#blichael

  As I stood there, my mind pondered back to what has been on my mind all afternoon. Michael. I wonder where he went? I wonder what was so important that he had to go attend to, maybe it was something to do with his band gig. Needless to say, I didn’t really care, I just hoped when I got home he’d be there already and we’d be…

  “Excuse me, we would like to order now.”

  “Oh, alright…” I pushed all dirty thoughts of Michael aside for the moment and focused on getting the family’s order. It was really hard not to think about what Michael said and it astonished me how much I was looking forward to it. Maybe it’s because it’s been a while since we last had sex or maybe it was the unconscious part of me that thought I’d never get that again ever since ‘that’ incident.

  Another thing that was on my mind was that I felt shamelessly excited about having sex with Michael and the problem was that Michael was a guy, Why was I looking forward to having sex with a guy? Or was I just looking forward to the sex? No, that wasn’t it.  I was sure it wasn’t just the sex I was looking forward to, Michael had a huge part in it. Whatever it was, I just couldn’t wait to get back home.

  After a few more orders and a good 2 hours, my shift was finally up. I joined Mr. Wournos behind the counter and told him I was heading off. He waved me off and I was about to leave when he suddenly spoke.

  "Is Theler here yet?" Mr Wournos asked and I froze for a second,

  "Yea, I think I, saw him in the kitchen"

  Mr. Wournos gave me a look as if he was doubtful look. “Are you sure?”

  "Yea, I saw him taking an order earlier I think" I said with a straight face. The manager held the look for a second longer before turning back to the computer on the desk and I breathed a sigh of relief. Derek Theler was another waiter who worked here and he's shift starts when my shift ends so he should've been here already since my shift ended. I don't know too much about Derek except that he works a couple jobs and struggles to balance them all so we try and cover up for him in such situations when he's late. May not be the honest thing to do but it doesn't harm anyone and helps a man keep his job.

  "I'll go check if they need any help in the kitchen" I slipped myself away and went into the kitchen heading for the employee break room at the back. "Derek!" I exclaimed when I saw the him, he was just getting undressed to put on his waiter uniform.

  "Oh hey man, what's up?" Derek was a very huge guy and not like Rosie o’ Donnel huge. He was about 3 more inches taller than me, and I was 6”1. He also had an athletic build, really muscular and had curly brown hair.

  "What's up is the manager is looking for you, told him you just took an order so it'll be nice if you could walk out with someone's order”

  “Oh thanks man”

  “Umm… ok, just hurry up and get out there please” I went back outside to see if the last table were ready for their bill and thankfully they were. I got the receipt from Mr. Wournos and served it to them in one of the hardcovers. After processing the bill I thanked them for dining here before going to the employee break room to switch out of my uniform. I clocked out and headed for home in my car. I made it home close to 8 pm and was the first one back,

   Michael still wasn't back so I texted him just to see if he was okay, and of course to know when he was coming home. I have not forgotten where we left off on the couch and I am looking forward to resuming it this time in the bedroom perhaps. I grabbed a quick dinner of some leftovers that Michael had cooked, some Chicken in tomato sauce. Didn’t bother microwaving it since I preferred food that way. I hopped in the shower after and decided if I should put clothes on or just wait for Michael. I decided on the former and got comfortable in some pajama pants and a white tank top.

  I still remember his words freshly like he just said it: let’s do it right when I get back. The way he said it, his bad boy smirk, fuck I want him so bad. I know I just got clean in the shower but I want to get down and dirty, and really explore what 'The Mikester' is all about; if you know what I mean. The whole bad boy, Mikester persona thingy that Michael has got going on is, can't believe I'm admitting but it's so damn hot. Can you blame me though? I think everyone has a thing for bad boys, some simply don't admit it. The sense of mystery they impose, the mischiefs they take along and the risk they play with; the recipe of a bad boy. Up until now I didn't see Michael as the sexy bad boy I wanna get in bed with but earlier changed everything.

  I keep getting boners on and off thinking about it, and about what might go down when Michael and my body reunites. Every second I think of it just inflames my lust for him, and it's a little weird to realize I'm actually looking forward to sex with Michael. It was always just like, it happens when it happens, or when one of us need our manly needs taken care off but now, I want it to happen. I don't care though, I know the sex is going to be awesome and hot and it's going to leave us sweaty and the sheets soaked; nothing else matters. My mind started wondering if I should light candles up or something but then I laughed the idea off, silly me.

  I occupied myself with the TV awaiting Michael’s return home, occasionally rubbing my erection resisting the temptation to just jerk off thinking about Michael’s hands all over my body while his lips wandered my skin. I kept fantasizing about my roommate but unfortunately found myself dozing off around 10, I was getting tired of waiting but I still wanted to get it on nonetheless. Just when I started to fall into a deeper sleep Michael came through the door waking me up, chasing off all of the sleepiness for me. "Hey man…" I greeted, I was hard instantly; yea I wanted it that bad.

  "Hey" Michael replied plainly before heading into the bedroom. I began thinking how I could initiate the sex, I mean I don't just wanna go up to him and say 'lets fuck’, or do I…. That moment earlier was perfect but I don't think that can be recreated again; dammit maybe I should've just gone with the candles. I thought Michael went into the bedroom to change clothes so I expected him to come back out but when he didn't I went to check on him and found him already in bed under the covers. "What the hell dude?" I almost yelled. Michael didn't even bother to acknowledge me, just kept his back to me. "Dude!" I demanded his attention

    "What Blake…" he whined turning to me. For a second I didn't know what to say and just stood there speechless

  “Well… what you said earlier?"

  "What the fuck are you talking about dude?" he said getting irritated. I myself was getting annoyed, I waited the whole day just to 'do it right' and nothing happens?

  "Don't you remember huh? “What happened to ‘lets do it right’?”" I said making air quotations with my fingers

  "Are you fucking kidding me…?"

  "You bet, ha ha l.o.l" I retorted sarcastically

  "Fuck off Blake, I'm tired. Go fucking jack off or something." Michael told me off before turning away again. Once again I was speechless, I was just in complete shock.

