Breaking Masks

by Josh Aterovis

  I tried to move faster through the crowd, but Nick was closer. He grabbed Kody and started pulling him off of Foster. Foster used the golden opportunity to take a sucker punch. One shot and little Kody was out like a light.

  I felt a growl in my throat, but suddenly, the crowd was parted before me as Roy cut through them like a bulldozer. He reached Foster and lifted him off the floor as if he was nothing more than a rag doll.

  “That was mean,” he snarled.

  “Are you sticking up for fags now, Slug?” Foster spat the name like an insult.

  I seriously think those might have been Foster's last words if I hadn't been there. Roy tensed up and I saw his hand clench into a fist. I laid a hand on Roy's arm and I immediately felt the tension drain out of him.

  “He's drunk, Roy,” I said quietly. “Why don't you take him back to our room before he causes more trouble?”

  “What about the kid?” he asked.

  I looked over at Kody, who was being cradled in Nick's lap. He was just starting to come to, so it didn't appear to be anything too serious. “I'll take care of him.”

  “Okay, Jake,” Roy agreed. I took a second to note that he'd finally gotten my name right. He dragged a loudly protesting Foster out the door.

  Once they were gone, I turned my attention to Kody and Nick. I knelt down next to them. “Hey, Kody,” I said softly. “You okay?”

  He tried to focus on me, but his eyes refused to cooperate. “Jake?”

  “Yeah.”

  “There're two of you.”

  “It's okay. Just relax.”

  “I take it you two know each other?” Nick asked.

  “Yeah, we've met.”

  “I just met him today. He lives next door. I had no idea he was such a wild man.”

  “I get the impression he isn't usually.”

  “Hey, I'm in the room, people,” Kody slurred. “Don't talk about me like I'm not here.”

  “Sorry, Kody. Hey Nick, Foster is my roommate so I feel a little responsible here. Why don't I take care of getting Kody here back to his room so you can get back to your party?”

  “Sounds like a plan. That okay with you, Kody?”

  “Hm? Yeah, whatever Jakie-poo says.”

  “Jakie-poo?” Nick asked with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged. I was as confused as he was.

  Between the two of us, we managed to get the trashed kid more or less to his feet. He was leaning heavily against me, but I can't say I minded it all that much. Do not take advantage of this situation, I told myself sternly. We moved slowly towards the door, the other partiers considerately moving out of the way as we progressed. Nick let us out and we finally reached the hallway.

  “Sorry about all this,” I said and Nick laughed.

  “It's not your fault,” he said. “You're probably the only sober one involved. If you hadn't stepped in, we'd probably have a dead body on our hands. That big guy looked like he could do some damage. It was nice meeting you, though. Hey, maybe we can get together some other time under better circumstances.” He gave me a dazzling smile, and I definitely knew he was flirting this time.

  “Er, uh, yeah, sure,” I stammered.

  He smiled again. “You sure you can handle him?” He pointed to Kody, who had wrapped his arms around my neck and laid his head on my shoulder.

  “Yeah. Taken care of.”

  “Okay then. Just let me know if you need any help.”

  “Thanks.”

  He shut the door, leaving Kody and me alone in the hall.

  “Okay, Kody,” I said to the dead weight at my side. “Let's get you into bed.”

  He giggled. “Are you hitting on me?”

  I couldn't help but laugh too. “You wish.”

  “Mmm,” was his ambiguous reply.

  “Where's your key?”

  “Pocket.”

  He made no move to get it, so with a sigh I fumbled my hand into his pocket.

  He giggled again and squirmed against me. This was causing a blood flow directly to my crotch. “You're making this hard,” I mumbled, and added under my breath, “No pun intended.” I managed to find the key and slid my hand out of his pants. I propped him against the door and held him up with one arm while I unlocked his door. He stumbled backwards as the door swung open. I caught him and pulled his body against me as I struggled to keep my balance. His arms went around my neck, his face only inches from mine.

  I felt my face flush as I sincerely hoped he was too drunk to remember any of this in the morning. “Bedroom,” I croaked.

  He pointed vaguely towards the back of the apartment. I looked around and realized it was a mirror image of Nick's apartment. I figured Kody's bedroom would be in the same place Nick's was, so I steered him in that direction after shutting the door with my foot.

  We reached the door which I maneuvered open. I reached inside and found the light switch. Sure enough, it was the bedroom. He had a double bed; the impression of his body could still be seen in its sheets. I shuffled Kody towards the bed until we'd reached its side.

  “Okay, into bed,” I said.

  “Okay,” he agreed with a giggle and fell back, pulling me with him. We tumbled into his bed, his arms still around me.

  “Kody, I should go,” I said, my voice uneven and my breath ragged.

  “Stay,” he whispered.

  Chapter 6

  Breaking Masks

  Josh Aterovis and Dave Dabeagle

  © 2004

  "Kody"

  The music had toned down some. People of every description were scattered around the large living room milling about in clusters, talking, drinking, and laughing. I felt a bit out of place, not sure how I should conduct myself at what appeared to be a straight gathering. Suddenly, I felt a little conspicuous in my sartorial choices.

