Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Not-So-Straight Guy Sex ❯ Rumors and Innuendo ( Chapter 6 )

Chapter 6: Rumors and Innuendo

Zach ended up spending more than just a couple of hours at Cole's house going over the posters and sketches. There were more than a dozen posters to look at, plus Cole's ideas for the new poster. Cole had four very different ideas about how to advertise the party and he insisted on explaining his reasoning behind each one fully. He was not a bad artist either, so there was a lot of detail in each sketch. Despite himself, Zach became very interested and he lost track of the time. He only realized how late it was when Cole finally stood up and stretched his back.

“It's getting late, Zach. Do you want to stay for dinner?”

Zach jumped to his feet. “I can't, thanks. In fact, I have to go.” Anxiously, he looked out the window to see if it was dark yet. “Kellen gets back tonight.”

“Oh, that's right.” Cole spoke casually, as if he had forgotten that crucial fact. “Can't you just call him and say you'll be a little late? I'm sure he would understand.”

“I'm sure he would, too,” Zach replied, “but I miss him when he's gone. Do you mind if I take these with me?” He pointed at Cole's sketches.

“I suppose not.” Cole folded his arms across his chest. “I was hoping that we might finish a preliminary drawing that you could work from today.”

“I think I have a good idea of what you want,” Zach said. He carefully rolled up the sketches. “I'll email you a preliminary draft tomorrow night.”

“All right.” Cole followed him to the door. “We work well together, Zach. You should join the GLBTC staff.”

“I'll think about it,” Zach replied without really thinking. He was worried about getting to the swim center in time to meet Kellen's bus. “See you later.” He hurried across the porch and down the steps, breaking into a trot as he reached the street. Then he glanced at his watch. “Shit!” he exclaimed and began to run.

The bus was already parked at the curb in front of the swim center when he arrived. He didn't see anyone except for a couple of girls standing out front and neither of them was from the swim team. He hurried up to them.

“Do you know if this is the swim team bus?” he panted.

“Yeah.” The girl who answered stared at him curiously. “Were you supposed to meet someone?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, well, they're all still inside. We're waiting, too.”

“Thanks.” Relieved, Zach drifted a little ways away from the girls and bent over to catch his breath. “I need to get more exercise,” he rasped to himself. “I shouldn't get this winded running such a short distance.”

The two girls resumed their conversation.

“So anyway, after we went out a couple of times, he dumps me in a text message!”

“He did?! What a bastard!”

“I know! Here I thought he was this totally great guy and he turns out to be a complete jerk.”

“It seems like they're all jerks sometimes.”

“I know what you mean. But you've got a pretty decent guy. I wish I could meet someone like your Jack.”

“Yeah, Jack's not bad. We don't sleep together much during the season, though. That's the biggest drawback dating an athlete.”

The door to the gym banged open and the athletes began to emerge. Zach straightened up, scanning the crowd eagerly for Kellen.

“God, swimmers are hot!” the first girl exclaimed. “Look at him!”

“Yeah, he's totally gorgeous.”

“Have you met him?”

“He's a freshman. Jack said his name is Kellen something. But don't get your hopes up. He's dating one of the girls on the swim team. They've been going out since the kickoff party.”

Zach froze as he caught sight of Kellen. He was walking next to a pretty girl with curly black hair. As he watched, Kellen leaned over and whispered something into the girl's ear and they both began to laugh. Zach's heart sank. The two looked happy and comfortable together. He almost turned away but then Kellen saw him. His smile widened and he waved. Zach waved back, trying to swallow the fear that was threatening to swamp his heart. It was just a rumor; that was all. Just a stupid rumor.

-o-o-o-o-o-

Kellen chattered at Zach all the way home. He was still excited about the meet and he rattled on about the races, describing his own race to Zach in detail. He did not really notice that Zach was not responding until they were in the kitchen and Zach started making dinner. But when he realized how quiet Zach was being, he paused.

“Say, Zach, I'm sorry I didn't call you back yesterday. We were out kind of late and I was pretty wiped by the time I got back. I would have called today, but I figured I could just tell you everything in person tonight.”

“That's ok,” Zach said. “I was busy.”

He said nothing else and Kellen watched him with a slight frown. He had the impression Zach was upset about something. “Is something wrong, Zach?”

“No. Would you set the table, please?” Zach's tone was flat and he sounded tired.