  "Fuck you asshole" I cussed and walked off furiously. Seriously? This is how he was going to treat me? I freaking waited the whole day for him and what do I get? Disappointment. Just Iike what he is. By now my boner had died and I don't think it's coming back for the night. I just wanted to go to sleep but not in the same bed as that jerk. I tried to get as comfortable as I could on the couch before falling asleep, or at least trying to.

  The following morning I woke up a little past 7 A.M. with the sun shining from the windows. I couldn’t really sleep much last night because of the couch and my neck was sore from trying to force comfort. With a sigh I sat up rubbing my neck, hopefully a shower would wear off the soreness; so I headed for it. Just before that I peaked at my phone and saw it was Wednesday, gym day. Normally I wouldn’t shower first if I was going to the gym in the morning but I did anyways this time hoping to fix the soreness, I can’t have a proper workout otherwise. In my gym attire and gym bag in hand, I headed out for the gym, not bothering to wake Michael up. Why should I? If he cares about his fitness he should be able to wake up and get ready on without my having to wake him up. It could also be because I haven’t forgotten what happened last night and his dick behavior.

  I didn’t intend to spend longer than an hour in the gym so after a brief warm-up on the treadmill I began working out my legs. As I worked out, my mind kept wandering to the events of last night but i didn’t want to think about it, I was still angry for being treated like that. I tried ignoring those thoughts and put the anger into pushing myself harder at the workout.

  A while later I heard someone call my name. It was Jack. “Where’s Michael?”

  “Don’t know, don’t care” I said bluntly

  “Oh, he didn’t come with you?”

  “What do you think Jack?”

  “Jeez, you don’t have to be rude about it” Jack said and began walking away

  “Jack wait, sorry…” I apologized quickly realizing how much of a jerk I sounded like, “We got into a fight”

  “Oh, why didn’t he come home last night?”

  “He did… lets just say, he left me hanging” I said trying to be subtle

  I couldn't avoid it though, the train of thought just went on and flashing images of that incident just came to me making me feel uncomfortable. I tried not thinking about it any further but it didn't help that the guy seated in front of me had the same shade of blonde hair.

  I didn't like the way it made me feel queesy just by the thought provoking me. I hated how I was so willing earlier, hated how my lust had took over the better part of my judgement but I was so thankful that my band's urgent need of me saved me from probably an internal battle I would've had with myself if we did go all the way.

  A text from Jack told me that they were at Pizza Hut which was at the 3rd floor of the mall. It was weird that they asked to meet here instead of maybe one of their places but I shrugged it off thinking maybe they had good news so they'd normally want to celebrate. For a second I got excited, thinking maybe they'd hear back from the record company but then why didn't they just said so through the phone?

  What was so urgent that they needed to see me in person for. I spotted the three seating in a booth inside the restaurant. They were talking animatedly while stuffing their faces with pizza.

  It was Jack who noticed me standing outside, and he made a notion for me to come in.

  "Hey Mike, sup man?" he called as I walked up to their table. Both Max and Paul gave a wave of acknowledgement since their mouths were full.

  My stomach suddenly rumbled as the scent of the pizza engulfed me. I was hungry. In my hurry to come see my band, I had forgotten all about breakfast, that and Blake distracted me while I was preparing it.

  It took some restraint from my part not to just dive in and pig out like the rest of them. I had to know something more important. Sadly more important than the cheesy mouth-watering treat in front of me.

  Honestly I expected them to just tell me something along the lines "Hey Mike, we got the contract! That's why we're celebrating. Want a slice man?" So it bugged me a little that I just stood there while they ate.

  "Something wrong dude?" Jack asked seeing as I hadn't said anything since I got there.

  "Yea. Do you guys mind filling me in? You know when I get a text saying band meeting urgent, I would like to think there's something you guys would wanna say that I dunno.... Might be important?" I said emphasizing the last word.

  "Oh. That." Jack paused to swallow what was in his mouth. "Well we just wanted to hang out man. You know, just the four us" 

  "Are you serious? What's so 'urgent' about that?" I asked incredulously

  "Well we talked about it" he jerked his head towards Max and Paul. "and we sort of agreed that if we did just ask to hang out you'll come up with some bullshitty reason why you can't. So we decided to try if you'd come if we told you there was an 'important' band meeting, and we were right." Jack said nonchalantly, confirming as my presence was a proof that their idea was somehow correct.

  For a second, I didn't know what to say. I thought about it, and honestly, they were right. If they did ask if I wanted to hang out with them, I'd probably say something along the lines of 'maybe next time' or 'I'm busy'. It wasn't because I didn't want to or anything. I'd say it was just the lazy part of me that didn't like the idea of going out of the house. I thought I'd be somewhat mad or upset at them for tricking me but I wasn't. I was just hungry.

  "Well... I'm here now." I said. A tiny part of me was disappointed that they didn't have any news regarding the gig we did yesterday which was still bugging me. Brushing those thoughts away, I looked at my band mate's happy faces. I shouldn't be worrying so much I told myself. With a small smile, I told Jack to scoot over and joined them for their Pizza brunch.

  Once I was contently full after eating about 5 slices of pizza, I had no time to relax. They insisted we watch a movie and I didn't mind.

  It was somewhere around 4 when the movie ended and I thought maybe they wanted to call it a day. Not that I was in a hurry or anything but it turned out that they still had plans. Well at least two of them. Paul reluctantly parted with the group when something had come up and he apologized so many times that it took him about 10 minutes more of just saying he'll make up for it in the future before he finally left.

  Part of the reason why I don't like going out is that I tend to spend a lot when I do. I was bad with handling my money that's why I often ask Blake for some.

  Blake's job is what pays rent and the bills. I sometimes help too with the meager dough I make from small gigs, and of course the allowance my folks give me every month but that wasn't really enough to live by on my own.

  That is why I want that recording contract so badly. I wouldn't have to depend so much on Blake's money and maybe then I could actually get stuff I want at home that Blake doesn't. Like bacon, I mean who doesn't love bacon? Blake apparently. I could get more cheese or even just a bottle of vodka or rum every now and then. I thought it was pretty lame of Blake refusing to buy such just because he doesn't drink.

  Which makes it funnier because I was pretty sure that that night, he was intoxicated. Was that why he....

