It was very obvious he was actually angry.
“Dude, I didn’t mean to piss you off. It was a joke more than anything,” I shrugged, doing my best to try and ease his temper.
“It’s a sore subject with me. The entire rumor mill,” he shook his head and his lips pressed to a thin line.
“You know. I used Facebook for this studio a few years ago, before I really developed much of a customer base. One of my first customers was kind of like you. I was teaching him to dance. He wanted to impress his girl, and hadn’t told her a thing about taking lessons,” he got up, walked to the small refrigerator, and pulled out two bottles of water.
As he walked back to the bench he handed me a bottle of water and sat down. I unscrewed the lid from the bottle and sat down a few feet from him on the bench and took a drink. As I drank, he shook his head and began to talk.
“Well, one night, it was him and I in here alone. His private session was about over, and there was this lady that had a session after him. She waited while we finished. Eventually, he left, she had her session, and that was it. Well, for a few days anyway,” he took a drink of his water and shook his head from side-to-side.
“Fucking bitch took a photo with her cell phone of us dancing. Probably from here on the bench,” he stood and pointed at the bench.
“Anyway, the angle of the photo was strange. Like up and at an angle. It looked like I was kissing him. The truth was my head was probably eight inches from him. But, she posted it on Facebook. I never saw her original post that I can remember, but I saw the ones after it. People took the picture and cropped the bottom half out, just leaving our hands and faces in it,” he tipped up the bottle of water and turned to face me.
“So, here I am, holding his hand beside his face and kissing him. Thing is all over Facebook. People swearing this was proof that I was gay. You couldn’t even tell we were in the dance studio. I was dating a girl at the time, but as soon as that went viral, she left me. I ended up cancelling my Facebook account and haven’t had one since,” he stared out the window of the studio into the dark parking lot.
“People do dumb shit sometimes, dude,” I said as I stood from the bench.
He continued to stare out into the parking lot, “No, people are inconsiderate and selfish. They want to use others for their own benefit - to draw attention to themselves. It makes them feel important when people pay attention to them. You know the bad thing? Originally I was mad at the girl that took the pic and posted it. But she really didn’t do anything wrong. It was all of the others that followed that made it into a mess.”
“Sorry dude,” I said as I patted him on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it. But you know,” he paused and turned around.
“If you don’t know me, don’t talk about me. If you get to know me and don’t like me, realize we’re different or maybe even incompatible. Go find someone you do like. But don’t bash my name to others just because you don’t like me, something I do, or something I have done,” he tossed his empty water bottle into the trash can beside the door.
“Yeah, kinda like kindergarten. If you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all,” I screwed my lid on the empty bottle of water and tossed it toward the trash can, missing by six inches.
“Not much of a basketball player, huh?” he laughed.
“Nope,” I shrugged as I turned to face him.
He smiled and rolled his eyes as he shook his head.
“So, getting you to suck my cock is out of the question?” I chuckled.
I blinked my eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Confused and dizzy, I tried unsuccessfully to focus my eyes. I was flat on my back on the floor of the studio. I turned my head to the left.
The windows.
I turned my head to the right.
The dance floor.
I blinked my eyes.
As I raised myself onto my elbows, I shook my head and tried to clear my mind. I looked toward the windows and saw Austin standing by the door smiling.
“Dude,” my mouth felt numb and my lips were slow to move.
“What the fuck happened?” I blinked again and rubbed my neck.
With his palm flat, he raised his right hand in the air and smiled.
“Knife hands, motherfucker. That shit works,” he laughed.
I blinked my eyes and stared.
Fucking A-Train.
“I tell you what. You quit talking shit about me sucking cocks, and tell Kelsey I’m not a fag, and I won’t put knife hands on you again,” he said as he reached down to help me up.
As I reached for his hand, he pulled it away.
“Deal?” he asked, his hand hovering at his waist.
“Deal,” I agreed as I reached up into the air.
As he helped me to my feet, I blinked my eyes and looked around the room, still somewhat uncertain of exactly what had happened. I felt like my brains had been scrambled. I knew one thing for certain; I’d been knocked unconscious by a fucking dance instructor.
One that resembled a homosexual male model.
Austin and I would need to discuss keeping this on the down low.
As soon as I’m able to think clearly.
CHAPTER XXI - CHILDISH BEHAVIOR
VEE. Spending time with Michael, regardless of what we did, satisfied me greatly. Now that I had found someone who actually connected with me on an emotional, spiritual, physical, and sexual level, I was able to look back upon my life - and the men that accompanied me - and truly realize that they were doing nothing more than filling the space between what was the beginning and what I know now to be the ending. They were something to keep me temporarily satisfied until I found the real one, the right one, the one that caused me to stop mid-stride and say I’m done fucking looking. Everyone should find the one person that fills every void within them on a permanent level.
Michael Allen Ripton fills me up.
The search is over.
I do not want to live another day on this earth that doesn’t in some way include the presence of Michael. This man, in his own odd little way of living life, captured my heart and caused me to realize what I had been missing all along.
The only problem, and it wasn’t necessarily a problem, was that on the surface as well as on the inside, Michael was still a very large child.