Kellen went to the cupboard to get plates. As he set the table, he watched Zach out of the corner of his eye. Maybe he was just tired. Kellen really had no idea how much effort Zach had to put into his classes. It was certainly easier for Zach than it was for him, but perhaps he had spent the weekend wrestling with a difficult assignment. He decided to let the matter drop for now. If Zach was still upset in the morning, he would ask him again.

But after dinner, Kellen started having doubts again. After cleaning up the kitchen, they settled on the couch like they usually did, but Zach remained silent. Worse still, he made no attempts to get into Kellen's pants. It was unusual for him to be so reserved when they had not seen each other for awhile.

“You've hardly said a word all evening, Zach.”

“I'm sorry,” Zach said quickly. His eyes flicked to Kellen's face but he immediately looked away again. “I… I've been thinking about something. Cole Hathaway asked me to do something for the GLBTC.”

Kellen felt a surge of annoyance at the mention of Cole's name. It was the last thing he had expected. “You talked to Cole Hathaway? What did he want?”

“He asked me to Photoshop a poster for the next GLBTC party. I said I'd do it.”

“Oh.” Kellen fell silent. He hated the idea of Zach spending any time in Cole's company, no matter what the reason. He started to put his arm around Zach's shoulders, but Zach abruptly stood up.

“I have a couple of sketches that Cole did and we discussed some ideas. I should probably put something together while it's still fresh in my mind.”

Kellen frowned. “You met with him today? Did he come here?” The thought of Cole being in the apartment he shared with Zach infuriated him.

“No.” Zach spoke without turning around. “I went to his house.”

For some reason, that upset Kellen even more. “Alone?” He nearly growled the word.

Zach shrugged. “I suppose, but it's a big house. There were probably other people there.”

Kellen clenched his fists. Zach sounded almost detached, as if he had no idea how upset Kellen was. Usually, he was acutely attuned to Kellen's moods. Kellen struggled to restrain his anger. It was not Zach he was angry with, but it might seem that way if he said anything right now. Abruptly, he stood up. “I have some homework I should finish. I'll do it in the bedroom so I don't bother you.” He picked up his backpack and went into the bedroom, but once he closed the door, he began to shake. More than anything, he disliked arguing with Zach, but they had not really argued. In fact, on the face of it, nothing at all had happened. Except that Kellen was furious and he had no way to express it.

He sank down on the edge of the bed and stared at his hands. He wanted to go apologize to Zach, but he did not know what he would be apologizing for. And he was afraid if Zach mentioned Cole's name again he would just start shouting. He really hated the guy. Not knowing what else to do, he dragged his backpack over to the bed and dug out his textbooks.

-o-o-o-

The next few days were the most miserable in Kellen's memory. Zach behaved as if nothing was wrong, but there was a reservation in his manner that left Kellen feeling as if there was a wall between them. Zach spent most of the week working on the poster for the GLBTC party after he finished his homework, staying up so late that Kellen always fell asleep before he came to bed. Kellen's training schedule did not help matters any, either. By the time he got home after practice every day, Zach was already deeply involved in whatever he was doing.

And the worst of it was that they had another away meet on the upcoming weekend. They would be at home for the three weekends after that, but that was little consolation. Kellen especially did not want to spend this weekend away from Zach. Fortunately, they did not have practice on Friday since there was a meet Saturday, so he cut out as soon as Coach Thompson finished their pre-meet briefing and hurried home. But when he arrived, it was to an empty apartment. There was nothing but a note from Zach on the counter.

Kellen, there's some chicken in the fridge you can heat up for dinner. I'll be home later. I'm meeting with Cole to finalize the poster for the party. I'll call if it starts to get really late. Love, Zach.

Kellen stared at the note. It was the first time Zach had not been home to meet him and it was so he could work on something with Cole. Kellen did not realize he was crying until a blurred spot appeared on the paper in his hand.

“He would rather be with Cole than with me,” Kellen whispered. More tears fell on the paper, nearly obscuring the words. Kellen crumpled it. “What did I do?” The words came out in a choked sob. He stared at the crumpled paper feeling empty. He had come to depend on Zach so much, not having him there when he felt this way made the emptiness feel even worse. “I need you, Zach!” he whispered. “What do I have to do to prove that?”