  There was that queesy feeling again in my stomach as always when I thought about Blake and that night. No. I wasn't gonna let it affect me. Not now. Not never. Why should I care if Blake decides to get other dudes put their cocks in his ass? If he wanted to be a slut, that was on him. Blake's sex life wasn't my problem  and nor did I intend to be part of it anymore. But even as I said it, there was a bit of doubt to my own words that I felt I would fail again in a moment of weakness like earlier.

  I decided I would worry about that later. No. Never. I was here, with my friends and I should make the most out of that. Despite Paul's absence the two of them were still willing to hangout for as long as they pleased. We did a lot of window-shopping, finding it pleasing to talk about all the stuff we'd buy once we were all famous rock stars.

  "I'm gonna buy that big ass plasma screen TV. Can you imagine playing games on that thing?" Jack asked excitedly but then his features twisted into an unpleasant look. "Of course, I'd have to buy a new console..." he let the words hang in the air but clearly directed them to me.

  "Hey, I told you if you want to get it, just tell Blake." I half smiled. Every time I mentioned his name a tiny pang of irritation and uneasiness at the pit of my stomach so I opted to shift the topic.

  "So how are things with you in Nells?" I asked.

  For a second I saw something in his face but couldn't really tell what was it but he gave a shrug "Fine, I guess..." Thankfully he didn't notice the abruptly change, or did he? I couldn't really tell.

  Much to my wallet's dismay, they wanted to go grab dinner. That was a bit of a problem not because I was cheap or anything, I just didn't expect I'd be spending much today so I didn't bring a lot of much cash with me.

  We were already in line at some fast food chicken joint when Max's cellphone rang. Jack and I watched, both curious as to who'd call him since last we checked, Maxfield was single. When he hung up, he turned to us apologetically saying he had to go.

  "Was that your mom?" I couldn't help myself as the comment rolled off my tongue. I didn't mean it to be but Max looked offended but before I could say it was a joke and apologize, he had already walked off.

  "Well that sucks." Jack frowned. "Do you still want to eat here? I mean I don't really like the chicken here. 90% of it it just breading. I don't understand why Max loves it here so much. I gave him a shrug and told him I wasn't really hungry. For a second, I thought he would want to head back to his apartment too since it was already a quarter to eight. He would often call it quits since he preferred having dinner with his girlfriend, Nellie but astonishingly, he had other plans.

  And that was going to the arcade. I didn't object though since he paid for all the tokens in the cup that he kept shaking, like a homeless person begging for money. Except for the fact maybe that his cup actually had coins in them. There was something weird about spending time with Jack alone. Not that there was anything wrong with him. It might've sounded weird considering he was my best friend and the one I was closest to in the band but I realized that I usually hang out with him, it was usually in a group. Or perhaps maybe because I never went to the mall with an intention of having a date with Jack.

  "Okay Weisman." he said as he stopped over one of those basketball machines where there was a hoop you'd try to shoot balls into. "Tell you what, let's have a little contest here. If I win..." he paused cockily smirking as he rubbed the tip of his unshaven face. He looked like an evil master mind scheming something evil, which somehow, wasn't really far from the truth as I recalled the last time I lost to a contest to him. I had to address him as 'Master' for a week,

  "You'd have to do anything I tell you to do." he said.

  "And what do I get if I win?"

  He shrugged and that annoyingly cocky smirk stayed plastered on his face. That was the thing with with me and Jack that brought us closer. We were similar in a lot of ways. For once, we so competitive in nature that we loved challenging each other, our egos and prides always clashing together. We were both so naturally arrogant that you would wonder why we would even get along. I guess it was just a manly drive wanting to prove your superiority over another dude. Like being the Alpha male, which in this case, I wasn't going to let him.

  "Well?" I asked since he hadn't answered my question."

  "Well... of course that assuming you can"

  And like that I wanted nothing more than to put him in his place. When he started first, he showed off spinning the ball on his index finger and already wasting about five seconds. Despite his cocky attitude, he was legit good at basketball and it was no surprise he was good at this too. He managed to score a twenty nine and I'm guessing more if he didn't spend half the time mocking me and showing off.

  "Top that Mike." he patted me on the shoulder as he stepped aside from the machine. I took a deep breath as I dropped the token in the coin slot. I wasn't so good with basketball and neither was my hand-eye coordination top notch, but if I was good at something, it was being an opportunist. Unlike Jack, I didn't waste any time and tried shooting as much balls as I could. I heard him chuckle and mock my sloppy technique but he grew quiet as my score neared his, with still twenty seconds to spare. When I was at twenty six, my anxiety got the better of me, making me miss most of my shots. With only ten seconds to the clock, I focused as much as I could without panicking. I can do this.

  Ten...Nine... Point.... Eight... Seven.... Six..... Point... Five... Miss.... Four.... Three... Point,,, Two... Miss... One.... Point!

I can't explain it honestly, I find girls attractive that's for sure but the stuff I've done with guys kinda cancels out me being straight. Just to be clear, I've only ever done sexual things with 2 guys, Michael and Chord. Chord, I kept thinking about because there was something not right with it, especially the kiss. I can still remember how I wanted his lips on mine, how I wanted to kiss him so badly.

 The whole time I was away I was thinking of Chord quite a bit whenever my mind was unoccupied it would wonder of to thoughts about the guy. I've also had this urge, to talk to him... I don't know why I just had that feeling I restrained myself from even sending him a text though. I wanted to figure out things before I do anything further. I can't figure this out by myself though; I needed someone to talk to. Michael is definitely not on the list of candidates I can confide in, well okay I'll be fair. He does have my back at times and I can confide in him but maybe not this situation. I don’t know how he’d take me having sex with another dude.

 My second option was Aylin. The problem with her is that, well... she thinks I’m straight, I don’t know how she’d react to the news that I slept with I guy I just met.

Before any of this though, I needed to get home first. I sighed heavily as I realized Michael must’ve forgotten about me. Just when I thought of getting a taxi home instead, the unmistakably silver Toyota that belonged to me drove past and Michael pulled up by pick up area.

