by Sam Elswit
This seemed to trigger some kind of a mechanism because suddenly, a bright light emerged under my feet.
The cube I was trapped in turned out to be transparent. Written on the walls were pages from my diary, spelling out my emotions for the last ten years. Moments of happiness and sadness flashed across the invisible walls before the letters swirled together, creating a crude version of Andy.
He smirked in his signature fashion, running his fingers through his shaggy hair before he rolled his shoulders, standing there like he owned the whole world.
Seconds later, he was joined by Phil, who stood in the shadows, almost as if he didn’t want to be noticed, his hands in his pockets.
Ignoring the traitor, I walked toward Phil, only to be blocked by the walls of the cube. Quickly, I looked for a way out, but from the looks of it, there didn’t seem to be an exit.
An overwhelming sense of claustrophobia set in, making it hard to breathe. My chest constricted with panic as I banged on the walls, desperate to escape.
Andy walked up to me. With his finger, he cut a hole in the glass, popping it out of place. From there, he offered a hand to help me, but when our fingers touched, he burned my skin, throwing me back into the box. Only this time, the bottom was gone and I found myself falling into a deep, dark abyss.
“Ben…” A honey-like voice called out to me.
Phil.
I looked around for him, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. “Phil!” I tried calling out.
I was met with silence as I fell deeper and deeper into the unknown.
Finally, I landed on a soft, cushiony mattress. I bounced once before landing on my feet. I was standing in front of a large crowd, my guitar already slung over my shoulders, my pick between my fingers.
The microphone was unattended, waiting for a vocalist.
We waited for a long, long time for someone to arrive, but they never did. The crowd became unruly, throwing objects at me. An overripe tomato landed right on my head, exploding with a disgusting splash. The residue spilled down my hair and face.
When I wiped it away, Andy was standing there, mic in hand. When he started to sing, his voice was beautiful. I smiled, admiring him for a moment before I tried to play along, only every time I strummed my guitar, no sound came out.
Trying to get to the root of the problem, I followed my cord to the amp, to find a note taped on top of it.
“I’m the only one they want. The only one that will make it to the big leagues. You’re just muted.”
When I looked up, Phil was standing there with Jeremy Pryce. They shook hands, sealing the record deal, not caring that I was standing right in front of them, having my dreams crushed under the heel of their boot.
So, he had betrayed me as well…
Chapter 14
Phil
I woke up feeling refreshed. In my dreams, Ben had fulfilled all my deepest desires. I smiled to myself, wrapping my arm around him so I could pull him closer. I kissed his neck, seeing if he would react to it, but he seemed to be caught in a deep slumber.
Thinking he needed the rest, I climbed out of bed and slowly tiptoed toward the door, grabbing my clothes on the way out.
In the bathroom, I got dressed before I looked myself over in the mirror, trying to see if I looked any different. There was a bit of a glow to my skin that wasn’t there before. But, other than that, I looked exactly the same.
I shrugged. What did it matter, anyway? Last night had been amazing.
With a smirk plastered on my face, I made it down to the kitchen.
There, I was surprised to find Emily at the stove, flipping a pancake. Only, she missed the skillet when it came down and it plopped onto the floor by her feet.
She cursed under her breath, staring at it for a moment like it had committed some great crime against her. Eventually, she bent down and tried to pick it up, only to burn her fingers in the process.
“Goddammit. All I want is some pancakes for breakfast. Is that too much to ask for?” She asked, looking up at the ceiling as if she was complaining to some Food God.
As she threw away her failed pancake, she finally noticed me standing in the doorway. “Oh, Phil!” Her eyes shone like two jewels. “You stayed the night… does that mean...?” She nudged me with her elbow, being pretty rough about it.
I stumbled, nearly falling over. “No…” I lied, feeling kind of strange. Emily was my friend. I didn’t think it was right for me to be screwing her brother and yet, that was exactly what I had done.
“Oh, come on. It’s written all over your face. How does it feel to not be a virgin anymore?”
My cheeks burned at her question. “I feel completely normal. Can you stop?”
“Aww, my little Philip has finally grown up.” She pinched my cheek in a playful manner before I slapped her hand away, shooting her a dirty glare.
“Damn, no need to get hostile.” She huffed before heading back to the stove, ladling another cupful of batter onto the skillet. “Let’s hope this works this time around or I’m going to die of starvation.”
“What are you trying to do anyway?”
“Make the perfect blueberry pancake, but every time I try to flip the damn thing, it ends up on the floor.”