  “Come on, Kody, let's get you a drink!” Nick said as he took me by the hand and pulled me through the crowd. Good thing he did too, because I would have lost him very fast in this crowd. I glanced at my surroundings, which wasn't much since there was this colossal guy blocking most of my view past a couple of feet. He was like a pillar of solid flesh. He turned in profile and I saw a low, heavy forehead that resembled a bulwark, complete with unibrow. His muscles rippled as he stretched his gargantuan body. Then again, everyone is huge at my height.

  The man-mountain shifted and there was Jake, turned three quarters away from me and holding a glass of soda. His chest was outlined in a tight fitting blue polo that reminded me of clear blue skies. His head began to turn lazily in my direction, but Nick started moving again at that point, and I was tugged back into the sea of people.

  “Screwdriver?” Nick asked as we reached the alcohol.

  “I'm not all that mechanical,” I replied. He smiled and mouthed smart ass at me before pouring me a drink. He handed it to me with a flourish and I sipped it carefully. Hey! This isn't bad! I began to drink it a bit more quickly while Nick and I exchanged basic information about each other-small talk really.

  Suddenly, I was on my third-or was it my fourth?-drink, something called a Long Island Iced Tea, and boy, was that good too! I felt confused, and realized that Nick wasn't near me. I wondered if I bored him or something.

  I turned, and my vision swam. Some guy with a face that looked like a jackhammer had run riot on him was laughing in front of me. His mouth looked amazingly huge, as if it could swallow planetary systems or something. I began to giggle, which made me lose my balance somewhat. I placed a hand on the counter in front of me to steady myself. I spotted Jake through a break in the sea of people. He was leaning against a wall, looking bored. I decided to go say hello to him and tried to walk. Wait... This might be more difficult than I thought.

  I wobbled a bit, then stopped altogether to get my bearings. Wow, those drinks hit me fast. Who would have thought? It was just four...or was it six drinks? I looked up and watched Jake from across the room, his arms crossed over his chest and that hulking figure from earlier staying no more than two feet from him. I
suddenly got the image of this guy on a leash moving in a precise two foot radius around Jake like the world's largest stray puppy. I began to giggle again and inhaled deeply as I tried to catch my breath, but Jake slowly straightened up as some blond girl stopped to talk to him. The Hulk hovered just at the edge of his invisible leash.

  The girl was looking intently at Jake and speaking to him. I hated that. Seeing him here was almost like some divine plan peeking through for a moment. Then there's some girl to ruin it all and remind me that he's straight. God, I came here to forget him!

  The stereo volume bumped up a couple of notches and a vaguely familiar song came on. Bump, bump, bump, then some words...Fly by Sugar Ray! Okay, I can get in to this! I began to dance a bit on my own, and old jackhammer face noticed and started to laugh. I ignored him and danced, singing along with the jacked up radio volume.

  I mumbled the lyrics to myself, as much as I remembered of them. I am sure they were almost all wrong anyway. I spun on my own, oblivious to my surroundings. I felt fluid on the floor, twirling and feeling the air as it flowed across my skin. I twisted and turned, feeling my shirt fly open at the flaps and my undershirt ride up my stomach a tad. The song started to wind down into a quiet part, but I danced all the more. The blond chick that had been talking to Jake was now moving with me...well, in my general area anyway.

  “Lookit the little fag dance!” a voice rang out loud enough to be heard over the music. I followed the eyes of so many in the room that lead back to Jackhammer Face. I looked at him and he grinned at me drunkenly. “Go on fag. Dance till you puke.”

  I felt an overwhelming need to hit something. People were laughing. It occurred to me later that they could have been laughing at this guy showing what a moron he really was, but right then it felt as though they were all laughing at me-and it was all his fault. Nick had his arm and was trying to talk to him, but he was having none of it. He was getting loud with Nick, and shoved him hard away from him.

  As a short guy, you can't really administer a beat down too often, but I was drunk and he didn't look so tall anymore. In fact, I was sure he'd shrunk since I began to drink. I charged him and was only a foot or two away when he noticed me. I jumped on him, like a small child who leaps into a father's arms. As fell to the ground, I tried to continue the jackhammer's work on his face.

  I dropped five or six good shots on him while he struggled to extend his arms to hit me. I knew I needed to stay close on him or I was dead meat. My fists felt as if they were moving with Matrix-like speed, so I was quite surprised when I began moving away from good ol' Jack.

  Someone grabbed me from behind and tried to pull me away. No! If I could just get the right distance....

  * * *

  I dreamed of Jake-and I knew it was a dream because the girl he was probably banging right about now was nowhere to be seen. He was dressed as he had been at the party, and he told Nick he would take me home. I dreamed I leaned on him, feeling his firm body under my grip as I latched my hands around his neck and laid my head on his collar bone. I know, I know...it should have been his shoulder, but I'm short. This was a technically correct dream, apparently. Jake and I went into the hallway and Nick flirted with Jake. I think I bared my teeth at him, but I wasn't sure.