The empty apartment echoed his words back at him. Kellen looked around. It was already getting dark. Without lights, the apartment felt cold and unloving. His gaze shifted to his backpack, resting on the floor where he had dropped it. He had homework to finish, but he knew there was no way he could do it here. He dropped Zach's note on the floor and picked up his backup. He had never studied in the library before, but it had to be better than here.

There were more people in the library than he expected. He had to climb all the way to the third floor to find an empty table where he could spread out. But the nearest person was across the room, which suited him. He settled down to work.

“Hey, Kellen! What are you doing here? I don't think I've ever seen you in the library before.”

Kellen looked up. Eileen Johnson grinned down at him, her long blond hair spilling over both shoulders. “Oh, well, Zach isn't home and it was too quiet trying to study in the apartment.”

“So you came to a library?” Eileen chuckled and plopped down in the chair beside him. “I'm sorry I missed dinner on Tuesday. My stupid advisor picked that day to mentor me about my thesis.” She made the word mentor sound like torture. “So where's Zach?”

“I…” Kellen had to swallow a sudden lump in his throat. “He's working on some poster for the GLBTC.”

“Oh, for the party,” Eileen nodded. “Cole told me about that.” Then she frowned. “I didn't know he got Zach to work on that.”

Kellen nodded without speaking. Eileen tilted her head to one side and studied his face. “What's the matter, Kellen? You look like you've been crying.”

Kellen quickly rubbed a hand across his eyes. “It's nothing. Probably the chlorine.”

Eileen leaned closer. “You don't have to pretend with me, Kellen. I've seen heartbreak before. What's going on? I thought you and Zach had a good thing.”

“So did I,” Kellen whispered. Another tear welled up and he brushed it away. “But Zach's been avoiding me and now he's spending all this time with Cole…”

“Really? What happened?”

“I don't know.” Kellen's voice began to shake. “It's been like this since I got back from my last meet. He called me then and I didn't have time to talk to him. I didn't think it was a big deal, but he's been holding back from me since then. I don't know what to do.”

“Have you tried asking him?”

Kellen shook his head. “What should I say? If I did something to hurt him, why won't he just tell me what it is?”

“Because you're both men,” Eileen snorted. “Just because you're gay doesn't mean you're naturally better at discussing your feelings. When was the last time you told Zach you love him?”

“I… I don't know.”

“Maybe that's the problem. If he's been spending time with Cole, he's probably been getting an earful about how a real gay guy would be sharing the pleasure, not just taking what he wants.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” Eileen lowered her voice a little. “Cole seems pretty convinced that you're not really gay and that you're just using Zach.”

Kellen stared. “That's not true.”

“I heard him telling someone that he thinks you just bang away at Zach and then fall asleep without bothering to see if he's satisfied, too.”

Kellen closed his eyes with a long sigh. “Do you believe that?”

“I would never presume to know what other people do in bed.”

“So should Cole.” Kellen sighed again. He opened his eyes and met Eileen's earnest gaze. “Just because I'm the big, buff athlete doesn't mean I'm on top. It's never been that way with me and Zach. I've been spreading my legs for him from the very beginning.”

Eileen stared.

“I've been with girls before,” Kellen continued quietly, “and I liked it, but it was never as good for me as being with Zach. But he's the only guy I've even been with. Does that mean I'm not gay or just not promiscuous?”

“Or just hopelessly in love,” Eileen concluded with a smile. “There's nothing wrong with being faithful to one guy. And I'd say taking it up the ass and liking it is a pretty fair indicator of gayness.” She chuckled softly. “Anyway, if Zach means that much to you, you should probably just tell Cole to his face to butt out. He's a bit of a wuss, so if he thinks you might pound on him, he'd probably back off.”

“Really?” Kellen managed a small smile. “Maybe I will pound on him a little. Just to relieve some stress.”

“Well if you do, tell me where and when,” Eileen laughed. “I wouldn't mind seeing Cole get his ass kicked.” She stood up. “I'd better let you get back to work.” She patted his arm. “And next time you see Zach, tell him how you feel about him. He's told me enough times how crazy he is about you. He's probably just feeling insecure for some reason. Find out what it is and reassure him.”

“I will. Thank you, Eileen.” Kellen watched her walk away, thinking about what she had said. Why would Zach feel insecure about our relationship? I'm such a slut when I'm with him. Does he really think I'd act like that with anyone but him?