“Have you tried, you know, using a spatula or something? That’s generally what they’re made for…”
“Now, what would be the fun in that?” She stuck her tongue out at me before she grabbed the handle of the frying pan and jerked it upwards. The pancake flipped in the air before landing perfectly back in the skillet. “Eureka!” She giggled, looking proud of her accomplishment. She waited for the pancake to cook evenly before she slid it onto a plate. “Do you want me to make you something? I’m sure you’ve built up quite the appetite after last night.” She winked dramatically.
“Oh, stop it.” I rolled my eyes. I was starting to understand why Ben had such a hard time living with his sister. She was an awesome friend, but she had the habit of becoming real annoying real fast.
She shrugged. “Suit yourself, but you won’t find pancakes as good as mine anywhere else!”
“We’ll see. Do you mind if I use the rest of your batter, though?”
“Knock yourself out. I’ll be in my room if you two need me.” Before she headed upstairs, she grabbed a few chocolate bonbons from the dish on the counter.
Only Emily would have chocolate for breakfast.
With the kitchen now quiet, I started to ladle the batter onto the skillet, taking my time to make the perfect batch of pancakes. As I cooked, I started to hum, my spirits high after last night.
A part of me still couldn’t believe it had happened. From the way Ben was acting at first, I half-expected him to push me away. I was preparing myself for heartbreak and rejection, but instead, I got everything I could ever want and more.
The thought made me smile.
I hummed as I danced around the kitchen, gathering the ingredients I needed for scrambled eggs. Emily was right. I really had built up quite the appetite.
By the time I was done, I had two heaping plates on the table. Now, the only thing missing was my sexy guitarist.
As if on cue, he appeared in the doorway, his hair a wild mess. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. “What are you doing?” He asked, shuffling over to the coffee machine like a zombie. “Why aren’t you in bed?”
“I thought you might be hungry when you woke up. I took the liberty to make us some breakfast.”
“Where’s Em? She’s usually buzzing around here by now.”
“She just finished making pancakes for herself when I came in. Took her food up to her bedroom.”
“She’s actually giving us some privacy? That’s surprising.”
I chuckled. “Well, in any case, I made us some pancakes and eggs.”
“Mmm. My favorite. No one has ever made me breakfast before. Well, besides Emily, but she doesn’t count.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” The coffee machine sputtered to life as
he added some beans, waiting for it to brew. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“No. I’m fine with just some water.”
“So, do you always hum when you cook?”
“I usually do it whenever I’m doing something mundane like cooking, cleaning, or laundry. Keeps me entertained, you know?”
“Yeah, I get you. Especially since you have such a nice voice. If I were you, I’d probably be singing all the time.” Once his coffee was finished, he brought it up to his nose, taking a deep sniff of the rich scent before he placed it beside his plate of food, adding a bit of cream. “I’m sorry about everything I said before. I was just frustrated that things weren’t working out. Your voice truly is amazing.”
I blushed at his compliment. “Oh… thanks.”
He sat down and took a bite of his eggs. “Mmm. These are really good. Where did you learn to cook like this?”
“When you live alone, you learn how to make your own meals.” I shrugged in modesty. “They really aren’t anything special. Just some scrambled eggs.”
“I think they’re fantastic.” He smiled at me before taking a sip of his coffee. “So, today, I was thinking that we could practice this song I’ve been working on. It’s never been played in public and I think that you could really do wonders with it. I think the crowds would really like it.”
“Sure. I’d love to. But I should head back home soon so I can feed my cat. If you leave him hungry, he tends to hold a bit of a grudge.”
“Oh. I didn’t know you had a cat.”
“Yup. His name is Patches.”
Ben smiled. “Well, we can bring the equipment over to your house and practice there.”
“Sounds good.”
***
By noon, we had both woken up enough to make the trek back to my place. When I sat down in my car, I crushed a Starbucks cup under my butt. “What the…?”
“That happens every time Emily borrows a car. Somehow, Starbucks cups spontaneously materialize just to irritate you.” Ben shook his head. “One of the reasons why I don’t lend her my car anymore.”
“Well, at least it was empty. And I’d rather have coffee cups on my seat than have Emily crash the car.”
“I guess.” He shrugged.
“Your sister seems like quite the handful.”
“You’re telling me.”
With a chuckle, I pulled out of his driveway and headed home. Even though we were quiet, it wasn’t the awkward kind of silence. It was actually quite nice. The radio was at a low volume, just enough for us to hum along.
When we reached my house, I got out, opening the door for Ben.
“Oh, thanks…” He said, his cheeks reddening. “No one’s really done that for me before.”
“I’m starting to think you haven’t dated that many gentlemen.”