 As I approached the car I noticed he had a pair of aviator shades covering his eyes and was chewing on gum. "What up bro?" "Don't what up me" I said with clear frustration in my tone, throwing my bags in the back seat I got in the car next to him before we drove off. "Someone clearly didn't have a good flight" "True, but the guy that was supposed to pick me up when I landed made it even worse when he came late" I said in a cheery tone as a form of sarcasm. "Sorry, sorry, I had to meet up with the band first" Michael apologized and he actually sounded sincere "Oh yea my bad, I forgot somebody's getting signed to a label. Now they're gonna be a rock star and is gonna get busy with their music, probably won't even have time for me in the future" I began to tease Michael giving up my frustrated mood "Oh come man don't say that, I mean, if this acting thing doesn't work out for you I'd be more than happy to hire you as my maid" "Fuck you man" I punched Michael's shoulder but not hard enough to hurt him and we chuckled "Well anyways, did you get your best friend in the world anything?" "Dude I went to my hometown to visit my family not on vacation" "So… is that a no…?" The ride back home was about an hour and by the time we reached home it was about 5 p.m. Michael was nice enough to help me in with my bag and as he swung open the door I was surprised to find the place rather neat, I mean there was a tank top laying on the couch and a couple beer cans on the coffee table but I expected a pig sty. "Is… something wrong?" Michael asked noticing my expression "Yea… something's missing" "Missing? What?" He glanced around the place to see if he could spot what was missing "The mess"

I got an eye roll from Michael. Setting my bag down I crashed on the couch, glad to be back home. Michael headed into the bedroom leaving me so I simply enjoyed the comfort the couch could offer and next thing I know I'm waking up to the smell of food radiating from the kitchen. My stomach grumbled as I gained consciousness.

I stretched and glanced at my phone to notice it was almost 8 pm. I slowly made my way into the kitchen and saw Michael cooking, it was fried rice. "Smells good Mike" I complimented, the Asian dish didn't smell like it usually would though. Apparently Michael added a twist to the recipe he got online, my mouth was already watering just watching the rice being cooked, and hearing it just sizzle on the stove added on to it. Since Michael wasn't done cooking yet I decided to hop in the shower for a quick freshening up and I was just in time to see him turn the stove off as I came out with a towel wrapped around my hips. I got dressed in a black tank top and pajama pants before heading back to the kitchen, ready to be served dinner. I was ready to start eating the moment Michael put a plate for me but out of courtesy I waited for him to sit at the dining table before starting to eat. On the first spoon of food itself I could clearly taste the cheese mixed in the rice, there was also some chopped up chicken and sausages with onions and tiny potatoes.

I don't think I have ever eaten cheesy fried rice but it really tasted good, makes the rice more thicker in texture; "Bro, this is so good I don't think 1 plate is gonna be enough for me" I said with a mouthful of food. Maybe it's just because I was really hungry or something but seriously the food tasted superb. I was quick to eat everything on my plate, all 3 helpings of Michael’s cheesy fried rice. I did feel a bit guilty for eating too much but oh well, I figured I’d just go for a run tomorrow.

"Hey Michael, I wanted to ask you something" "Yea?" He asked. I went on to explain a favour I needed from him, well technically not for me.

When I was back at Miami, I ran into an old friend who was filming a short movie for a project, he had a script and everything done all he needed was actors and he asked me since he knew I was trying to be an actor myself and basically he asked me to help him find people to cast for his short film.

 Obviously I'm gonna cast myself because, well because I can and I don't really know who else I'm gonna cast but when I saw there was a 'bad ass' character I just knew the perfect person for it. "It's really simple man, you literally just gotta be yourself, act the lines out as a cool bad ass guy and with you it’d be a walk in the park" I explained. I honestly thought it would be really cool to be on camera next to Michael.

 "I don't know… how much am I getting paid for it?" Michael popped the question I was hoping to avoid. "Well, it's a project for school dude, so no one’s getting a penny" I explain and instantly I see Michael get turned off by the idea. I still persisted trying to convince him and repeatedly mentioned the fact that he was perfect for the role.

 "Okay okay, I get it, perfect for the role, whatever Blake" I could sense Michael getting frustrated. "So you'll do it?" "I'll think about it" "Well you gotta let me know soon because we have a dead line and I gotta know soon or else it's just gonna compli-" "I said I'll think about it" Michael slightly raised his voice. Well, I tried to squeeze an answer from him on the spot but looks like I gotta wait. After dinner we settled on the couch and watched a little TV while Michael told me all about his audition and whatever happened, "I don't know, I just feel like if I didn't mess up that line they would've given an instant ok or something" "Dude no, you missed up one tiny part of 3 whole songs, they aren't gonna say no all because of that. They probably can't give an instant answer because they gotta discuss and talk about if you guys are profitable to them and what it takes to make you guys marketable" "I guess…" Michael pushed his lips to the side still looking a little down "Hey Mike, come on bro don't think about it now, whatever they say I’m sure it’s nothing bad, so stop worrying okay?" I tried to convince the guy.

 We continued to watch TV for a whole longer before I felt myself dozing off, after a while I felt Michael carry me to the bed with my arm around his neck. I wasn't completely awoken up though just semi conscious so I was fast to fall asleep when I was in bed.

Come morning I was the first one awake, so I freshened up and got changed for my morning run. The tank top I had on were just fine so I just had to change into shorts but instead of using fresh ones I used a pair of basket ball shorts that were already set for laundry. They weren't clean but not like I'm going to be after my run either. See that's smart right there. When I was about to leave I thought of asking Michael if he wanted to go along but the guy was still sound asleep. I would've tried to wake him up but that would take at least a good 10 minutes just for me to get him out of bed so I decided to go solo on this run since I was also time conscious; I had to go to work today. Arriving at the neighborhood park, I did a few static stretches before starting my run, workout music playing through my headphones. I ran around the park once and a half which took me about 30 minutes, the amount of time I intended to run for. I strolled back home as a cool down and when I got back home I saw two large moving trucks parked in the drive way of the house next to ours. That house had been vacant for the past few months and I guess someone's finally moving in now. I thought I'd go over and welcome them and start off right with the newcomers.

