’ or ‘Saving Private Ryan.’ She’s a big Matt Damon fan.”

  “Yeah, I’m starving...and a movie sounds great. I haven’t watched either of those so you can pick.” Maggie put a few slices on a plate and grabbed a DVD case from her bag. We watched the movie on my laptop so I scooted toward the wall and made room for Maggie to sit next to me.

  By the time Matt Damon and his friends were in jail, Maggie was cuddled up against my arm. My ribs were protesting the pressure but I didn’t dare complain. I liked the contact. It felt really nice to have someone warm against me. And by someone, I mean a smart and beautiful blonde coed. I closed my eyes and drifted off for the rest of the movie. When she leaned forward to stop the DVD, I opened my eyes. She moved the computer to the end of the bed and climbed into my lap, straddling my thighs.

  “Am I hurting you?” I shook my head. I was actually in a lot of pain but it didn’t matter. Her face was inches from mine and getting closer by the second. I let my eyes drift shut as her lips brushed mine. I didn’t move. I didn’t even breathe. Her skin was so soft. She closed her lips over mine and held my lower lip between hers for a moment. She pulled back and placed another open mouth kiss on my lips before she swept her tongue across the seam.

  Just as my mouth slightly opened, the door to the room also opened. Brett stopped mid-step as my eyes flew to his and Maggie groaned and rested her forehead on my shoulder. “Hi Brett,” she said with feigned politeness.

  “Hey. Sorry. I can come back...” He was still staring intently at me and I couldn’t look away. I shook my head at him.

  “No, don’t. I need to get going. I have a house meeting tonight.” She leaned back onto her heels and said she’d be back the next day to study. I nodded dumbly, still too stunned to form any words.

  I’d just had my first kiss, well, half-kiss, and I was more embarrassed that Brett caught us than by my lack of skill. She packed up and left while Brett continued to watch me. I felt his eyes on me and wondered if I had broken some kind of code by making out with a chick on his bed. Duh, I should have thought about that.

  “Sorry, I didn’t,” we both said at the same time. We both smiled and I waved for him to finish his sentence.

  “I didn’t mean to cock block, man. You shoulda sent me a text or something and I wouldn’t have come back so early.” He seemed bothered by the whole thing but he wasn’t the shy type so I didn’t quite understand where his discomfort was coming from.

  “Oh, no, you didn’t. I don’t even know what that was about. We watched a movie and then she kissed me. I totally didn’t even see it coming. I was gonna say sorry for doing it on your bed. I hope you aren’t grossed out or anything.”

  “Don’t worry about it.” He chuckled while putting his stuff away and settling in at his desk. “That’s the most action that bed has seen since I’ve been here.” It was true that although he went out every night before my attack, I’d never seen him bring anyone back to the room.

  “You know, if you ever want to bring someone back here, that’s cool. Just let me know and I’ll hang out at the library or in the lounge.” I pictured him in dark alleys and slimy clubs with his random hookups and it made me uncomfortable. It was just as much his room as it was mine. I didn’t plan to get much action in there so he might as well.

  Chapter 5

  Well, sometimes the best laid plans go astray couldn’t be more of an understatement. Over the next week, Maggie spent more and more time with me. By Wednesday, I was ready to go back to class so she didn’t have to bring me anything but she still came by every day. We would usually spend an hour on school work and at some point, we’d start to make out. Yup, I was actually making out with a girl, and she was the instigator. It was as shocking to me as anyone else but she acted like a girlfriend and, although we never officially declared our status, I was loving the attention.

  Maggie was sweet and funny and beautiful. Kissing her made me feel warm and excited and a little frustrated. My right hand was still in a cast so jacking off was not as easy as I wanted it to be. I wasn’t as coordinated with my left hand but I made it work. My fantasies always started off with Maggie but then my mind would drift to Brett right before I came.

  It was confusing and I felt guilty for thinking about him that way. I seemed to get more excited by picturing his body than hers. It didn’t help that he wasn’t modest in any way. He was always quick to strip down in front of me while we were talking.

  Since I was usually up on the top bunk, I’d never realized how comfortable he was with his own nudity. I guess after playing sports for so long, you get used to it but I wasn’t used to it at all. I tried to avert my gaze but often caught myself staring at his muscles. All of them. His ass was round and high and I envied it.

  Although, I was well proportioned, my proportions were small. He wasn’t small anywhere. When he’d wake up with a boner, he’d just lazily slip on some shorts and head to the shower. I hadn’t seen it bare while it was hard but since it was at least 6 inches soft, I was positive it was huge when erect. Another aspect of Brett to be envious of.

  By Thursday, I was able to climb up the ladder to the top bunk with manageable pain so we planned to switch back to our own beds.

  Maggie and I went out to dinner that night and had a great time. It was like a date with my best friend. We laughed and talked shop. She had some experience with user interface design so she offered to work on the app with us.

  But by the time I walked her back to her house, I was feeling anxious about what was coming. I had a feeling she would want me to stay but I didn’t know if I wanted to.

  “Do you want to come in for a while?” she asked while wrapping her arms around my neck. I was tempted to say yes but I was also afraid of what she had planned. She was much more experienced than me and had several boyfriends over the years. I was not only intimidated by her but I also felt a discomfort that I couldn’t quite describe. I really liked her but wasn’t sure if I liked her as a friend or as a girlfriend.

  “Thanks, but I better get back. I’ve got some studying to do and I really need to do laundry,” I said.

  She pulled back with a pout and I leaned down to kiss her. Once we connected, she pulled me harder onto her mouth. She was definitely eager when it came to making out. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed her way from my mouth, up my jaw.

  “Are you sure you can’t stay,” she whispered into my ear. Her breath ti
ckled me but I stayed focused.

  “I wish I could. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I gave her a final peck and pulled from her embrace.

  “Oh, speaking of, we’re having a party here tomorrow night. You can stay over if you want since Amy won’t be here.”

  “O-o-okay, great.” I shuffled down the walkway and didn’t look back.

  When I got to the room, Brett was putting on deodorant and arranging each messy spike on his head in the perfectly aloof style that he reserved for going out.

  “Hey lover boy, how was your date?” He smacked my shoulder playfully as I walked in.

  “Fine. We just had dinner. She’s really nice but, I can’t believe I’m actually saying this, I’m not sure I’m as into her as she is into me.” It was true. I wasn’t sure if she just considered me a project or if she really liked me but I kept thinking of her as my girl friend rather than my girlfriend. But, I was a 19-year-old virgin and if she wanted to rid me of that honor, I would probably go for it. I’m only human.

  “What’s not to be into? She’s pretty and smart and has tits. I thought that’s all you breeders thought about,” he joked. I knew he wasn’t serious but I hoped he didn’t actually think I was that shallow.

  “Yeah, her tits are nice but I’m not totally attracted to her in that way. But, honestly, if she wants to take it to the next level, it’ll probably happen tomorrow. She asked me to stay over after a party at her house.”

  “Nice work, man,” he said enthusiastically and reached up for a high five. He was more excited about it than I was.

  “Finally gettin’ some action. I’m happy for you.” His words were exactly what I expected to hear. He had encouraged me to hook up with Maggie since I met her but when he turned back to the mirror to finish primping, he seemed to have a somber look on his face. It was as if the excitement he felt was either fake or brought some other issue to the surface.