“Fuck you Austin, put that skinny little bitch up on your shoulders,” I teetered on Michael’s shoulders as he clapped his hands together and growled.
“Dude, you don’t even know her, don’t call her that. Think of something else, or let’s just cook dinner as a group. There doesn’t have to be a winner and a loser,” Austin complained as he nodded toward Nikki.
Petite, blonde, and well dressed, Nikki stood beside Austin and appeared scared.
“Michael! That wasn’t very nice,” I shrugged at Nikki and Austin as I looked down at the top of Michael’s tan head.
“He didn’t mean it like that. He meant bitch in a good way,” I smiled.
“It’s okay,” Nikki did her best to provide a phony smile.
Michael, Austin, Nikki, and I had all gone to a movie together. In lieu of eating out, Michael had insisted we eat at home and have a relaxing evening together as a group. I had driven to the movie, because my car comfortably seated four adults. After the movie, we had driven to my home, and were now in the front yard. Michael decided that we should have a chicken fight to determine who was going to cook the meal and who was going to relax.
“It ain’t what you think. If you’ve never done it, it’s fun. He and I don’t fight. It’s you and it’s her. And you two are equal. Well hell, actually you are bigger,” Michael said as he let go of my right ankle and pointed toward Nikki.
“You try and knock her off my shoulders. She tries to knock you off of his. Whoever gets knocked off loses. The winner gets to sit and relax. The loser cooks. Come on, she’s been up there for ten minutes and my shoulders are startin’ to ache,” Michael complained.
>
Austin looked at Nikki and shrugged his shoulders. Dressed in black slacks, heels, and a peach colored sleeveless top, Nikki peered through her Cartier glasses at Austin and rolled her eyes. Truth be known, she looked like she needed knocked off of Austin’s shoulders - maybe just once.
Uppity little bitch.
“Kick off your shoes, it’ll be fun,” I lied.
Until I get a fistful of your blonde hair.
“Well, if I take off my glasses and shoes, maybe,” she sighed.
“Just place them on the porch. That way they won’t get hurt,” I smiled and rubbed Michael’s head.
After Bryan and I divorced, I wanted out of the home that we had shared for the extent of our marriage. I purchased the home that I was in now, which was in the middle of a gated neighborhood that consisted primarily of doctors, attorneys, and executives. As Austin crouched down and Nikki climbed onto his shoulders, I chuckled at what the neighbors would think.
Put that hair in a ponytail so I have something to hold on to.
“I love your hair,” I grinned.
“Dude, come on. Jesus,” Michael whined as Austin stood up, balancing Nikki on his shoulders.
“Oh my God. This is scary,” she squealed as Austin stood up.
Not as scary as when I yank your ass down.
“Okay how do we do this?” I smiled and clasped my hands together as I looked at Nikki’s skinny little chicken legs.
She didn’t stand a chance.
“You two try and knock each other off our shoulders. Whoever gets tipped over loses. It’s that easy. Ready?” Michael asked.
“Ready. You ready?” Austin looked up at Nikki.
“Ready,” she smiled.
“I guess so,” I grinned as I dug my heels into Michael’s chest.
“I’m not a fucking horse. You don’t have to kick me to get me to go,” Michael growled as he stomped through the grass toward Austin.
Nikki teetered back and forth across Austin’s shoulders. We were roughly the same size, but she was about two or three inches taller than I was. The entire night she hadn’t said two words, and seemed like a little stuck up bitch to me. I didn’t mind being around Austin, and in fact found him rather entertaining. She, on the other hand…
I reached out and attempted to grab her shoulders. As she leaned back, I ended up with a handful of her tits.
Wow.
She had very nice tits.
Probably fake.
I pushed against her boobs and attempted to topple her and end this quickly. As she fell backward, she reached up and grabbed my forearms, pulling me toward her. Michael, caught off balance, leaned toward Austin, laughing the entire time. As I fell forward into her, she continued to pull on my arms.
“Get her babe. Don’t let that skinny bitch get ya,” Michael screamed.
“She isn’t a skinny bitch. She’s a friend from high school,” Austin huffed as he tried to run to the right.
She may have been taller, but she was nowhere as strong as me. I pushed my forearms down against her grasp, grabbed a handful of her boobs again and squeezed hard.
She had really nice tits.
“Oh my god, she’s got my boobs,” she squealed as she let go of my arms and reached for my boobs.
I released her tits from my grasp and clutched her left ankle in my right hand. As I pulled forward on her leg, she toppled backward and screamed. Almost immediately, Austin grabbed her shin and pulled down with his hand, securing her place on his shoulders.
“Oh no you don’t,” Austin howled as he took off running across the yard.
As he came to a stop in the middle of the yard, Nikki almost fell off of his shoulders. As she tipped forward, she reached down and grabbed a handful of his hair and steadied herself. Michael immediately followed after Austin, screaming the entire time. I held my arms extended and screamed along with him. As Michael approached Austin, he slowed down somewhat. When he was about four feet in front of Austin he planted his feet and flexed the muscles on his tree stump sized legs. My weight on top of his shoulders caused him to take one more step than he had planned. We came to a halt about a foot in front of Austin and Nikki, and my hands immediately found her neck.