 So I made my way over and the moving guys were busy shifting things from the truck into the house, without hindering their way I stood by the side and rang the door bell; the bird chirping kind. The moving guys had brown uniforms on so when someone not in a uniform came to the door I assumed he was the owner, "Hi, can I help you?" he smiled. He had curly black hair and bushy eye brows. His hazel brown eyes gleamed with excitement as if he had seen a celebrity, well maybe I was a celeb in the making, I kid. "Hey, I'm Blake and I live right next door. I saw the trucks so I figured someone's moving in and thought I'd come over and say hi" I introduced myself "Nice to meet you Blake, my name is Darren and yea, today's moving day" he exclaimed in excitement. "Well I was just out for a run so I'm still a little sweaty, sorry ‘bout that" I wiped the sweat that formed on my forehead and ran a hand through my hair combing it backwards, "but I gotta go now and get ready for work or I'm gonna be late. Nice meeting you Darren, If you need any help at all, don't be shy to ask okay?" I said goodbye and made my way back to my home to find Michael in the kitchen already cooking breakfast. I just love having a roommate who can cook, but to have a roommate who can cook awesomely? Yea, I'm pretty lucky. Michael was in nothing but a pair of boxers and an apron to cover his torso, I walked up behind the guy to peak at what he had cooking when I noticed a drop of sweat roll down his back. Instantly I was reminded of when we were back at Mr. Webber's mansion and something similar occurred, it was like déjà vu. I shook it off and to get my mind off it I wrapped my arms around Michael's waist, "Hey honey, I'm back home" I pretended as though we were a married couple as a joke.

"Dude back off, you're sweaty" he whined. For some reason I got a boner at that moment which I didn't hesitate to grind on Michael, in the name of messing around of course. Michael tried to wiggle me off but I hugged him tighter and that's when I realized the guy also had an erection of his own. "Fuck you Blake!" Michael exclaimed breaking the hold I had on him making me wince, in an unexpected move he turned around, grabbed me by my hips pulling me close and touched lips with me, and kissed me. I was completely taken off guard by the move

I didn't stop the kiss though, I didn't want to either. I won't lie, I kinda liked what was going on, wasn't the usual thing but still liked it no doubt. Wasn't long before I got into the kiss and was kissing him back making out with Michael. Instinctually my hands went to undo the knot that held the apron to his body to toss it aside which Michael didn't object to. Without breaking the lip contact we made our way to the couch in the living room, when we were close to it Michael took my tank top off leaving me topless like him and pushed me down on the couch; I landed on my back and Michael got on top of me to resume the kiss. Michael ran his hands through my hair while my hands roamed his body wildly, feeling him up. I guess because of the heat from the cooking in the kitchen, Michael himself was sweating so my hands just glided around his body as my lust for the bad boy grew. I never wanted him this much, never felt this rush in me that I wanted someone's body so much that nothing mattered (nothing except clothes coming off and something going into someone.) The kiss was very very heated by now, our tongues battled for dominance in my mouth and I just had a feeling all this wasn’t gonna end anytime soon.

All of a sudden, a phone rang interrupting us; it was Michael's. He broke the kiss and reached for the phone on the coffee table next to us but I slapped his hands, "Fuck that, don’t answer it" I pulled him back into the kiss. He complied but the phone kept ringing and I felt Michael's reluctance to end the lip contact but he did to attend to the stupid call, whoever the fuck it is they were interrupting at a bad timing. I sighed, frustratedly running my hand through my hair and rested my head on it while I watched Michael. My other hand of course couldn't behave itself and continued roaming Michael's abs felling him up before moving lower to stroke his erection over his boxers, and boy was he hard; I couldn't wait to play with his manhood. "Oh shit, fuck fuck fuck fuck" Michael cussed and got off me, in a blink he disappeared into the bedroom. "Bro what the fuck man!?" I asked getting more frustrated "I gotta go dude" was all he said. In less than a minute he was all dressed and about to head out the front door "Where the hell are you going…" "I'm sorry bro I gotta go but don't jerk off, hold that load till I get back. Let's do it right when I get back, I promise I'll make it worth it" Michael flashed his signature bad boy smirk and it felt like I would melt. I bit my lip and nodded, that's all I could manage. When Michael left, I leaned back on the couch, closed my eyes and pulled my boner out and began stroking thinking about the hot scene that just took place between me and Michael; fuck was it hot. I used my other hand to feel myself up, squeeze my chest and play with my nipple, damn I needed to unload but no, not just yet; I'm gonna wait to 'do it right'. I got reminded that I had to be somewhere myself. I panicked looking at the clock and hopped in the shower to get ready, hopefully I wasn’t late for work.

I was in the middle of getting ready when a realization hit me, something that had happened only once before and that was when he was drunk... but... he was completely sober right now and it felt weird, good weird but...  I don’t know what to think of it. When at the heat of the moment it felt right but... I kept wondering why he did it.

Michael Weisman just kissed me sober.

The receptionist asked me if I had a reservation and as I looked it up; our band already had the time slot for the next hour.

Was I still nervous?

You bet.

I couldn’t keep at ease for the first few minutes I got there and that’s when I decided to occupy myself the best way I know how, and that’s with some music. To think I’d be so fed up now to the songs we’d be singing in a few given the additional 20 play count it had just for this day but here I was, listening to the 2-track playlist I made this morning of Boys Like Girl’s “Thunder” and One Republic’s “Counting Stars” since the third song we intended to play was an original, didn’t have that yet on my iPod.

The first ones to arrive were Paul and Maxfield, since they lived close to each other, I’m guessing they carpooled in Max’s van. They greeted me with a smile and asked if I was doing okay which I lied with an immediate “Yea.” I mean no point in telling them I wanted to back out since the future of our band kinda depended on me, the lead singer.

Jack soon arrived about ten minutes to the given hour and a sudden flash of thought struck me wondering if he’d made up with his girlfriend already but I decided to put that later after all of this was done.

“You guys ready for this?” Max asked looking from everyone across the waiting room. Jack was standing up looking at the posters, while Paul was just sitting quietly in another bench. Both of them said yea and when I didn’t answer, Max then went to sit down next to me. Contrary to me being dressed in a jacket over a red shirt and skinny jeans, Maxfield was just wearing a plain white shirt and worn out jeans, not that it didn’t look good on him; I just thought it was rather simple for the occassion.

“You okay Mike?” Max asked putting an arm around my shoulder.

“Yea... just nerves” I said shaking my head as if that would shake off the anxiety.

