Boy Meets Another Boy

9 P.M. on a November Saturday. Tony, Kyle, and I are out of town. For what reason, you ask? It’s because we’re heading for a concert in the city a few hours away from our small, humble town. My boyfriend, Noah is friends with the band making its debut in this concert so we’re all invited. Unfortunately, Joni isn’t with us. As usual. And although things have slowly settled between the two of us since the Dowager’s dance, we still could not change the fact that she’s still hanging out with Chuck, the football airhead we all love to hate.

It’s been exactly two years but Chuck’s never changed. Not even for the slightest. He never did seem to take a genuine interest in Joni, but of course, Joni doesn’t believe in all this. Chuck’s a good actor in front of her but we can all see that he isn’t sincere. Anyway, the bottom line is that if Chuck isn’t going, neither is she.

On the other hand, Tony’s freedom has expanded a little over the years. Well, not really a little, but a little more that a lot. He and Kyle are dating now, after eighteen months of persuasion and debates coming from both Tony and Kyle against Tony’s religiously close-minded parents. In the end, after they saw that Kyle truly cared and persevered for Tony even after all the hate and spite coming from Toni’s parents; Kyle’s never once talked back the way I would have if I were in his place at that time.

So his parents decided to back down, but not entirely. He still has curfews and the kitchen was still the place where he met everyone, even Kyle. No special treatment was the only condition Tony’s parents ever made. At least, that’s what I know of.

Kyle stopped driving near the gas station in between our destination and asked to switch with me. It’s already been two hours since we left town and I’d bet he’s dead tired since driving was still a little new to us and it was getting really late too. I agree to switch places so that he’d take the time to rest on Tony’s shoulder in the back (no one sits on the passenger seat). We still had an hour more till we reach the city, so we switch the radio on to any channel so long as it doesn’t lure us to sleep.

By a few minutes, my mobile phone rings and I motion for Tony to pick it up from the pocket of my backpack just beside him.

“Hey Noah, its Tony… Paul’s driving.”

I listen to their conversation as my eyes don’t leave the road for a minute.

“Yeah. We’re almost there.”

Pause.

“What? Can you say that again?” By this point I can hear Tony rummaging for something inside my bag. I don’t particularly mind, there were only bags of half-consumed chips in there and a map.

“Okay… Eighth Avenue, turn left… see a big sign of Red Crab and a mall named… ah! Yeah! I know that, we won’t miss if for sure. So we’ll just head straight till we reach the hotel?”

He pauses again while Noah’s instructing him.

“Got it. We’ll see you there.” He sets the phone down. Then I listen for any instructions.

“Noah’s already booked the hotel for two weeks so we’ve covered the reservation part. Now all we need to do is find the hotel.”

I nod one then concentrate on the road again. For the most of the trip to the city, it was only the radio that kept us awake. Except Kyle who was sleeping soundly on Toni’s shoulder. We don’t wake him till we reach the hotel; by then it’s already midnight. We park the car in the basement then go up the steps towards the lobby where we find Noah. Noah tells us that he has already asked for our bags to be brought up to our rooms.

“Rooms?” I ask out of fatigue. I wondered if I heard most of what he said right.

“Yeah,” Noah confirms but his tone shifts to that of bewilderment, “Would you have liked to stay in the suite Taylor offered?”

I bring my hands to my face and use my index fingers to massage my temples, “No, it’s cool.”

Once I say this, he smiles and ruffles my hair. That woke me up a little and I smile back. Since most of us were losing consciousness we decide to move to our rooms which were on the tenth floor. There were only two rooms reserved, one for both me and Noah, the other for Toni and Kyle. They were just next to each other so we could move back and forth later. When we reach the rooms we say our goodnights and enter the darkly lit room. I don’t care either way and immediately jump to the nearest bed (there were two by the way, one for me and one for Noah).

Noah walks up to the curtains and closes the first layer. I don’t clearly see this, partly because it just got a little darker, and also because my vision is dimming. He switches the lamp light on near the desk and sofa so I can see a little more of the room but don’t bother after a second, since my eyes are as heavy as iron being thrown from the fifth to the first floor. My body feels nothing but the soft sheets of the bed below me. I grab a pillow and burry my face underneath it.

Just then arms wrap around my waist and pull me away from my pillow so I can see Noah smirking at my surprised expression.

“Argh,” I groan sleepily, “I swear Noah, if I had the strength right now I would knock you down!”

His grin widens a bit, obviously amused. “Let me see you try.”

I move a little but only so much that my strength has to offer.

“Noah!” I half-yell as I sit up, “Not now. Can’t you see I’m tired?”

He let’s go and jumps to sit on his side of his bed and mutters something about me being a kill joy. He strips his shirt off and tosses it to the small chair by the window.

“At least change Paul,” He says as he removes his shoes.

Damn. I don’t know if he’s doing this intentionally or is doing it out of sheer obliviousness but I hate it when he starts stripping in front of me. I mean this isn’t the first time, but that trick never seems to wear down on me.

I bite my lower lip and look away while I, too, remove my shoes. I decide to change tomorrow and face the opposite to the direction where he’s at. There is silence for a while and I don’t know whether he’s already asleep. After a few minutes pass, which seem like hours to me right now, I hear him step towards me but I don’t move. Instead, I pretend to try to sleep. He kisses my forehead, then my ear as he whispers,

“Goodnight, but you won’t get away so easily.”

Once I know for sure he’s retreated to his own bed I mentally give him a reply,

“You have no idea.”