“Apparently not.” He winked at me before pulling out his guitar from the trunk. “But, are you suggesting that we’re dating now?”
“Well, aren’t we? I mean… we did…”
Ben was quiet for a moment. “I guess you have a point. I like you too much for you to end up being nothing more than a one night stand.”
I smiled, kissing his lips ever so gently before I followed the walkway to the front door. In the window, I could already see Patches. He was staring at me, his tail swishing back and forth impatiently.
“He’s… uh… friendly… right?”
With the key inside the tumbler, I thought about his question. “Actually, I don’t know. I haven’t had that many visitors come to the house. Just delivery boys mostly. He doesn’t attack them or anything so I think you should be safe.”
Finally, I opened the door.
Immediately, Patches was at my feet, rubbing against my leg, meowing loudly. I reached down and scratched his back.
When the front door closed, he glanced at Ben for a moment before turning his direction back to me.
He ran into the kitchen, scratching at the cabinet that held his cat food. “Hold on. Hold on. You act like you haven’t eaten for a week.” I turned back to Ben. “If you want, you can set up in the living room.”
He nodded, carrying everything over, finding enough outlets for the equipment.
Meanwhile, I fed Patches who hungrily gobbled up his food. “You and Emily would probably get along nicely…” I mumbled to myself before I reached into my fridge, pulling out two ice-cold beers. I popped off the caps before heading over to the living room. “How’s everything coming along?”
“Good. Good. This is a nice place you got here.”
I shrugged. “It’s just an apartment. The neighbors are at work. That’s the only reason it’s so quiet.”
“What about you? What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a freelancer. I usually spend my time making web pages for the highest bidder. Allows me to have a pretty flexible schedule. What about you?”
“I work for Starwood. You know, that company that finds the best deals and makes hotel reservations for people.”
“Do you like doing that?”
He shrugged. “It’s a job. It pays the bills and puts food on the table. I’m just putting up with it until the band gets off the ground.”
I sat down beside him. “Does that mean that you think we might actually have a chance at success?”
“Are you kidding me? With your voice and my talent, there’s nothing that can stop us.” He rested his hand on my thigh by accident.
As he did, all my attention was immediately focused on his face. Our lips gravitated together like two magnets until we were kissing hard. I cupped his cheeks, letting the kiss intensify with the passing seconds until we were making out.
I pushed him down onto the couch, feeling how his body cushioned mine in all the right places. I pulled away from the kiss, looking into his eyes. “We’re never going to get any work done if we keep kissing and messing around every time we look at each other.” I teased, letting my hands roam his body.
“You’re the one that can’t keep his hands to himself.”
“Can you blame me? You don’t even know how much you affect me…”
“Oh?” He raised his eyebrow in intrigue, the corner of his lip twitching in amusement. “Why don’t you tell me?”
” How about I show you instead?” I leaned down and kissed his neck, gently sucking on the hickey I had left on his neck last night.
He moaned, closing his eyes in pleasure.
I was just about to make a move when Patches jumped on the coffee table. He cocked his head to the side, watching us.
“Meow?”
Chapter 15
Ben
After a week or so of being with Phil, things really started to look up. The band was coming together nicely. I was forced to make some pretty drastic changes, but so far, so good. A few of our friends had listened to our newest songs and they seemed to be really digging the new sound.
And, things with Phil couldn’t be better. It was like neither one of us could keep our hands to ourselves, fueled by this deep desire to be in each other’s arms and spend the night together. But, it wasn’t only that.
Things with Phil were different.
Andy only ever wanted a physical relationship. Phil, on the other hand, was slowly turning into my dream guy. We watched movies together. Fretted over a 1000-piece puzzle that kept us up until four in the morning. We even stargazed, just holding hands and enjoying each other’s company.
A part of me feared that it was all too good to be true. A few times, I pinched myself just to make sure it wasn’t all a dream.
“What are you dreaming about, lover boy?” Emily interrupted my thoughts with her obnoxious voice.
She slid down the banister, nearly colliding into me when she stuck the landing.
“I wasn’t dreaming about anything.” I protested, fluffing up the pillows on the couch as I put them back into place. Last night, Phil and I had watched the Lion King together, falling asleep in each other’s arms just before Simba cou
ld reclaim Pride Rock.
“Sureeee.” She rolled her eyes, heading for the kitchen. “You’ve been a lovesick honeymooner ever since you and Phil had your moment in the woods. I wonder what actually happened in there.” She teased, grabbing a chocolate-filled croissant from the pantry and tearing into it. “What are you up to today?”
“I’m going to hang out with George Reilly.”
“You mean old George Reilly? The one from high school who mom used to love?”