“You can do this man, this is just another jamming session” he said.

“Yea only there are people who are gonna be watching us, people who could you know...” Jack said shrugging. “Decide our fate?” he then turned back to the postered walls as if he didn’t speak at all.

“We got this in the bag Mike...” Max rubbed my shoulder trying to reassure me and like my earlier Skype call with Blake, it only made me feel confident for about a second or two, and then the doors opened, and in came three men all in fancy business suits and I didn’t need to ask to know who they were. Two of them were in black while one of them was in a grey suit.

“Ah well well, you guys must be Break Out Fuse” one of them spoke up as soon as they saw us huddled by the waiting room. He was the one wearing a grey suit, a rather plump guy, somewhere around his late thirties and he had balding short brown hair.

The four of us got to our feet and stood in front of them and everyone including Jack put on a smile before our three audiences.

The plump guy looked at each and every one of our faces and turned to his colleagues, the one who had messy black hair and rectangular framed glasses. He whispered something which I wish I could hear cause I had a feeling they were talking about us. Four eyes nodded twice as chubby continued whispering so I could only guess he was agreeing with whatever the guy in a grey suit was saying.

“Alright, I’m sorry about that but nice to meet you all... I’m Mr. Stanton, executive at Hopeless Records but you can call me Pete” Chubby said offering a hand.

I took his hand which was cold with sweat, and I resisted the urge to pull my hand back the moment I felt it wet. “Nice to meet you too Mr. Stanton, I am Michael Weisman and I am the head of the band.” I grinned.

“Oh, the head huh? So where’s the rest of the body?” he gave a porky little laugh which was kinda creepy which was followed by an awkward silence when no else found his joke funny. Mr. Stanton cleared his throat to break the silence and he pursed his lips looking at the rest of the band and I registered this as a signal for their introduction.

“Uhh... yea these are my band mates, Jack” I gestured towards them as I say their name. “Max, and Paul.”

“Hmm... I see...” Mr. Stanton rubbed his stubby little chin before turning once again to his colleagues. “What do you think boys?”

“I think it’s time to hear what these guys have for us” the other guy said checking his watch. He had a short dark brown pony tail and a beard that he hadn’t shaved for a few months.

“Oh Malcolm, always in a rush you...” Mr. Stanton joked again and almost laughed but thank god he didn’t.

We got in the booth that the receptionist told us which was a room located at the end of the hallway. The three men followed us but didn’t enter, instead just stood outside the booth and watched us through the rectangular glass window.

The inside of the booth was air-conditioned but somehow I was sweating. Everyone went to their own instruments which were provided by the studio of course, Paul on his drums, Jack and Max on their guitars while I took the bass. After strapping it around me, I looked on to our watchers and they all had expectant looks talking to one another. I bet they were already talking amongst themselves about us. I wonder what they said to each other though.

I shook my head. No time to worry about that now. I plugged in my amp and adjusted the microphone on the stand to level with my mouth.

The door to the booth opened and Mr. Stanton’s porky little head popped in. “Whenever you’re ready boys” he smiled.

This was it.

Now was the time to show them that we are indeed worthy of being on their record label. I turned to my band mates and I gave them a nod. Paul banged his drumsticks together. Once, Twice, three times.

Show time.

Lately I’ve been, I’ve been losing sleep... dreaming about the things that we could be, but baby I’ve been, I’ve been praying hard... said no more counting dollars, we’ll be counting stars.

Yea we’ll be counting stars...

I gave them my signature smirk as the music opened up. Closing my eyes and reopening them, I pictured a crowd of fans screaming for our band. We weren’t clammed up inside a studio booth, we were playing for a sold out arena. I felt the song, gave it my all and sang with as much emotion as I could. What that emotion was, Passion, Anger, Happiness, Ecstasy, I didn’t care. The high of performing took over me and I just felt like I was doing awesome.

Just doin’ what we’re told.

“Ay aaaaayie  aay!” As soon as the pre-chorus came though, this was what I’ve been fearing, I faltered a little on the high note which I felt so ashamed of. I didn’t let it get to me though, and thankfully on the second time I heard Max back me up on vocals.

The rest of the song went well though and we transitioned next to Thunder after Counting Stars and we just nailed this song.  I didn’t need to try since I sang this song so many times in the past. The whole time I didn’t see the three men but just pictured a loving audience screaming for our band’s name.

Thunder smoothed out perfectly into our last and original song. A song called ‘Turn Around’ which Jack and I wrote. Well technically he wrote it but I helped with some of the lyrics, particularly.

I gave the best of me to keep you happy

That wasn’t enough “we’re over” that’s what you said so gladly

But now you’re coming just when I moved on baby

It won’t work, won’t work, you don’t get to turn around...

And say I love you.

And with the last beat of the drum as Paul ended with the outro, the music hung on to its last note. My whole system, still pumping with adrenaline just took a second to embrace reality.

It was over.

I wasn’t on stage to a million of adoring fans screaming for an encore. There were no “I <3 Michael” signs in the air. No. In front of me was that glass window and behind it were three men in business suits.

And they were all straight faced except for Mr. Stanton who had a small smile on his face.

I was panting, out of breath, yet I still felt like I could go on for a 10km run, okay maybe that was an exaggeration.

The door to the booth opened and Mr. Stanton stepped in first looking rather pleased with himself. I still was on a high after that performance that I couldn’t make out what he was saying, like I could tell he was saying something but it didn’t make sense to me. It was as if it was a TV playing somewhere in the back that you could hear that there’s sound but you couldn’t really make anything out of it.

“We’ll let you guys know.” Was all I understood as he left the booth with a nod towards us and then the three of them left.

The high I was on slowly started to burn out. Everything was getting clearer by the second.

And that’s when I realized... that they didn’t give an answer.

I had this mindset that after this performance, I would have some kind of answer to whether we’d get signed on that record label or something but nothing. He didn’t say yes. Why I mean we gave it our all, and honestly we did sound good except for the slight hiccup. What did we do wrong? Why didn’t they...

“Shit man! That was sooo awesome!” Jack said snapping me out of the stupor I was falling into. I had almost forgotten that I wasn’t alone in the room although it did felt like I was a couple of seconds ago.