-o-o-o-o-o-

“This is a great poster!” Cole exclaimed. “It's the best one we've had, I think.”

Zach could not help smiling. “It is pretty good, if I say so myself.”

“I really like the way you blended my ideas together. I had thought they were too opposed, but you pulled it all into this cohesive whole. You're really clever.”

“Thanks.” Zach finished burning the file to a disk and handed it to Cole. “And just in time for you to take it to the printer's tomorrow.”

“Perfect!” Cole smiled broadly, but then his face turned thoughtful. “So, Zach,” he said nonchalantly, “how are you and your boyfriend getting along?”

“Just fine, thanks.” Zach turned back to his computer so Cole would not see the unhappy expression on his face. The past week had been terribly painful. He had been torn between wanting to ask Kellen if the rumors were true and not wanting to hurt his feelings by doubting him. In the end, he had barely been able to speak to him at all and that had hurt most of all.

“Oh, that's good.” Cole busied himself putting the disk into a plastic jewel case. “It's just that I keep hearing these persistent rumors that he's going out with some girl on the swim team. I've been hoping that it's not true. I'd really hate it if he hurt you like that. I think you're a great guy and deserve better.”

“Kellen is not going out with some girl!” Zach snapped, but he could not stop the ache that flared up in his chest at the thought. “But you would like if he was, wouldn't you?” He rounded on Cole with an angry glare. “You've been trying to come between us since I met you. What's with you?”

Cole faced him squarely. “I like you, Zach. I think we could have a great relationship. And unlike that guy you're seeing, I'll make sure you enjoy yourself in bed. I'll make you feel really good.”

“What makes you think I don't enjoy myself with Kellen?” Zach growled. His heart was pounding. He had not made love with Kellen all week and he was desperately frustrated.

“Oh, come on! I know his type! Has he ever sucked you off? I bet he won't even touch your cock. But I will!” Cole abruptly stepped close and pulled Zach into his arms. “I'll get you off better than anyone ever has.” He pressed his lips to Zach's, holding the younger man tight against him.

Zach did not bother to struggle. He let Cole kiss him, but when he stopped, he pushed himself away angrily. “Planning to use force to convince me?” he snarled.

“I won't force you, Zach,” Cole said. He lifted his chin. “But I bet you're curious now, aren't you? Wouldn't you like to know what it's like to be with a guy who really cares about you?”

Zach smirked. “You have no idea what you're talking about. But if you want it that bad, I'll do it with you, but only on one condition.”

“What's that?” Cole's grin was triumphant.

“I want to be on top.”

“What?!” Cole's smile faltered.

“You said you want me to feel good, right? You think Kellen's been doing me all this time, right? Then prove it. Bend over for me and take it as many times as I want. Maybe then I'll believe what you're saying.”

Cole stared at him in silence for several seconds. “Hah! So that's the way you want it, huh?”

“Yeah,” Zach nodded slowly. “You up for it?”

“Why not?” Cole reached out and took his hand. “But it has to be right now. Come up to my room.”

For a moment, Zach regretted his impulsive demand, but as Cole pulled him toward the stairs, the memory of Kellen outside the gym laughing and joking with the pretty dark-haired girl swam in front of his eyes and his vision blurred. “Dammit!” he whispered, too softly for Cole to hear. “It isn't true!”

-o-o-o-

It was well past midnight when Zach returned to the apartment. He had not thanked Cole for driving him home. In fact, he had not spoken to him at all once they were in the car. As he entered the apartment, he prayed that Kellen was already asleep. He was too ashamed of himself to face the handsome athlete. He stopped outside the door of the bedroom and listened. He could hear Kellen breathing softly. He was asleep. Zach sighed and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He immediately turned on the shower and shed his clothing. He stared at himself in the mirror, wishing he wasn't such an asshole.

“I don't deserve him,” he whispered. “I never did.” He stepped into the shower, convinced no amount of washing would ever get the stench of betrayal off his skin.

-o-o-o-

Huddled in the bed, Kellen pulled the blanket up over his head, trying to muffle the sound of the shower. There was absolutely no reason for Zach to take a shower at this hour; no reason but one. Kellen pressed his face into the pillow, already wet with his tears. He could smell Zach's body scent on the pillowcase and it only made his heartache worse. He slept with him! He slept with Cole instead of me! Kellen's body shook as he wept. Never in his life had anything hurt so much.