  Jake took me to my room and asked for my key. All he had to do was ask, but I just giggled at him. At some point, I asked if he was flirting with me, but I don't remember what he said. He reached into my pocket, and it felt so real. I squirmed under his touch and ground into him. It was amazing how real it felt, from the firmness of his body to the smoothness of the skin on his neck. Even the clean, fresh smell of his bare skin where my nose met his neck was perfect.

  We got into my apartment and he asked me where my bedroom was. I pointed, not wanting to relinquish my hold on him. This dream had to be followed to fruition. We lurched into the bedroom, he flipped the light on and then told me to get into bed. I happily complied, dragging him down with me. He looked in my eyes and seemed to be breathing heavily.

  “Kody, I should go,” he said.

  “Stay,” I replied. I looked up at him and my dream already fading as exhaustion claimed me. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes. They were clear and bright, a sky blue that stood out so sharply they could have been cut from the sky itself. I began to sing to him, very softly.

  “I have lost love. I have found love, in a world of broken dreams.” I think I tried to kiss him then, but it gets fuzzy there. I must have fallen into a deeper sleep, because if I kissed him I should desperately like to remember.

  ***

  I was completely run down and my head felt like there were seventy-six trombones playing inside. Oh God, I'll never be able to watch `The Music Man' again. I rolled out of bed and instantly regretted it. I crawled to the bathroom and hung my head in the time-honored tradition of hung-over people everywhere. I had to admit, I felt better after emptying any remaining contents from my stomach.

  After showering, I did feel somewhat near human. I walked out to my room to dress. The clock reported it was now twelve thirty six and my stomach rolled over. I need coffee, and maybe a small scone. I dressed in sweats and a tee shirt with the VRU Red Rooster on the front. He was doing something obnoxious. All the shirts had something suggestive on them, which is funny sometimes, but not at the moment.

  I locked my door and decided to ask Nick to go for coffee too, the least I could do for knocking out one of his guests. I knocked on his door, which elicited a muffled response that sounded like an annoyed, “What?”

  The door opened and I stood there, trying not to laugh at Nick who was sporting some very aggressive bed head. His mellow green eyes were somewhat bleary, and it was obvious he had been asleep.

  “Um, hi, Nick. I stopped to see if I could buy you a cup of coffee?” I asked while schooling my features to neutrality.

  “Coffee? That sounds good,” he mumbled. “C'mon in.” I walked into a true mess, cups, bottles and empty beer cans were abandoned thither and yon. A sheet was laying in the doorway from the bedroom to the living room. I tried to stifle a giggle but failed, which drew a sour look from Nick.

  “Let me just grab a quick shower,” he said while dragging the sheet back into the bedroom. I walked over to his kitchenette and found a box of garbage bags. Opening one, I began to pick up some of the detritus that was strewn about courtesy of his guests. By the time he got back into the living room in sweats and a lacrosse sports top, I had picked up much of the used container population.

  “Oh, thanks man. This place just needs to be hosed out!” he chuckled.

  “Yeah, looks like it was a hopping good time,” I commented.

  “Well, it did calm down after you beat on that guy a little.” He chuckled at the thought. “I never would have pictured it, but I think if I hadn't pulled you off of him, you might have inflicted some serious damage.”

  “Oh, I am so sorry. That is so embarrassing, I usually don't drink,” I replied with my cheeks afire.

  He smirked. “Yeah, your friend Jakie-poo thought that was the case.”

  “I didn't say that, did I?” I looked at him in dismay.

  “Yep, you sure did.” He smiled back.

  “He didn't hear me, did he?”

  “Well, I think he might have heard since you were on the floor and he was trying to help you stand at the time.” Nick grinned.

  I squeaked.

  “It didn't seem to bother him. I think he just figured you were drunk, you know? I mean, he still walked you back to your apartment last night.”

  I gaped at him in growing horror. Oh my God! Jake had been in my apartment? It wasn't just a dream? Had he seen my deranged underwear purchases? Had he really been pulled into bed with me?

  “Kody, you all right? You don't look very good.”

  “I...oh my God.” I put my hands over my face as I pictured how uncomfortable a straight guy must have felt to have me, this raging queer, make a drunken pass at him.

  “Kody, seriously, he didn
't seem to mind. He seemed to think you were an okay guy. I mean, he took you home, right?”

  “That's not the part that worries me,” I whined.

  “I think he was kind of sweet on you. I mean, not just anyone will look out for a guy. You know?”

  “What?”

  “I think he's gay. Does that freak you out? Cause if it does we aren't going to get along as neighbors.” Nick looked at me grimly.

  “You're gay?” I asked.

  “I'm not entirely straight. How's that?” He laughed, a cold sound that held no amusement. His eyes searched my face, not that he had anything to worry about in terms of defending himself from me. I am sure he could beat me to within an inch of my life if he really wanted to.