Turning back to my band mates, I see they were all smiling and bro-fisting one another which confused me a little.

What did I miss?

“You okay man?” Jack asked me as he realized I was blankly staring at them. I nodded lightly but still stared at the sight of my band mates rejoicing. I wanted to ask them why they were all so happy but then something just stopped me seeing them like that. Didn’t they hear what Mr. Stanton had said? He didn’t sign us up so why they were acting like they won the lottery, I didn’t know.

I was the first one to exit the booth since they were all still talking to each other when I left. What could I have done that would’ve made things better was all I kept asking myself. It felt like it was my entire fault why they didn’t give as a yes. I strolled down the hall back to the waiting room just pondering if I could’ve done something differently that just might’ve affected their decision. Maybe if I didn’t choke on that high note.

“Hey Mike” Max called after me “We were going down to Subway to get some grub, wanna come with?”

“No thanks dude, I think I’mma head home” I said.

“What? Already?! BOOOOO!” Jack hissed as he stepped up next to Max with Paul soon joining them.

“Yea, I have to do some errands... ” I lied. I didn’t really need to do anything; I just didn’t feel like hanging around.

“Errands? Since when did you become so responsible?” Jack teased but I ignored him.

“Maybe that errand is his girlfriend” Paul joked which got Jack and him laughing.

“Yea, at least I have a girlfriend” I quipped back.

“Ohh... burn!” Jack was having the time of his life with his laughs while Paul looked like he was a bit offended and just turned away from me.

“You sure you’re not coming with us?” Max asked oblivious to the little exchange that happened just now.

  Supposedly I had a date with my girlfriend Dianna but she texted me earlier saying she couldn't make it today since she had an important appointment.

  Come on Michael, what do you usually do on a normal day? (Besides bugging my roommate who was now probably on a plane back to his hometown, Miami, I don't know really)

  God I need to go get a life.

  I turned right as I passed by the gym me and Blake went to and drove my way straight till I reached the block where a blue bricked apartment was.

  "Open up faggot!" I pounded the door carelessly, as I rocked back and forth on my heels. After a few seconds, the door burst open and a guy who wasn't as good looking as me greeted me with a slight scowl on his face.

  "What are you doing here, band practice isn't until tomorrow or did you forget aga-"

  "Oh shut up, I just came here to chill with you dude" I flung an arm around his shoulder as I said so.

  "Err...  I can't right now dude. I kinda have to meet up with Nellie at the mall in..." he paused as he looked behind at the wall clock which showed it was about a quarter to noon. "Holy shit! Listen man, I'm kinda running late and I really got to go pick up Nells."

  "Well I don't really have anything to do for the day, why don’t I drive you up there. I’ll just chill around the mall I guess.” I said. Seeing that Jack had no objections, I waited for him to change and once ready, we went on our way to the mall. I noticed he was a little uncomfortable riding in Blake’s car and I’m sure his fear of my roommate was still there.

  We managed to get there with ease due to minimal traffic on the way. The mall wasn’t too crowded itself and we managed to get a good parking spot a short distance from the entrance. Nellie was already there waiting with a shopping bag around her arm. Surprise hit her as she saw me but she nevertheless gave me a smile and a wave.

  “Hey Mike, what are you doing here?” she asked.

“Nothin’ really, just thought I’d dropped him off” I jerked my thumb towards Jack “I came from the airport where I just dropped my roommate off too” I explained further.

“Oh, okay, well... do you want to maybe join us for lunch? I mean if you’d like to” Nellie offered.

“Well...” I turned to Jack to see if it was okay with him since I didn’t want to feel like a 3rd wheel or something but he didn’t seem to mind himself. “Sure why not?”

  Well maybe because they’re a couple and eating lunch with them would surely make you feel like you’re intruding on something private.

  No matter their assurance that is was okay, I still felt a little bit awkward as I sat opposite the two in a booth of a Chinese restaurant. It was an all-you-can-eat dimsum place and according to them, this was a really good place. Seeing that the place was almost full, I believed them.

The resto was really authentic looking for a Chinese place with all the little ornaments of tiny golden statues and Chinese letters painted on the red walls.              

Our table had a little steamer at the middle where you were supposed to drop the cold dimsum they would serve and let it cook there. I let Jack and Nellie do the ordering since they knew the place and we got comfortable in our table waiting for our food.

“So are you guys pumped up for tomorrow?” Nellie asked excitedly. With everything going on, I almost forgot about the gig we had tomorrow where we could possibly get signed on to a record label.

“Stoked” I grinned at Nellie. Truthfully, I wasn’t really looking forward to it at all. Like I was wishing it’d be in a week or two. The heavy feeling I always get when I’m under pressure hit me and made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

“You guys can do it, I know you can” Nellie said smiling to her boyfriend. Jack didn’t say anything and I wonder if he was nervous too like I was. There wasn’t much conversation after the talk about the gig and I felt uneasy as we ate in silence, not even the deliciousness of the steamed pork buns could cheer me up, though they were really good.

“What’s wrong baby?” Nellie suddenly asked and I turned to see Jack looking rather unhappy with his thick brows furrowed. “Is it the food?”

“No.” Jack muttered and you could hear the hardness in his tone.

“Then what?”

“Nothing” he grunted and I internally snickered at how bad of an actor Jack was cause clearly something was bothering the guy.

“You sure?” Nellie watched him warily and after a small nod from him, she smiled lightly and kissed him on the cheek. “I love you...” she said softly and I could’ve sworn I saw Jack smile a little but otherwise he retained his grumpy state.

“I love the... umm... chicken feet” I say trying to light up the mood cause it felt like a raincloud just hovered over our table. I stabbed one of the chicken feet that were in some chilli sauce.

“Oh yea, they’re really good.” Nellie said and she took one too. Jack was still looking sour though and I wish I knew why since he suddenly decided to just clam up. Halfway through our third order, I had to go take a leak so I excused myself from the table.

As I got back from the bathroom and returned to our booth, I didn’t expect thing what I arrived to. How did things escalate so far that the two were arguing very loudly, attracting some unwanted attention from the people around.

“Uhh... what’s going on...?” I asked. Nellie turned to me with a glare before she stood up and walked away looking really upset. I looked back to Jack who just gave a huge sigh.

