The Office Affair

Chapter 3: Receiving it Hard

I first met him during my sophomore year. I usually don't go to parties but Mina and Justin forced me to. They threatened that I may not come out of college normal if all I do is study so I just went with it. They did promise that they are only going to force me to attend parties after our exams so at least they are being responsible friends. As always, there's a lot of people at parties and I am just glad that this is one that was organized by our college department so I at least know some of these people. I was looking for Justin and Mina because if I get drunk, they should know to take care of me. I am not going home with some random stranger and I know that may happen because I really can't handle my liquor.

As I was going through the crowd, I was pulled by Mina who is now slightly drunk. She said she is going to introduce me to some of her friends from another class. I asked where Justin is (because they are usually always together) and she just shrugged. Did she come here alone? I wonder if they fought before coming here because they don't usually fight. You can say that they are the most typical straight couple that you can imagine, always sweet to each other and conjoined in the hips.

We were heading to the drink station and I immediately saw her friends waiting for us. There were two guys and two girls talking as we approached them. The other guy really caught my attention because of his height, he is 6'8 seven inches taller than me so I literally had to look up to him. He has a butt chin. That was the first thing I noticed and somehow, I find it adorable. 

I looked for his eyes and boy that is one intense gaze he got there. I am not sure if it is for me or maybe someone behind me but I sure do hope that it is for me because I only got my eyes on him right now. His hair is looks great so that means he cares about what he looks and probably spend a lot of time in front of the mirror. So is he full of himself just because he knows that he is attractive? I don't know Colton, my mind is screaming to stay away from this guy. 

He is dressed impeccably meaning he probably comes from a rich family and I can already tell that he is very confident of himself just by the way he stands there. Mina introduced me to them and I get the feeling that the two girls were flirting with the other guys and that they shifted their attention to me. What can I say? I guess I'm a catch too. I was slightly intimidated by this really tall guy so I just talked to the girls as they seemed more approachable and all.

"So are you looking for someone to hook up with after the party? Me and my friend here are available," one of the girls asked. "Hey hey now, you were just trying to get us to bed and now you are already looking for someone?" one of the guys complained.

I was just standing between them awkwardly as I looked at Mina and really stared at her because I already don't like these people. I am not a huge fan of hook-ups and Mina knows that.

The tall guy finally introduced himself to me. "Hi, Colton right? Let me get you a drink while these morons debate amongst themselves who they will have sex with later tonight. Can I take him away for a while, Mina?"

She just nodded her head then she asked the tall guy to not get me drunk. Mina then asked if it is okay with me because she needs to find Justin. I said okay and I promised to text her once I'm done 'partying' and if I need to go home already. For some reason, I was feeling a little bit awkward since I was left with him and I don't even know his name.

We went to get our drinks and he was the first one to break the tension as he introduced himself "oh I forgot to mention my name. I'm Stijn and I am also taking business management. I heard that you play volleyball for the school?" he asked.

I took a sip of my drink before answering him. I need to be at least slight drunk before I start a conversation with him because he is really intimidating with his height and all. Plus, those eyes. Damn those eyes. "Yeah I play for the team," I answered shortly.

"Oh yeah. What position do you play?" he asked again.

"Open hitter. Do you play for the school too? I mean with your height and all," I asked him back. 

He replied "yeah. I used to play volleyball too. I was an opposite spiker when I was in high school. I was supposed to play for the team as well but my parents forced the school not to allow me. Don't ask."

Oh so I am right. He comes from a rich family who probably wants him to focus on his studies and that just proves that rich people are controlling as fuck. Now see, these are the times where I feel grateful to live a normal middle-class life because my dad has always been supportive and my two younger siblings are the sweetest.

"You are judging me already. I can see it," he noted with a smirk.

I quickly dismissed him and said that I was just thinking how hard it must be to sacrifice something that you love for your family. That is actually something that I can relate to but on an opposite spectrum I guess. That eased the tension between us as he seemed to ponder on the thought of sacrificing one's dream for your family. 

"Do you regret following their wishes?" I asked teasingly.

He just smiled and changed the subject as he talked more about volleyball and asked me how our training goes. I mentioned to him how hard the coach is on our schedule and that if you are not on top of everything else, your grades might suffer. That is why I rarely go to parties because my schedule just doesn't allow it. He mentions that he might not survive if he pursued playing volleyball because he is barely passing his subjects. He admits to me that business management isn't really what he wanted to take but that is what his parents decided for him so he had no choice on the matter. 

As we went on with our conversation, I seemed to forget the party that was happening right in front of our face. He is surprisingly easy to talk to as he teased me a lot for playing in my position because of my height compared to the other open hitters in the school. I challenged him to win a one-on-one game just to see if he is really as good as he thinks. Volleyball is not only about hitting the ball and I mentioned to him that I am actually the best receiver in the team aside from the libero of course.

"Oh so how good are you at receiving?" he asked playfully.

"Oh I am very good at it," I replied innocently. I am not sure where this is going because he seemed to now be flirting with me? Oh wow. Confident much, Colton? I don't even know if the guy is gay or bisexual, maybe bicurious. I don't want to jump into any conclusions right now. Falling for straight guys is a big no no for me because it would just be one-sided and I am not here for that. Then he asked me the question that cemented the idea that he is in fact flirting with me.

"But can you take it hard?" Stijn asked. No hint of being playful at all. He sounded serious and now I know that we aren't talking about volleyball anymore. 

I am not sure if he is just drunk or I am drunk too but two can play at this game. I am quite sure no straight person would dare ask those kinds of questions using that serious tone. "Depends on who is hitting it. They might think it is hard when in fact, it is actually ...a soft hit." I replied bravely. He went silent for a while. 

Did I offend him? Now I am back to being nervous. What if he is actually straight and I got the signals wrong. Fuck. This is why I don't talk to random people. I just evaded his look and tried to check my phone. Maybe I can text Mina and I can just go home. Forget that this party even happened.

Right when I was about to text her, I heard him say "I have a room upstairs. Maybe we can test if you can really receive it hard." 0_0