bullypuppypaws

Up close, he's even prettier. You briefly consider trying to start a conversation, but his headphones are back in the moment you sit down, and you give up on the idea. He returns to his laptop. You decide to watch a movie on your phone. The two of you carry on without incident for the better part of an hour.

Then you hear the click and fizz of a soda tab opening.

Your breath catches in your throat. Casually, you kill the volume on your movie, pretending to still be absorbed in the action on screen as you peer at the man out of the corner of your eye.

You're met with a sight that has your heart pounding. His head is angled back, lips locked around the opening of a coke can, which he's drinking at a clip. Not chugging, he's being much more polite than that. But he's pulling in heavy gulps, pausing to let the fizz settle, then gulping again.

You wait, tense with anticipation. You know it must be coming: He's going to burp. Even if he tries to stifle it, you're so close to him there's no way you'll miss it.

He drains the can, letting out a deep breath, but nothing else. You can't help but feel disappointed...until he pulls out a second soda. Between the frantic typing and all the caffeine, he must be trying to power through some sort of deadline.

He's drinking this one possibly faster than the first, still pausing occasionally. Still letting out nothing but deep breaths. This time when he finishes, he looks slightly uncomfortable. Eyebrows scrunching together, he places a hand subtly to his chest...then rushes it to his mouth seconds later to stifle a quiet belch.

Face pink, his eyes dart up to see if anyone heard him, and you're forced to look away. You hear him muffle a second burp.

You also hear the tab of yet another can.

This time, he's as close to chugging as one can reasonably pull off in polite society. The strain is evident on his face as he forces even more bubbles into his stomach. He finishes with a quiet gasp, setting the can down and looking sort of dazed. An audible gurgle coils up from his stomach, bubbling into his chest.

You think you notice he's burping before he does. It starts as a rush of carbonated air rolling cleanly up and out through his slightly parted lips. But that initial release of pressure is just the start. With a sudden sharp *Bruurp!* the sound deepens to a bassy rumble. Not deafening, but heavy, and pressurized, and long.

As the lazy rush of air resolves into a true belch, the man's eyes flare open in panic. Belatedly, he slams a fist to his mouth, but he seems utterly incapable of cutting off the horrendous sound gurgling up from the depths of his stomach. All those bubbles finally got the better of him, and his body won't let him do a thing to stop them belching up and out of him.

You don't even realize you're fully staring at him until the burp tappers off, and he turns to look at you. His fist is still locked in place over his mouth, and his face is red around it. You stare at each other for what feels like an eternity.