“What’s...-“ but before I could say anything else, he dropped some money on the table and he too stood up, passing me like I wasn’t even there. He strode off, muttering something incoherently and I honestly was just left there dumbfounded of what just happened. I took a 20$ bill out of my back pocket and left it on top of Jack’s money and left the restaurant too since I didn’t feel like eating anymore, also cause I was already kinda full from all the dumplings.

For a second I thought about texting Jack and following him but then I realized I didn’t want to deal with whatever drama he and his girlfriend had right now so I just went and do a little window shopping by myself.

After an hour and a half of walking around the mall, I eventually got bored and just decided to head home. Nothing really extra-ordinary happened during my time at home, in fact it was pretty quiet based on the fact Blake wasn’t home. I found myself lying in bed just listening over and over to ‘Counting Stars’ by One Republic on repeat and singing along to it.

The next thing I knew was my eyes opened to the dim lit surroundings of me and Blake’s bedroom. The headphones I had on, entangled themselves around my neck and it wasn’t a surprise that when I checked my iPod, it was out of battery.

I released myself from the wiry mess and stretched a little. Upon looking on my phone, I saw it was just 5am in the morning, Friday.

Today was the big day.

For some reason, despite it being too early in the morning, I didn’t feel like going back to bed like I would’ve on another regular day but instead I just opted for a bath. Showering at 5am is not something I usually practice but it felt weirdly nice that by a quarter to 6 am, I was already up on my feet, fresh for the day.

I did a bunch of vocal warm ups as I prepared breakfast just wanting to make sure that I sounded my best when the time was needed. By 7:30, I had already eaten, washed the dishes and already showered, I had nothing else to do but wait till 10, the time of our studio session. The house just felt empty without Blake there and I didn’t even feel like watching TV or playing the PS3. I decided to just get on my laptop, something I haven’t in a while.

Was randomly browsing the net and what has been going on with other people’s lives, I rarely go through social networks but doesn’t mean I don’t have ‘em. Going through Twitter, I saw a tweet from @Blake_Jenner posted just 3 minutes ago of a picture with the caption ‘Morning run with brothers #sweaty #energizing’. In the photo, Blake was in the middle while his other two brothers stood either side of him. He was smiling and doing this silly thing where he always held a thumbs up for photos which made me smile.

I tweeted him ‘Nice photo, maybe got some time for this bro here?’ and almost instantly he tweeted back saying ‘Thanks, of course, what’s up?’ I asked him to get on Skype and in a matter of seconds; I was already dialing him up.

Blake appeared on my computer screen as soon as he picked up and I didn’t know we were video calling so instead of being one of those creepy stalker-ish people, I turned my video on too. For a second I felt a bit awkward as Blake and I stared at each other through the screen but then he spoke up.

“Hey man, what’s up?”

“Hey... not much...” I smiled but then it faltered immediately as soon as I thought about the upcoming gig.

“What’s wrong?” Blake asked, reading me very easily.

“Well... I dunno... maybe because my future depends on how well I do in the next couple of hours...” I said grimly, I didn't have to remind Blake what the next couple hours held for me. "And you're nervous?" Blake asked in somewhat of a 'are you serious?' tone. "You don't understand dude, this can either send me straight to the top or be…" I paused to sigh, "just another false hope" "Hey hey hey, bro, listen, you're gonna go there, do your best and show them the rockstar you are okay? You're going to blow them away and leave them no room to doubt your potential. I mean, come on, who am I talking to huh? You're no ordinary guy. Tell me, who am I talking to huh?" "Blake... you don’t understand, I...”

“What’s that? I can’t understand you pussy...” Blake taunted me with a mischievous smile on his face. “I don’t even know if I’m talking to the bad ass I know, I mean are you really the mother fucking bad ass that I live with? Or are you just some nervous pussy who pretends to like my bro”

That got to me and he was right, I mean come on, why was I getting so nervous when all I had to do was do what I did best, and that’s rock their socks off.

“Fuck you bro, I’m the fucking Mikester!” I smirked and he smiled back.

“That’s right you are, now go show em’ that.”

“I will”

Blake was about to say something when someone else yelled in the back. “Blakey poo! Breakfast is ready!”

I couldn’t help but smile hearing Blake’s mom call him. “Blakey poo huh?”

“Shut up man” Blake blushed a little.

“Aww what’s the matter Blakey poo?” I mocked him this time and he was turning red all over I couldn’t help but chuckle loudly.

“Whatever man, I got-“

“Blakey poo , breakfast is ready... Oh, who are you talking to?” Blake’s mom said as I saw her enter the room from Blake’s camera.

“Oh hey Mrs. J, good morning” I greeted.

“Michael? Is that you?” she asked peering into the camera alongside her son.

“Yep, that’s me.” I smiled.

“How you are doing sweetheart? Everything good out there in LA?” she asked.

“Yea, everything’s fine here, how ‘bout you and that accident, are you alright?”

“Yes they just overreacted dear, nothing serious, but I’m glad my Blakey poo came to visit, it was so thoughtful of him.” She said as she pinched Blake’s cheek.

“Moooom... stoooop...” Blake whined feeling embarrassed I bet and I bit my lower lip in attempt to hold back my laughter.

“Anyhow, I’d like to thank you for looking out for my little baby, I know it must be hard folding his clothes and cooking for him when you don’t need to.” She commented.

“Hey I can take care of myself pretty well mom.” Blake argued

“Oh hush dear, you don’t even know how to fasten up a tie”

“That was once in High school for Prom!”

“So you’re telling me you know how to tie a tie know?” his mom asked.

“N-no, that’s not the point, I’ll just see you downstairs mom.” Blake said and I heard his mom tsked him.”

“Fine... Goodbye Michael, have a nice day sweetheart!” she called disappearing through a door.

“Bye Mrs. J!” I snorted enjoying that sweet little scene of Blake and his mom.

“Cut it out man! It’s not funny” Blake said but I allowed myself a few more chuckles before settling down.  After a momentary silence, Blake then spoke. “Well you better be going...” he then paused to sniff his armpit. “Besides I need to go shower anyways and breakfast is waiting, tell me how it goes okay bad boy?” he smiled.