“Babe, I don’t think you can choke in a…” Michael said as he caught his breath.
Nikki closed her eyes and smiled as I squeezed her neck in my hands.
“Okay never mind, she looks like she likes it,” Michael laughed.
Nikki smiled and turned into putty in my hands. She really appeared to enjoy having my hands on her neck. I squeezed a little more firmly with both hands just to get her attention. In return, she relaxed and smiled.
Weird bitch.
As I let go of her neck her eyes widened and her mouth slowly formed a weird little frown. I reached down, grabbed each of her ankles, and pulled upward. As she toppled backward and I held her ankles in my hands, she made eye contact with me. If the look on her face could have spoken, it clearly would have said only one thing. She looked at me like Really? Really? You’re seriously going to do this to me?
Yes bitch, really.
I lifted her ankles over my head, and toppled her off of Austin’s shoulders and into the grass.
“Oh my God, that knocked the wind out of me,” she complained as she looked up from the ground.
“You’re a couple of fuckin’ losers. That’s what you are,” Michael laughed as he lifted me off of his shoulders.
“I really don’t think you landed very well. Here, let me help you up,” I said as I reached down and offered her my hand.
“We’ll cook dinner. That was fun. Grab your shoes and glasses and we’ll go in and relax. Maybe have some wine,” I said as I pulled her to her feet.
“We won, why are we gonna cook?” Michael whined as he placed his hands on his hips.
“Because they’re our guests,” I smiled.
“Our guests. I like the sound of that,” Michael grinned as he began walking toward the front door.
Being alone at home for years, I often thought of what it would be like to have guests over for dinner. A year ago, having a party or inviting a few couples as guests into my home was as far-fetched of a fantasy as anything could possibly be. Now, as the four of us walked down the hallway and into the living room, it had become a reality.
Some people, without a doubt, would look at having Michael in their life as being a problem. For me, not having Michael would be a problem. Having experienced what it was like to have Michael in my life, I couldn’t imagine trying to live even a moment without him.
“There’s a bathroom down the hallway on the left. And I’m sorry I knocked you down in the grass,” I said apologetically as I smiled at Nikki.
“That’s okay,” she smiled in return, “I’ll go wash my hands.”
“I’ll bring you some wine. There’s music over there, just pick something. Make yourselves at home,” I said to Austin as Nikki walked down the hallway toward the bathroom.
I turned to hug Michael and grinned, “Let’s go make dinner.”
“I still think it’s bullshit, but fine. Dude, don’t forget, you and that skinny bitch lost. You’re a couple of fuckin’ losers,” Michael laughed toward Austin as we walked away.
“Be nice, it isn’t her fault she’s a bitch,” I whispered as we walked toward the kitchen.
Once in the kitchen, I removed steak from the refrigerator, and what I needed to make salad and pasta. After looking over the wine options, I decided on a Coppola Rosso. While Michael sliced vegetables, I pre-heated the oven, uncorked the wine, and poured two glasses for our guests.
“I’m going to take this wine to Austin and Nikki,” I said as I wrapped my arms around Michael’s waist and gave him a hug.
“No, I’ll take it to ‘em. I have no idea of what to do with the steaks. So, you do that, I’ll take the wine,” he said as he wiped his hands on a towel.
“Fine, I’ll get the meat seasoned,” I agreed.
As I seasoned the mea
t and heated the skillet, Michael prepared the salad. Preparing dinner with him was satisfying on an entirely different level. It was almost as if we were a married couple preparing dinner. In many respects, I guess there’s not much difference between being married and dating one person exclusively. Ultimately it’s what you believe in your head, and how you treat the other person that matters.
“So you’re going to cook perfectly good steaks in a skillet and they’re going to be worth eating?” Michael asked.
“Believe me, they’ll be better than grilled, I promise. You pre-heat a cast-iron skillet to five hundred degrees, and cook them in the oven. They’re amazing, one of my specialties for sure. Will you ask them if they’ll eat kale in the salad? I don’t want to add it if they won’t eat it,” I asked as I pulled the kale from the refrigerator and began to rinse it in the sink.
“What the fuck is kale?” Michael asked.
“It’s…well it’s like lettuce, but kind of bitter and a weird texture, see?” I held up a handful for Michael to see.
”It’s crinkled. Okay, I’ll ask,” he said as he walked toward the hallway that led to the living room.
I rinsed the kale and began tearing it into manageable sized chunks for the salad. If Austin and Nikki didn’t want to eat it, Michael and I certainly could. As I was patting it dry, Michael came scurrying back into the kitchen – giggling like a child.
“What in the world did you do now?” I chuckled.
“You aren’t gonna fuckin’ believe it,” he whispered.
“What happened? Spilled the wine?” I raised my eyebrows in wonder.
“Fuck, hard sayin’ but nope. Not that. Just come look. Be quiet,” he whispered as he motioned to the hallway.
“They fall asleep?” I asked.
“Nope. Shhh. Be really quiet,” he motioned for me to follow as he tip-toed toward the living room.
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